This is part 3 in the continuing series summarizing The Moravian Church Through the Ages by John Weinlick. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 The Crusades introduce so much to The Middle Ages - including a desire to expand. John Wiclif examines the structure of the church in light of Scripture and finds it lacking, and while he is able to escape persecution during his lifetime, he stirs the embers for others to follow. There is the Papal Schism and countries like Bohemia and Moravia are ready to throw off their Germanic and church related bonds. Men like John Hus are spurred on by desires to preach, write, teach in the language of the people. His challenges toward the church mean his death. Chapter 3 - The Aftermath The Cast Hussites The Holy Roman Church The Utraquists (also called Calixtinates) The Taborites King Wenzel Emperor Sigismund Queen Sophia (passing role) John Ziska von Troconow (Ziska) Prokop the Great The Setting Primarily Bohemia To lesser degre...

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 – John Hus: The Martyr of Bohemia It’s 1381 and Princess Anne of Bohemia had married King Richard II .  This bond between the two countries allowed for Bohemian priests to come to England to be trained and introduced to the teachings of John Wiclif. They returned home to add Wiclif’s thoughts to their arsenal. Czechs were ripe for reform. They’d been a minority in the Germanic area. And there had been conflict in Bohemia/Moravia between the Eastern and Western churches. Each church had vied for dominance. The Eastern church had a strong foothold. Ignored by Rome, the Eastern church moved in with Cyril and Methodius in the mid-800s. They translated scriptures into the vernacular, preached in the same and established popular church order. And by now, the Western church was German which did not sit well with the Czechs. The church is still terribly corrupt and being German on top of it, didn’t win them any favors. Charles IV was a reformer king in Bohemia. He establ...

John Hus was burned on July 6, 1415 as a heretic. When considering the fate of so many called heretic, it makes me wonder when people use the word today, if they think about the very real consequences that accompanied that label in the past. His family were peasants. Hus wanted to become a priest because it afforded a decent income, dress and place in society. But somewhere along the way that philosophy changed.  He received a bachelors of divinity degree., and he preached in Czech. He was a contemporary of King Wenceslaus, and a reformer that followed Wycliffe, although apparently not blindly. He was excommunicated in 1412, burned to death in 1415. I found the book  John Hus, the martyr of Bohemia: a study of the dawn of Protestantism By William Nathaniel Schwarze on google.com/books. It seems to be complete. It's a short book at 158 -164 pages. You can read it in book form or in plain text.