Gerhard Groote

Gerhard Groote was born in 1340 in the Netherlands and was a man who brought about many reformers. He lived his life He was there in the time when the Black Death was being spread, and, both his parents were killed. Groote was left with all his parent’s wealth, and this made him spoiled and he became an insufferable person. Despite this, he received a very good education. Groote met an Augustinian monk who preached the word of God and Groote was converted to Christianity and in the later months of that year, he read many theological books. During this time the Black Death came to his town again, and Groote saw all of the orphans in the street and he wanted to help them, so he brought them into his house and he taught them and fed them and even instructed them about God. He soon bought the house next to his own to fit more orphans. The boys and girls were separated in two groups so each group stayed in one of the houses of learning, which eventually became schools. His schools became very successful, and he developed more of them around the city, and as he could not manage them all he had some graduated students do the teaching. These schools became known as the Reverend of the Common Life Schools, because things common could become great by the power of God.  Tragically in 1384, the Black Death returned and it killed Gerhard Groote. After his death the students took over the work that he had started, amazingly Groote had only managed the schools for ten years but they lasted 150 years after he died! Although Groote seems like a great man, the reason he impacted the Protestant Reformation is because out of his schools came Thomas Kempis, Martin Bucer, Ulrich Zwingli, John Knox, John Calvin, and Martin Luther, all of which amazingly helped transform the Catholic church.

Information gathered from the Ron Paul Curriculum 7^th grade history class.