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Christian History Institute

This Changed Everything: 500 Years of the Reformation

A three-part documentary series on the history and legacy of the Protestant Reformation, narrated by David Suchet. Church historians trace the story from the late medieval church through Luther, Zwingli and Calvin and ask what the divisions mean for the church today.

ProvisionalChurch historyInterdenominational
Where to watch

Why this is listed

Confirmed on RedeemTV, the ad-free streaming service run by Vision Video and funded by donors with no fees; the title page carries the David Suchet description. Christian History Institute produced it in 2016 and also sells a two-disc DVD listed at 180 minutes.

Before you press play

A three-part documentary on the Reformation with reenactments and historian interviews from several traditions. Executions, burnings and war are described and partly reenacted without gore. Teens and adults.

Suited to Adults. Age judgements are ours, not a rating board’s — you know your own family.

How to start

  1. Open watch.redeemtv.com (opens an external site) and read what Christian History Institute says about itself before you read anything else.
  2. Read the note above first. It is there so an evening does not go wrong twenty minutes in.
  3. Watch it yourself before you watch it with children, if there are children.
  4. Read the passage it dramatises alongside it. The point is to send you back to the text, not to replace it.
  5. Afterwards, ask what the story added and what it left out. That conversation is worth more than the film.

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