Jan Hus, Reformation in Bohemia, by Oscar Kuhns and Robert Dickie, Published by Reformation Press, paperback, 208 pages, £9.75, obtainable from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
Hus (c1369-1415) was one of the best-known reformers before the Reformation; he was almost as prominent as John Wycliffe in England (c1325-1384). Indeed Hus was very much influenced by Wycliffe’s writings. The book begins with two chapters giving the historical background to Hus’s life and witness. He became a prominent preacher in Prague, then the capital city of Bohemia and now capital of the Czech Republic. The Foreword summarises his early career: “Hus denounced the moral degeneracy and corruption of the clergy and bishops, and eventually even the papacy itself. He contended for the laity to receive wine in the Eucharist.”
Like Luther, Hus opposed the sale of indulgences. Hus declared that “the whole system of selling indulgences [was] utterly at variance with the spirit of Christ and the teaching of the gospel”. His influence arose in large part from his position as preacher in the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague; particularly important was his influence on the students of Prague University. His sermons “showed the contrast between the teachings of Christ as seen in the Gospels and the whole system of the Roman Catholic hierarchy”. It was while preacher in the Bethlehem Chapel that Hus had his eyes “opened to see the whole truth as it is in Christ Jesus. In preparing for his sermons, he studied the Bible thoroughly, and more and more he realised how great the
contrast was between the gospel and the Church of his own day. . . . He thus laid the foundation of that unshakeable principle, that the Bible alone is the only code of the Christian life, a principle that was later to lead him to the stake.”
In 1410 Hus was excommunicated, but his followers enthusiastically supported him and large crowds continued to come to hear him preach. Later he had to leave Prague and, like Luther holed up in a castle, used his time to translate part of the Bible into Bohemian.
Hus appealed to a general council against the decisions of the Roman Catholic authorities. When such a council was called to meet in Constance in 1414, Hus was invited to come and was promised a safe conduct by the Emperor. Some days after arriving in Constance, Hus was arrested. When examined by a commission appointed by the Council, he refused to confess any errors; “he constantly declared that he would only recant if they would show him to be in error, based on the Scriptures”.
Worn out and ill after months of imprisonment, Hus first faced the Council in June 1415. Several attempts were made to force him to recant, even of doctrines that he had never held, but in the end he was condemned to be burnt at the stake – in spite of the safe conduct promised by the Emperor, who was present at his trial. As the wood was being piled up around him, Hus confessed, “The chief aim of all my preaching, writing and acts was that I might save men from sin. And today I am willing and glad to die for that truth of the gospel which I have taught, written and preached.”
A chapter is devoted to the story, over a considerable period of time, of Hus’s followers, known as Hussites, which is recounted in some detail. It is largely an account of military conflict.
Hus no doubt did considerable good in his time, particularly through his preaching. Also significant was his effect, about 100 years later, on Luther, who stated, “In my opinion Jan Hus bought with his own blood the gospel which we now possess”.
The book was first published in 1907; its original author, Oscar Kuhns, was an American professor. Dr Dickie, a Free Presbyterian elder, has edited the book, providing considerable extra material “to give useful historical context and relevant topographical information”. A short guide to Czech pronunciation has also been included, to help with names. An appendix provides thumbnail biographies of the people referred to. It should be noted that Hus was not Reformed in some of his doctrines, but he is an important figure in church history because of his opposition to the corruptions of Rome and to many of her doctrines. Accordingly it is useful for us to learn something about him, and to read this book is an excellent way to do so.