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Jan
Hus, who preferred to burn rather than lie about matters of faith.
Truth Prevails: The Undying Faith Of Jan Hus In an age when Europe was divided between three popes, when pestilence claimed one in three lives and church offices were sold to the highest bidder, Hus defied earthly authorities to seek truth directly from the Word of God.
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 ver 500 years after the tragic event, Pope
John Paul II came to the homeland of Jan Hus and apologized for the cruel
death inflicted on him (see pg. 4). Here is the story behind that sad
yet triumphant episode in church history.
Forbidden to Speak
The date was July 6, 1415. The priest who stood alone in the Cathedral
of Constance, hands chained in front of him, had a favorite saying, "Truth
Conquers." Watching to see if he would stand for truth or flinch
were hundreds of churchmen and Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor. Noblemen
of Bohemia, knights and other witnesses also looked on.
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Jan Hus (pronounced Yon Hoos) was about to be ritually stripped of his
priestly office. Outside the cathedral, a stake was in preparation at
which to "cook the goose." (Hus means "goose" in Czech.)
A list of charges was read, but as Hus tried to answer them, Cardinal
Peter D'Ailly ordered him to be quiet. Hus was told that he could reply
to all the charges at one time. "And how should I reply to all of
them together when I cannot reflect upon them all together?" protested
Hus. He continued to try to answer each charge but was told, "Be
silent now. We have already heard enough from you!"
"I plead with you, for God's sake, hear me, so that those standing
here will not believe that I held such errors. Afterward you can do to
me what you like!" cried Jan. But he was forbidden to say anything
at all. At this, he fell to his knees and committed his cause to God.
A few minutes later he was even rebuked because he had appealed to God!
Alone against Wickedness
Hus was on trial because he was the most vocal champion of reform in the
Czech church. For years he had preached to his fellow Czechs in their
own language at Bethlehem Chapel, one of only two chapels in the whole
nation allowed to offer vernacular sermons. The reforms he called for
were not extreme (see below). To some extent, his views were formed by
his reading of the works of the English reformer John Wycliffe, but Hus
never accepted Wycliffe's most radical demands.
At first, Hus was supported by his archbishop, Zbynek (pronounced Sbiniek)
and by mad King Vaclav IV. But Zbynek, who had bought his office, had
little scriptural knowledge and soon believed those who said Hus was a
heretic. For his part, Vaclav supported Hus only until Hus denounced the
methods being used to sell indulgences. Pardons for sins were being hawked
shamelessly, and Vaclav wanted his cut of the profits.
Repeatedly accused of heresy, Hus was excommunicated four times, once
in violation of church procedure. He appealed and sent spokesmen to represent
his true positions, but these messengers were mistreated and even cast
into prison.
Sigsmund's False Promise
Two radical reformers, who had gone far beyond Hus, were pressured to
recant. They turned on Hus and claimed he taught things he hadn't. To
answer these claims and to clear himself, Hus accepted an invitation to
present his case at the Council of Constance. Emperor Sigismund guaranteed
his safety.
Sigismund's promise proved worthless and he himself would eventually
call for Hus' death. As for the churchmen, many were stung by Hus' denunciation
of their greed, gluttony, sexual sins and ignorance. Indeed, on the walls
of Bethlehem chapel, paintings contrasted the lives of rich proud popes
with the humility and poverty of Christ and the apostles. The very council
that condemned Hus proved his point. Thousands of churchmen gathered to
end a split in the papacy, which saw as many as three popes ruling at
once. One of their acts was to imprison Pope John XXIII for a long list
of serious crimes, including rape, piracy and murder--while 1,500 prostitutes
thronged the town, eager to serve the delegates.
Final Chance to Dodge the Flames
On June 8, Cardinal D'Ailly put a choice to the prisoner. He could cast
himself on the mercy of the council, renouncing a list of errors he was
alleged to have taught, or he could insist on one more hearing. D'Ailly
recommended against Hus requesting another hearing.
Having long taught that one must stand by truth, regardless of the consequences,
Hus could not accept the first choice. And his experience with the council
showed him that the second option was a sham.
Now, almost a month later, he had his final chance. The council urged
him to reject certain heresies that they claimed he had taught. Hus declared
that he would gladly root out all heresy if he could be shown from the
Bible anything false that he had taught. He flatly refused to pretend
he had ever promoted the lies attributed to him.
He prayed aloud for God's forgiveness of the clergymen who had rigged
his trial. But those for whom he prayed jeered at him.
Faithful in the Flame
The lonely priest was stripped of the symbols of his office. When they
took the cup from him, he declared his hope that Christ would not take
the cup of mercy from him. When they committed his soul to the devil,
he committed it to Christ.
