John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe (1330-1384) produced the first complete translation of the Bible in the English language. He is often called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.”

Wycliffe  was born in Yorkshire, England in 1330. He attended Oxford University at 13 and after graduation was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. His brilliant mind and academic achievements soon elevated him to prominence among the political leaders in the nation. But his vocal attacks against the doctrines of the established church would eventually get him in trouble with the ecclesiastical leaders.

In 1348, the Black Death ravaged the nation of England. The plague terrified Wycliffe, and he began to seek God in His Word. His study revealed a vast difference between the biblical standards and the ecclesiastical practices of the day. His convictions grew, until finally in 1375 he began to preach against the errors he saw.

Wycliffe preached that the Bible was the sole authority for faith and practice, and that men had the right before God to interpret Scripture for themselves. He said,

“Believers should ascertain for themselves what are the true matters of their faith by having the Scriptures in a language which all may understand.”

When Wycliffe began his translation of the Scriptures into English, he was called a heretic. He replied with the following words:

“You call me a heretic because I have translated the Bible into the common tongue of the people. You say that the Church of God is in danger from this book. How can that be? Is it not from the Bible that we learn who is the Builder and Sovereign of the Church? It is you who place the Church in jeopardy by hiding the Divine warrant, the royal missive of her King.”

Forty-four years after Wycliffe’s death, church officials disinterred his body and burned it at the stake. They threw his ashes into the River Swift. From the Swift they carried to the Avon, and from the Avon into the Severn. From there they carried into the ocean. Over 400 hundred years later William Wordsworth commemorated the event with the following poem.

Wycliffe is disinhumed,
Yea, his dry bones to ashes are consumed,
And flung into the brook that travels near;
Forthwith that ancient Voice which streams can hear
As thou these ashes, little Brook! wilt bear
Into the Avon—Avon to the tide
Of Severn—Severn to the narrow seas—
Into main ocean they,—this deed accurst,
An emblem yields to friends and enemies,
How the bold Teacher’s Doctrine sanctified
By truth, shall spread throughout the world dispersed.

Casting Wycliffe's ashes into the River Swift