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Jan Huss
Priest and Martyr
d. 6 July 1415
Jan Huss was born
in 1374 to a humble family. At an early age he went to Prague where he supported himself
by singing and serving in the churches. His conduct was exemplary and his devotion to
study remarkable. In 1393 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University
of Prague and in 1396 the master's degree. He was ordained a priest in 1400 and became
rector of the university in 1402. About the same time he was appointed preacher in the
newly erected Bethlehem chapel.
In his day, there was a crisis of authority in the Western Church. In 1305, under pressure from the King of France, the seat of the Popes was moved from Rome to Avignon in France, where it remained for 70 years. In 1376, the then pope returned to Rome. When he died soon after, the cardinals, mostly French, were disposed to elect a French Pope, but the people of Rome objected, fearing that a French Pope would move the Papacy back to France. The cardinals therefore elected an Italian Pope, and then fled elsewhere, where they elected a French Pope and said that the first election had been under duress, and was void. Thus there were two (later three) claimants for the Papal Office. The Council of Constance was called to settle the matter. One claimant recognized the Council and then abdicated. The Council responded by proclaiming that he had been the true Pope. It then deposed the other two, and elected a new Pope, thus healing the schism.
Meanwhile, Huss had begun to denounce various church abuses in his sermons. His disputes with authority did not concern basic theological issues, but rather matters of church discipline and practice. The custom had arisen, at celebrations of the Lord's Supper, of distributing the consecrated bread to all Christians in good standing who desired to receive it, but restricting the chalice to the celebrant alone. Huss denounced this restriction as contrary to Holy Scripture and to the ancient tradition of the Church. He also held that Church officials ought to exercise spiritual powers only, and not be earthly governors.
The reform-centred writings of John Wycliffe found their way into Bohemia. Studying in the days before the printing press, Huss painstakingly copied Wycliffe's books for his own use. Like Wycliffe, Huss emphasized personal piety and purity of life. He stressed the role of the Bible as authority in the church, and consequently, he lifted biblical preaching to an important status in church services.
In 1412 his archbishop excommunicated him, not for heresy, but for insubordination. Matters came to a head when one papal claimant (later declared unfit) proclaimed a sale of indulgences to raise money for a war against his rivals. Huss was horrified at the idea of selling spiritual benefits to finance a war between two claimants to the title "Servant of the Servants of God," and said so.
In 1414 he was summoned to the Council of Constance, with the Emperor guaranteeing his personal safety, even if found guilty. He was tried, and ordered to recant certain heretical doctrines. He replied that he had never held or taught the doctrines in question, and was willing to declare the doctrines false, but not willing to declare on oath that he had once taught them. The one point on which Huss could be said to have a doctrinal difference with the Council was that he taught that the office of the pope did not exist by Divine command, but was established by the Church that things might be done in an orderly fashion (a view that he shared with Thomas More). The Council found him guilty of heresy.
Despite the guarantee of personal safety, he was handed over to the secular authorities to be burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. Arriving at the place of execution, he was asked by the empire's marshal if he would finally retract his views. Huss replied, "God is my witness that the evidence against me is false. I have never thought nor preached except with the one intention of winning men, if possible, from their sins. Today I will gladly die." The fire was lit. As the flames engulfed him, Huss began to sing in Latin a Christian chant: "Christ, Thou Son of the Living God, have mercy upon me."
After his death, his followers continued to insist on the importance of administering the Holy Communion in both kinds, and defeated several armies sent against them. In 1436 a pact was signed, by which the Church in Bohemia was authorized to administer Chalice as well as Host to all communicants. The followers of Jan Huss and his fellow martyr Jerome of Prague became known as the Czech Brethren and later as the Moravians. The Moravian Church survives to this day, and has had a considerable influence on the Lutheran movement.
Acknowledgements:
Text adapted from James Kiefer's Christian Biographies,
Catholic Encylopedia,
Christian
History Institute
Border from 3-D Revelations
Image from Eldrbarry's Reform