Love Under Fire

Safe Conduct From the King

In a letter to his friends he said: “My brethren, ... I am departing with a safe-conduct from the king to meet my many mortal enemies.... Jesus Christ suffered for His well-beloved; and therefore should we be astonished that He has left us His example? ... Therefore, beloved, if my death will contribute to His glory, pray that it may come quickly, and that He may enable me to bear all my calamities faithfully.... Let us pray to God ... that I may not suppress one speck of the truth of the gospel, in order to leave my brethren an excellent example to follow.”³ LF 47.2

In another letter, Huss spoke with humility of his own errors, accusing himself “of having felt pleasure in wearing rich clothing and of having wasted hours on trivial things.” He then added, “May the glory of God and the salvation of souls occupy your mind, and not the possession of wealth and property. Beware of adorning your house more than your soul; and, above all, pay attention to spiritual things. Be pious and humble with the poor, and don’t spend your resources on feasting.”⁴ LF 47.3

At Constance, Huss was given full liberty. He received not only the emperor's safe-conduct, but also a personal assurance of protection by the pope. But in spite of these repeated declarations, in a short time the Reformer was arrested on orders from the pope and cardinals and thrown into a miserable dungeon. Later he was taken to a strong castle across the Rhine to be kept as a prisoner. Soon after, the pope himself was committed to the same prison.⁵ He had been proven guilty of the lowest crimes, besides murder, simony,^* and adultery, “sins not fit to be named.” He was finally deprived of the crown. The antipopes also were deposed, and a new pontiff was chosen. LF 47.4

Though the pope himself had been guilty of greater crimes than those with which Huss had charged the priests, yet the same council that removed the pontiff went on to crush the Reformer. The imprisonment of Huss stirred up great resentment in Bohemia. The emperor, who did not want to violate a safe-conduct, opposed the proceedings against Huss. But the Reformer's enemies argued that “faith should not be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy, even when they are given safe-conducts from the emperor and kings.”⁶ LF 47.5

Weak from illness—the damp dungeon brought on a fever that nearly ended his life—Huss was finally brought before the council. Loaded with chains he stood in the presence of the emperor, who had pledged to protect him. He firmly presented the truth and solemnly protested against the corruptions of the hierarchy. When the council required him to choose whether he would recant his doctrines or be put to death, he accepted the martyr's fate. LF 47.6

The grace of God sustained him. During the weeks of suffering before his final sentence, heaven's peace filled his soul. “I write this letter,” he said to a friend, “in my prison, and with my chained hand, expecting my sentence of death tomorrow.... When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we meet again in the delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful God has been toward me, how well He has supported me in my temptations and trials.”⁷ LF 48.1