Editing Lollardy (section)

=== Denial of sacraments and sacramentals ===
{{dubious|date=October 2024}}
The Lollards did not believe that the church practices of [[baptism]] and [[Sacrament of Penance|confession]] were necessary for [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]].

Believing in a [[universal priesthood]], the Lollards challenged the Church's authority to invest or to deny the divine authority to make a man a priest. Denying any special status to the priesthood, Lollards thought [[Confession (religion)|confession]] to a priest was unnecessary since according to them priests did not have the ability to forgive sins. However, while it is beneficial to confess to a good priest, it is perilous to confess to a bad one.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Purvey |first1=John |title=Remonstrance against Romish corruptions in the Church : addressed to the people and parliament of England in 1395, 18 Ric. II., now for the first time published |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924088956754/page/n47/mode/2up |publisher=London : Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans |date=1851}}</ref>{{rp|Art.9}} Lollards challenged the practice of [[clerical celibacy]] and believed priests should not hold [[Lords Spiritual|government positions]] as such temporal matters would likely interfere with their spiritual mission.

They considered praying to saints and [[Iconoclasm|honouring of their images]] to be a form of idolatry. Oaths, fasting and prayers for the dead were thought to have no [[Wycliffe's Bible|scriptural basis]]. They had a poor opinion of the trappings of the Catholic Church, including holy water, bells, organs, and church buildings. They rejected the value of [[Indulgence#Early and medieval beliefs|papal pardons]].<ref name=OER/>