Our 36 hour adventure in Prague was the highlight of my trip to Europe. Early one Wednesday we got on a bus, drove 6 hours (and watched more movies than we had all year), and arrived in Prague with hardly any idea where we needed to go next. Andersen got to use her Russian- something she hardly ever expected to do in the Czech Republic, and we had a blast walking all over the city.
We passed this spot of the Vlatava River just before sunset- if we hadn't been in a hurry we would have sat there until dark.
One of the things I looked forward to the most about Prague was discovering more of the history of John Huss's ministry. He is considered by many to be the fore-runner to the Protestant reformation and was a contemporary of Wycliffe. He burned at the stake for his strong, harsh words against the heresies of the Roman Catholic church during the early 1400s (Martin Luther was largely influenced by Huss's teachings). One of the churches Huss had the opportunity to frequently preach at during his lifetime was Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. Citizens of Prague flocked to hear him expound upon the beautiful, and sometimes frightful doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. Unfortunately, after searching for over an hour to find this Chapel we were sorely disappointed to find the beautiful Kapel surrounded by hotels, restaurants and apartment buildings, the Chapel itself no longer used for a chapel at all. A simple plaque was all that existed to reference what the large, plain building used to be.
St. Vitus Cathedral was situated entirely within Prague Castle. The day we visited this was overcast with rain on and off- cold, eerie and wet- made this castle the epitome of Gothic architecture.
We passed this spot of the Vlatava River just before sunset- if we hadn't been in a hurry we would have sat there until dark.One of the things I looked forward to the most about Prague was discovering more of the history of John Huss's ministry. He is considered by many to be the fore-runner to the Protestant reformation and was a contemporary of Wycliffe. He burned at the stake for his strong, harsh words against the heresies of the Roman Catholic church during the early 1400s (Martin Luther was largely influenced by Huss's teachings). One of the churches Huss had the opportunity to frequently preach at during his lifetime was Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. Citizens of Prague flocked to hear him expound upon the beautiful, and sometimes frightful doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. Unfortunately, after searching for over an hour to find this Chapel we were sorely disappointed to find the beautiful Kapel surrounded by hotels, restaurants and apartment buildings, the Chapel itself no longer used for a chapel at all. A simple plaque was all that existed to reference what the large, plain building used to be.
But we reasoned that since the Czech Republic is largely influenced by the surrounding Eastern European countries it was no surprised that a Protestant heretic was not memorialized. After all, the practicing religion in nearly all of Eastern Europe is still Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. We gave up our search for any remains of John Huss, and enjoyed the rest of our stay. It wasn't until I was going through my pictures when I returned home that I discovered the nature of this statue below.
We had taken a picture of it because of its unique and isolated standing in the center of Old Town Square, near the Orloj, or Prague Astronomical Clock. Czech-written description tags were of no help to two American tourists, so I waited until I was home to Google the statues and discover their significance. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this statue was erected to honor none other than John Huss.Huss was admired by his flock as a strong, unyielding shepherd. Thus, the arrangement of the statue. Huss's tall, stoic figure represents the surity and bravery with which he led, and the prostrate followers at his feet represent his humble followers who looked to him and the Truth he taught for their freedom.
Huss's condemnation and execution in 1415 followed several years of conflict between Huss, Wycliffe and their followers with the Roman church. Finally, on July 6th, 1415 Huss was brought before the Council in the Cathedral. He was asked twice to recant, and he twice refused. Finally, crowning him with a paper hat on which was written Haeresiarcha (Leader of the Heretical Movement) he was lead to the stake to be burned. Though Huss's followers were condemned and disowned, even by family and close friends, after his death, and most of his work was forgotten, he was rediscovered by a young German monk in Wittenburg, whose struggles to understand the truth of the Scriptures had been recently blessed trough Huss's teachings.
Huss's final words ring as a prophesy of sorts, and God's providence in history is indisputable. With a unfaltering voice, and a heart filled with passion for truth John Huss stood on the burning stake and shouted,"in a hundred years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed."
And then, on the last day of October in 1517, 102 years after Huss's death, that young monk in Germany rose in the dusk of the evening and calmly nailed his 95 Thesis to the church door in Wittenburg. He caused a reform so grand that its influence still has affects today.
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