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Which issues did the Council of Constance examine in Jan Husâs trial?
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Jan Hus
Jan Hus at the stake, colored woodcut from a Hussite prayer book, 1563.
During the trial of Jan Hus at the Council of Constance, the conciliar commission focused its examination on two primary issues:12
- Communion Practices: The council scrutinized the unauthorized Bohemian practice of extending communion in both kindsâoffering both bread and wineâto the laity.12
- Wycliffite Doctrines: The commission examined the points of agreement between Hus and the English reformer John Wycliffe.12
Hus was ultimately tried as a Wycliffite heretic. He refused to retract his opinions unless they were refuted by Holy Writ, leading him to defy the council's authority on matters of doctrine. Consequently, he was sentenced and executed by burning at the stake on July 6, 1415.312