Jan Hus Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Papal Schism=== In 1408, the [[Charles University in Prague]] was divided by the [[Western Schism]], in which Gregory XII in Rome and [[Antipope Benedict XIII|Benedict XIII]] in [[Avignon]] both claimed the papacy. Wenceslaus felt Gregory XII might interfere with his plans to be crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. He denounced Gregory, ordered the clergy in Bohemia to observe a strict neutrality in the schism and said that he expected the same of the university. Archbishop Zajíc remained faithful to Gregory. At the University, only the scholars of the Bohemian "nation" (one of the four governing sections), with Hus as their leader, vowed neutrality.{{sfn|Kuhns|Dickie|2017|pp=67–70}} ====Kutná Hora Decree==== {{see|Decree of Kutná Hora}} In January 1409, [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia|Wenceslaus]] summoned representatives of the four nations comprising the university to the Czech city of [[Kutná Hora]] to demand statements of allegiance. The Czech nation agreed, but the other three nations declined. The king then decreed that the Czech nation would have three votes in university affairs, while the "German nation" (composed of the former [[Bavaria]]n, [[Saxony|Saxon]], and [[Poland|Polish]] nations) would have one vote in total. Due to the change in voting structure by May 1409 the German dean and rector were deposed and replaced by Czechs. The [[Rupert, King of Germany|Palatine Elector]] called the Germans to his own University of Heidelberg, while the [[William II, Margrave of Meissen|Margrave of Meissen]] started a new [[University of Leipzig|university]] in Leipzig. It is estimated that over one thousand students and masters left Prague. The emigrants also spread accusations of Bohemian heresy.{{sfn|Fudge|2010|pp=97–100}} ====Antipope Alexander V==== {{More citations needed section|date=July 2020}} In 1409, the [[Council of Pisa]] tried to end the schism by electing [[Antipope Alexander V|Alexander V]] as Pope, but Gregory and Benedict did not submit. (Alexander was declared an "[[antipope]]" by the [[Council of Constance]] in 1418.) Hus, his followers, and Wenceslaus IV transferred their allegiance to Alexander V. Under pressure from King Wenceslaus IV, Archbishop Zajíc did the same. Zajíc then lodged an accusation of "ecclesiastical disturbances" against Wycliffites in Prague with Alexander V. On 20 December 1409, Alexander V issued a [[papal bull]] that empowered the Archbishop to proceed against Wycliffism in Prague. All copies of Wycliffe's writings were to be surrendered and his views repudiated, and free preaching discontinued. After the publication of the bull in 1410, Hus appealed to Alexander V, but in vain. The Wycliffe books and valuable manuscripts were burned, and Hus and his adherents were [[Excommunication|excommunicated]] by Alexander V. ====Crusade against Naples==== Alexander V died in 1410, and was succeeded by [[Antipope John XXIII|John XXIII]] (also later declared an antipope). In 1411, John XXIII proclaimed a [[crusade]] against King [[Ladislaus of Naples]], the protector of rival [[Pope Gregory XII]]. This crusade was preached in Prague as well. John XXIII also authorized [[indulgence]]s to raise money for the war. Priests urged the people on, and they crowded into churches to give their offerings. This traffic in indulgences was a sign of the corruption of the Church needing remediation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Archaeological and Historical Evidence – Falling Away from the Pure Gospel of Jesus Christ|url=http://www.supportingevidences.net/falling-away-from-the-pure-gos/|access-date=2020-12-11|website=www.supportingevidences.net|language=en}}</ref> ====Condemnation of indulgences and Crusade==== Archbishop Zajíc died in 1411 and with his death the [[Bohemian Reformation|religious movement in Bohemia]] entered a new phase during which the disputes concerning [[indulgences]] assumed great importance. Hus spoke out against indulgences, but he could not carry with him the men of the university. In 1412, a dispute took place, on which occasion Hus delivered his address ''Quaestio magistri Johannis Hus de indulgentiis''. It was taken literally from the last chapter of Wycliffe's book, ''De ecclesia'', and his treatise, ''De absolutione a pena et culpa''. Hus asserted 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 who curse him; man obtains forgiveness of sins by true repentance, not money. The doctors of the theological faculty replied, but without success. A few days afterward some of Hus followers led by Vok Voksa z Valdštejna, burned the [[Papal bull]]s. Hus, they said, should be obeyed rather than the Church, which they considered a fraudulent mob of adulterers and [[Simony|Simonists]].{{sfn|Schaff|1953|pp=415–420}} In response, three men from the lower classes who openly called the indulgences a fraud were beheaded. They were later considered the first martyrs of the [[Hussite]] Church. In the meantime, the faculty had condemned the forty-five articles and added several other theses, deemed heretical, which had originated with Hus. The king forbade the teaching of these articles but neither Hus nor the university complied with the ruling. They requested that the articles should be first proven to be un-scriptural. The tumults at Prague had stirred up a sensation. Papal legates and Archbishop Albik tried to persuade Hus to give up his opposition to the papal bulls and the king made an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the two parties.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/newschaffherzog26haucgoog|quote=Archbishop Albik tried to persuade Hus to give up his opposition to the papal bulls and the king made an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the two parties.