\n\tOn July 6, 1415, in Konstanz, Germany, the cathedral was filled to capacity. The air was heavy as Jacob Balardi Arrigoni, bishop of Lodi, preached from the
\n\ttext \u201cthat the body of sin be destroyed\u201d (Rom. 6:6). Cardinals, replete with miters, sat in a semicircle around a man in chains, his body emaciated from
\n\thunger after having spent a year in prison. The Holy Roman emperor, Sigismund, occupied the regal throne.<\/p>\n
\n\tJan Hus was born about 1370 in a peasant home in southern Bohemia (today a part of the Czech Republic).1 For the most part, his early life was
\n\tunexceptional, with the exception, perhaps, of his hunger for education. Hus obtained a master\u2019s degree in 1396 from the University of Prague and became
\n\tmuch better known when, in 1402, he was appointed preacher of Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, a church founded in 1391 to facilitate preaching in the
\n\tvernacular.<\/p>\n
\n\tTwo key factors had impacted citizens of Prague. Early Waldensian missionaries had circulated copies of the Scripture in the vernacular, and two early
\n\twandering missionaries drew pictures contrasting the lowly Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey with all the pomp surrounding a papal retinue.2 Equally
\n\timportant were copies of writings from an English reformer. \u201cWyclif, Wyclif,\u201d noted Hus in one such early manuscript, \u201cyou will turn many heads.\u201d3<\/p>\n
\n\tDebates over Wyclif were overshadowed by the Papal Schism (1378-1417) as rival popes anathematized each other. Although Hus never took a direct role in the
\n\tconflict, two men close to him did play an active role, which, in turn, impacted Hus.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe first was King V\u00e1clav IV (Wenceslaus), who was a weak and unpopular ruler with a foul temper, surrounded by incompetent advisers, and a drunkard, twice
\n\timprisoned.4 His reign (1378-1419) spiraled gradually downward with the exception of his second wife, \u017dofie, who gave her husband, on the occasion of their
\n\twedding, a wagon full of conjurers and juggling fools. Queen \u017dofie chose Hus as her confessor, attended his sermons at Bethlehem Chapel, and used her
\n\tinfluence to further reform and protect Hus.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe second person to influence Hus was Zbyn\u011bk, who in 1402, at the age of 25, outbid other contenders to obtain the archbishopric of Prague for 2,800
\n\tgulden. However, as a pious military man, he still lacked theological training and was therefore inept at church administration. The writings of Wyclif
\n\twere declared heretical before he took office. As the Papal Schism dragged on, concern about heresy in Bohemia grew as a major concern of the papacy.<\/p>\n
\n\tV\u00e1clav, for his part, hoped that if he supported the right papal contender he could regain the title of Holy Roman Emperor, a title lost in 1400. In 1409
\n\the shifted his support from the Roman pope, Gregory XII, to the newly elected Pisan pope, Alexander V. The task of Zbyn\u011bk was simple: eliminate heresy and
\n\thelp V\u00e1clav regain his title. But after the king changed his papal allegiance, Zbyn\u011bk refused to recognize Alexander V.<\/p>\n
\n\tHus was a powerful and charismatic preacher. As the power struggle played out, he condemned papal corruption. Hus ridiculed the power that priests claimed
\n\tfor themselves. In the process, Hus turned to the Bible as the benchmark for all aspects of Christian doctrine and lifestyle. He saw that the Scriptures
\n\twere eclipsed through church tradition.<\/p>\n
\n\tHus confronted the archbishop: \u201cHow is it that fornicating and otherwise criminal priests walk about freely . . . while humble priests . . . are jailed as
\n\theretics and suffer exile for the very proclamation of the gospel?\u201d5<\/p>\n
\n\tSuch a direct confrontation turned Zbyn\u011bk to be his sworn enemy. Zbyn\u011bk often sent spies to listen to Hus\u2019s sermons. In one instance, Hus accosted one such
\n\tspy from the pulpit: \u201cHey, you in the hood, make a note of this, you sneak, and carry it over there,\u201d he told the infiltrator as he pointed toward the
\n\tarchiepiscopal residence.6 Hus was afterward cited before a hearing, but successfully defended himself with popular support from the queen and the public.<\/p>\n
