600 years ago: The martyrdom of Jerome of Prague

On May 30, 1416, Jerome, aka Hieronymous, was burned at the stake after being convicted by Roman Catholic Church authorities of heresy. Jerome was a Roman Catholic who became a follower of the doctrines of English reformer John Wycliffe and especially his fellow Bohemian reformer, Jan Hus.

When the Council of Constance--convened by Antipope John XXIII and held in Constance, Germany--opened in 1414, Mr. Hus was summoned, and subsequently burned at the stake as a heretic on July 6, 1415. Jerome followed him there, and was imprisoned in April 1415. He became seriously ill, and recanted his support for Messrs. Wycliffe and Hus in public sessions of the Council in September 1415. The Council doubted the sincerity of Jerome's confession and retried him on May 23 and 26, 1416, wherupon Jerome withdrew his recantation. He was burned at the stake and thus became the first Hussite martyr. It should be kept in mind that the Roman Catholc Church has never apologized for murdering true Christians such as Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague, and the doctrines and practices that these saints opposed are still in place.

See my previous post, 600 years ago: The martyrdom of Jan Hus (July 6, 2015).