"Protestantism and the Creation of a Crisis in Religious Authority".

One of the main features of the Protestant movement, which is fully reflected in the actions of its leaders, especially Martin Luther, is the opposition and confrontation with the religious authority of the Catholic Church, headed by the Pope.

 According to the report of the Public Relations Department of the Imam Khomeini Foundation for Education and Research, the Imam Khomeini Foundation for Education and Research, in cooperation with the Secretariat of Scientific Chairs, organized a scientific promotional chair titled "Protestantism and the creation of a crisis in religious authority" in which the Hojjat al-Islam and Muslims Dr. Mr. Ahmad Tabatabaei Sotoudeh, an alumnus of the Imam Khomeini Foundation for Education and Research, delivered a speech in which he spoke about the most prominent features of the Protestant movement, which is fully manifested in the performance of its leaders, especially Martin Luther, through opposition and confrontation with the religious authority in the Catholic Church, headed by the Pope.

He added: The Reformation was not opposing the person or entity of the Pope, but rather the authority of the Pope and the supremacy of the Church. After challenging the authority and legitimacy of Church institutions and officials by emphasizing slogans such as "only the Bible", the Reformers tried to present the Bible as the "only true authority for religion"; but since there could be different interpretations of the Bible, this change in authority in practice created more important issues, which we refer to as the "crisis of authority".

He also said: In fact, the Protestant leaders, with the aim of reforming the existing authority, destroyed the foundation of the religious authority building and made such a mess that their efforts to restore this building were in vain, and they were never able to restore the water to its original state. Since the threat of Protestant influence in Islamic society, especially among Muslim intellectuals, has always existed, in this article we will examine the causes and factors of this issue, the process of its formation and its consequences in a descriptive and analytical manner.

The formation of religious authority in Christianity is a very complex issue that has always been a source of dispute, and the controversies surrounding it have created at least two deep fissures in this great religion; the formation of the Orthodox Church and then the Protestant Church and their separation from the Catholic Church can be considered one of the most important results of this divergence.

And he said: There is no doubt that one of the most important factors in the emergence of these differences is the weak foundation of authority in the Catholic Church. Regardless of the ambiguities and complexities of the authority of Peter, Paul and the Church Fathers, and even the authority and legitimacy of the Bible, it is certainly not easy to prove the religious and political authority of the Pope and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Some Catholic writers even believe that it cannot be proved that the bishops are the sole successors of the apostles without separation, and historically it is impossible to find in early Christianity a continuous chain of consecration rites from the apostles to today's bishops.

In the conclusion of the research, Dr. Tabatabai said: The religious and political authority of the Pope and the institution of the Catholic Church, which was not built on a solid foundation from the beginning, with the emergence of humanistic scientific research in the 15th century and the Reformation leaders' emphasis on the slogan "Scripture only," has been seriously challenged. On the other hand, the deplorable situation of the bishops and the growing financial and moral corruption in the church aroused great discontent in society at large. In such an environment, the leaders of the Reformation aimed their arrows at the Pope's authority and the supremacy of the Catholic Church, and succeeded in bringing the people together with this movement, which has now turned into a full-scale movement.

He added: The Reformers did not oppose the papal person or a particular institution, but the principle of the papal office and the authority of individuals or institutions in the religious community, and emphasized that all believers should be priests. Although the Reformers' ideas and performance were initially well received and the Protestant Church was established as an independent church alongside the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, it soon faced a fundamental issue called the "crisis of authority." In fact, Protestantism denied the authority of individuals and institutions and emphasized slogans such as "the Bible," "the Bible," and "the Holy Scriptures. In fact, Protestantism denied the authority of individuals and institutions and emphasized slogans such as "the Bible only" and "all believers are pastors." Although it initially insisted on the "authority of the Bible," it faced the fact that this authority would have no external existence without the supervision and control of certain persons or institutions, and because of this it suffered from a "crisis of authority."

In conclusion, Dr. Tabatabai said: The crisis, rightly called the "Achilles' heel of Protestantism," created chaos in the Christian community, insulted the authority of the Pope and the church hierarchy, and created division in the form of the formation of different groups and churches. The main manifestations of this chaos included unrestricted and unconditional freedom of expression in the interpretation of the Bible and personal interpretations of the Bible, interference in the performance of religious rites and sacred rites and many changes in their quantity and quality, wars and severe conflicts, which can be seen as the product of the thought and work of the leaders of the Reformation. Although the strength of the religious structures in Islam and the basis of Shiite authority eliminated the need for such reforms, the deviation in religious beliefs and rituals, or the shortcomings that may have appeared on the margins of the Shiite religious organization, created similarities in this regard, which caused some Muslim intellectuals to raise the banner of reforms and even raise the issue of "Islamic Protestantism." Therefore, the study of