\n\tZbyn\u011bk now complained to Pope Alexander V, who issued a papal bull calling for an investigation of heresy and demanding that preaching of Scripture in
\n\tprivate chapels immediately stop. Hus spoke publicly against the bull, which prompted even more hostility from Zbyn\u011bk. In return, on July 16, 1410, more
\n\tthan 200 works of Wyclif were set ablaze.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI call it a poor business,\u201d responded Hus. \u201cSuch bonfires never yet removed a sin from the hearts of men. Fire does not consume truth. It is always the
\n\tmark of a little mind that it vents its anger on inanimate objects. The books which have been burned are a loss to the whole people.\u201d7<\/p>\n
\n\tThe king and archbishop upped the ante, which culminated in another writ of excommunication against Hus in February 1411. In the end, Zbyn\u011bk was forced to
\n\tback off and clear Hus of all charges. In the process that was supposed to vindicate Hus, the archbishop strategically moved the final public declaration
\n\tto the city of Bologna. The king, fearing a trap, forbade Hus from going. \u201cIf anyone wants to accuse Hus of any charge, let them do it here in our kingdom.
\n\t. . . It does not seem right to give up this useful preacher to the discrimination of his enemies.\u201d8 It appears likely that Queen \u017dofie prompted V\u00e1clav\u2019s
\n\tprotective maneuver.<\/p>\n
\n\tPolitics in Italy spilled over into a new push for indulgences. In 1412 Pope John XXIII (one of the three popes who emerged during the Papal Schism)
\n\tproclaimed a crusade against the king of Naples, who had taken over Rome. In order to fund this new venture, the pope began a widespread sale of
\n\tindulgences. Revenues raised in Bohemia would be split with the king, so even V\u00e1clav stood to profit from the venture. Prague quickly became a center of
\n\tindulgences.<\/p>\n
\n\tHus once again was outspoken, using Scripture to condemn these indulgences. He was incredulous that a holy war was planned in order to secure the power of
\n\tthe Papacy. Now Hus was summoned to appear before the newly elected archbishop of Prague, Alb\u00edk. \u201cEven if the fire to burn my body were placed before my
\n\teyes,\u201d he stated defiantly, \u201cI would not obey.\u201d9 The king ordered Hus to submit to ecclesiastical authority.<\/p>\n
\n\tUntil now Hus had tried to reform the church from within. Now everything had changed. \u201cIn a word, the papal institution is full of poison, antichrist
\n\thimself, the man of sin, the leader of the army of the devil, a limb of Lucifer, the head vicar of the fiend, a simple idiot who might be a damned devil in
\n\thell, and more horrible idol than a painted log.\u201d10<\/p>\n
\n\tProtests turned ugly in Prague. The preaching of Hus electrified the people. Three protesters were beheaded, becoming the first Hussite martyrs. The whole
\n\tbusiness was an embarrassment to King V\u00e1clav, who denounced Hus as a troublemaker. Even Queen \u017dofie was unable to quench the king\u2019s wrath. The conditions
\n\tfor reconciliation were simple: Hus must agree that the pope is the head of the church and must be obeyed. Hus refused to compromise and was excommunicated
\n\tyet a fourth time. Prague was placed under interdict (no church ordinances or services could take place), and on October 15, 1412, Hus went into a
\n\tvoluntary exile. \u201cI am a fugitive,\u201d he noted to a friend.11<\/p>\n
\n\tIn late 1414, Pope John XXIII convened a council in Constance with two purposes: to end the Papal Schism and to eradicate heresy. Hus accepted an
\n\tinvitation to attend the council. On October 11, 1414, he drafted his will and departed, riding on his horse Rab\u0161t\u00fdn. Friends warned him that this was a
\n\ttrap, but Emperor Sigismund, V\u00e1clav\u2019s half brother, promised him safe conduct. Along the way a herald announced that there was a dangerous man chained to a
\n\twagon who could read minds. The publicity created opportunities for Hus to share his faith. At each inn he stayed in, he left behind a printed copy of the
\n\tTen Commandments.12<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen Hus first arrived in Constance, the site of the council, in one of his earliest surviving letters he noted the high cost of food.13 This may have at
