In one sense Wyclif welcomed the Great Schism. The spectacle of two rival popes excommunicating each other seemed to him to be a confirmation for all to see of the spiritual bankruptcy of the office and the need to put something else in its place. As the schism continued, however, Wyclif ’s view hardened. He came to believe that the pope was Antichrist. If there were two of them railing at each other, they simply shared the unholy title.
