16 minute read
JAN HUS: REFORMER AND MARTYR
Leah Krotz
In 1520, almost three years after posting his ninety-five theses on the church doors at Wittenburg, Martin Luther wrote, “I have taught and held all the teachings of John Hus, but thus far did not know it. John Staupitz has taught it in the same unintentional way. In short we are all Hussites and did not know it. Even Paul and Augustine are in reality Hussites.”1
What is a Hussite?
So what is a Hussite? In short, a follower of the fifteenthcentury Bohemian preacher and theologian, Jan (or John) Hus. When he wrote these words, Luther had just finished reading Hus’s treatise on the church, De Ecclesia, and had come to the realization that his own beliefs were similar to those of a man he had long considered to be a heretic, and had despised accordingly.
It turned out that as they studied the Bible independently and more than a century apart, the Holy Spirit had led the two men to very similar conclusions, particularly regarding the authority of the scriptures. They had much else in common as well—except for the way their reforming tendencies played out. Luther’s story could very easily have ended in the same way as Hus’s, and had that happened, the Protestant Reformation might never have occurred.
Both Luther and Hus came from humble backgrounds; both entered the priesthood and found themselves at odds with the papacy and the church hierarchy after their studies led them to question certain practices. Both were popular preachers and teachers, affiliated with universities in their respective regions of Europe. And both were eventually summoned by the church authorities to answer for their beliefs and asked to recant their teachings. The role that each man’s ruling prince played in supporting them, particularly in regard to the sale of indulgences, proved pivotal in how their respective stories played out.
The Life and Work of Jan Hus
Let’s take a look at the life and work of the lesser-known Jan Hus and see how much he had in common with Martin Luther, the most famous of the reformers and a man considered to be one of the most influential of the millennium.2
Hus was born of peasant stock and admitted that he originally became a priest because he thought it was a path to greater prosperity and status. Around the year 1390 he enrolled in the University of Prague, and following his graduation in 1394 he received a master’s degree and began teaching at the university. He was appointed dean of the philosophical faculty in 1401.
Hus was a talented speaker and was eventually appointed to be the preacher at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, where the proclamation was given in the languages of the people, in Czech and German. Also serving as the chancellor at the University of Prague, Hus was well-liked. He was considered to be “a brilliant theologian endowed with an attractive sense of humor.”3
The Czech reform movement was already occurring when Jan Hus was born in 1372 in Husinec, Bohemia, which is now located in the Czech Republic. This religious reawakening in Bohemia was due in part to the emergence of the Czech language and the revival of national identity led by Charles IV, king and emperor, who ruled in Bohemia from 1333 to 1378.4
Charles wanted his capital, Prague, to be a great political and cultural center, and in 1348 he established a university there that he hoped would rival those of Oxford and Paris. In this place of creativity, scholarship, and the flourishing of new ideas and new ways of thinking, Hus and others found the perfect atmosphere to develop their beliefs. The more he studied the scriptures, the more Hus found his faith deepening and his convictions becoming stronger. He was convinced that the Roman church was in error, and was determined to write and speak openly about his convictions.
Hus had been influenced by earlier Czech reformers and preachers Milic Kormeriz (c. 1325-75) and Matthew of Janov (c. 1355-94). Both of these men had preached against the lax morality of the clergy and advocated for a return to the simplicity of the early church. Either Matthew himself or his followers had translated the whole Bible into Czech, and the disciples of Kormeriz were the founders of Bethlehem Chapel, where Hus preached and first gained a popular following.
