Events relating to religion

Discussion of Henry VIII's proposed divorce hinges on rival verses from the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy and Leviticus

Protestant reformers Luther and Zwingli disagree at Marburg on the nature of the Eucharist

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim leads Muslim Somalis in a holy war against Christian Ethiopia, destroying churches and shrines

The Aztec Virgin of Guadalupe appears to an Indian near Mexico City and tells him she is 'one of his kind'

Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy forces prominent figures in English public life to accept him on oath as head of the Church of England

Pope Paul III establishes Ignatius Loyola and his followers as the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits

Protestant reformer John Calvin settles in Geneva and submits the city to a strict Christian rule

Francis Xavier, companion of Ignatius Loyola and the first missionary of the Counter-Reformation, sets sail from Lisbon

Francis Xavier reaches Goa, at the start of the great mission to the east that will last the nine years until his death

Pope Paul III establishes the Roman Inquisition, with the specific task of fighting against the Protestant heresy

A council of the Roman Catholic church is convened in Trent, to establish the tenets of the Counter-Reformation

David Beaton, the archbishop of St Andrews, burns a leading Protestant, George Wishart, as a heretic and is murdered in retaliation

The first version of the English prayer book, or Book of Common Prayer, is published with text by Thomas Cranmer

Mary I succeeds to the English throne, and devotes her energies to the restoration of the Catholic faith

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