As we look forward to the remembrance of Reformation Day when the month of October draws to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to remember the great Reformers who, by their obedience to God, stood unwavering against the heresies of the Roman church so that the true faith that is given us by God in His Word was once again preached — Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide and Solus Christus, giving all due glory to God, and God alone (Soli Deo Gloria)!
We begin this series with a look at the life and death of Jan Hus or, as he is more commonly known in the English-speaking world, John Huss (or Hus).
Prior to Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses on the door of the church at Wittenburg which started the Reformation proper, two men — John Wycliffe and Jan Hus — had already begun God’s work of reforming the Church. While some historians might consider them “Pre-Reformers”, it would be more apt to consider them as Reformers as well because the work and accomplishments of the Reformers in latter times would arguably be impossible without the contributions of these two men.
Jan Hus was born around the year 1372 (some historians record it as 1373) in the southern part of Bohemia (which today is in Czechoslovakia) in the village of Husinec, from whence he took his last name Hus, which means “goose” — a term he often used to refer to himself. Though his parents were but poor peasants, they nevertheless saw education for their son as a means of escaping the abject poverty. Ironically, it can be noted that his parents also thought that education to be ordained a priest of the Roman church would be a surefire way to wealth.
Thus it was that Jan started formal education at the age of 13 in 1385, and went on to receive his B.A. in 1393 at the age of 20; a M.A. in 1396; and a B.D. in 1404. Upon receiving his M.A. in 1396, Jan became a distinguished and popular professor at the University.
In 1402, Jan was appointed rector and preacher at the Chapel of the Holy Infants of Bethlehem in Prague, where he was converted, and could be said to have started his work for the Reformation to come. Prague was then known in Christendom as the very center of the Reformed movement, and the chapel in particular was raised by a wealthy merchant in 1391 to be a center for Reformed preaching.
He took preaching very seriously, and though he had spent most of his education preparing for priesthood in the Roman church as a means for his family to escape poverty, his life underwent a drastic change when he was tasked with preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, he considered rightly preaching God’s Word so very important that he later wrote, “By the help of God I have preached, still am preaching, and if his grace will allow, shall continue to preach; if perchance I may be able to lead some poor, tired, or halting soul into the house of Christ to the King’s supper.”
It was of no coincidence that by this time, the teachings of John Wycliffe had made their way into Bohemia, starting in the year 1390, helped along by the marriage of England’s King Richard II and the sister of the King of Bohemia — Anne of Bohemia. Thus it was that Jan Hus became very familiar with Wycliffe’s teachings and he himself began to teach them at the university and preach the same from the pulpit, attacking the abuses of the clergy and openly questioning the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Mass.
Needless to say, this caught the attention of the Roman church, and respond they did. In rage.
His writings, even those unconcerned with theology, were seized and burned. Though more and more people attended the chapel when he preached on Sundays, he was quickly alienated by the university, the Archbishop and the clergy. By 1410, Jan Hus was excommunicated.
In 1412, heeding the advice of the king, he fled Prague and inadvertently became an exile, but Jan Hus continued to preach fervently in the fields, forests and marketplaces in southern Bohemia. It was also during his exile that Jan Hus published his most notable work De Ecclesia (Concerning the Church), in which he challenged the authority of the pope and cardinals, and (rightly) stated that the foundation of the Church is Christ, not Peter.
By 1414, Rome could tolerate Jan Hus no longer, and summoned him to appear before the Council of Constance. Against the better advice of his friends, Hus departed for the trial after assurance for his safety had been given him by Sigismund, king of the Romans and heir to the throne of Bohemia. Thus Jan Hus was full of hope that his arguments would be heard.
Alas, upon his arrival at Constance on November 25, 1414, he was immediately seized and thrown into prison. He suffered a lengthy imprisonment, during which he fell ill after being interrogated, abused, starved, and even denied access to all books including the Bible. Throughout the ordeal, he was given several opportunities to recant, but he refused them all.
At the trial, Huss was charged with thirty-nine sentences, out of which twenty-six had been excerpted from his book on the Church, seven from his treatise against Páleè and six from the treatise against Stanislav ze Znojma. However, in return, Huss maintained just one argument that he would renounce himself, if his errors were proven to him from the Bible. Seeing that the defendant was an “obstinate heretic”, the judges finally said, “We take from you the cup of redemption.”, to which Jan Hus replied, “I trust in the Lord God Almighty that He will not take away from me the cup of His redemption, but I firmly hope to drink of it today in His kingdom.”
On 6 July 1415, after high mass at the city cathedral, Jan Hus was led into the church, made to sit on a high stool and sentenced to death. Ironically, while the council had the heart to condemn a man to death for being a heretic, they were afraid of spilling the blood of a man, and turned him over to the secular authorities for his execution.
Hus’ last words as he was being tied to the stake were that, “in a hundred years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform can not be suppressed.” He died singing and praying.
Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses of Contention to a church door in Wittenberg 102 years later.
Reformata et Semper Reformanda!
Further reading: The Trial of John Huss (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent item. Hus was indeed a reformer and few know about him.
Good stuff!
He was indeed!
Thank you, brother. I hope the rest of the series will be as edifying too.
Great article, very very interesting character, and so admirable for his unending passion to communicate what he believed in.
A good article, Isaiah. Hus was indeed an important reformer. The biblicism that he and Wyclif preached was sorely needed then, as it is now.
Where are you, Isaiah?