Why did Jan Hus support the Council of Pisa in 1409?
Jan Hus supported the Council of Pisa in 1409 because he was a leader of reform who sought to end the Western Schism, a period during which the Roman Catholic Church was divided by rival popes.12
Hus viewed the council as a necessary mechanism to dethrone the competing pontiffs and reform the church. His support for the council aligned him with the Czech masters at the University of Prague, who favored the reform effort, in contrast to the German masters and the local archbishop, Zbyněk, who remained loyal to Pope Gregory XII. By acknowledging the council's elected successor, Alexander V, Hus and his reform party sought to resolve the ecclesiastical division, even though the council ultimately resulted in three competing popes rather than a unified papacy.21