Hussite

The Hussites comprised an early Protestant

Two Parties in Bohemia

Hussism had organized itself during the years

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1415-1419. From the beginning two parties were

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found: the closer adherents of Hus clung to his standpoint, leaving the whole hierarchical and liturgical order of the Church untouched; the radical

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party identified itself more boldly with

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the doctrines of John Wyclif, shared his passionate hatred of the monastic clergy, and, like him, attempted to lead the Church back to its supposed condition during the time of the apostles, which necessitated the removal of the existing hierarchy and the secularization of ecclesiastical possessions. The radicals among the Hussites sought to translate their theories into

Related Topics:
John Wyclif - Monastic

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reality; they preached the sufficientia legis Christi-- that only the divine law (i.e., the Bible) is the rule and

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canon for man, and that not only in ecclesiastical

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matters, but also in political and civil matters.

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They rejected therefore, as early as 1416, everything

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that they believed had no basis in the Bible, such as the veneration of

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saints and images, fasts, superfluous holidays, the

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oath, intercession for the dead, auricular confession,

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indulgences, the sacraments of Confirmation and

Related Topics:
Indulgence - Confirmation

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the Anointing of the Sick; they admitted laymen and women to

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the preacher's office, and chose their own priests. But

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before everything they clung to Wyclif's doctrine

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of the Lord's Supper, denying transubstantiation,

Related Topics:
Lord's Supper - Transubstantiation

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and this is the principal point by which they are

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distinguished from the moderate party.

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