The Council of Constance is Called to Convene.
King Sigismund and Pope John XXIII, the two vilest men then living on
the face of the earth, were the rulers of the Christian world, and
they agreed to call a General Council at Constance, in Baden, near
Switzerland, for Nov. 1, 1414, in order to end the Schism, to begin the
sorely needed reform of the Church, and to settle the heresies of Wiclif
and Hus.
[Illustration: THE EMPEROR SIGISMUND]
Heir to his childless brother Wenzel's Bohemian crown, King Sigismund of
Hungary was naturally anxious to have the stain of heresy removed from
the fair land that was now the talk of the world, and he ordered three
Bohemian noblemen to protect Hus on his way to Constance, during his
stay at the Council, and on his return to Bohemia.
Even Divucek, one of Sigismund's envoys, warned Hus, "Master, be sure
that thou wilt be condemned."
Thinking he was going to his death, Hus put his house in order, got a
certificate of orthodoxy from his bishop, and bade farewell to his
people--"Beloved, if my death ought to contribute to the Master's glory,
pray that it may come quickly and that He may enable me to support all
my calamities with constancy. You will probably nevermore behold my face
at Prag."
He set out on Oct. 11, as boldly as later Luther to Worms.