Church History · 1415

Jan Hus Is Burned at the Stake

Jan Hus was a Czech priest and university leader who preached in Czech and followed many of John Wycliffe's ideas. Promised safe conduct to the Council of Constance, he was arrested, refused to take back his teaching, and was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. His followers later formed the Unity of the Brethren, the Moravian Church.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 10:28 John 8:32 Revelation 2:10

Jan Hus was a Czech priest, preacher and scholar in Prague who called for reform of the church a full century before Martin Luther. He taught that Christ, not the pope, is the head of the church, and that Scripture is the final authority. Summoned to the Council of Constance with a promise of safe conduct, he was arrested, tried as a heretic, and burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. His death sparked a revolt in Bohemia, and his followers later founded one of the oldest Protestant churches, the Unity of the Brethren, known today as the Moravian Church.

Who Was Jan Hus?

Hus was born around 1370 in the village of Husinec in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. He came from a poor family and studied at the university in Prague, where he became a teacher and, in 1409, its rector, the head of the university. His name, Hus, means goose in Czech, a fact that will come up again.

From 1402 he preached at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. The chapel was built for preaching in Czech, not Latin, and crowds packed it to hear him. He spoke out against greed and immorality among the clergy, and ordinary people loved him for it.

How Was Jan Hus Influenced by John Wycliffe?

England and Bohemia had close ties at the time, because the English king Richard II had married a Bohemian princess. Czech students brought Wycliffe's writings home from Oxford. Hus read them and agreed with much of what he found, though not all of it. He accepted Wycliffe's view that the church is made up of all of God's people, with Christ as its head, and that church leaders must be judged by Scripture. Read more in the Wycliffe article on this site.

In 1412 a pope began selling indulgences in Prague to raise money for a war. Hus openly condemned it, saying no pope or bishop could take up the sword in the name of the church or sell forgiveness. That made him powerful enemies. He was excommunicated, and he left Prague to keep preaching in the countryside.

What Happened at the Council of Constance?

From 1414 to 1418 church leaders met in Constance, a city on the border of modern Germany and Switzerland. Their main job was to end an embarrassing split in which three men claimed to be pope. They also wanted to deal with heresy.

Hus was invited to explain his views. King Sigismund, who would become Holy Roman Emperor, promised him safe conduct there and back. Hus arrived in November 1414. Within weeks he was arrested, with Sigismund going along with it, and held in harsh prison conditions for months.

At his hearings Hus said he would gladly change his mind if anyone could show him from Scripture that he was wrong. The council wanted him to simply take back a list of statements, some of which he said he had never taught. He refused to lie. On July 6, 1415, he was condemned and burned at the stake outside the city. His ashes were thrown into the Rhine River so his followers would have no relics. His friend Jerome of Prague was burned the next year.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

Did Jan Hus Predict Martin Luther?

There is a famous story that Hus said something like this at his death. Today you roast a goose, but in a hundred years a swan will rise that you will not be able to burn. Luther, who was born about seventy years after Hus died, later saw himself as that swan, and swans became a symbol in many Lutheran churches.

It is a great story, but historians treat it as a legend. The exact prophecy does not appear in records from the time of Hus. He did make jokes about his name, the goose, in his letters, and the swan version grew from there. So it is fair to enjoy the story while knowing it is probably not his exact words.

What is certain is that Luther read Hus and was amazed. After studying his writings in 1520, Luther wrote that without knowing it, he and his friends had all been Hussites. See the article on Luther's 95 Theses.

What Happened to the Followers of Jan Hus?

News of his death caused an uproar in Bohemia. Hundreds of nobles signed a protest. The Hussite movement grew, and it fought off several crusades sent against it in the Hussite Wars from 1419 to the 1430s. One of their key practices was giving both the bread and the cup to ordinary believers at communion, not just to priests. Their symbol was a chalice.

The movement split into several groups. One peaceful group, devoted to simple Bible based living, formed the Unity of the Brethren in 1457. That church survived persecution, was renewed in the 1700s, and is known today as the Moravian Church. See the article on the Moravian Church.

How Is Jan Hus Remembered Today?

Czechs honor Hus as a national hero, and July 6 is a public holiday in the Czech Republic. A huge monument to him stands in the Old Town Square of Prague. In 1999 Pope John Paul II expressed deep regret for the cruel death of Hus and praised his moral courage. Protestants honor him as a forerunner of the Reformation.

Why It Matters for You Today

Hus is often quoted as urging Christians to seek the truth, love the truth, speak the truth and defend the truth until death. He lived that out. He did not want to be a rebel. He just would not say something was true if he could not find it in God's Word.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

Most of us will never face a fire for our faith. But we all face moments where it is easier to go along than to stand for what is true. Hus reminds us that faithfulness is worth it.

Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

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Questions People Ask

Why was Jan Hus burned at the stake?

The Council of Constance condemned Hus as a heretic for teachings drawn partly from John Wycliffe, such as that Christ alone is head of the church and that church leaders must be judged by Scripture. He refused to recant statements he said he did not hold or could not disprove from the Bible, and he was burned on July 6, 1415.

Did Jan Hus predict Martin Luther?

A well known story says Hus predicted that a swan would rise a century after the goose was burned, and Luther applied it to himself. Historians treat the exact prophecy as a later legend, though Hus did play on his name, which means goose, in his letters.

What was the safe conduct given to Jan Hus?

King Sigismund promised Hus safe passage to the Council of Constance and back home. Soon after Hus arrived in 1414, he was arrested anyway, with the king's consent, and he was never allowed to leave.

What church came from Jan Hus?

His followers formed several groups. One of them, the Unity of the Brethren, founded in 1457, survives today as the Moravian Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches.

Sources

← John Wycliffe and the First Complete English Bible Gutenberg's Printing Press and the First Printed Bible →

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