De ecclesia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Title page of the first edition of De ecclesia , Hagenau 1520. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich.

De ecclesia (German: About the Church , Czech: O církvi ) is the most important theological work of the Bohemian reformer Jan Hus . Here Hus ties in with the church criticism of the English reformer John Wyclif . The true church is the community of believers (of those who are chosen for salvation); it is not identical with the papal institution of the church. Their head is Christ and not the Pope . The theses from De ecclesia were the main argument against Hus at the Council of Constance and ultimately led to his condemnation and execution . Jan Hus expressed his criticism of the church during the time of the great schism of the Catholic Church, when three popes fought for power: Gregory XII ruled Rome . , in Avignon Benedict XIII. and in Pisa Alexander V.

content

Jan Hus, author of the font

Jan Hus completed his major theological work De ecclesia , written in Latin , in the South Bohemian castle Kozí Hrádek in 1413. Under the protection of Bohemian nobles, he found refuge here when he had to leave Prague after the excommunication and the interdict imposed on him .

The work comprises 23 chapters. In the first 10 chapters, Jan Hus systematically explains his understanding of the church. Chapters 11 to 23 are in response to the indictment of the Prague theological faculty and a sharp rejection of the papal bull Unam sanctam . Hus argues particularly against the theses: "The subordinates must obey the Roman church and the rulers in all things" and "that it is necessary for every human creature to be subject to the Roman bishop" . He describes the punitive measures imposed on him - impeachment, interdict and excommunication - as illegitimate and contrary to church teaching and explains why he did not accept the summons before the papal curia in Rome on charges of heresy .

In his ecclesiology , Jan Hus is based closely on John Wyclif, in some places he literally quotes passages from Wyclif's treatises. Just like Wyclif, he sees the church as a community of those chosen by God for salvation ( predestined ), who form the true body of Christ . But not all who outwardly belong to the Church also belong to the true holy Church. Those who belong to the true body of Christ live according to the commandments of Christ and thereby prove their love for God. However, those who violate the Scriptures do not belong to Christ and do not love God.

The head of the Church is Christ , not the Pope. Hus writes: "Christ is the head of the holy universal church; she herself is his body, and every chosen one his member and consequently part of the church, which is Christ's mystical - that is, mysterious - body" , and further: "Therefore is the Pope not the head and the cardinals are not the whole body of the holy, universal and catholic Church, for Christ alone is the head of this church ... "

Hus does not fundamentally reject the hierarchical church, but ties the authority and powers of its officials to a way of life based on the example of Christ. The Pope is only to be regarded as the successor of Christ and Peter and deputy if he emulates Peter in his faith, humility and love, the cardinals are only true successors of the apostles if they live in their virtues. But if they direct their minds to outward wealth, splendor of clothes and worldly dominion, they are not followers of Christ and Peter, but governors of Judas Iscariot .

Hus does not recognize the primacy of the Pope . He is convinced that the primacy of the Bishop of Rome over all other bishops is a consequence of the Donation of Constantine , and therefore goes back to a worldly decision and not to Christ. He writes: The "primacy and appointment of the Pope has escaped the power of the emperor".

Hus formulates a “Christian right of resistance”: Believers have the right, and even the duty, to check the orders of their superiors using the Holy Scriptures. Orders which contravene the law of Christ and are detrimental do not need to be obeyed: "If such a thing is ordered by the Pope or by another spiritual superior, the subordinate is not obliged to do it ..." . On the contrary, the believer should "stand against them in the face when they walk contrary to divine counsels and commandments."

Luther's judgment on De ecclesia

In 1519, during the Leipzig disputation, Martin Luther came into conversation with Hussen's supporters who had come to Leipzig from Prague as observers . He expressed a desire to get to know Hus better from his writings. Thereupon the utraquist provost at the Kaiser-Karl-Kolleg in Prague, Wenzel von Roždalowsky, sent him a copy of De ecclesia . Luther was so impressed by this work that he wrote to Spalatin in February 1520 : “Without knowing it, I taught the teachings of Hus and Jan Staupitz does the same. We are all Hussites, without knowing it, including Paul and Augustine . ... The very clear and true Gospel was publicly burned a hundred years ago, it is also condemned today, and no one is allowed to confess to it ”. Luther saw agreement with Hus above all in the conception of the church, in the doctrine of the sacraments and in questions of the lay chalice .

