In December of 1517, Albrecht forwarded Luther’s Theses and letter to Rome, seeking to silence the presumptuous monk. Pope Leo X asked one of his closest advisors, Sylvestre Mazzolini Prierias, to evaluate Luther’s writings. Prierias was the first man to officially accuse Luther of heresy. In the summer of 1518, Luther was summoned to Rome on suspicion of heresy.

In 1519, Johann Eck declares that Luther has blatantly disregarded papal authority. Luther’s position was based on “Sola Scriptura,” the Word Alone, which Eck calls spiritual anarchy.