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Chapter 3 - Great Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Mark W. Harris
Affiliation:
Minister at the First Parish of Watertown (Massachusetts), Andover Newton Theological School
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Summary

Unitarian history in Great Britain often begins with the “father of English Unitarianism,” John Biddle (1615–1662), but the faith goes back much further, beginning with the translation of the Vulgate at the end of the fourteenth century. The Vulgate, a fourth-century Latin translation of the books of the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible, was, by the thirteenth century, both the official and the commonly used version of Christian scripture. John Wycliff (c. 1330–1384) developed a vernacular Bible to deepen a personal relationship with God, from whom all rights flowed to those who were in a state of grace. Wycliff then interpolated this belief into an attack on the institutionalized Catholic Church, which he believed had fallen into a state of sin. The Church could not claim rights that were only available as a gift of God. Wycliff proposed that the Church abandon all its property, require priests to live in poverty, and that the king eradicate the Church's endowment. He very quickly brought together the issues defining Unitarianism even today: locating authority; individualism both in piety and in the use of reason; and the relationship between assets and influence on the law.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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References

1908
Wilbur, Earl MorseA History of Unitarianism in Transylvania, England and AmericaBoston, MABeacon Press 1945 167Google Scholar
Macy, Gary“John Wycliff,”St. Benedict, MNThe Liturgical Press 2007 1500Google Scholar
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Blake, WilliamWilliam Blake and Religion: A New Critical ReviewJefferson, NCMcFarland 2009Google Scholar
Lavan, SpencerUnitarians and India: A Study in Encounter and ResponseBoston, MASkinner House 1972 24Google Scholar
Bebbington, D.W.Unitarian MPs in the 19th centuryTransactions of the Unitarian Historical Society 24 2009 153Google Scholar
Howe, CharlesFor Faith and FreedomBoston, MASkinner House 1997 160Google Scholar

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