13 May 1497 A.D. Pope Alexander VI excommunicates
Savanarola because he continued to disobey the Pope.
The story is told by Dr. Rusten. Rusten, E. Michael and Rusten,
Sharon. The One Year Christian History.
Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003.
Girolamo
Savanariola was born 1452 in Ferraria, Italy.
He was serious and religious. He began medical studies, but ended up in
theological studies. He joined the Dominican order and joined the Convent at
San Marco, Florence, 1482. He became the
prior. He was distressed by the corruption of Rome, the Pope and the Vatican.
He became
famous as a preacher of judgment and repentance. The worldliness of the clergy,
the vices of the nobility, and a general corruption informed his thinking. This made him popular with the democratic
forces when they came to power in 1494.
Ultimately, his popularity sky-rocketed when he successfully got the
French king to pull out of Florence. The
churches were crowded too.
But, he
made enemies, especially amongst the clergy. The Pope, Alexander VI, hated him
because Savanarola condemned his character and practices. He also repudiated
his authority.
In 1495,
Alexander VI ordered Savanarola to Rome.
He refused. The Pope ordered him to stop preaching. He refused. The Pope ordered the Convent of
San Marco to consolidate with other convents, but Savanarola refused.
On 13 May 1497, Pope Alexander VI
excommunicated him.
The Pope
ordered the city council of Florence to silence him and send him to Rome. The fickle Council abandoned him. The new government, favorable to Rome, arrest
him in April 1498.
He was
tried for sedition and heresy. He was
brutally tortured and hanged from a city tower.
Resources
Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A
History of Christianity. 2 vols.
Peabody: Prince, 1975. 1: 672-74.
Schaff, Philip. History
of the Christian Church. 6: 684-716.
Vos, H.F. “Savanarola, Girolamo.” WWCH, 607-608.
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