"Behold, I have set
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." --Rev. 3:
8.
1. The kingdom of Bohemia
is, in point of territorial surface, the most elevated ground,
the most mountainous, and by nature the strongest in Germany.
The country is about three hundred miles long, and two hundred
and fifty broad, and is almost surrounded with impenetrable
forests and lofty mountains. Bohemia derived its name from
Bohmen, which signifies the country of the Boii, 590 a tribe of
Celts, who retired into the Hercynian forest, from Gaul, to avoid
the Roman yoke. The ancient inhabitants are represented by
contemporary historians as a people of a ruddy complexion, and of
enormous stature and muscular strength. [Jones’s Ch. Hist.,
v. ii. p. 195]
2. We have authentic
evidence in the writings of the apostle Paul that he preached the
gospel of Christ in Illyricun, and that Titus visited Dalmatia;
hence the Bohemians infer that the gospel was preached in all the
countries of Sclavonia in the first ages of Christianity.
They also say that Jerome, who was a native of Stridom, a city of
Illyricum, and was a presbyter in a church in Dalmatia, [Vide
sup. ch. 1, sect. 4, ~ 4, A.D. 378] translated the Scriptures
into his native tongue, and that all the nations of Sclavonian
extraction, the Poles, the Hungarians, the Russians, the
Wallachians, the Bohemians, and Vaudois, use this translation to
this day. [Robinson’s Res., pp. 475-479]
3. For want of records, we
are necessitated to pass over the early state and history of this
people. It is not improbable that some of the Vaudois who left
Spain on the invasion of the Moors, reached Bohemia, since
reference is often made to their descendants, and their manner of
attending the ordinance. [Taylor’s Hist. of the Gen.
Bap., vol. i, p. 25] The persecution experienced by the
nonconformists in Greece occasioned many of the Baptists to
migrate, and Gibbon says, [Ro. Hist., c. 54] "they effected
an entrance into Europe by the German caravans," though
Mosheim maintains that it was from Italy the Bulgarians or
Paulicians spread themselves, like an inundation, through the
provinces of Europe. [Hist. of the Church, Cent. 10, p. 2,
ch. 5] That such a people were found at an early period in this
kingdom, becomes plain from records.
4. There were two great
and powerful families who patronized the Baptists in this
quarter, and manifested much attachment to them. The one was
the noble family of Bozkovicz, allied by blood or marriage to
almost all the grandees of the kingdom, and to several of the
kings. In the reign of Uladislaus II (1140), Lady Bozkovicz
became patroness to those called heretics, and settled them on
the family estate. We do not discover in history the exact source
from whence these pious people at this time arose, though it is
not improbable they were followers of Peter de Bruys, Henry, or
Arnold of Brescia, which circumstance is supported by the era of
events, though at a later period they were named Picards. These
Baptists obtained this influence over ladies of dignity in a
manner highly to their honor. They kept a school for young
ladies, and the mode of education and the purity of their manners
were in such high repute, that the daughters of a very great part
of the nobility of Bohemia were sent thither to be educated: and
their bitterest enemies say they kept young ladies from the
company of the other sex, and formed their manners with so much
innocency, that there was nothing reprehensible but their heresy.
Lady Bozkovicz, the patroness, with other women, expounded the
Scriptures to her fair pupils, and performed all religious
offices among them without a priest. When these young ladies were
returned to their parents and married, they influenced their
husbands, and children, and friends to favor a people so harmless
and so useful to society, and this patronage preserved them
nearly two centuries. The other family, patrons and friends of
the Baptists, was the very ancient and noble house of SLAVATA.
This family descended from the dukes of Saltz, lords of the
district, where some of the first French refugees for religion
are said to have settled. Lord William was chancellor of the
kingdom of Bohemia. This gentleman was educated in one of the
Baptist schools until twenty years of age. Many great families
protected and employed the Baptists; but when the great and noble
lost their love for civil and religious liberty, they neglected
or persecuted these people. [Robinson’s Ecc. Res., pp.
532-4]
5. When Waldo sought an
asylum in Bohemia, from the pope’s measures, it is certain
that kingdom was immersed in great darkness and superstition.
Waldo and his friends found the inhabitants tenacious of the
rites and ceremonies of the Greek church, which rites were nearly
as superstitious as those of the church of Rome. By unceasing
efforts, these persons from Picardy, afterward termed PICARDS,
introduced more extensively among the Bohemians, the knowledge of
the Christian faith in its purity, according to the word of God.
[Jones’s Hist. of the Christian Church, vol. ii. p.
