500TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIN LUTHER

That this House notes that 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the date that the reformer, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenburg in Germany, heralding what many regard as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, although it was more a massive reinstatement of the biblical Salvation by Faith Alone principle, which resonated across much of northern Europe and in subsequent centuries helped to formulate religious and social economic policy in the US; further notes that this principle is currently garnering substantial support in southern America and in the Far East; and expresses the hope that governments around the world will ensure that such a momentous date will be recognised appropriately over the next 12 months.