THE BLESSED JAN HUS (APRIL 27TH)

Blessed Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague

Anonymous (from Ukrainian), Edited and Rewritten by Bp. Joseph Boyd (Ancient Church of the West)

It was in the sixteenth century on an October 31 that Martin Luther first made public his "95 Theses" against the Roman Catholic church, thereby inaugurating the Protestant Reformation. The term "Protestant" comes from "protest" and was used to describe radicals who swam against the stream, especially when the Church was involved. One of the first to be called a "Protestant" was Joan of Arc. Her excommunication and subsequent burning as a heretic was a religious form of revenge exacted by an angry English Church and people. Another "Protestant" who was actually burned on the same day as Joan, was the Czech Reformer Jan Hus (+1415). It is in the life and times of Jan Hus that we best see the religious issues surrounding the genesis of the Reformation. 

A Catholic priest and theologian, Fr. Jan Hus (from his town of Husinec) was very interested in the pastoral care of his Czech flock. Hus was well aware of the former Cyrillo-Methodian heritage of Bohemia and the surrounding areas from the time of Prince (Saint) Rostislav who first invited the Thessalonian brothers to his domains. The later imposition of Roman Catholicism and of German colonial rule on Bohemia and the Czech lands were to become the "lords of spiritual misrule," according to Jan Hus.

Hus preaching from a Czech illuminated manuscript for the 1490's (from Wikipedia)

Roman Catholicism imposed the foreign language of Latin on the Slavic Czechs, rather than the previous Slavonic of Sts. Cyril and Methodius which was entirely understandable. This meant that the people could no longer understand the Church services or the Scriptures. With the imposition of Latin, the people fell away from an active and intelligent participation in the life of Christ through the Church. Consequently, their spiritual and moral lives fell to an all time low. 

In his writings and sermons, Hus decries the moral laxity of the clergy in Bohemia. The higher clergy are overly concerned with property and finances, he said, and the lower (celibate) clergy's sexual morals were a scandal to the laity. Hus was also strongly against mandatory celibacy for the clergy. He was in favour of a sound monastic life. To show how low the level of religious awareness became in Bohemia, Hus cites an example of a parishioner who thought that "Sviata Troytsa" or, in English, "Holy Trinity" was a female saint! Something similar happened in Rome itself when the Greek Church of the Resurrection or the "Anastasis" became the Church of "St Anastasia." 

Hus was also particularly angry that the Roman Rite of his time forbade Communion from the Chalice. Later on, the movement that originated with Hus took the Chalice as its main outward symbol. Hus also objected to the strong German influence at the University of Prague and other cultural influences that diluted the Slavic culture of his people, especially in the Church. Hus maintained that this prevented the proper inculturation of the Gospel among the Czechs and hurt their overall evangelization.

Hus in his role as Professor of Theology

Hus began to get into trouble when his preaching against moral laxity reached to the heights of papal authority. His Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, for example, contained paintings of moral comparison. On the one side was a picture of St Peter walking humbly. On the other, was a picture of the current popes being carried throughout the streets of Rome. Hus also preached against the use of Czech resources to help fight the papal wars. He found that to be totally at variance with the Gospel of Christ! 

Called to the Roman Council of Constance to answer charges of heresy, Hus went with the promise of safe passage from the Emperor. But once at Constance, Hus was arrested and kept in dark prison for about a year. He was tried for trumped up charges, such as teaching there was a "fourth person" in the Trinity and similar such fantastic statements concocted by his judges who were determined to condemn him. For his part, Hus refused to answer the charges, so indignant he was. Both sides hardened their positions very quickly. Hus was then condemned to die by fire for heresy. He constantly demanded from his judges that they prove from Scripture and Tradition that his views were heretical. They would not because they could not.

Huss at the Council of Constance

Hus received a letter from Emperor Sigismund who said Bohemia was worried about his safety. "Don't worry," Hus wrote back. "Your goose ("Hus" means "goose") is not cooked yet." This is the source for that quaint idiom. His Czech friends and even some former enemies visited Hus in prison. They tried to convince him to recant. However, if he believed in what he said, then, they told him, he should remain steadfast until the end. 

