John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe, an English philosopher, theologian, and Oxford scholar, was the most influential church reformer of the late Middle Ages — called by later Protestants the "Morning Star of the Reformation" for anticipating its themes by a century and a half.

Scripture and authority The leading Oxford theologian of his day, Wycliffe came to hold that Scripture is the supreme authority for Christian belief, above popes and councils, and that every Christian should have access to it. Under his influence the Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate into English — the *Wycliffite Bible* — so that, in the words attributed to his circle, the layperson might read the Gospel in their own tongue. This challenged a Church that had largely reserved Scripture to Latin and the clergy.

Attacks on Church wealth and doctrine Wycliffe denounced the wealth, corruption, and worldly power of the clergy, argued that a church in mortal sin forfeited its authority, and — most controversially — rejected *transubstantiation*, the doctrine that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are changed in substance. His followers, mockingly called Lollards, carried his ideas among ordinary English people through preaching and vernacular tracts.

Condemnation Protected for a time by powerful nobles such as John of Gaunt, Wycliffe escaped the worst penalties and died of a stroke in 1384. But his teachings were condemned, and the Council of Constance (1415) declared him a heretic and ordered his bones dug up and burned — carried out in 1428. His writings reached Bohemia, where they decisively shaped Jan Hus, and through Hus the later Reformation.

Legacy The Catholic tradition of his day judged Wycliffe a heretic; Protestants honour him as a forerunner who raised the authority of Scripture, vernacular translation, and reform of the clergy long before Luther. Those are the positions of the traditions, presented not adjudicated. His insistence that Scripture belongs to all remains his enduring mark.