What event is often cited as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Europe?

The event that is often cited as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Europe is the Ninety-Five Theses. Written by Martin Luther in 1517, this document criticized the Catholic Church's practices, particularly the sale of indulgences. Luther's theses were a call for reform and sparked widespread debate and discussion across Europe, leading to significant religious, political, and cultural changes. The act of posting these theses on the church door in Wittenberg symbolized a challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church, and it effectively marked the start of the Reformation movement.

Other significant events, such as the Diet of Worms and the Council of Trent, played important roles in the Reformation and its aftermath, but they occurred later. The Great Schism, while pivotal in church history, primarily refers to the split between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in 1054, which is unrelated to the Protestant Reformation. The Ninety-Five Theses ignited the Reformation by energizing a movement for religious reform, emphasizing the need for change within the church and resonating with people's desire for a more personal and direct relationship with faith.