198] In this kingdom, the pious reformers and evangelists
obtained permission to settle at SALTZ and LUN, on the river
Eger, just on the borders of the kingdom: and near one hundred
miles from Prague. A description of this people is to be found in
the Bohemian records, which is satisfactory as to their
denominational aspect. With these and later Puritans, it was
customary to settle on the boundaries of kingdoms, so that in
case of surprise, they might be able by a few steps to remove
themselves out of one kingdom into another. Almost two centuries
after, another undoubted record of the same country mentions a
people of the same description, some of whom were burnt at
Prague, and others still inhabited the borders of the country;
and one hundred and fifty years later, we find a people of the
same class settled by connivance in the metropolis, and in
several other parts of the kingdom. Other testimonies prove their
existence to a later date, so that after the twelfth century
documents are extant, proving the existence of Baptists in
Bohemia [Id. p. 39, and Rob. Res., pp. 480, 527] and Poland.+
[+ It is recorded by Martin
Cromer, that in very early ages great numbers of Christians
inhabited the woods of Poland, Rob. Res., p. 555. Berenger’s
sentiments were here propagated (Id. 557), and owing to the
patronage of some nobles, Poland abounded with Picards and
Anabaptists. At an after period, this kingdom was visited by
Jerome of Prague, and these churches made collections of money
for their persecuted brethren in Lombardy. The mode of baptizing
in Poland, when the Catholic bishops visited the Poles and the
Pomenarians, is stated as follows: "In the 12th century,
Otho, a Catholic bishop, travelled through these kingdoms
teaching and baptizing. Such as expressed a willingness to be
baptized were put under tuition. After instruction, they were to
fast three days before baptism. Otho caused large tubs to be put
or let into the ground, and filled with water. Three such places
were provided for men, women and children, and each was
surrounded with curtains like a tent. After some ceremonies, he
baptized these all naked, by immersing them in water, pronouncing
the usual words." See Basnage’s Obs. in Rob. Hist.
Bap., p. 288, &c.]
6. Waldo’s labors in
Bohemia were crowned with remarkable success. He spent his
concluding years in this promoting the cause of his Master in
every commendable way, until 1179, when he was rewarded with a
crown that fadeth not away. Waldo’s asylum at Saltz afforded
refuge to those Albigenses who, in the ensuing year, being
greatly increased in France, and becoming formidable to the
pontiffs, were constrained to abandon their native soil from the
cruel measures adopted against them. Bohemia, Livonia, and
Poland, afforded these pious emigrants shelter from enraged
enemies.
7. The religious character
of this people is so very different from that of all others, that
the likeness is not easily mistaken. They had no priests, as
a separate order of men, but taught one another. They had no
private property, for they held all things jointly. They executed
no offices, and neither exacted or took oaths. They bore no arms,
and rather chose to suffer than resist wrong. They professed
their belief of Christianity by being baptized, and their love to
Christ and one another by receiving the Lord’s Supper. They
aspired at neither wealth nor power, and their plan was industry.
[Witsius on the Covenants, vol. i., p. 391] "The pious
Picardians, as they were called, in Bohemia and Moravia,"
says Witsius, "valued the article of Justification, at its
true price, when in their confession of faith, Art. 6, they thus
write: ‘This sixth article is accounted with us the most
principal of all, as being the sum of all Christianity and piety.
Wherefore our divines teach and handle it with all diligence and
application, and endeavor to instil it into others.’"
[Robins. Ecc. Res., p. 527]
8. An inquisitor of the
church of Rome says of the Bohemians, they say the church of Rome
is not the church of Jesus Christ, but an assembly of ungodly
men, and that it ceased to be the true church at the time Pope
Sylvester (330) presided. They despise and reject all the
ordinances and statutes of the church, as being too many and very
burdensome. They condemn all the sacraments of the church.
Concerning the sacrament of baptism, they say, that the catechism
signifies nothing; that the absolution pronounced over infants
avails nothing; that godfathers and godmothers do not understand
what they answer the priest. That infants cannot be saved by
baptism, as they do not believe; [Allix’s Ch. Pied., C. 22,
p. 223] they condemn the custom of believers communicating no
more than once a year, whereas they communicate every day (or
every Lord’s day). They deride the dress of priests; and
reproach the church that she raises bastards, boys, and notorious
offenders, to high ecclesiastical dignities. Whatever is preached
without scripture proof, they account no better than fables.
[Allix’s ut. sup.] With this account agrees the history of
the Waldenses given by AEneas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius 11.
