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Jan Hus

Faithful Witness to Truth

Jan Blahoslav Lášek and Angelo Shaun Franklin - Translated by Jacob Marques Rollison

The Bohemian reformer Jan Hus made a substantial and critical contribution to the development of the medieval church, owing especially to his views and teachings on Scripture, the church, faith, conscience, and spirituality. This book offers a presentation of Hus’s theological commitment centered on his understanding of truth. Lášek and Franklin explore Hus's preaching ministry and his long-drawn-out legal struggle against charges of heresy as ethical outworkings of this approach to truth. Central to this exploration is a new annotated translation of Hus’s Appeal to Jesus Christ as the Supreme Judge against the pope and canon law. This document was not only a protest against papal power, but expressed a fundamentally new legal situation: in bypassing canon law, it essentially represented a personal claim to freedom of conscience. This unheard-of principle from within the medieval legal framework preceded other related ecclesiastical and legal developments by several centuries. The authors argue that Hus’s appeal thus represents a momentous event in church history and European history as a whole. Due to the historical significance of his martyrdom and commemoration by many churches throughout Europe, this book demonstrates that Hus remains an important figure not only for the study of European history, but also for understanding contemporary values of Western civilization.

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Lexington Books
Pages: 202 • Trim: 6¼ x 9
978-1-7936-3742-0 • Hardback • May 2022 • $111.00 • (£85.00)
978-1-7936-3744-4 • Paperback • March 2024 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
978-1-7936-3743-7 • eBook • May 2022 • $37.50 • (£30.00)
Series: Czech Theological Perspectives
Subjects: Religion / Christianity / History, History / Europe / Medieval, Religion / Christian Church / Canon & Ecclesiastical Law

Jan Lášek is the Vice-Dean for Science and Research at the Hussite Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague.

Angelo Shaun Franklin is an independent researcher who works as a translator and educational consultant in Prague.

Preface — Angelo Shaun Franklin

Preface to the 1991 Czech Edition — Jan Blahoslav Lášek

Author’s Preface to the 2021 English Edition — Jan Blahoslav Lášek

Chapter 1: Historical Background: The Context of the Medieval Church

Chapter 2: The Life of Jan Hus

Chapter 3: Hus’s Appeal to Jesus Christ the Supreme Judge: An Annotated Translation

Chapter 4: Hus in Exile and in Constance

Chapter 5: Hus as a Reformer: Truth in Word and in Deed

Chapter 6: The Preaching of Hus: His Commitment to Proclaiming Truth

Conclusion: The Contemporary Struggle for Truth

Appendix: Hus’s Homily on the Holy Trinity (John 3:1–15): An Annotated Translation

Bibliography

About the Authors

Jan Hus

Faithful Witness to Truth

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • The Bohemian reformer Jan Hus made a substantial and critical contribution to the development of the medieval church, owing especially to his views and teachings on Scripture, the church, faith, conscience, and spirituality. This book offers a presentation of Hus’s theological commitment centered on his understanding of truth. Lášek and Franklin explore Hus's preaching ministry and his long-drawn-out legal struggle against charges of heresy as ethical outworkings of this approach to truth. Central to this exploration is a new annotated translation of Hus’s Appeal to Jesus Christ as the Supreme Judge against the pope and canon law. This document was not only a protest against papal power, but expressed a fundamentally new legal situation: in bypassing canon law, it essentially represented a personal claim to freedom of conscience. This unheard-of principle from within the medieval legal framework preceded other related ecclesiastical and legal developments by several centuries. The authors argue that Hus’s appeal thus represents a momentous event in church history and European history as a whole. Due to the historical significance of his martyrdom and commemoration by many churches throughout Europe, this book demonstrates that Hus remains an important figure not only for the study of European history, but also for understanding contemporary values of Western civilization.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 202 • Trim: 6¼ x 9
    978-1-7936-3742-0 • Hardback • May 2022 • $111.00 • (£85.00)
    978-1-7936-3744-4 • Paperback • March 2024 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
    978-1-7936-3743-7 • eBook • May 2022 • $37.50 • (£30.00)
    Series: Czech Theological Perspectives
    Subjects: Religion / Christianity / History, History / Europe / Medieval, Religion / Christian Church / Canon & Ecclesiastical Law
Author
Author
  • Jan Lášek is the Vice-Dean for Science and Research at the Hussite Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague.

    Angelo Shaun Franklin is an independent researcher who works as a translator and educational consultant in Prague.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Preface — Angelo Shaun Franklin

    Preface to the 1991 Czech Edition — Jan Blahoslav Lášek

    Author’s Preface to the 2021 English Edition — Jan Blahoslav Lášek

    Chapter 1: Historical Background: The Context of the Medieval Church

    Chapter 2: The Life of Jan Hus

    Chapter 3: Hus’s Appeal to Jesus Christ the Supreme Judge: An Annotated Translation

    Chapter 4: Hus in Exile and in Constance

    Chapter 5: Hus as a Reformer: Truth in Word and in Deed

    Chapter 6: The Preaching of Hus: His Commitment to Proclaiming Truth

    Conclusion: The Contemporary Struggle for Truth

    Appendix: Hus’s Homily on the Holy Trinity (John 3:1–15): An Annotated Translation

    Bibliography

    About the Authors

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