In 1407, the Archbishop of Canterbury convened a provincial synod in Oxford to bring order and discipline to the university. Its main purpose was to end Lollardy, the Bible-based evangelicalism that grew out of the teachings of John Wycliffe.

Six hundred years later, the Church of England theological college at Oxford named after Wycliffe is under scrutiny in a row with parallels to that of the pre-Reformation Church.

Liberals at Oxford and in the wider Church fear that evangelical academics are attempting to turn Wycliffe into another “Oak Hill”, a North London theological college with a reputation for extreme conservatism.

According to an editorial in the Churchman, an evangelical publication, not only are they right but this is a good thing.

The row at Wycliffe became public this year when three former principals wrote to the chairman of the hall’s governing council calling for the principal, Richard Turnbull, to resign. He had said in a speech that up to 95 per cent of Britain’s population was heading for Hell and that conservative Christians should take control of the theological colleges.

Dr Turnbull found support within the evangelical wing of the Anglican Church. Gerald Bray, the editor of the Churchman, is a Church of England priest and Professor of Divinity at Samford University in Alabama. He writes that Oak Hill has been “transformed” by its principal, David Peterson, and that its graduates are “men of substance who will change the Church of England, which may be one reason why some bishops are reported not to want them in their dioceses.

“This is the direction in which Richard Turnbull intends to take Wycliffe Hall. It will take time and it will be costly. If Oak Hill is any guide, ten years down the road Wycliffe will be a changed institution, with students fired up for the ministry.”

He cautions that the present Archbishop of Canterbury may institute a modern form of the 1407 synod, with the result that Wycliffe and Oak Hill will no longer be recognised as “suitable” for training Anglican priests.

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