\n\tleast partially reflected his concern for money, because he borrowed funds to pay for the trip. During this early period his letters to his friends are
\n\teven somewhat playful. He liked to make jokes about his name \u201cHus\u201d (which means \u201cgoose\u201d), noting that \u201cthe goose is not yet cooked and is not afraid of
\n\tbeing cooked.\u201d14 Within a week he was arrested.<\/p>\n
\n\tNow as Hus sat in a dark and putrid Dominican prison, he grew sick. In some of his letters he requested warm clothes and food. Hus was beginning to starve
\n\tand would have died from disease had not a papal physician relocated him to better quarters. As he recovered, he requested a Bible several times from his
\n\tfriends. His heart longed to study the Scriptures. Just as painful, for Hus, was the fact that he was deprived of Communion.15 Hus recognized just how
\n\tgrave his situation was, warning friends not to open his letters until they were certain of his death.16<\/p>\n
\n\tHus prayed to God to give him strength to remain faithful to Christ and Scripture, and despite whatever judgment the council might determine, he regularly
\n\tobserved that all humans must answer before the divine judgment of God.17 As the council proceeded, one can see one of Hus\u2019s most profound theological
\n\tcontributions that laid the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation a century later: he argued that it was Christ, not the pope, who stood as the true
\n\thead of the church.18 A thorough study of the Scriptures finally led him to condemn the church he initially hoped to reform. He acknowledged that not every
\n\tbeliever is by default a member of the Catholic Church. Instead, a person must be \u201cof the church\u201d or a genuine member of the church of Christ, even if one
\n\twas not a part of the Church of Rome. Hus matured in his understanding of the church. He thus developed a distinctive ecclesiology away from Rome and paved
\n\tthe way for the Protestant Reformation.19<\/p>\n
\n\tOnce Hus made this distinction between the Roman Church and Christ, it was not very difficult to see that mortals, including popes and councils, can err.
\n\tHus championed biblical authority. Scripture should and must reign supreme over all human authority. \u201cFor this truth [of faith], on account of its
\n\tcertitude, a man ought to risk his life. And in this way a man is not bound to believe the sayings of the saints that are far from Scripture; nor should he
\n\tbelieve papal bulls except insofar as what they say is founded on Scripture simply.\u201d20<\/p>\n
\n\tTogether, Hus\u2019s view of the church, combined with his understanding about the supreme authority of Scripture, represented a scathing rebuke of the Roman
\n\tChurch and its hierarchy. The life of Hus demonstrates the gradual unfolding of a man who discovered his mission. He believed that all authority should
\n\trest on the Bible alone. In this sense \u201cHus was not an original theologian.\u201d21 Instead, his skill lay in taking the ideas of Wyclif as a radical rejection
\n\tof a flawed power system that had developed within the church. In this way, Hus served almost as a \u201cdress rehearsal\u201d for later Protestant Reformers,
\n\tespecially Martin Luther, who frequently referenced Hus.22<\/p>\n
\n\tAs the Council of Constance continued its proceedings, Hus tried to initially refute charges and defend himself, but he was routinely shouted down by
\n\tconciliar fathers who denounced him as arrogant or stubborn. One such person, a Polish bishop, shouted, \u201cDo not permit him to recant; even if he does
\n\trecant, he will not keep to it.\u201d23<\/p>\n
\n\tThe final session arrived on July 6. Thirty charges were presented against the accused heretic. Some were simply outrageous—one even insinuated that Hus
\n\tbelieved that he was the fourth member of the Godhead. Hus, of course, rejected such outlandish charges, but he was unable to defend himself. At the end,
\n\tPierre d\u2019Ailly, the presiding cardinal, gave Hus one last opportunity. Hus responded by asking them to prove his errors from the Bible. The bishops
\n\tdismissed him for being \u201cobstinate in heresy.\u201d24 All the way to the end Hus stuck to his bedrock belief in the primacy of Scripture.<\/p>\n
