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In 1382 John Wycliffe was condemned as a heretic and was forced into retirement. Soon their priests and bishops took up the outcry." (5) This, of course, aroused the anger of the country's monks and friars, whose orders had grown wealthy through the sale of their ceremonies and from being paid for doing their duties. He took great pains to publicly declare that his only intention was to relieve the church of its idolatry, especially that concerning the sacrament of communion. (4)Īs one of the historians of this period of history, John Foxe, has pointed out: "Wycliffe, seeing Christ's gospel defiled by the errors and inventions of these bishops and monks, decided to do whatever he could to remedy the situation and teach people the truth. The term was applied to heretics because they were said to communicate their views in a low muttering sound.
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They got their name from the word "lollen", which signifies to sing with a low voice. Wycliffe developed a strong following and those who shared his beliefs became known as Lollards. Wycliffe antagonized the orthodox Church by disputing transubstantiation, the doctrine that the bread and wine used in religious services become the actual body and blood of Christ. "He began to attack Rome's control of the English Church and his stance became increasingly anti-Papal resulting in condemnation of his teachings and threats of excommunication." (3) (2) It has been argued that the failure of these negotiations had a profound impact on his religious beliefs. The negotiations ended without conclusion, and the representatives of each side retired for further consultation. On 26th July 1374, Wycliffe was appointed as one of five new envoys to continue negotiations in Bruges with papal officials over clerical taxes and provisions. In the 14th century a new heresy appeared, inspired by the English priest and theologian John Wycliffe. For the Lord knoweth them that are His." It is estimated that over 15,000 people were executed that day. When the Abbot gave orders for all the inhabitants to be killed, one of the soldiers asked how they would distinguish the Cathars from the Catholics. The Catholic inhabitants of the city were granted the freedom to leave unharmed, but many refused and opted to stay with the Cathars. In the first significant engagement of the war, the town of Béziers was besieged on 22nd July 1209. The crusader army came under the command of the papal legate Arnaud-Amaury, Abbot of Cîteaux. In 1208 he gave orders for the Cathars to be either converted or exterminated. Fighting in wars, capital punishment and the killing of animals was abhorrent to the Cathars and their belief that men and women were equal also upset Pope Innocent III. They protested against what they perceived to be the moral, spiritual and political corruption of the Catholic Church. The Cathars in the south of France were considered to be heretics.
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By the 11th century it had firmly established the law that heretics (people who maintain beliefs contrary to the established teachings of the Church) should be burned alive. Like most organised religions, it was intolerant of those who disagreed with its beliefs. The Roman Catholic Church dominated Europe in the Middle Ages.