(a) His Excommunication: Pope Leo X, declared Martin Luther as a heretic and sent a letter, warning him that he would be excommunicated from the Church. He defiantly burnt the Papal’s Bull of Excommunication in the presence of the public at Wittenberg on December 10, 1520, thereby making his revolt. In 1521, Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to attend the Diet at Worms to answer charges levelled against him by the Pope. Though his friends and well-wishers persuaded him not/to attend, Luther appeared before the Diet to defy the Church. He boldly declared that he would not revoke any of his statements as his conscience “is taken captive by the word of God.” The Emperor issued the famous Edict of Worms, declaring Luther as heretic and ordered for his arrest. 

(b) His success in mobilising princes’ and peoples’ support: Frederick the Wise, Duke of Saxony, saved Luther’s life by forcing him to hide. Luther spent one year in a lonely castle during which time, he translated the Holy Bible from Latin to German. Many German princes who supported Luther, raised their banner of revolt against the authority of the Church and formed a League to ‘protect Luther. Those who favored the new protest movement, broke away from the Catholic Church and came to be known as Protestants. Lutheran Churches were established all over the country. It divided Germany into two factions-one group, under Emperor Charles V and the other group, under the Protestant rulers of Germany. It led to religious conflict, which took a heavy toll and ended in the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. The Peace acknowledged the right of a ruler to determine his state- religion. Lutheran subjects in Catholic states in Germany were not asked to renounce their faith. Thus, the power and prestige of the Catholic Church led by the Pope suffered a serious setback.