John Colet

The English theologian and translator John Wycliffe is known as "the Morning Star of the Reformation." He was one of the forerunners of the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Wycliffe, however, was not the only star in the constellation—others anticipated some of the Reformation's doctrines, as well. One such figure was a fellow Englishman named John Colet.

Colet was born in 1466. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where C.S. Lewis would later study. After his time at Oxford, he went to France and Italy to study further. He learned what the scholars were calling "the New Learning," in contrast to the methods of the Scholastics. John Calvin too would come under this New Learning when he was a student at the University of Paris. The New Learning got at the heart of the Renaissance. Instead of piling up sources and rehashing what all of the authorities said, the New Learning said, "Let's go back to the fount, to the primary sources." When it came to studying the Scriptures, of course, the source is the Scriptures themselves. For theology, it meant studying Scripture itself rather than centuries of church tradition.

Colet was also exposed to the teachings of Giralomo Savonarola, another pre-Reformation reformer. Armed with ideas from Savonarola and the New Learning, Colet returned to England and began lecturing on Paul at Oxford in 1497. He lectured there until 1504. Among his students was the young humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus, who would go on to compile the Greek New Testament.

In 1504, Colet was appointed dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. This was a prestigious post. Up to this time, Colet had lived comfortably on his family's fortune, though he lived rather simply. But at this time, his father died, and Colet received the inheritance. With the funds he established a school, St. Paul's School, which provided a free education for one hundred and fifty boys, who were taught Christianity, Latin, and Greek.

In 1511, Colet was called upon to speak against Wycliffe and his followers, the Lollards. Everyone was surprised when Colet instead attacked the church. He sided with Wycliffe and the Lollards and pointed to significant problems in the church. This was six years before Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg. As you can imagine, this put Colet on the hot seat with church authorities, and from 1511 to 1518 he was embroiled in controversy. In 1518, he made one final move. He made it so that his school would be out from under control of the church. And then, in 1519, he died, just as the Reformation was dawning.