In his preaching and writings, Hus emulated these men in emphasizing purity of conduct and personal piety. Hus protested the lax morals of the clergy and their abuses of power. He dared to question the authority of the pope, writing in De Ecclesia, “If he who is to be called Peter’s vicar follows in the paths of virtue, we believe that he is his true vicar and chief pontiff of the church over which he rules. But, if he walks in the opposite paths, then he is the legate of antichrist at variance with Peter and Jesus Christ. No pope is the manifest and true successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles, if in morals he lives at variance with the principles of Peter and if he is avaricious.”5
Hus and his colleagues were dismayed by the fact that the church owned about one-half of all the land in Bohemia, and that the higher orders of clergy had great wealth and were guilty of simony—the buying and selling of church offices. The Bohemian peasants also resented the Church, since it was one of the heaviest land taxers. The papacy itself had been greatly weakened by the Western Schism, as rival popes fought for power. All of these factors meant that the time was ripe for a church reform movement.6
Hus was also indebted to the work of Englishman John Wycliff (ca. 1330-1384), the Oxford scholar and eventual parish priest who had asserted that the Bible was the sole authority of the church. He also opined that popes and cardinals were not necessary for the governance of the church and that unworthy popes should be deposed.7 Wycliff’s followers had also published the first translation of the Bible into the English language. Wycliff’s writings made their way to Bohemia after Anne of Bohemia married Richard II of England in 1382, via Czech students who had studied at Oxford.
Like Wycliff, Hus eventually questioned the doctrine of transubstantiation and advocated for the laity to receive both the bread and the wine in Holy Communion. Although defending the traditional authority of the clergy, he believed that only Christ could forgive sin. Hus insisted that the true Church was not to be found in Rome, but rather was the body of Christ, made up of all the redeemed of every time and place: the elect of God, known only to God.
But Hus didn’t just criticize the church and its hierarchy. He urged his fellow Christians not to obey any directive or doctrine from popes or cardinals that was contrary to scripture. Hus chastised his parishioners for their faith in superstitions, pilgrimages, indulgences, false miracles, and for worshipping images.
He also tried to live up to the standards he set for others. “His purity of character was such that no charge was ever made against it in Bohemia or during his trial in Constance.”8 But although he had a great deal of popular support, Hus also made enemies. Hus was the adviser to a young nobleman named Zbyněk Zajíc when he was elevated to archbishop of Prague in 1403. At first, this connection was helpful to the fledging reform movement, but later circumstances conspired against Hus. Also in 1403, a German university master, Johann Hübner, drew up a list of 45 articles, supposedly selected from Wycliffe’s writings, and had them condemned as heretical. Because the German masters at Prague University had three votes and the Czech masters only one, the Germans easily outvoted the Czechs, and the 45 articles were regarded as a test of orthodoxy from that time on. Hus did not share all of Wycliffe’s views, but several members of the reform party, including Hus’s teacher, Stanislav of Znojmo, and his fellow student, Štěpán Páleč, did support Wycliff’s more radical teachings.
During the first five years of Zbyněk’s tenure as the archbishop of Prague, his attitude toward reform changed dramatically as the reform opponents won him over to their side. In 1407, Stanislav and Páleč were charged with heresy, and were taken to Rome for examination. Rather than standing by their beliefs, these two men returned to Prague completely transformed. They became the chief opponents of the reformers’ theology. This meant that just when Jan Hus had become the leader of the Bohemian reform movement, he immediately came into conflict with his former friends.9
As the leader of reform, Hus disagreed with Archbishop Zbyněk when he opposed the Council of Pisa of 1409, which was called to unseat the rival popes and reform the church. The Czech masters at the University of Prague supported the council, but the German masters of the university were opposed to it. King Wenceslas, who had taken the throne in 1378 after the death of his father, Charles, was furious with the German divines. In January of 1409, he undermined the university’s constitution, granting the Czech masters three votes each, while allowing the Germans only one. Most of the German faculty responded by leaving Prague to affiliate with various German universities. In the fall of 1409, Hus was elected rector of the University of Prague, which was now dominated by Czechs.
When the Council of Pisa finally deposed both Pope Gregory XII, whose authority was recognized in Bohemia, and the antipope Benedict XIII, electing Pope Alexander V in their place, Hus and Archbishop Zbyněk completely parted ways. The archbishop, along with other higher clergy in Bohemia remained loyal to Gregory, while Hus and the reformers, along with reform-minded King Wenceslaus, accepted the new pope.
