“Hus was an heir to the English church proto-reformer John Wycliffe, whose themes of personal holiness and direct reading of Scripture in native language he reiterated.  Wycliffe died a natural death, but a quarter century later he was condemned at the Council of Constance, where a still very much alive Hus was tried for heresy, defrocked and sentenced to death.”

Czech church reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake 600 years ago this summer.  Thursday evening I attended a commemoration at the Czech Embassy in Washington, DC, which included a thoughtful lecture followed by a delicious buffet meal.  The room was packed.  Apparently there’s a Jan Hus subculture with few opportunities for self-expression!

The young Czech cultural attaché energetically introduced the evening by explaining that even though the Czech Republic is one of the most secular countries on the world, Hus is honored as a martyr for conscience.  A Protestant theologian from Charles University in Prague,  where Hus also taught, gave the lecture.

Hus was an heir to the English church proto-reformer John Wycliffe, whose themes of personal holiness and direct reading of Scripture in native language he reiterated.  Wycliffe died a natural death, but a quarter century later he was condemned at the Council of Constance, where a still very much alive Hus was tried for heresy, defrocked and sentenced to death.  Hus had earlier sardonically noted that his goose was ready to be cooked, and it literally was.  Wycliffe’s body was also disinterred and burned.  Thorough!

But Hus had been popular in his native Bohemia, where there arose a long, bloody Hussite rebellion against the church and emperor who waged crusades against them, brought to a close after 15 years by compromise and some church reforms.  The Moravian Church, which would later influence John Wesley and be prominent in colonial America, descends from the Hussites.   Many themes further developed and popularized by Martin Luther were foreshadowed by Hus and Wycliffe, especially translating the Bible into popular language.

There was a dark side to the Hussite conflict, after the death of Hus, which the embassy lecture briefly mentioned.  Even though Hussites were sort of philo-Semites, some Hussite forces in at least one case forced Jews to convert or die, echoing ISIS of today.  Apparently in that episode, Catholics weren’t even given the conversion option.  The Catholic crusaders waged their own atrocities.  Even the religiously persecuted in history too often have been unwilling to extend conscience rights to others.

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