RDH4 - John Hus

Now it's time to start mixing the ingredients.  We will start with the first ingredient, the Great (or Western) Schism.  There were two Popes, both of whom were elected by the Cardinals and both of whom claimed to be the only Pope.  Several years into the Schism, a new council was created that elected yet another Pope.  Now there were three Popes.  During that period of time, John Hus came on the scene. 

John Huss was a scholar at the University of Prague and in a region to submitted to the newest of the three Popes.  He began teaching the authority of the Bible and soon came under pressure from the third Pope (John XXIII).  Then, Hus made a declaration that signed his death warrant.  He said that an unworthy Pope was not to be obeyed.  In 1415, only a few years after the controversy had begun, Hus was burned at the stake for his beliefs by the council that had elected the Pope, who was then in prison for refusing to resign from his position. 

So what got Hus killed? He simply thought that the Pope should live a worthy lifestyle, and that if he didn't, he shouldn't be followed.  Secondly, the Bible should be the final authority for everyone.  He really hadn't said much, but it was enough to get him killed.  It is rumored that during his execution, Hus claimed that someone would rise up that would not be defeated.  Interestingly enough, Abbot Johannes Zacharias was a member of the council that had Huss executed.  Zacharias was buried in the Black Monastery in Erfurt Germany.

It just so happened that 90 years after the execution of Hus, Martin Luther laid prostrate over the burial grave of Abbot Zacharias as part of his initiation process for becoming an Augustinian Monk.  Wouldn't it be interesting that if following Hus' statement about another person raising up that would succeed at his efforts, Abbot Zacharias, among the council members, had said, "over my dead body"?  I'm sure he didn't, but it sure is thought-provoking.

To be continued...