King Wenceslaus forced the archbishop to recognize Alexander V as the legitimate pope, so the archbishop retaliated by offering a large bribe to convince Alexander to forbid preaching in private chapels. This edict included the Bethlehem Chapel, where Hus preached in the Czech language. He refused to obey the pope’s directive, which gave Zbyněk the ammunition he needed to excommunicate Hus. But Hus continued to ignore these directives from the church hierarchy, carrying on preaching at Bethlehem Chapel and teaching at the University of Prague. Eventually the king forced Zbyněk to promise Hus his support in his excommunication proceedings. However, Zbyněk died suddenly in 1411, and Hus now had to answer to the church hierarchy with little support from the ecclesial authorities in Prague.
In 1412, a new dispute arose over the sale of indulgences that had been issued by Alexander’s successor, the antipope John XXIII, to finance his campaign against his rival, Gregory XII.10 In spite of widespread disapproval of the practice in Bohemia, King Wenceslas, who shared in the proceeds, gave his stamp of approval. This led Hus and his former student, Jerome of Prague, to publicly dispute the practice. Following their disputation, they burned John XXIII’s decree authorizing the sale of indulgences. Hus also publicly condemned these indulgences before the university community. By taking this stand, he lost the support of King Wenceslas and thus sealed his fate.
Hus' Excommunication and Exile
Hus’s enemies renewed his excommunication trial, where he was declared guilty for refusing to appear. In addition, an interdict was pronounced over Prague or any other place where Hus might reside. This meant that certain sacraments of the church would be denied to parishioners in the area under the interdiction. Hus voluntarily left Prague in October 1412 in order to spare the people this punishment. He found refuge in the castles of friends, mostly in southern Bohemia. During the next two years he did a great deal of writing, responding to treatises written against him as well as writing his most famous work, De ecclesia (The Church). He also wrote many essays in the Czech language and a collection of sermons.
Meanwhile, the Western Schism continued. When King Sigismund of Hungary was elected emperor of Germany in 1411, he hoped to gain status by restoring unity to the church, and he also sought to unite his vast kingdoms in order to fend off the Turkish threat. By forcing John XXIII to convene the Council of Constance, he planned to end the schism and stamp out the reformers’ so-called heresies.
Hus' Trial at the Council of Constance
Sigismund invited Hus to attend the council to explain his views—but Hus was understandably reluctant to comply. Eventually John XXIII threatened King Wenceslas for noncompliance with the interdict, and this, combined with the fact that Sigismund promised Hus safe-conduct for his travels to Constance and back (no matter what the outcome might be), convinced Hus to make the journey. His supporters feared he was walking into a trap, but Hus apparently believed he would be able to defend the orthodoxy of his views against charges of heresy. In addition, he wanted to show that his followers in the kingdom of Bohemia were also orthodox Christians.
Hus arrived in Constance in November of 1414. His safe-conduct was ignored, and soon after his arrival he was thrown into prison, with Sigismund’s implicit consent. He was never given the chance to defend his beliefs, or to respond to specific charges. Instead, Hus’s enemies had him tried before the Council of Constance as a follower of Wycliff and a heretic. Hus protested that he had not embraced all of Wycliff’s teachings— only those that were supported by scripture. He also maintained that many of the teachings ascribed to him were actually not his beliefs but had been attributed to him by those who sought to discredit him. Hus agreed to recant only if his teachings were proven to be heretical by scripture. “On many doctrines Hus was as orthodox a Catholic as his contemporary accusers. He believed in purgatory and in a form of transubstantiation.”11 But his accusers had little interest in hearing his ideas or engaging in honest debate. “When he tried to argue his case, he was shouted down. Sigismund justified his violation of the safe-conduct by claiming Hus was a great heretic and deserved no protection.”12
On July 1, 1415, Hus once again stated that he could not recant his beliefs:
"I, John Hus, in hope a priest of Jesus Christ, fearing to offend God and to fall into perjury, am not willing to recant all or any of the articles produced against me in the testimonies of false witnesses….If it were possible that my voice could now be heard in the whole world, as at the Day of Judgment every lie and all my sins should be revealed, I would most gladly recant before all the world every falsehood and every error I ever have thought of saying or have said."13
The Execution
Four days after this speech, the council ruled that Jan Hus was a “veritable and manifest heretic.”14 On July 6, 1415, executioners led Hus outside the city of Constance to the place of his execution. He was reported to have said, “You are now roasting a goose [the Bohemian word Hus means goose], but God will awaken a swan whom you will not burn or roast.”15
Hus was stripped of his clothes and had a crown placed on his head which depicted three devils. He was tied to a stake and as the executioners lit the fire and the flames surrounded him, Hus sang the Kyrie: “Christ, Thou son of the living God, have mercy upon us.”
