It is said that Protestantism is one of the movements, not only religious but also intellectual, that have most influenced the development of Western culture. Although in historical terms the sociocultural revolt of Protestantism dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries, its beginning and development start from what is called the event of Pentecost, that is, the birth of the first Christian church in Jerusalem in the first century. of our era.

Christianity grew spectacularly until it soon reached the borders of the Roman Empire, largely thanks to the missionary zeal of the first Christians, although there were also certain external factors that helped its spread, such as the good existing land and sea routes through which not only legions and merchandise circulated but also ideas and Greek (and also Latin) as an essential vehicle of communication between different cultures.

The first Christian communities met with simplicity in private homes moved by the teachings of the New Testament (NT). They were led by presbyters (= elders) and deacons (= servants). Over time, when several communities were established in a city, their supervision was carried out by a bishop (= watchman). In the S. II that care expanded to cover entire cities and territories, giving rise to the so-called "patriarchys." All this graduation was the result of custom, since in the NT one responsibility is never subordinated to the other, but rather the terms were synonymous.

Thus we reach the year 313, a date that marks an important historical milestone: Christianity becomes recognized by the state when Emperor Constantine promulgates the edict of tolerance of Milan. The Church begins to receive favored treatment and gradually, unfortunately, the throne and the altar become cohesive.

As the years went by, the degradation of religious life and the absolutism of the hierarchy increased. Time and again, critical voices emerged with a spirit of renewal in Spain and other places that would be silenced with implacable forcefulness. But one of these voices manages to penetrate deeply into the religious life of the European Renaissance: Martin Luther, who, along with many others, gave rise to the so-called "Protestant Reformation" in Roman Catholic Europe (Spain included).

This reform meant a return to the very sources of Christianity, to the authentic message of Jesus, saving centuries of traditions and rituals - many of which still endure today.

"Christ alone, Grace alone and Scripture alone", that was his motto, which means that man is saved only by believing in Christ, only by the Grace of God as a free favor that He gives me and not by my good works. and that The Bible is the only authority for Christian faith and life and not Tradition or other teachings. In fact, one of the great achievements of the Reformation was the dissemination and translation of the Holy Scriptures into popular languages.

Reformists in Spain

The same year that Luther published his famous 95 Theses, news of this event quickly reached Spain and already in 1519 an important shipment of treatises and books (2 tons) was discovered by the Inquisition in a port in the Basque Country. Many of the Spanish reformers were prominent intellectuals of their day, humanists, nobles and religious people very close to the court of Charles I, such as Pedro de Lerma, chancellor of the University of Alcalá; Juan de Vergara, translator of the Complutense Polyglot Bible; Alfonso de Valdés, secretary of the emperor; Juan de Valdés, brother of the previous and eminent writer or Doctor Egidio, magisterial canon for the chapter of Seville and bishop of Tortosa.

These are some illustrious names that come from the records of the Inquisition, but there were also many others among teachers, merchants and clerics who had to go into exile in the main European cities.

And while Europe was moving towards the first religious freedom, living with enthusiasm one of the most revolutionary events in the spiritual, social and economic field in Spain.

Some historians have gone so far as to say that both the Inquisition and the Jesuit order of Ignatius of Loyola deployed such an effective network of espionage and repression that it was impossible to survive (up to 9 bishops were prosecuted as Lutherans!). Nor was there mercy in small towns in our Tarragona region such as Cambrils, Montblanc, Valls and Vila-Rodona.

XIX century

We will have to wait until the 19th century to see evangelical Christianity in Spain again. The movement of people and ideas that caused the Napoleonic wars (anticlericalism and liberalism) gradually gave way to tolerance.

In 1812 the Cortes of Cádiz were enacted, prohibiting the Inquisition and expelling (although for a short time) the Jesuits. The revolution of 1868 (the 1st Republic) brought with it a new Constitution that allowed freedom of religion to foreigners, but allowing Spaniards to think differently from the Roman Catholic religion. Taking advantage of this intermittent period of political freedoms, European missionaries arrived, mainly English, who founded small evangelical churches throughout the country and developed important social work (schools, hospitals...). One of the most significant joint tasks carried out by Spanish and foreign evangelicals was the mass distribution of the Bible. Despite everything, intolerance and the imprisonment of Protestants persisted for many years, with the Matamoros case being the most talked about in the European press at the time due to its international repercussions.

Manuel Matamoros, from Lepe, a progressive man of ideas and an army officer, learned about the gospel in Gibraltar and joined the evangelical church of Malaga. He was arrested in Barcelona in 1860 for no other reason than that he was Protestant. These processes crossed our borders and provoked the rejection of European society, which sent a delegation made up of diplomats from Austria, Bavaria, Denmark, England, France, Holland, Prussia, Switzerland and Sweden to Madrid to ask for a pardon. Queen Elizabeth II rejected the hearing but agreed to reduce the sentence from life imprisonment to exile in galleys. Finally, Matamoros, after three years in prison, managed to be released and died shortly after as a result of an illness contracted in the Granada prison.

Christianity in Tarragona in the 19th century

Also our cities and towns of Camp de Tarragona and Baix Camp were planted with New Testaments and Bibles through colporteurs (street vendors). On April 1, 1876, the first pastor arrived in Reus: Antonio Martínez de Castilla, from Granada, son of a wealthy family of doctors. Martínez established the first church and an evangelical school that applied the most advanced European pedagogical methods to the service of the poorest. It operated uninterruptedly for 60 years until being closed by Franco during the Civil War. Behind him came many others who continued to sow the gospel in our regions and opening new evangelical churches in Tarragona, Reus, Valls, Amposta, Roquetes, El Vendrell and Salou. Today the times of intolerance have been overcome and within the framework of the 1978 Constitution, religious freedom in the Spanish State is promulgated.