What significant event is Martin Luther known for initiating?

Martin Luther is most notably recognized for initiating the Protestant Reformation, a monumental movement in the history of Christianity that began in the early 16th century. His act of nailing the Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517 serves as a symbolic beginning of this movement. These theses were critiques of various practices of the Catholic Church, particularly the sale of indulgences, which Luther argued undermined the true message of the Gospel and the notion of salvation through faith alone.

The Protestant Reformation led to the emergence of various Protestant denominations and fundamentally changed the religious landscape of Europe and ultimately the world. It encouraged individuals to seek a more personal connection with God, separate from the institutional church's authority, which played a pivotal role in the development of modern Christianity.

In contrast, the Great Schism divided the Christian Church into the Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic branches much earlier in 1054, and the Counter-Reformation was a response by the Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation rather than a movement initiated by Luther. The Enlightenment, while significant for its emphasis on reason and secular thoughts, is not directly linked to Luther's work or the Reformation but rather to a later period that influenced