Martin Luther's challenge to the Roman Catholic church's practices and doctrines precipitated the Protestant Reformation. Luther, a German Augustinian monk, declared his intolerance for the corruption of the Roman Church in 1517 by nailing his 95 theses of contention to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. He would eventually suffer excommunication and exile as a result. Not only a theological reformer, Luther was also well-regarded as a musician. His hymns, which include the text of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, inspired the development of congregational singing. From 1525-1529, he was actively engaged in developing a new church by establishing a supervisory church body, writing a clear summary of the new faith in the form of two catechisms, and creating a new form of the worship service. Luther's service included congregational singing of hymns and psalms in German, as well as of parts of the liturgy, including his unison setting of the Creed.
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