[Jones’s Church Hist., vol. ii. p. 39]
All Bohemian writers state
that the Picards or Waldenses settled early in this kingdom, and
that these people baptized and re-baptized such persons as joined
their churches, and that they had always done so. [Robins. Res.
pp. 506, 508, 517] They are said in the 14th century to have
numbered 80,000 in this kingdom. [Jones’s ut sup., p. 119,
and Allix’s Pied. c. 23]
9. Two monks, in the ninth
century, introduced popery into Bohemia, after five centuries;
and under Charles IV it was fully established. Some
opposition was made by two of his Majesty’s chaplains, who
persuaded the emperor to curb the pope and reform the church; but
these friends to the cause of liberty were banished, and the
advocates of reform lost all hopes of succeeding by the favor of
the emperor. [Robins. Res. p. 480] By the banishment of those two
noblemen, the voice of reform at court was silenced; ignorance,
profligacy, and vice prevailed among all orders of men in the
national church; the inquisition was introduced to enforce
uniformity in matters of religion. The consequence was, that
multitudes withdrew themselves from the public places of worship,
and followed the dictates of their own consciences, by
worshipping God in private houses, woods, and caves. Here they
were persecuted, dragooned, drowned, and killed; and thus matters
went on, till Huss and Jerome of Prague appeared. [Jones’s
ut sup. p. 199]
10. In the latter part of
Wickliff’s life, Richard II, king of England, married Anne,
sister to the king of Bohemia, and consequently opened a free
intercourse between the two kingdoms. Peter Payne, Principal
of Edmund Hall, in the University of Oxford, who became obnoxious
to papal violence for his opposition to the rites of that church,
fled into Bohemia, to which place he brought a number of
Wickliff’s tracts. These were highly esteemed by Huss and
Jerome, and the greater part of the university. The introduction
of these writings into the university gave great offence to the
catholic clergy, and the Archbishop of Prague issued his orders
for all persons possessing such books to bring them to him;
consequently two hundred volumes of them, finely written, and
adorned with costly covers and gold borders, were committed to
the flames. This conduct in Archbishop Sbynko excited great
disgust in the minds of the students of the university of Prague,
and Huss in particular. [Robins. Res., p. 480]
11. JOHN HUSS was born in
the village of Hussinetz, in 1373, of parents in affluent
circumstances. He studied in the University of Prague. At the
age of twenty-one he was raised to the dignity of Professor, and
in 400, he was appointed to preach in one of the largest churches
of that city. He was irreproachable in his life, his manners were
the most affable and engaging; his talents were popular; he was
the idol of the people; but in gaining their esteem, he drew on
himself the execration of the priests. He continued, like Claude
of Turin and Wickliff of England, in the catholic establishment,
lamenting its corruptions, while he strove to effect a
reformation. He appeared in the character of a reformer so early
as 1407. He was distinguished by erudition, eloquence, and his
assiduity to his pastoral functions. He is said to have
embraced the sentiments of the Waldenses. [Chamb. Dic., Art.
Huss] He openly advocated the reforming doctrines of Wickliff.
His bold position in the cause of reform, his appeal to the pope
from the mandate of the archbishop, in burning Wickliff’s
books, proves his connection, while it led his Holiness to
understand how deeply the reformers’ writings had taken root
in Bohemia; in consequence of which, the pope issued a bull
against the new doctrine. Huss and the members of the university
entered a protest against the proceedings of the archbishop, who
had sent out processes against four eminent members, for refusing
to deliver up the proscribed works. Huss was therefore cited
before the pope; but he excused himself from visiting Rome, and
was supported in his plea by all the leading persons in the
kingdom, excepting the clergy. Huss was excommunicated by the
pope for contumacy, and all his followers were involved in the
same censure. He, however, realized protection for some time
from the king, queen, and nobility of Bohemia; but in 1415, he
was shamefully betrayed, and afterwards tried for heresy,
convicted, and burnt. It is difficult to say what his
religious views were. His sermons are full of anabaptistical
errors, as they were so called, and many of his followers became
baptists. [Robins. Res., pp. 482] His views found a prepared
people in Bohemia, in the persons of the Waldenses, Picards, or
Beghards, of which party he has often been considered the head.
12. Though we cannot
decide on Huss’s views, yet his followers are easily
deciphered, from a letter written by Erasmus, wherein he states,
that "the Hussites renounced all rights and ceremonies of
the catholic church, they ridicule our doctrine and practice (as
reformers) in both the sacraments, they admit none until they are
dipped in water, and they reckon one another, without
distinctions of rank, to be called brothers and sisters;"
[Ivimy’s Hist. of the Eng. Bap., vol. i., p. 70]
which accords with what is said of the early Waldenses in
Bohemia, as detailed by Dr. Allix. [Ch. Pied. c. 22, p. 214]
These Hussites prevailed in Hungary, Silicia, and Poland; [Lon.
