The Early Reformers John Wycliffe, John Huss, Girolamo Savonarola,Thomas à Kempis, Desiderius Erasmus

Thomas à Kempis Thomas Hammerken (or Hammerlein -- both mean "little hammer") was born at Kempen in Germany c.1380 Educated by and later joined Brethren of the Common Life Wrote a manual of spiritual advice known as The Imitation of Christ True enlightenment comes from self-knowledge and knowledge of and trust in God After plague ravaged Cologne, He and the Brothers left their seclusion and moved into the city to give what comfort they could- by then Thomas was now known as a saintly man He hated this reputation because he did not want to be considered particularly holy Wished to return to the basics in Christianity- "Disdain that which is superficial, dedicate yourself to your inner being and you shall see that the Kingdom of God grows inside you." (II,1,1f.)

John Wycliffe During the calamitous 14th century Wycliffe criticized abuses and false teachings in the Church 1382 he translated the Bible into English; it was the first European translation in over 1,000 years Formed the Lollards who were itinerant preachers that traveled throughout England in order to start a spiritual revolution Lollardy didn’t last long – He was expelled Wycliffe from his teaching position at Oxford After he died, the Pope had his bones exhumed and burned while intense persecution stamped out his followers and teachings

John Huss Peasant origin- born in Husinec, Bohemia Studied theology at Univ. of Prague, was ordained a priest c.1400 Influenced by the writings of John Wycliffe Attacked the abuses of the clergy, Angry priests turned the archbishop of Prague against him He had the support of Wenceslaus IV (HRE) who made him rector of the university Bishops banned his books and ordered them to be burned He spoke out against antipope John XXIII and denounced indulgences Was excommunicated, found guilty of heresy and burned in 1414

Girolamo Savonarola Nobleman from Ferrara- b.1452 Became a Dominican Friar in 1474 Preached at San Marco, Florence on the sinfulness, materialism and apostasy of the city A great popular triumph, and by some he was hailed as an inspired prophet Under Lorenzo the Magnificent art and literature had felt the humanist revival of the 15th century, whose spirit was utterly at variance with Savonarola's conception of spirituality and Christian morality – bonfires of the vanities His preaching began to point plainly to a political revolution as the divinely-ordained means for the regeneration of religion and morality The republic of Florence was to be a Christian commonwealth, of which God was the sole sovereign 1497- excommunication from Rome Brought to trial for falsely claiming to have seen visions, false prophecies, religious error, and sedition May 23, 1498- he and two Dominican disciples were hanged and burned, still professing their adherence to the Church.

Desiderius Erasmus leader of German humanism- born in Holland-c.1466; died in Switzerland 1536 Ordained priest in 1492; Became Doctor of Divinity in Turin 1506 In Italy he was honored by the most distinguished humanists His literary works made him the intellectual father of the Reformation Saw Scholasticism as the greatest perversion of the religious spirit; Stemming from primitive Christological controversies, which caused the Church to forget its simplicity and become the victim of endless philosophizing, which culminated in Scholasticism Thought the church had moved from salvation of souls Wanted to replace complex tradition with the simplicity of scripture, the interpretation of which should be left to the individual Ordinances of the Church, fasts, pilgrimages, veneration of saints, the prayers of the Breviary, celibacy, and religious orders were considered the perversities of a formalistic Scholastic Tradition Epitome of the Renaissance spirit