John Wyclif, reformist theologian and originator of the Lollard movement, had been arguing for some time that spiritual authority lay not with the Pope or the material Church, but in the Bible. Now his doctrines were employed in the service of a political dispute. Since the Pope was currently residing in Avignon, and England was in a longstanding position of being at war with France, existing resentment about paying tithes to the papacy were exacerbated by the particular political situation. The English Parliament declared that they would no longer support payment of the tithe, and employed Wyclif to defend their decision.
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Supremacy of the Pope challenged by John Wyclif". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=9500, accessed 23 November 2024.]