Ency., Art. Huss and Refor.] though his followers were most
numerous in those cities of Germany that lay on the Rhine,
especially at Cologne, [Mosh Hist., vol ii., p 509] where anon we
shall find the Lollards.
13. After Huss’s
death, we are informed by Sleidan, "that the Bohemians were
divided on the articles of religion into three classes or sects.
The first were such as acknowledged the pope of Rome to be head
of the church, and vicar of Jesus Christ; the second were those
that received the Eucharist in both kinds, and in celebrating
mass, read some things in the vulgar tongue, but in all other
matters differed nothing from the church of Rome; the third were
those who went by the name of Picards or Beghards; these called
the pope of Rome and all his party antichrist, and the whore
described in the Revelation. They admitted of nothing in the
affairs of religion, but the Bible; they chose their own priests
and bishops, rather than teachers; denied marriage to no man;
performed no offices for the dead; and had but very few holy days
and ceremonies." It is obvious, from what has been stated,
that the latter class alone were the genuine Waldenses; [Hist.
of the Reform., b. iii., p. 53] to whom we constantly refer.
14. JEROME OF PRAGUE was
the intimate friend and companion of Huss, inferior to him in
age, experience, and authority, but his superior in all the
liberal endowments. He was educated in the university of his
native city. When he had finished his studies, he travelled into
many countries of Europe, where he was admired, particularly for
his graceful elocution. During his travels he visited England,
where he obtained access to Wickliff’s writings, which he
copied out and returned with them to Prague. He had distinguished
himself by an active cooperation with Huss in all his hostility
to the abominations of the times, which caused him to be cited
before the council of Constance on the 17th of April, 1415, at
the time his friend Huss was confined in a castle near that city.
Hearing how his friend had been used, when he got near Constance,
he prudently retraced his steps to Iberlingen, an imperial city,
from whence he wrote to the emperor and tim council, requesting a
safe conduct; but not obtaining one to his satisfaction, he was
preparing to return into Bohemia, when he was arrested at
Hirsechaw, and conveyed-to Constance. Huss and Jerome were tried
by the same council, and afterwards burnt by their order. Huss
suffered, July, 1415. He sustained his sentence with the most
heroic fortitude, praying for his persecutors. The dread of
suffering at first intimidated Jerome, which caused his sentence
to be delayed. His enemies took the advantage of those symptoms,
in hopes of gaining him over; but he recovered his wonted vigor,
and avowed his sentiments in the most open manner, and supported
them with increasing confidence to the last. He expired in the
flames, singing, "Hanc animam, in flammis, offero,
Christe, tibi; i.e. This soul of mine, in flames of fire, O
Christ, I offer thee." [Jones’s Christian Ch., vol.
ii., p. 205. Robin. Res., p. 513; Clark’s Lives, p. 116]
15. Poggius, who was
secretary to the pope, a frank ingenuous man, saw and heard
Jerome in the council, and wrote, in a letter to his friend
Leonard Aretin, an eulogium on him, in a spirit of admiration and
love. The letter being interesting, we subjoin a copy
somewhat abridged. He says, "Since my return to Constance,
my attention has been wholly engaged by Jerome, the Bohemian
heretic, as he is called. The eloquence and learning which this
person has employed in his own defence, are so extraordinary,
that I cannot forbear giving you a short account of him. To
confess the truth, I never knew the art of speaking carried so
near the model of ancient eloquence. It was, indeed, amazing to
hear with what force of expression, with what fluency of
language, and with what excellent reasoning, he answered his
adversaries. Nor was I less struck with the gracefulness of his
manner, the dignity of his action, and the firmness and constancy
of his whole behavior. It grieved me to think so great a man was
laboring under so atrocious an accusation. Whether this
accusation be a just one, God knows: for myself, I inquire not
into the merits of it; resting satisfied with the decision of my
superiors. But I will just give you a summary of his trial. After
many articles had been proved against him, leave was at length
given him to answer each in its order; but Jerome long refused,
strenuously contending that he had many things to say previously
in his defence, and that he ought first to be heard in general,
before he descended to particulars. When this was over-ruled,
‘Here,’ said he, standing in the midst of the assembly,
‘here is justice--here is equity! Beset by my enemies, I am
pronounced a heretic--l am condemned before I am examined. Were
you Gods omniscient, instead of an assembly of fallible men, you
could not act with more sufficiency. Error is the lot of mortals;
and you, exalted as you are, are subject to it. But consider,
that the higher you are exalted, of the more dangerous
consequence are your errors. As for me, I know I am a wretch
below your notice; but at least consider, that an unjust action
in such an assembly will be of dangerous example.’ This, and
much more, he spoke with great eloquence of language, in the
midst of a very unruly and indecent assembly; and thus far, at
least, he prevailed; the council ordered that he should first
answer objections, and promised that he should then have liberty
to speak. * * * It is incredible with what acuteness he answered,
and with what amazing dexterity he warded off every stroke of his
adversaries. Nothing escaped him: his whole behavior was truly
great and pious. If he were, indeed, the man his defence spoke
him, he was so far from meriting death, that, in my judgment, he
was not in any degree culpable. In a word, he endeavored to
prove, that the greater part of the charges were purely the
inventions of his adversaries. Among other things, being accused
of hating and defaming the holy see, the pope, the cardinals, the
prelates, and the whole estate of the clergy, he stretched out
his hands, and said, in a most moving accent, ‘On which
side, reverend fathers, shall I turn for redress? Whom shall I
implore? Whose assistance can I expect? Which of you hath not
this malicious charge entirely alienated from me? Which of you
hath it not changed from a judge into an inveterate enemy? It was
artfully alleged indeed! Though other parts of their charge were
of less moment, my accusers might well imagine, that if this were
fastened on me, it could not fail in drawing upon me the united
indignation of my judges.’"