Outside, they led him to the stake. After kneeling in prayer, he was
chained by the neck. Wood was piled around him.
Urged one last time to renounce his errors, he replied that he had never
taught the things charged to him. "The principle intention of my
preaching and of all my other acts or writings was solely that I might
turn men from sin. And in that truth of the Gospel that I wrote, taught,
and preached in accordance with the sayings and expositions of the holy
doctors, I am willing gladly to die today."
When the fire was lit, the brave reformer began to sing.
The Daring Reformer of Prague
Jerome of Prague was a daring Czech reformer who delighted in taunting
the opposition. It was Jerome who had brought Wycliffe's works from England
to Prague.
Although he knew the risk he was taking--Hus had already been burned--
he slipped into Constance, supposing he could slip out again. He almost
succeeded but was caught before he reached the safety of an international
border. When tried by the council, Jerome wavered at first, but eventually
stood firm to his beliefs and was condemned. A paper hat with devils painted
on it was placed on his head. Like Hus, he was burned.
What Hus Wanted
- Reform of the clergy and papacy
- Preaching in local languages rather than in Latin.
- Testing church teachings by the word of God.
- Administration of the Eucharist as both bread and wine to lay people
(who were only allowed the bread).
- Embrace of poverty by the priesthood.
- Obedience of the priesthood to Christ.
- Judgment of Wycliffe's writings and his own by fair standards.
- Reform of the methods by which indulgences were promoted.
Fascinating Facts about Hus
- Bethlehem Chapel in Prague was attacked by Hus' enemies with crossbows,
halberds and swords while he preached. They wanted to pull it down,
but were foiled.
- Once when Hus was preaching, he recognized a spy planted by Zbynek
and called out, "Make a note of this, you sneak, and carry it over there
[to the archbishop]."
- At Constance, Hus was imprisoned behind the latrines. The stench
was so dreadful that he became sick and almost died.
- After Hus was condemned, Lord John of Chlum, a Bohemian nobleman,
shook the reformer's hand in front of everyone. Hus was deeply moved.
- The council believed that it possessed the ultimate authority in
the church. Hus believed he must answer to God for his conscience. Neither
could compromise without betraying their fundamental beliefs.
A Pope Apologizes
584 years after Hus' cruel death at the hands of the Council of Constance,
Pope John Paul II apologized to the Czech people.
Paying tribute to the moral character of Hus, the pope said, "On the
eve of the great Jubilee, I feel the need to express a profound regret
for the cruel death inflicted on Jan Hus and the consequent wound, the
source of conflicts and divisions, which were opened in the spirits and
the hearts of the Bohemian people." He called for an end to divisions
in the church.
The wound he referred to was the rebellion against the Roman Church,
which followed the deaths of Hus and Jerome of Prague. In fierce fighting,
during which both sides perpetrated grievous atrocities, the Bohemians,
led by their brilliant blind general, Jan Zizka, defeated the powers of
Europe in battle after battle. Rome was eventually forced to make concessions
to the Bohemian church. To counter the excesses of war, Zizka prepared
the Christian world's first known code of military conduct.
© 2006 by Christian History Institute.
Prepared by Dan Graves, MSL, with Ken Curtis, PhD, Joe Thomas, PhD, Tracey
L. Craig, and Ann T. Snyder. Photo credits: CHI Archives.
Resources
- Domaszewski, Alfred von. Geschichte der romischen kaiser. Leipzig,
Quelle & Meyer, 1909. Source of the third page portrait.
- Dowley, Tim, editor. Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity.
Berkhamsted, Herts, England: Lion Publishing, 1977.
- Fudge, Thomas A. "Hus, Jan." Oxford Encyclopedia of
the Reformation. Editor in chief Hans J. Hillerbrand. New York
: Oxford University Press, 1996.
- "Hus, Jan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York:
Robert Appleton, 1914.
- Hus, Jan. The Letters of John Hus. Trans. Matthew Spinka.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1972.
- "Hus, Jan." New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1954.
- "Hus, Jan." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.
Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
- "Jan Hus, the Incendiary Preacher of Prague." Christian
History & Biography. Issue 68. (Vol XIX, No. 4)
- Lutzow, Count. Life and Times of Master John Hus. London:
Dent 1909. Source of the 1st page portrait.
- "Pope Apologizes for Church’s Treatment of John Hus." (www.americamagazine.org/catholicnews.cfm?
articleTypeID=29&textID=2024&issueID=261)
- Spinka, Matthew. Jan Hus at the Council of Constance. New
York and London: Columbia University Press, 1965.
- --------- John Hus and the Czech Reform. Hamden, CT: Archon
Books, 1966.
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