BOHEMIANS, BRETHREN OF. — Under this name three groups of heretics are sometimes confused, although all acknowledge JAN HUS and HIERONYMUS OF PRAGUE as their forebears, yet they have different histories and doctrines. The three groups are:
I. HUSSITES
The Hussite heresy closely resembles that of WYCLIF (1324–84), whose doctrines spread into Bohemia through relations between that country and England when Anne of Bohemia (1347–1378) married Richard II, King of England (1377–99). The two principal advocates were JAN HUS (1373–1415), from whom the name Hussites derives, and HIERONYMUS OF PRAGUE (d. 1415). Their doctrines, though not as radical as those of Wyclif, in practice destroyed the ecclesiastical hierarchy and religious orders (cf. Denz-U, 657–89). To put an end to the heresy, the two leaders, under a safe-conduct from Emperor SIGISMUND (1411–1437), appeared at the Council of Constance (1414–18), where, according to some authors against all right, according to others for not observing the conditions of the safe-conduct not to propagate their doctrines, they were condemned to death. Their execution, followed by persecution of their followers, aroused the Bohemians and sparked the Hussite wars. Under this name are included also the Taborites, from the city of Tábor; the Orebites, from the city of Oreb; the Utraquists or Calixtines, heretics who demanded Communion under both kinds; and the Orphans, a sect led by ŽIŽKA, who after his death refused to acknowledge any other leader. All these, though divided and hostile to one another, united when it came to waging war or defending themselves. Under ŽIŽKA’s leadership, the Kingdom of Bohemia became a theater of bloody conflict. After his death in 1424, command passed to PROCOPIUS THE GREAT, who extended the war still further. Finally, weary of the strife and horrors that had devastated almost all Central Europe, the Hussites, invited by the Council of Basel, presented to the assembled Fathers their famous Four Articles. Negotiations were long and difficult; the Hussites withdrew, and the emperor, eager to make peace, induced the Council to send delegates to Prague, and finally in 1436 an agreement was reached by granting what the Hussites wanted, though with certain explanations added, and the celebrated “Compactata” were signed by both parties.The “Compactata”: a) Sins, especially public ones, must be punished according to God’s law, per sic et non. This was approved, but with the explanation that punishment could not be imposed by private individuals but was reserved to public authority. — b) The word of God must be preached freely. The added explanation was that this did not mean that anyone could do so, but only those approved by legitimate superiors. — c) Clerics are not permitted to hold temporal goods. The explanation, based on a declaration made by the Hussites themselves, distinguishing secular from regular clergy, was that ecclesiastics who had not taken a vow of poverty were bound to administer faithfully the goods of the Church entrusted to them, though these could not be unjustly possessed. — d) Communion under both kinds was granted to the laity, provided they conformed in all things to the Faith and ceremonies of the universal Church, and the priest, in giving Communion, was to remind them that the Flesh of Our Lord is not under the species of bread alone, nor the Blood under that of wine alone.
Some groups of Hussites, such as the Taborites, protested against the “Compactata,” but soon an agreement was reached with them also. Among the discontented, however, there arose a new form of heretics, namely the so-called Brethren of Bohemia.
II. BRETHREN OF BOHEMIA
The Bohemians who refused to accept the “Compactata” gathered under the leadership of PETER CHELCICKÝ, a member of the lower Bohemian nobility, and were favored by JAN ROKYCANA (Rokyčana), head of the Utraquists. When persecuted, he offered them refuge at Kunwald. The Brethren of Bohemia accepted Hus’s doctrine, condemned oaths, military service, honors granted to any office, the right of punishment to civil authorities, and all manner of hierarchy. They were not communists, but taught that the rich should administer their goods for the poor, etc. At the synod of Lhotka (1467) they solemnly adopted this doctrine and called themselves “Unitas Fratrum” or also “Brethren of Bohemia.” During the period up to the pseudo-Reformation of Luther, they had some notable leaders, such as PROCOPIUS OF NEUHAUS, and especially LUKAS OF PRAGUE, regarded as the second founder of the “Unitas Fratrum.”Their relations at this time with the Waldensians are obscure, nor is it known how they can claim that their first bishop, MATTHIAS OF KUNWALD, was consecrated by a Waldensian bishop, the Waldensians not recognizing such dignity. In 1535, imitating the Lutherans who had presented the Augsburg Confession, they too formulated their Confessio fidei ac religionis, and in the preface to the Summa ratione fidei ac dogmata they say they follow the doctrine of JAN HUS *virum nulla unquam saeculorum serie obliturandum*, of JAN ROKYCANA, and of PETER CHELCICKÝ; they maintain the four Hussite propositions without the explanations and complain of being called heretics. The articles or “Themata Confessionis” are twenty, and in them are mingled the doctrines of Hus and of Luther. In 1575 they presented once more, first to Emperor MAXIMILIAN II (1564–76), then to his successor RUDOLPH II (1576–1612), a new confession of faith, divided into 25 articles, also of Hussite and Lutheran flavor. During this last period the so-called Kralicz Bible was translated. The New Testament was translated in 1564 and the Old Testament from 1579 to 1593. At the beginning of the 17th century they rose against Emperor FERDINAND II (1619–37), recognizing as emperor the Elector FREDERICK. Defeated at the Battle of the White Mountain (1620), they dispersed, and because of the persecution that followed, many withdrew into Poland with the celebrated COMENIUS (J. A. KOMENSKÝ, 1592–1670). Some Brethren who remained in the homeland, learning that the exiles in Lower Lusatia were faring well, emigrated thither also and were generously received by Count ZINZENDORF.