At the beginning of 1520 Luther had 2000 copies of De ecclesia printed by Thomas Anshelm in Hagenau , the title was: De causa Bohemica Paulus Constantius. A few months later the next edition was published by Adam Petri in Basel , its title was: Liber egregius de unitate ecclesiae, cuius autor periit in concilio Constantiensi. With Luther's blessing, the book won numerous readers among the Protestants.

In October 1520, immediately after the bull threatening the ban , Luther made his sympathies for Hus publicly known. In the book Von den neue Eckischen Bullen und Lügen , he declared that not some, but all of Jan Hus's sentences, which had been condemned in Constance, were Christian and true. He hoped that God would also honor him, Luther, to be martyred for these articles.

expenditure

Latin original

  • Samuel Harrison Thomson: Magistri Johannis Hus Tractatus De ecclesia . Heffer & Sons Ltd., Cambridge 1956 (Latin, English, 251 pages).
  • Samuel Harrison Thomson: Mistr Jan Hus, Tractatus De ecclesia . Komenského evangelická fakulta bohoslovecká , Prague 1958 (Latin, Czech).

Translations

  • Jan Hus: O církvi . In: Mistra Jana Husi sebrané spisy. Svazek I. Řada první. Spisy latinské. Díl I. Z latiny přeložil Milan Svoboda. Úvody a vysvětlivkami opatřil Dr. V. Flajšhans . Prague 1904 (Czech, online [accessed May 20, 2019]).
  • Jan Hus: O církvi. Přeložil a poznámkami opatřili František M. Dobiáš a Amadeo Molnár. Úvod napsal Josef Hrabák . Nakladatelství ČSAV , Prague 1965 (Czech, 311 pages, online [accessed May 20, 2019]).
  • Armin Kohnle , Thomas Krzenck (Ed.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 (730 pages, online [accessed June 24, 2019]). About the church with a brief introduction, see pages 352-572.
  • John Hus: De ecclesia. The Church by John Huss. Translated, with notes and introduction by David S. Schaff . Charles Scribner's Sons , New York 1915 (English, online [PDF; accessed May 20, 2019]).

The first German translation with the title Von der kirchengottes was made in Strasbourg in the 16th century, but not printed. The manuscript is in the Strasbourg city archive.

literature

  • Thomas Kaufmann: The beginning of the Reformation . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-150771-7 .
  • Peter Hilsch: Johannes Hus, preacher of God and heretic . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1671-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Ed.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. XIX-XX (730 pp.).
  2. ↑ De ecclesia , chap. 20, German based on: Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Hrsg.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. 518 (730 pp.).
  3. ↑ De ecclesia , chap. 23, German based on: Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Hrsg.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. 568 (730 pp.).
  4. ↑ Veronika Drescher: Jan Hus - teaching . In historicum.net. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  5. ↑ De ecclesia , chap. 3, German based on: Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Hrsg.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. 364 (730 pp.).
  6. ↑ De ecclesia , chap. 7, German based on: Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Hrsg.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. 400-401 (730 pages).
  7. ↑ De ecclesia , chap. 15, German based on: Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Hrsg.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. 461 (730 pp.).
  8. ↑ De ecclesia , chap. 19, German based on: Armin Kohnle, Thomas Krzenck (Hrsg.): Johannes Hus German . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2017, ISBN 978-3-374-04165-7 , p. 513 (730 pp.).
  9. ↑ a b Thomas Kaufmann: The beginning of the Reformation . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-150771-7 , p. 50-53 .
  10. ↑ Peter Hilsch: Johannes Hus, Preacher of God and Heretic . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1671-9 , p. 287 .
  11. ↑ Martin Brecht: Martin Luther. His way to the Reformation . Calwer Verlag, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-7668-0678-5 , p. 316 .
  12. ↑ a b Thomas Kaufmann: The beginning of the Reformation . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-150771-7 , p. 52, note 100 .
  13. ^ A b Samuel Harrison Thomson: Magistri Johannis Hus Tractatus De ecclesia . Heffer & Sons Ltd., Cambridge 1956, p. xxi (Latin, English, 251 pages).
  14. ↑ Jan Hus: O církvi. Přeložil a poznámkami opatřili František M. Dobiáš a Amadeo Molnár. Úvod napsal Josef Hrabák . Nakladatelství ČSAV, Prague 1965, p. 7 (Czech, 311 pages, online [accessed May 20, 2019]).
  15. ↑ Amedeo Molnár: Německý překlad Husova díla o církvi z 16. století (= German translation of Hussen's work on the church from the 16th century) . In: Česká literatura, Vol. 5, No. 3 (září 1957), pp. 363-364. Institute of Czech Literature, The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic., JSTOR : 43322322 (Czech).