A decisive starting point of the Protestant Reformation was on October 31st, 1571, when the Augustinian monk nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church at Wittenberg [Gutenberg], in the German state of Saxony.
Martin Luther called his 95 theses 'Disputation for Clarification of the power of Indulgences'. His purpose was not to confront nor challenge the authority of the church but to point out the excesses and abuses regarding the sale of papal indulgences.