PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to shed some light on the "heresy" of Jan Hus, a priest burnt at the stake by the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the year 1415.


INTRODUCTION

In utmost sincerity, we have never heard of Jan Hus until we received the following letter from a member of The M+G+R Foundation Family: (1)



While watching a recent "history lesson" on EWTN (2), the subject of the early Reformer Jan Hus came up. The Roman Church had always taught me that Hus was "bad" and thus his burning at the stake was to be considered justified. But I also recall a Bohemian family members telling me the opposite when I was a child, and roundly criticizing the clergy for its sins.  So, I looked up Hus in the Wikipedia (3). Below are some key highlights.

A critical passage: "... Hus (1369-1415) ... was a Czech religious thinker, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. His followers became known as Hussites. The Roman Catholic Church  considered his teachings heretical, and Hus was excommunicated in 1411, condemned by the Council of Constance, and burned at the stake in 1415. Nearly six centuries later in 1999, Pope John Paul II expressed 'deep regret for the cruel death inflicted' on Hus. The pope then went on to suggest an inquiry as to whether Hus might be cleared of heresy."

What was exactly was his "grave heresy" which deserved burning at the stake?

Answer:  "Hus spoke out against indulgences... stated that no pope or bishop had the right to take up the sword in the name of the Church; he should pray for his enemies and bless those that curse him; man obtains forgiveness of sins  by real repentance, not through money."

Also Hus condemned the then common definition of "the Church" as pertaining solely to the clergy/hierarchy/Vatican/pope, and  ".......considered (them) a fraudulent mob of adulterers and Simonists." At his trial - after arrest and being cast into the dungeons of Dominican and Franciscan monasteries - "The doctors of the university required from Hus and his adherents an approval of their conception of the Church, according to which the Pope is the head, the Cardinals are the body of the Church, and that all regulations of this Church must be obeyed."

I do not support any of the Protestant reformers who may go contrary to the core, genuine truths, of the Faith. But on examination the presented evidence, it does not seem that Hus was guilty of that. Rather, he sought genuine reform of ethics, morals, and governance in line with the true faith in Christ and what He taught.

What did Hus contend in his writings, speeches, and at his unjust trial? [He contended the following...]

"The book on the Church and on the power of the pope contains the essence of the doctrine of Hus. According to it, the Church is not that hierarchy which is generally designated as Church; the Church is the entire body of those who from eternity have been predestined for salvation. Christ, not the pope, is its head. It is no article of faith that one must obey the pope to be saved. Neither external membership in the Church nor churchly offices and dignities are a surety that the persons in question are members of the true Church."

But it seems clear that Hus' efforts were predominantly designed to rid the Church of its ethical abuses, rather than a campaign of sweeping theological change. In explaining the plight of the average Christian in Bohemia, Hus wrote, 'One pays for confession, for mass, for the sacrament, for indulgences, for churching a woman, for a blessing, for burials, for funeral services and prayers. The very last penny which an old woman has hidden in her bundle for fear of thieves or robbery will not be saved. The villainous priest will grab it.'"



DETAILS

To speak from solid ground, since we have never heard of Jan Hus, we confirmed the Wikipedia information with a Roman Catholic source and a Protestant source. (4)

Generally speaking, the allegations were the same as Wikipedia reported.

With this information confirmed, we must then ask: Does the list of complaints against the Roman Catholic Church Hierarchy prepared by Jan Hus have a familiar ring?

In case it does not, please review our position regarding the Catholic Faith (5), our position regarding the Roman Church Hierarchy (6) and the position Jesus holds regarding the Roman Church Administrators (7).

The correspondent closed his letter with:


We differ with this kind writer on the fact "....that if Hus were alive today and speaking out in like manner... he would likely meet the same fate."

"Today" they could not burn him at the stake;  imagine the public reaction. The techniques apparently used "today" are untraceable assassination attempts, as miguel de Portugal has experienced in the past.

However, if we fast forward to Step No. 10 (8), burning at the stake for heresy would then be a plausible reality.

Without showing "our hand" we will say this much:

When the very few "of that kind" which will be left over in the world - just enough to orchestrate the entrance of the False Christ - conduct an almost 600 year old rerun, they will fully understand the meaning of:


and


They will also understand, on their own flesh, that what we read  "....his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground." [Luke 22:44] is not a figure of speech nor abstract symbolism.


CONCLUSION

We do look forward to that Glorious time!


EPILOGUE

Let us pray....





(1) Clarifications in brackets by The M+G+R Foundation

(2) EWTN: Eternal Word Television Network, popular in America.

(3) Jan Hus - Wikipedia (accessed in 2007)

(4) A Protestant view on the Jan Hus issue (accessed in 2007)

(5) Our Position about the Catholic Faith

(6) Our Position about the Roman Church Hierarchy

(7) Jesus Judges the Roman Church Administrators

(8) Sequence of Events






En Español:  La supuesta Herejía de Jan Hus

Published on November 12th, 2007