Czechs honour legacy of Jan Hus

The Czech Republic is commemorating on Sunday the legacy of the 15th century religious reformer Jan Hus who was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415. Born in Husinec, South Bohemia, Jan Hus (John Huss) became a catholic priest and the rector of the University of Prague. He was greatly influenced by the English theologian John Wycliffe and was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1411 before being condemned and executed at a Catholic council in Constance four years later.

On Sunday, protestant religious services are held, among other places, in Jan Hus’s birthplace and in Prague’s Bethlehem Chapel were he preached. Despite the efforts of the late Pope John Paul II, who expressed grief over his death, he is still considered a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church today.