\n\tHus was now ordered to be silent. He dropped to his knees on the stone floor. His books were condemned to be burned. Hus prayed out loud to Christ to
\n\tforgive his judges and accusers. One last time the council offered: \u201cRecant or die.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe bishop of Lodi next gave his sermon about destroying the body of sin, followed by seven bishops who placed priestly vestments upon Hus. He was
\n\tdefrocked. In turn each bishop tore off the vestments from his body, saying, \u201cO cursed Judas . . . we take from you the cup of redemption.\u201d They finally
\n\tconcluded with the words \u201cwe commit your soul to the devil.\u201d Crowned with a paper miter with the inscription \u201cThis is a heresiarch,\u201d he was then led
\n\tthrough the streets of Constance to the place of death. Hus was bound to the stake with a sooty chain and wood piled to his chin.<\/p>\n
\n\tHus uttered his last words: \u201cGod is my witness that . . . the principal intention of my preaching and of all my other acts or writings was solely that I
\n\tmight turn men from sin. And in that the truth of the gospel that I wrote, taught, and preached in accordance with the sayings and expositions of the holy
\n\tdoctors, I am willing gladly to die today.\u201d As the flames and smoke rose, his voice could be heard in song: \u201cJesus, son of the living God, have mercy on
\n\tme.\u201d25 At last the goose was cooked.<\/p>\n
\n\tAll throughout his life Hus developed a theology of suffering. He was fiercely loyal to the church, which is quite ironic, since it was the church that
\n\tcondemned him to death. \u201cHe bound his conscience to truth and refused to deviate from the pathway of truth, regardless of cost or consequence, without
\n\tregard for personal safety or ultimate destination.\u201d26 For Hus the Scriptures were the source of all truth about Jesus Christ. And as a man on a mission,
\n\the exalted Jesus Christ, who suffered for him as his true model. In fact, it was but a small thing and a privilege to suffer for Christ. \u201cDo not fear to
\n\tdie for Christ if you wish to live with Christ,\u201d he admonished one priest.27 As a man on a mission, this meant that he would stand for truth, no matter the
\n\tconsequences.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the final days and weeks leading up to his death, Hus was plagued with a series of dreams. In some of them he was haunted by dark and foreboding
\n\tthoughts. In one such dream he saw a group of painters come and destroy the walls of his beloved Bethlehem Chapel, where there were painted biblical
\n\tscenes. As the vandals destroyed the artwork, he saw another group of painters who repainted the scenes in even more vivid colors.28 He believed all the
\n\tway to the end that if it were God\u2019s will, He could spare his life just as he had done for many other individuals in salvation history. Yet he also knew
\n\tthat perhaps God had a purpose in his laying down his life. During his execution he was reported to say: \u201cYou are now going to burn a goose, but in a
\n\tcentury you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil.\u201d29<\/p>\n
\n\tHus spawned a movement. He rejected any doctrine or practice not found in the Bible. Similarly, he denounced the abuse of power within the church. His
\n\tstubborn insistence about the primacy of Scripture caused one papal visitor to label him the most dangerous heretic since Christ came to this earth!30 Hus
\n\tplaced the authority of the Bible above the church. Thus, perhaps the greatest tribute to this man on a mission was the translation of the Bible into
\n\tCzech, the Kralice Bible, which is still used today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On July 6, 1415, in Konstanz, Germany, the cathedral was filled to capacity. The air was heavy as Jacob Balardi Arrigoni, bishop of Lodi, preached from the text \u201cthat the body of sin be destroyed\u201d (Rom. 6:6). Cardinals, replete with miters, sat in a semicircle around a man in chains, his body emaciated from hunger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[311],"tags":[143],"class_list":["post-6349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-march-april-2016","tag-march-april-2016"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}