1379–1415

Wyclif and Hus: the invisible Church of the elect and the authority of the unworthy

Wyclif taught that true dominion belongs to God alone and is only "lent" to human beings; church authority that uses it unjustly loses its right to the obedience of the laity. Drawing on the Augustinian distinction between the visible and the invisible Church, he regarded the invisible Church as the body of the elect, and in On the Power of the Pope (1379) he wrote that the papal office was instituted by man, does not extend to secular government and depends on moral character; a pope who does not follow Christ is Antichrist. Following him, Jan Hus moved from the institutional, hierarchical church to the invisible Church of the elect, distinguishing those who are in the Church "in reality," "in name only" and "outside the church," and denied the authority of wicked church leaders.