EMPEROR CHARLES V
      Emperor Charles V is a prime example of God putting the right man in the right place at just the right time. From early on it seemed that this monarch had been chosen by Heaven to save Christendom from disaster. Certainly, the young Hapsburg prince was not certain to become the great man he did. His parents were less than inspiring (his mother for instance was known as 'Juana the Insane') but he was raised by his pious aunt Margaret and his grandmother was the famous Queen Isabel of Castile. When Charles was only 15 he succeeded his father as Duke of Burgundy, and a year later inherited the throne of Spain from his grandfather. At the age of 16 he already controled a large part of Europe and the vast area of New Spain in America, from South America to California.
       The crucial moment however, came on October 23, 1520 at the great cathedral in Aachen where he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. On that occasion, before a vast crowd, he promised to care for the downtrodden, rule with justice, respect the Pope and defend Mother Holy Church. In deed, the Church was in need of such an Emperor, for only three years earlier Martin Luther had ignited the Protestant Revolt and Christendom seemed on the verge of being torn apart. Besides this, the Turkish Ottoman Empire was threatening to invade southern Europe and the French were again marching on Italy to take control of Rome and the Holy See.
       Although he was only 20-years-old at the time of his coronation, the new Emperor understood that he occupied a sacred position and had a duty to God and his Church. He was determined to stand fast for the cause of justice no matter how powerful were the forces arrayed against him. In order to deal with the Protestants, Charles V invited Martin Luther to the Diet of Worms, hoping that he and the assembled religious leaders could talk some sense into the rebellious monk and reach some sort of an agreement. But, Luther refused to speak of compromise and would not back down in his assertions. Upon hearing this the Emperor replied:
                    "You know that I am born of the most Christian emperors of the
                    noble German nation, of the Catholic Kings of Spain, the Archdukes
                    of Austria, the Dukes of Burgundy, who were all to the death true
                    sons of the Roman Church...Thus I am determined to hold fast...For
                    it is certain that a single monk must err if he stands against the opinion
                    of all Christendom. Otherwise Christendom itself would have erred for
                    more than a thousand years. Therefore I am determined to set my
                    kingdoms and dominions, my friends, my body, my blood, my life,
                    my soul upon it."
There could therefore be no compromise, obedience to divine authority cannot find common ground with the idea that each individual is his own authority. The Emperor allowed Luther to leave in peace but banned his teaching and forbid any to give him aid. However, the Holy Roman Empire was not a centralized autocracy, and it was left to the local rulers to determine whether or not they would follow the advice of the Emperor. Some did, and others did not.
       However, Charles V also knew that the Protestant Revolt was not a spontaneous event. He was aware of the abuses going on within the Church which had made many good people willing to accept the beliefs of Luther. To combat this situation the Emperor called on Pope Clement VII to summon a council to address the crisis in the Church. However, this reformation council was delayed until the reign of Pope Paul III by which time Protestantism had already taken a firm hold in north central Europe. If the Pope had listened to Charles V and called the council immediately, there is a good chance the Protestant movement could have been brought to an end then and there.