John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe was a 14th-century English theologian who challenged papal authority and church wealth and helped inspire the Lollard movement and an English Bible translation.

University of Oxford: The English university where Wycliffe studied and taught theology. Oxford provided the academic setting in which Wycliffe developed and defended his arguments.
Biblical authority: The principle that the Bible holds decisive authority for Christian belief and practice. Wycliffe treated Scripture as the highest standard by which church teaching should be judged.
John Purvey: An English theologian associated with revising the Wycliffe Bible translation. Purvey helped continue the translation work associated with Wycliffe’s circle.
Lollardy: An English religious reform movement shaped by Wycliffite teachings and active from the late 14th century. Lollardy turned Wycliffe’s critiques into a lasting movement among English followers.
Avignon Papacy: The period from 1309 to 1377 when the papacy resided in Avignon rather than Rome. The papacy’s residence in France sharpened English disputes over church authority and taxation.
Dominion (theology): A medieval theological theory linking rightful authority to a person’s standing before God. Wycliffe used dominion to argue that sinful clergy could forfeit claims to property and power.
Nicholas Hereford: An English theologian who worked on an early Wycliffite Bible translation. Hereford was among the translators who brought Wycliffite biblical reform into English.
Wycliffe's Bible: A late 14th-century Middle English translation of the Bible associated with Wycliffe’s movement. The translation made Scripture accessible in English and became a defining Wycliffite project.
Great Schism: The Western Christian split from 1378 to 1417, when rival popes claimed authority. The divided papacy intensified questions about whether popes could claim unquestioned spiritual authority.
Transubstantiation: The Catholic doctrine that the bread and wine of the Eucharist become Christ’s body and blood. Wycliffe rejected the prevailing account of the Eucharist, making it a major point of doctrinal conflict.

Linked from 8 pages