Jan Hus didn’t die for heresy or for opposing orthodox theology. He had his skull crushed in and his ashes scattered for opposing corruption.
Corruption at the time was, frankly, horrific. Priests openly cavorted with prostitutes or concubines and threatened resistance by the sword when the church attempted to correct them. Simony, the selling of religious offices, was widespread. Indulgences, the practice of financially paying for the forgiveness of sins, had crept into the church and slowly slid into full-blown racketeering. The church had two simultaneous ruling popes, and when a council tried to fix this they ended up with a third.
There is a reason the Reformation would explode in the next century. In my opinion, all it needed at this point was the printing press to get things off of the ground.
Hus was born in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) and preached at the Bethlehem Chapel. He did not preach in Latin, as was the norm for the Catholic Church, but in Czech. In a time when peasants could only trust God’s will through the word of man, Hus gave them the word of God itself.
Alongside being a pastor, Hus was the head of Charles University in Prague, a school most well remembered for resisting German rule. Locals, including those in academia, resented the supposition of German cultural superiority. Hus is remembered not only for his theology and zeal but also (even in the modern-day Czech Republic) for supporting Czech pride and nationalism.
Hus also supported utraquism, the belief that communion should include both bread and wine. This may seem obvious to modern Christians, but priests at that time administered only the bread. Hus’s death, combined with the refusal to serve both (while publicly recognizing it as commanded by Christ), would lead to a full-blown revolution within Bohemia.
In the “Hussite Wars” that followed, the one-eyed general Jan Zizka remained undefeated, employing unorthodox wagon-fortress tactics that allowed peasants to repeatedly defeat mounted cavalry. These conflicts led to Bohemia being one of the only European nation-states in history to sustain a level of independence against the Catholic Church.
Luther and Hus
102 years after Hus’s death, Martin Luther would also rally against indulgences, but he was not the first. When questioned by an opponent, Luther would go so far as to say, Ja, ich bin ein Hussite. Though Luther consistently supported non-violent resolution, he also recognized that in the eyes of the Church, he was a heretic, and lived in its crosshairs. But he was willing to stand.
Luther and Hus agreed on a number of points, such as salvation by Christ alone, authority ultimately in Scripture, and the opposition of indulgences. Luther directly referenced some of Hus’s arguments, as well. (i.e., If the pope has a treasury of merit, why must he be paid to give from it instead of doing so out of love?)
Hus also, at least indirectly, called the Pope the “antichrist,” an assignment taken up in full by the Reformers. Even still, Hus was very much a Catholic. He, like Luther, had not sought to tear the church down or break away from it, but to reform from within.
Wycliffe and Hus
As Luther took from Hus, Hus took much from John Wycliffe, who died when Hus was only 12. Wycliffe is remembered mainly for translating the Bible into English so that commoners could understand and engage with it, as well as for his theology of the priesthood of all believers. The latter doctrine had an enormous effect on Hus and other Reformers. If all believers are priests, then this means the commoner is equal to the clergyman before God, or even in a better standing, if that clergyman has been living in sin. Further, they should have access to God’s Word without the need for a human intercessor.
Though Wycliffe had died peaceably, he was posthumously condemned in 1415 at the same Council of Constance which ordered Hus to be burned.
(As an aside, “Hus” is the Czech word for “goose.” Jan Hus was born in Husinec, Bohemia, likely taking his last name from the town. An anglicization of this would be, “John Goose from Goosetown.” Both Jan and his contemporaries made fun of this point on multiple occasions. Upon arriving at Constance, Hus was believed to have said, “Here they will want to roast this goose.”)
The four charges against Jan Hus were:
1. Teaching that laymen and clergy should drink from the communion cup.
2. Opposing transubstantiation.
3. Teaching the validity of the sacraments is tied to the moral character of those who administer them.
4. Criticizing the discipline and organization of the Church.
He died singing a hymn and praying,
“Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, have mercy on me… Lord Jesus, it is for thee that I patiently endure this cruel death. I pray thee to have mercy on my enemies.”
