May 19, 1382 • Earthquake Synod Condemned Wycliffe "Vapors"

rchbishop of Canterbury William Courtnay had picked his men with care. He was determined to silence John Wycliffe, and he wanted everyone to see that the whole English church was in agreement on the matter. And so he called a synod (local council) to condemn John's ideas. He chose representatives of England's two universities and its main orders.

John was teaching things that the Roman Church considered heresy: that the church did not need a pope; that the bread and wine of the Eucharist does not actually turn into Christ's blood and body; and that the Catholic mass, as it was practiced, was not instituted by Christ. He had many other reform ideas and based his claims directly on the Bible. He sent out teachers who taught the people in English instead of Latin and he translated the Bible into English.

The peasants of England heard his words with gladness. Many were in revolt.

On Courtnay's invitation list were several prelates (highly placed churchmen such as bishops and abbots), fourteen doctors of theology, and selected monks and friars. On May 17, 1382, they gathered at Blackfriars, London. Courtnay came with a list of 24 teachings that he wanted them to condemn.

Four days later, on this day, May 19, 1382, about 2 p.m., just as the synod had reached the point of declaring which of the 24 articles were heresies, their meeting place shook.* Screams from town showed that London was in a panic. An earthquake had struck! The center of the quake was nearby. Steeples toppled, buildings fell down, and large waves rolled up the Thames River, overturning ships. Miles away, the bell tower of Canterbury Cathedral tumbled down.

The terrified clergymen fled the building. Their consciences told them that the earthquake was a warning from God. But Archbishop Courtnay ordered them back to their seats. The earthquake was a natural phenomenon, he assured them, the result of noxious vapors--vapors which would lose their force once they burst out of the earth. (This is what Aristotle taught.) Wycliffe's teachings were similar vapors, he said. Expel them from the church and its convulsions also would end. The council accepted Courtnay's explanation and condemned ten of Wycliffe's teachings as heresy and said fourteen others were doubtful.

Wycliffe's followers and the common people, however, insisted the earthquake came from God as a judgment on the council. "They may have condemned Wycliffe," they said, "but God has condemned them!" The council became known as the "Earthquake Synod."

*Some historians say the earthquake struck on May 21st.

Bibliography:

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Last updated July, 2007