History of the Protestant Movement

A very brief History of the rise of the Protestant Movement

by Breck Thomas

In the mid 14th Century, John Wycliffe, a theologian and priest at Oxford began espousing radical ideas: Wycliffe believed that the Bible should be published in English and shared with all the people to learn the word of God. He began translating it with the help of followers, over the objections of the Church. The first English Bible was finally published in 1384, the year of his death. Wycliffe also believed that all priests should take vows of poverty, divest themselves of all worldly things and dedicate their lives to bringing the Word of God to the common man. This was not popular amongst the clergy, most of whom were the 3rd sons of nobles, the 1st being heirs to the house, and the 2nd most often going into the military arts. He denounced the selling of indulgences, believing that man was saved by Grace alone, not by works, or in this case, bribes.

For these reasons, the church took him to task. Fortunately, John of Gaunt, father of Edward, The Black Prince, and Henry Bolingbroke, future King Henry IV, agreed with Wycliffe and protected him through out many years. John was also the on-again, off- again Regent for young King Richard II, who took the throne when his Grandfather, Edward III died in 1377 when Richard was 10. In 1382, when Richard was 15, his close friend Michael de la Pole arranged Richard’s marriage to Anne of Bohemia, daughter of Charles IV, King of Bohemia (now Czech Republic). This was a political marriage, as I will explain below. Anne was not liked at first; she brought no dowry. Indeed, Richard paid 20,000 florins to seal the deal. Over time, however, she became know as “Good Queen Anne”, as she was known to intercede on the behalf of the downtrodden.

England at this time was in the midst of the Hundred Years War with France, though it was a quiescent period, both sides taking a breather while the young King Richard grew into his inheritance. On the larger scene, Europe was enjoying the Great Schism: Pope Gregory XI had been persuaded by Catherine of Sienna to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome. After he died, Urban VI was elected Pope. Urban proved to be a bad choice, and a majority of the Cardinals left Rome and elected Clement VII Pope. Clement returned to Avignon, where he was strongly supported by the King of France, England’s rival. Naturally, England supported Urban, as did much of Eastern Europe, including Bohemia, Where the sale of indulgences was becoming a big issue, too. Both Popes needed money to support the wars against the other, along with various Crusades, both in Europe and the Holy Land. Indulgences were the preferred method of raising capital.

In 1394, Anne, childless, died of the Black Death. Her entourage returned to Bohemia, including 2 young priests, who brought with them Wycliffe’s writings, which he shared with Jan Hus, a young Bohemian priest. Wycliffe’s papers galvanized Hus, who began preaching vehemently against the sale of indulgences. Hus was protected by his patron lord from the inquiries of Rome, which by and large ignored the upstart. In 1409, in desperation, the Cardinals elected a new Pope, Alexander V. Instead of capitulating, the other 2 Popes declared him Anti-Pope, and continued their feud. The Bohemian King and Jan Hus decided to support Alexander. Pope Alexander became concerned about Hus and began inquiries into his preachings. After several Papal attempts to silence Hus, he was invited to the Council of Constance in 1414. Hus was reluctant, but was promised safe conduct by Sigismund, King of Hungary, and brother to Anne and Vchlav (Wenceslaus, in German), the now King of Bohemia. Ostensibly, the Council was to try to resolve the Great Schism. Hus was there to defend his polemics, but after a few weeks of freedom, he found himself in prison and put to the question. His followers rioted, and Sigismund was initially furious, but eventually was convinced that he need not keep promises to a heretic.

Hus’ only demand was that he be shown his errors in biblical text. No such documentation was produced, and after months of deprivation, torture and starvation, Hus was burned at the stake in 1415. His followers rose up against the church and it’s loyalists, and over the next few years controlled Bohemia and Moravia (modern day western Slovakia), defeating several German armies sent to quell the Hussite movement.

Hus’ dissemination of Wycliffe’s writings would influence Calvin, Zwingli, and ultimately, over 100 years later, Martin Luther, The father of the Reformation. Hus has been called “The morning star” of the Reformation, though much of his work was simply a restatement of Wycliffe’s treatises.

Note: This is a summary of my devotion lecture given on the morning of 7 July,2011 in Stary Namastie (Old Square) Prague, Czech Republic, prior to the start of our mission trip to Martin Solvakia. It is not a comprehensive history of the period, but it is a thumbnail sketch of one aspect of the times.