It appears from this
secretary, Poggio Bracciotini, that on the third day of his
trial, Jerome obtained leave to defend himself. He first began
with prayer to God, whose assistance he pathetically implored. He
then referred to profane history, and to unjust sentences given
against Socrates, Plato, Anaxagoras. He next referred to the
Scriptures, and exhibited the sufferings of the worthies; and
then he dwelt on the merits of the cause pending, resting
entirely on the credit of witnesses, who avowedly hated him; and
here his appeal made a strong impression upon the minds of his
hearers, and not a little shook the credit of the witnesses.
"It was," says the secretary, "impossible to hear
this pathetic speaker without emotion. Every ear was captivated,
and every heart touched. But wishes in his favor are vain; he
threw himself beyond a possibility of mercy. Braving death, he
even provoked the vengeance which was hanging over him. Through
this whole oration, he showed a most amazing strength of memory.
He had been confined almost a year in a dungeon, the severity of
which usage he complained of, but in the language of a great and
good man. In this horrid place, he was deprived of books and
papers; yet notwithstanding this, and the constant anxiety which
must have hung over him, he was at no more loss for proper
authorities and quotations, than if he had spent the intermediate
time at leisure in his study." In his defence, "his
voice was sweet, distinct and full; his action every way the most
proper, either to express indignation or to raise pity, though he
made no affected application to the passions of his audience.
Firm and intrepid, he stood before the council, collected in
himself, and not only contemning, but seeming even desirous of
death. The greatest character in ancient story could not possibly
go beyond him. If there is any justice in history, this man will
be admired by all posterity. What I admired, was his learning,
his eloquence, and amazing acuteness. God knows whether these
things were the ground-work of his ruin. * * * With cheerful
countenance, and more than stoical constancy, he met his fate;
fearing neither death itself, nor the horrible form in which it
appeared. * * *" He suffered martyrdom, May 20, 1416.
[Jones’s Hist. of the Ch., vol. ii., pp. 207-11]
16. It is recorded of
Jerome, that he was baptized by immersion, by some of the Greek
church. This view of Jerome’s, with his being a layman,
will account for many historians omitting his name altogether.
The neglect of some writers has been amply repaid by the
secretary’s statement, which we felt called on to detail.
Jerome held almost the same doctrines as Wickliff had taught, and
took unwearied pains to convince the common people that they
might, without any authority from the pope or the clergy, read,
judge, and explain the Holy Scriptures; that any one who could
might preach, baptize, and administer the Lord’s Supper, and
that these exercises were as effectual to answer all the ends for
which they were instituted, in the hands of the laity as in those
of the clergy. He travelled into Russia, Poland, Silicia, and
Lithuania for the same purpose, and was everywhere heard with
admiration and respect. He was one of the most eminent of the
reformers, though little is said of him in history. [Robins.
