John Wycliffe

Life

John Wycliffe was born around 1330 in the North Riding of Yorkshire in northern England. He studied at the University of Oxford. He is said to have been associated with Queen's, Merton, and Balliol Colleges, although it is not certain which college he belonged to. In 1360 he was teaching in the faculty of arts at Balliol College and was also appointed its master. In 1361, however, he resigned the mastership to become rector of Fillingham, regarded as the best of the livings to which the college held the right of presentation.

On April 7, 1374, King Edward III appointed him rector of Lutterworth. Around this time he began to take an interest in politics. England and the papal court were at odds over such matters as papal taxation and the right of appointment to church offices, and Wycliffe, commissioned by the king, took part in a delegation sent to Bruges (in present-day Belgium) to negotiate these issues. On this occasion he is regarded as having shown himself a patriot and a supporter of the Crown. He died at Lutterworth on December 31, 1384.

Ministry and Work

Wycliffe was active as a theologian, philosopher, and church reformer. He criticized the authority and practices of the church of his day and is known to have addressed the question of predestination and the doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic teaching that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are changed in their substance into the body and blood of Christ.

His best-known achievement is the first translation of the entire Bible into English, commonly called the "Wycliffe Bible." He is described, however, less as the sole translator of the whole work than as the one who initiated and promoted it. His teachings are known to be connected with the Lollards, who were later active in England.

Influence on the Korean Church

As a fourteenth-century figure, Wycliffe has no direct connection with the Korean church. In the Korean church his name is mentioned mainly in discussions of reform efforts before the Reformation and of the history of Bible translation into vernacular languages. Specific links with the Korean church, such as Bible translation mission organizations named after him, require further documentation from verified sources.

Assessment

Protestants regard Wycliffe as one of the forerunners of the Reformation. He is especially esteemed for seeking to translate the Bible into the language of ordinary believers and for examining church authority in the light of Scripture. On the other hand, his teaching on the Eucharist and his criticism of the church brought him into direct conflict with the authority of the church of his day, and he is known to have been condemned by the ecclesiastical authorities of his time. The Roman Catholic Church has regarded his teachings as departing from the orthodox teaching of the church.