John Wycliffe is best known to us as a Bible translator. He is remembered as a historical figure for translating the Vulgate, the Bible written in Latin that only the priests could read, into English, a Bible which the common man could read for himself. We also recognize him from the organization that was established in his name, the Wycliffe Bible Translators. It is the mission of this organization to translate the Bible into the common vernacular of every country that presently does not have a Bible that can be read by the general populace.

Wycliffe was a part of the Protestant Reformation that rejected many of the theological positions and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to his dismissal as a professor at Oxford University in 1381. In 1384 he died of a stroke and was …