Res., p. 523] Huss and Jerome both taught those errors charged on
the Anabaptists. This accusation can be brought against those
reformers, who advocated a separation from worldly
establishments, and a liberty to choose the way of preferring
devotion to the great Head of the church. It is true some
reformers, as Claude, Wickliff, Huss, stated Christian liberty,
but these, with others, set forth no example of its value, or the
duty involved in the command, by coming out of corrupt
communities; while other reformers left the Roman church, and
formed new associations, on the same principle, and with similar
materials, to the one from which they had seceded. A few were
found at different periods, who left the hierarchy, and these
carried their views and principles into practice before the
world, and are now denominated by historians witnesses for the
truth, though they encountered the odium of heresy from Rome, and
the stigma of anabaptism from their German brethren and their
successors. [Robins. Res., p. 482]
17. The Baptists, from the
time of their early settlement, lived about the forests and
mines. These people were now multiplied by accessions from other
kingdoms, and by those converted under Huss and Jerome. These
people were of different sentiments on doctrinal subjects, but in
general they entertained the same ideas of religion as the old
Vaudois did. They were all indiscriminately called Waldenses
and Picards, and it is said they all rebaptized. Huss, while
in prison, wrote a letter to a friend at Prague, in which he
said, "Salute also my brother teachers in Christ,
shoemakers, tailors and writers; and tell them to attend
diligently to the Holy Scripture." The effects of Huss and
Jerome’s instruction were now visible in the multitude, in
the disregard they paid to relicts and the Catholic priests. The
priesthood suffered every indignity from these aroused people.
Crato, physician to the emperor Maximilian, was one day riding
with him in the royal carriage, when his imperial Majesty asked
the doctor what sect he thought came nearest the simplicity of
the apostles? Crato replied, "I verily think the people
called Picards;" the emperor replied, "I think so
too." [Robins. Res., pp. 508-21]
18. To resume our details:
the proceedings of the Council of Constance flew like lightning
all over the kingdom, and Bohemia was all in an uproar. The
king, Winceslaus, was seldom sober, and paid little regard to the
welfare of his subjects. The nation was divided into three
religious bodies, and the nobles were divided into factions, some
zealous to resent the insult offered to the nation by the
council, and to repel the forces of foreigners, who had been
excited by the pope to visit and suppress heresy in Bohemia, and
to oblige that fierce nation to establish uniformity in religion.
The king put himself under the emperor, and the latter gave his
support to the Catholic party, promising to suppress heresy, and
settle the affairs both of church and state. The measures now
adopted by the priesthood to suppress heresy aroused all men,
particularly the patriot and plebeian. These were changed from a
harmless inquisitive multitude into a resentful community.
Feeling their importance, and seeing the union of efforts in
order to suppress their privileges, they gathered together in
multitudes in the country, about five miles from Prague, where
the people met for worship: they elected their own preachers, who
administered to this company of various sentiments, the
Lord’s Supper, at three hundred tables (boards laid on
casks), to forty thousand people. The conflict now commenced
between the Hussites and Catholics; confusion ensued, riots and
murders were frequent. In the city of Prague, the enraged
citizens threw twelve imperial officers out of the windows of the
council-chamber. The emperor entered Bohemia with an armed force,
while the Protestants, to defend their rights, took up arms, and
chose Ziska as their general.
19. The protestant army
was made up of different parties, uniting in one common cause of
defence from various causes; but it would appear that the
Vaudois, Waldenses, or Picards did not enter Ziska’s army
during the war. We know their principles were opposed to war,
and they do not seem to have borne arms at any time. During such
commotions, it is said of them, that "they were always going
and coming, retiring from the cities while others were coming to
reside. When they were persecuted in one city, they fled to
another. They do not seem to have had any regular (i.e., separate
class) minister. [Robins. Res. p. 517] A portion of this people,
called Waldenses, came down from the mountains to live in peace
under the protection of Ziska. This state of civil discord lasted
upwards of twelve years. The agitated state of the kingdom for so
many years must have been very injurious to the cause of
undefiled religion. The Council of Basil, in 1433, took great
pains to bring the Protestant delegates to submit implicitly to
the council; but they utterly refused. After many intrigues by
the Catholics, a division was effected among the Protestants,
consequently their importance became lessened. The affairs of the
kingdom remained in a very unsettled state even to the middle of
this century, about which time Rokyzan, archbishop of Prague;
tired with contentions, advised the advocates of reform to retire
to the lordship of Latitz, about twenty miles from Prague, a
place desolated by war, where they might establish their own way
of worship, choose their own ministers, introduce their own
discipline and order, according to their own consciences and
judgments. Numbers adopted the suggestion, and embraced the
privilege, and in 1457 they formed themselves into a society.
This body being made up of persons entertaining religious views
wide of each other, they chose the name of UNITAS FRATRUM, OR THE
UNITED BRETHREN, though they were generally called PICARDS.
These brethren bound themselves to a vigorous discipline in
church affairs, and not to defend themselves with the sword, but
suffer the loss of all for conscience sake. [Robins. Res. pp.
