Christian History Home > Issue 68 > Jan Hus: A Gallery of Foes in High Places
Jan Hus: A Gallery of Foes in High Places
As reformation divided Bohemia, it turned some of Hus's most influential allies against him.
Maartje M. Abbenhuis | posted 10/01/2000 12:00AM
Zbyněk Zajíc of Hazmburk
(c. 1378—1411)
Archbishop and archenemy
Zbyněk had exactly one qualification for the highest ecclesiastical office in Bohemia: money. He purchased the archbishopric in 1402 for 2,800 gulden, plus 1,480 gulden to cover the debts left by his two predecessors.
Merely 25 years old, he lacked the education, theological training, or maturity to handle the demands of his new job. Despite his inexperience, however, this ex-soldier had faith, enthusiasm, and an earnest desire to do God's work.
At first, Zbyněk and Hus got along extremely well. Zbyněk joined Hus's efforts to curb immorality among Prague's clergy, and he asked Hus to alert him personally or by letter to any offenses he had missed. He also invited Hus to preach at two important church synods held in Prague in 1405 and 1407.
Their friendship did not last very long, for anti- reformers soon converted the naive archbishop to their cause. In 1408 they convinced Zbyněk that local reformers held heretical beliefs, ...
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