Christian History Home > Issue 68 > A Pastor's Heart
A Pastor's Heart
Even in the midst of his campaign for reform, Hus never forgot the faithful flock back home.
Bruce L. Shelley | posted 10/01/2000 12:00AM
Like Paul at Miletus, Jan Hus bid a tender farewell to his congregation at Bethlehem Chapel as he departed for Constance.
"Faithful and dear friends," he said, "you know that for a long time I have faithfully labored among you, preaching to you the Word of God without heresy or errors. Your salvation was, is now, and shall remain my desire until my death."
Hus knew he might never return to Prague. But if not, "we shall, of course, meet one another in the heavenly joy."
We think of him as "Jan Hus, the martyr." But before that, he was Jan Hus, the pastor—passionate about reform yet gentle toward his flock.
Leading by example
The Council of Constance charged Hus with "Wyclifism." The charge misrepresented Hus's theology (Martin Luther would later criticize Hus for accepting too much Catholic doctrine) but caught the spirit of his attack on the excesses of the medieval church.
What Hus desired was not a radical shift in church teaching, but for the church to be more worthy of its calling. This ...
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