|title=The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology and Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Biography from the Earliest Times to the Present Day|last1=Herzog|first1=Johann Jakob|last2=Hauck|first2=Albert|last3=Jackson|first3=Samuel Macauley|last4=Sherman|first4=Charles Colebrook|last5=Gilmore|first5=George William|date=1909|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newschaffherzog26haucgoog/page/n438 416]|language=en}}</ref> ====Attempts at reconciliation==== King Wenceslaus IV made efforts to harmonize the opposing parties. In 1412, he convoked the heads of his kingdom for a consultation and, at their suggestion, ordered a [[synod]] to be held at [[Český Brod]] on 2 February 1412. The synod was instead held in the palace of the archbishops at Prague in order to exclude Hus from participation. Propositions were made to restore peace in the Church. Hus declared that Bohemia should have the same freedom in regard to ecclesiastical affairs as other countries <!-- what other countries?? --> and that approbation and condemnation should therefore be announced only with the permission of the state power. This was the view of Wycliffe (''Sermones'', iii. 519, etc.). There followed treatises from both parties, but no harmony was obtained. "Even if I should stand before the stake which has been prepared for me," Hus wrote at the time, "I would never accept the recommendation of the theological faculty." The synod did not produce any results but the king ordered a commission to continue the work of reconciliation. The doctors of the university demanded Hus and his followers approve the university's conception of the Church. According to this conception, the pope is the head of the Church and the [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinals]] are the body of the Church. Hus protested vigorously. The Hussite party seems to have made a great effort toward reconciliation. To the article that the Roman Church must be obeyed, they added only "so far as every pious Christian is bound".{{sfn|Kuhns|1907|p=75}} Stanislav ze Znojma and Štěpán Páleč protested against this addition and left the convention; they were exiled by the king, with two others.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} ==== Hus leaves Prague and appeals to Jesus Christ ==== By this time, Hus's ideas had become widely accepted in Bohemia and there was broad resentment against the Church hierarchy. The attack on Hus by the pope and archbishop caused riots in parts of Bohemia. King Wenceslaus IV and his government took the side of Hus and the power of his adherents increased from day to day. Hus continued to preach in the [[Bethlehem Chapel]]. The churches of the city were put under the ban, and the [[Interdict (Catholic canon law)|interdict]] was pronounced against [[Prague]]. To protect the city, Hus left and went into the countryside where he continued to preach and write.{{sfn|Kuhns|1907|pp=77–78}} Before Hus left Prague, he decided to take a step which gave a new dimension to his endeavors. He wanted to become a preacher and then taught at the university he studied at before. He no longer put his trust in an indecisive king, a hostile pope or an ineffective council. On 18 October 1412, he appealed to Jesus Christ as the supreme judge.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Funda |first1=Otakar A. |title=Když se rákos chvěje nad hladinou|language=cs |date=2009 |publisher=Karolinum Press |isbn=978-8024615929 |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wZNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145}}</ref> By appealing directly to the highest Christian authority, Christ himself, he bypassed the laws and structures of the medieval Church. For the [[Bohemian Reformation]], this step was as significant as the [[The Ninety-Five Theses|95 theses]] posted in Wittenberg by Martin Luther in 1517. After Hus left Prague for the country, he realized what a gulf there was between university education and theological speculation and the life of uneducated country priests and the laymen entrusted to their care.{{sfn|Nodl|2010|pp=530–531}} Therefore he started to write many texts in Czech, such as basics of the Christian faith or preachings, intended mainly for the priests whose knowledge of Latin was poor.{{sfn|Šmahel|2013|p=143}} ====Writings of Hus and Wycliffe==== Of the writings occasioned by these controversies, those of Hus on the Church, entitled ''De Ecclesia'', were written in 1413 and have been most frequently quoted and admired or criticized, yet their first ten chapters are an epitome of Wycliffe's work of the same title and the following chapters are an abstract of another of Wycliffe's works (''De potentate papae'') on the power of the pope. Wycliffe had written his book to oppose the common position that the Church consisted primarily of the clergy, and Hus now found himself making the same point. He wrote his work at the castle of one of his protectors in Kozí Hrádek and sent it to Prague where it was publicly read in the Bethlehem Chapel. It was answered by Stanislav ze Znojma and Štěpán z Pálče (also Štěpán Páleč) with treatises of the same title.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} After the most vehement opponents of Hus had left Prague, his adherents occupied the whole ground. Hus wrote his treatises and preached in the neighborhood of Kozí Hrádek. Bohemian Wycliffism was carried into Poland, Hungary, [[Croatia]], and Austria. But in January 1413, a general council in Rome condemned the writings of Wycliffe and ordered them to be burned.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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