Hus was taken in chains to the place of his martyrdom wearing a heretic's hat with two devils depicted destroying a soul. He was chained to the stake, with a chain around his neck so that the cap wouldn't fall off too soon. He died forgiving his enemies, foretelling that the Church would exonerate him, reciting the Creed and saying the Jesus Prayer. His ashes were collected and thrown into the river to prevent people from obtaining relics. The reaction to Jan Hus' death was immediate. The University of Prague declared Hus a Saint and a Martyr and established July 6 as his Feast. The Czech people painted his icon in their Churches and every second village, it is said, had a monument to their national martyr.

His being burnt at the stake

The Hussites were formed and Jan Zizka, the great Czech general, repelled the papal forces from Bohemia no less than five times, using brilliant military strategy. The Ukrainian Prince, later Saint, Theodore Ostrozhky, borrowed from Zizka's tactics against the Poles in Western Ukraine, (with tremendous success). 

Orthodox theologians analyzing the life and times of Jan Hus have always maintained that he wanted to return to the former spiritual heritage of Cyril and Methodius. He was not a classical “Reformed” or "Protestant," but a reforming and orthodox churchman, who had properly understood the problems with Roman innovation. He advocated a married priesthood, the national language in the Church and Communion in both Kinds, among other things, were all part of the Cyrillo-Methodian Christian tradition. 

A Wycliffite theologian in the person of John Payne visited Prague in the aftermath of Hus' martyrdom. From thence he visits the Orthodox Church at Constantinople and shared with the Ecumenical Patriarchate his vision for a restored and orthodox Western Church. Hearing this vision and believing in its rightness, the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to consecrate him as a missionary bishop to the West. Payne submitted to Orthodox episcopal consecration and took the new name of “Constantine Anglikos”, and was sent back to Bohemia to spend the rest of his life to work among the Hussites. One Ukrainian Orthodox Bishop indicated to me that the Hussites were always, in fact, of an Orthodox orientation and many of them were canonical members of the Orthodox Church. Certainly, the Hussite movement had much to do with the resurgence of Orthodoxy in Bohemia in the twentieth century. It is not surprising that one of the great national martyrs of the Czech Republic is an Orthodox Bishop, St Gorazd of Prague, who was martyred by the Nazis for hiding Czech patriots! 

Also, Hus' associate, Jerome of Prague, himself a student of Wycliffe in London, also became Orthodox in Latvia during his visit there. He died a similar death, at the stake, for the "Orthodox Catholic Church," as he said. Jerome's Orthodox baptismal certificate has been located and there is interest in the possibility of formally glorifying him as an Orthodox saint. 

Several years ago, I came across a very mission-minded Czech Orthodox priest who had received numerous Protestantized Hussites into the Church. He told me he was in favour of the Church declaring Hus a saint and allowing for his veneration. This was part of the Hussite heritage, he said, and would make for an even greater conversion of the Protestant Hussites to Orthodoxy. Certainly, Jan Hus has been honoured by many Pan-Slavists, including Taras Shevchenko. In his poem, The Heretic, Shevchenko, himself an Orthodox Christian, has this to say about Mistr Jan Hus: 

"Receive then this poem about the Holy Czech, the Great Martyr, the Glorious Hus! And I will pray that all Slavs become as heretical as the Great Heretic of Constance!" 

The Pope of Rome has recently apologized for the suffering of Hus at the hands of the Roman Church and there seems to be a rehabilitation process afoot for Hus, spurred on especially by German theologians. 

Clearly, the tradition of Jan Hus belongs with that of the Western Orthodox Church. His reformation was based on the Fathers and Sts. Cyril and Methodius. His message and witness remain cogent and relevant in our times, especially with respect to the tenor of "ecumenical" discussions between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. To both, Jan Hus is saying, I believe, "Return to the Tradition and the Fathers of Christ's One Holy, Orthodox-Catholic and Apostolic Church!" This is the kind of "Protestant Reformation" that we should all be faithful to and seek in the Western Church.

The Memorial to Jan Hus stands in the Old Town Square of Prague, framed by two churches built in different styles of architecture - One Eastern and one Western