John Wycliffe lived almost 200 years before the Reformation, but his beliefs and teachings closely match those of Luther, Calvin and other Reformers. As a man ahead of his time, historians have called Wycliffe the "Morning star of the Reformation."
Born in the 1300s, Wycliffe criticized abuses and false teachings in the Church. In 1382 he translated an English Bible--the first European translation done in over 1,000 years. The Lollards, itinerant preachers he sent throughout England, inspired a spiritual revolution.
But the Lollardy movement was short-lived. The Church expelled Wycliffe from his teaching position at Oxford, and 44 years after he died, the Pope ordered his bones exhumed and burned. Intense persecution stamped out his followers and teachings. It would be hundreds of years before men like Martin Luther resurrected the reforms of which Wycliffe dreamed.
Ultimately Wycliffe's writings strongly influenced the Bohemian religious reformer John Huss in his revolt against the church. Martin Luther also acknowledged his great debt to Wycliffe. John Huss was ordained to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church in 1401, after receiving the bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Prague. He became a powerful preacher of Roman doctrine, until he be- gan to translate some of the sermons of John Wycliffe into the Bohemian language. These sermons moved him to cry out for reform in the Church, and a return to the authority of the Scriptures as the sole source of faith and doctrine for the Christian.
He at once was branded a heretic, excommunicated, and his writings were suppressed. He found refuge outside of Prague, where he continued to preach, write, and study. The chief product of his pen concerning the Church developed the Wycliffe teachings concerning the universal priesthood of all believers, stating in no uncertain terms that Christ is the only Head of the church.
In 1414 he was promised safe conduct by the Pope and the Emperor Sigismund to the Council of Constance to present his views. Instead of hearing him, the Council had him ar- rested, gave him a mock trial without the benefit of an advo- cate, and condemned him to death as a heretic. He was kept in prison for seven months before he was brought forth to be burned. As Huss stood before the stake he said, "In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, I die willingly and joyfully today."
The Pope dismissed his own broken promise of safe conduct to Huss with, "When dealing with heretics, one is not obligated to keep his word."