Hus' Legacy
After his death, the remains of Hus’s body were treated with deliberate disrespect. They were incinerated, along with his clothing and shoes, and the ashes were thrown into the Rhine River. The authorities apparently hoped to prevent any of his followers from obtaining relics. However, Hus’s death did not prevent the Bohemians from carrying on his legacy. He was now a martyr who inspired greater determination among those who shared his beliefs and who aroused the national feelings of the Czech people. The Hussite church continued on in Bohemia until the Hapsburgs conquered them in 1620 and forced the restoration of the Roman Catholic Church. Hus still remains a national hero there. Although Hus’s life was tragically and unjustly cut short, he is considered by many to be the leader of the first Reformation. He, like Luther, emphasized study of the scriptures, preaching, and correcting the abuses of the church hierarchy. His courageous life and words of faith resonate still today:
The Hussite church continued on in Bohemia until the Hapsburgs conquered them in 1620 and forced the restoration of the Roman Catholic Church. Hus still remains a national hero there.
“Oh most kind Christ, draw us weaklings after Thyself, for unless Thou draw us, we cannot follow Thee! Give us a courageous spirit that it may be ready; and if the flesh is weak, may Thy grace go before, now as well as subsequently. For without Thee, we can do nothing, and particularly not go to a cruel death for Thy sake. Give us a valiant spirit, a fearless heart, the right faith, a firm hope, and perfect love, that we may offer our lives for Thy sake with the greatest patience and joy. Amen.”16
Leah Fintel Krotz is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, LCMC, in Bruning, Nebraska. She received her undergrad degree from the University of Nebraska and her M.Div. from St. Paul Lutheran Seminary. She and her husband, Rick are the fifth generation to live on their family farm and love spending time with their children and grandchildren. She also serves as an ambassador for Hope 4 Kids International.
Notes:
1Ivor J. Davidson and Rudolph W. Heinze, The Baker History of the Church (Ada, Michigan: Baker Books, 2005), 89-90.
2“The Most Influential Man of the Millennium: Martin Luther Tops Secular Lists,” Generations: Passing on the Faith,” n.d., https://www.generations.org/programs/571.
3John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James, Church History: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day (Ada Michigan: Baker Academic,2013), 47.
4Timothy George, “The Reformation Connection.” John Hus: Apostle of Truth, February 3, 2023. https://johnhus.org/content/the-reformation-connection/.
5Davidson and Heinze, 65.
6Matthew Spinka and František M. Bartoš, “Jan Hus: Bohemian Religious Leader,” Encyclopedia Britannica, August 8, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Hus.
7Davidson and Heinze, 64.
8John Hus, The Church, translated, with notes and introduction by David S. Schaff, D.D. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1915), viii.
9Spinka and Bartoš, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Hus.
10Ibid.
11Woodbridge and James, 48.
12Davidson and Heinze, 66.
13Woodbridge and James,. 49.
14Ibid., 49.
15Ibid., 50.
16Timothy George, https://johnhus.org/content/the-reformation-connection/.