498-9] In 1459 these godly people, made up of all classes,
obtained from their king, Pogiebracius, a place to worship in,
where they established a society on the model of primitive
simplicity. [Clark’s Martyr. p. 127] These brethren
re-baptized all such as joined themselves to their congregation.+
[+ Buck’s Theo. Dict, 4
Ed.; Lon. Ency. art. Bohem. Brethren. The brethren in their
writings retain the early mode. Trobe says of Christ’s
baptism, externally his body was washed with pure water, nay,
even dipped into it, and as it was, buried by the ministry of a
servant of Christ. S 238. Again, "The dipping or
overstreaming with water cannot of itself procure us salvation,
see 1 Pet. 3:21; but the participation of the death of Jesus,
which faith lays hold of, is that upon which all depends in
baptism." ~ 139. Exposition of the Christian doctrine of
the United Brethren, by Benj. La Trobe.]
20. Three years had
scarcely elapsed before their numbers were considerable; pious
persons flocked to them, not only from different parts of
Bohemia, but even from every distant quarter of the whole empire:
and churches were gathered every where throughout Bohemia and
Moravia. Many of the old-fashioned Waldenses, who had been
lurking about in dens and caves of the earth, as well as upon the
tops of mountains, now came forward with alacrity, joined
themselves to the "United Brethren," and became
eminently serviceable to the newly-formed societies, in
consequence of their more advanced state of religious knowledge
and experience. Many persons who had previously held infant
baptism renounced those views, and the ministers baptized them
before they received them into church communion. [Robins. Res. p.
449] The multiplication of these brethren raised a clamor among
the Catholic priesthood; the archbishop was censured, and
reproached with the terms used to signalize the brethren;
consequently he changed his course of conduct towards them. Three
years had scarcely elapsed from their establishment in religious
freedom, when a terrible persecution broke out against them,
and which trial was calculated to prove what spirit they were of.
They were declared by the state unworthy the common rights of
subjects; and in the depth of winter, expelled from their homes
in towns and villages, with the forfeiture of all their goods.
Even the sick were cast into the open fields, where numbers
perished through cold and hunger. Every kind of indignity was
realized by these inoffensive people, with the loss of all that
was dear. Many retired into the woods, caves, &c., so that
almost every society of these people in the kingdom became
scattered. In the ensuing reign, the dispersed brethren were
suffered to return to their homes, to occupy their lands, and
were allowed ease and prosperity. They now took such deep root,
and extended their branches so far and wide, that after this
settlement it was impossible to extirpate them. In 1500, there
were two hundred congregations of the united brethren in Bohemia
and Moravia. Many counts, barons, and noblemen joined their
churches, who built them meeting-houses in their cities and
villages. These Baptists got the Bible translated into the
Bohemian tongue, and printed at Venice: when that edition was
disposed of, they obtained two more, printed at Nuremberg.
Finding the demand for the Holy Scriptures continuing to
increase, they established a printing-office at Prague, another
at Bunzlaw, in Bohemia, and a third at Kralitz, in Moravia, where
at first they printed nothing but Bohemian Bibles. [Robins. Res.
p. 502]
21. The disposition of the
king of Bohemia might be perceived from the import of the prayer
he preferred morning and night. His anxiety for peace in his
empire led him to offer these words continually: "Give peace
in my time, O Lord." The Catholic clergy were
unceasingly teasing him to suppress heresy. He in return ordered
them to converse with the Picards, in order to convince them of
their errors. Taking hold of the queen’s grave situation,
they thought it a favorable opportunity to move his fears, in
which they were but too successful; for at length they obtained
an edict for the suppression of the Picards. The king, on the
recollection of what was done, was grieved at his conduct, and
professedly sought forgiveness of God for his act. The edict
became law four years after, when the brethren were prohibited
from holding any religious assemblies, public or private;
commanding that all their meeting-houses should be shut up, and
that within a given time the Picards or Brethren should all hold
communion with either Calixtines or Catholics.* The clergy could
not prevail with all to pursue their cruel measures, though many
of the brethren were called to severe sufferings. Some of them
emigrated, others retired into the forests and caves, worshipping
God in private. Those detected in their devotions were
arrested and brought before priests, who required them to own
them as their shepherds. They replied, "Christ is the
Shepherd of our souls;" upon which they were convicted and
burned. In this confused and suffering state the affairs of
the brethren continued, until Luther appeared as a reformer in
Germany. So wearied were the United Brethren of sufferings, that
they had been meditating a compromise with the Catholic church;
and when the reformer appeared, they actually wrote to him for
his advice on the subject. Luther’s admonitions in the end
brought them to submit their creed to him, who revised it, and
prefaced it with praises for orthodoxy, admiring the agreement of
this modern creed with their ancient church. They now, under his
protection, agreed to leave off re-baptizing, which should in
future be called ana-baptism.
