Luther was professor at the University of Wittenberg and town preacher when he decided to confront the issue of indulgences. Many scholars had already condemned the practice, so Luther did not believe that his intervention signified a divergence from the beliefs of the Catholic Church. On 31 October 1517 he sent 95 theses, along with a letter, to Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz, under whose authority the indulgences were being sold. His theses were meant to begin a debate among academics and the letter aimed at alerting the archbishop to the pastoral problems created by the indulgence sermons. He did not envision a popular revolution.