Stories of Christian Martyrs: Jerome Of Prague

Three months before the death of Jan Hus in Constance, Germany,
a Bohemian scholar named Jerome secretly snuck into the city.
He had already escaped from prison in Vienna, and had boldly
made his way to Germany, without protection, to try to help his friend
Hus. Jerome had translated the writings of John Wycliffe into the Czech
language, which Hus had read and followed. Feeling perhaps that it was
he, Jerome, who should have been arrested, he bravely wrote letters to
the emperor and the Council of Constance, pleading for safe conduct
and to be heard on behalf of Hus—but they refused. Having done all he
could, he made his way back to Bohemia.

He never made it home. As he traveled through a small town in
Germany, the Duke of Sulzbach sent an officer to illegally arrest him.
Chained around the neck and shackled, he was led back into Constance
as if he was the center of a parade. Surrounded by men on horseback and
many more guards, they took him to a degrading prison to await trial.

Later, during which time Hus was martyred, the Council of Constance still refused to let Jerome speak. They knew he was a persuasive,
intelligent scholar, and were afraid of his ability to defend the Christian
faith. He asked to defend himself, and they refused again. Held against
his will, with no trial or opportunity to plead his own case, he yelled out:

What cruelty is this? For 340 days I’ve been confined in various prisons. There is not a misery or a want that I have not experienced…and you have denied me the smallest opportunity to defend myself… You are a general council, and in you is contained all that this world can impart of wisdom, solemnity, and holiness; but you are still men, and men are often
fooled by words and appearances. The higher your character
is for wisdom, the more you should be careful not to fall into foolishness. The cause I wish to plead is my own cause, the cause of men, the cause of Christians. It is a cause that will affect the rights of future generations, no matter in what way the testing process is applied to me.

After accusing him on six accounts of ridiculing and persecuting the
papacy, and of being a “hater of the Christian religion,” they tortured
him for eleven days by hanging him by his heels. Threatened with worse
torture, he faltered. He verbally affirmed that the writings of Hus and
Wycliffe were false. However, after returning to prison, albeit with better
treatment, he retracted his statements and vowed full support of Hus and
Wycliffe. The council brought 107 new charges against him, but finally
let him speak before burning him at the stake.

Jerome eloquently reminded them that throughout history, men of
truth have openly voiced their opinions and differences. All that Jerome
had done, all that Wycliffe had done, was to unveil the misguided teachings of the Roman Church at that time to the people of their own land, and in their own language. They taught that the Gospel itself is enough to rule the life of every Christian; that the pope is no different from any other priest; that communion is not the actual blood, body, and bones
of Christ; and many other doctrines that follow more Protestant lines
of thought.

The Roman Church at that time had already martyred Hus, banished the teachings of Wycliffe, and now Jerome of Prague was on the
pyre. Singing hymns as the pyre was lit, his last known words were, “This
soul in flames I offer, Christ, to Thee.”

His death was not in vain. Jerome, like Hus and Wycliffe, was
simply encouraging people to know what the Bible actually said, and
not to blindly follow those who claimed to have the utmost authority
over Christianity. The work of Jerome, Hus, and Wycliffe led the way
for men like William Tyndale to translate the Bible into English, and
later into other languages, so that everyone had access to the Word
of God.

This story is an excerpt from Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs. You can get your own copy free with any donation to The Voice of the Martyrs.