[* It is said that some of
the brethren, to ward off this law, had presented to the king,
while in Hungary, a confession of their faith. This confession is
called Waldensian by the Paedobaptists, and was presented in
1508. The confession is entitled, ‘A Confession of Faith of
the Waldensian Brethren,’ and is addressed to king
Uladislaus, in Hungary. It begins with informing the king that
they were not Waldenses, though they were persecuted under that
name. It goes on to speak of their sufferings, and the reason for
laying before him the most sacred articles of their religion,
which they say were revealed by the Holy Spirit, and deposited in
the Holy Scriptures, and are perfectly agreeable to the
apostles’ creed, and the faith of the primitive church. Then
follows the creed, which consists of fourteen short articles. The
sixth is on baptism, viz.: "Whoever, having arrived at years
of discretion, hath believed by hearing the word, and hath
acquired power over sin by renewing and enlightening of his mind,
ought to profess the inward cleansing of his mind by exterior
washing, and is to be baptized into the unity of the holy church,
in the name of, &c. This our profession extends to children,
who, by an apostolic canon, as Dionysius writes, ought to be
baptized." On this confession we observe there were eight
editions in twenty-five years; each was improved; and the last
was prefaced by Luther, when their anabaptism ceased. The
brethren complained that their creed was translated into German
by some one who knew not the Bohemian language, and who had
altered some things, and added others. There was apparently no
Hungarian king in the sixteenth century of the name of
Uladislaus, and the petitioners deny being Waldenses. Now we
believe this creed emanated from the Calixtines, a mixed body of
professors, while the confession indirectly confirms this view,
since it is expressive of believers’ and unbelievers’
baptism. Dr. Allix’s Ch. Pied. c. 24; and this date and
society in 1440 agree with Uladislaus’ reign. The Picards or
Brethren ever boasted of their Waldensian ancestors, and were
ever found regulating all their religious affairs by the
Scriptures alone, discarding the writings of the Fathers as
fables. It is recorded at a later period, that the Bohemian
brethren, or the successors to these people, were comprehended in
the Lutheran church, when they consented to leave off
re-baptizing; but re-baptizing and Paedobaptism have ever been at
variance. Rob. Res. pp. 503 and 507. Osiander in Danver’s,
pp. 328, &c. See Dr. Allix’s Ch. Pied. p. 241. See
Appendix to the Waldensian History.]
Luther said, "He had
formerly been prejudiced against the brethren called Picards;
though he had always admired their aptness in the Holy
Scriptures; and it was no wonder they had expressed themselves
obscurely, because the learned languages had been little
understood in general, and as these people had entertained such
an aversion to the subtleties of the school." To this creed
and people we shall again refer. [Robins. Res. ch. 13]
22. It is certain that the
ancient Waldensian church subsisted at the Reformation, and that
they left off baptizing adults on their profession of faith.
Whether all those churches of the brethren ultimately fell into
the Lutheran community, and consequently were comprehended by
imperial law, cannot be positively decided. It is plain here that
the patience of the saints was worn out. Dan. 7:25. It
appears the assistance rendered them by able divines, and which
enabled them to conclude there was no need to re-baptize,
regulated the conduct of many; yet the Baptists were still a
scattered community, and were named now Anabaptists [Ency. Brit.
Art. Anab.] and Picard Calvinists. The emperor expressed his
astonishment at their numbers, and horror at their principal
error, which was, that, according to the express declarations of
Scripture, they were to submit to no human authority, 1 Cor.
7:23. Some of them kept schools, and preached; others practised
physic. Luther strongly objected to those Anabaptists, who taught
and followed a worldly calling. These people lived in forty-five
divisions, called colleges, exactly as their ancestors had done
previously to their banishment from France, about four hundred
and fifty years before. But their views of liberty occasioned the
emperor’s displeasure, he consequently banished all
Anabaptists from his dominions on pain of death; [Jones’s
Church Hist., vol. ii., c. 5. Robins. Res., c. 13] though it was
found very difficult to get rid of these Baptists. They must be
comprehended in future in the term Anabaptist, since this term,
which originated in Germany among the reformers, was given to all
those who denied infant sprinkling. [Good and Gregory’s
Cyclop. art. Anap.] The Moravians contend that they are the
descendants of these churches of the unitas fratrum. [Dav.
Crantz’s Hist. of the Brethren; Bost. Hist. of the
Brethren] See Anabaptists, sect. 12, 19.
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BAPTIST HISTORY
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