"In the middle of Old Town Square, in the heart of Prague, Czech Republic, stands a large discolored statue of John Huss" (Young). .
Who is John Huss and what made him important enough to get a statue made of himself? What do I need to do to get a statue of myself put up? That is just a joke, but John Huss did do some important things in his life that would make the people want to create a statue to remember him by. Let us take a deeper look at the life of this religious man who was one of the earliest reformers in the world, according to some researchers. In 1369 John Huss was born in Hussenitz, which is modern day Bohemia. He was not born into wealth or nobility but instead into a life of peasant hood. Because of his being born into poverty, some believe that he chose to study priesthood as an escape. Regardless of the reason behind his preparation, John Huss went to Prague University to study theology and philosophy. By 1398, John Huss received a master's degree and became a professor of theology in 1400. John Huss did not stop there though, he persevered and became an ordained priest in the Catholic Church and a priest at Bethlehem Chapel in 1402. But wait! There is more! By 1404, John Huss got his bachelor's degree in theology. How crazy is that?! Through his learnings and the teachings of a man by the name John Wyclife, John Huss believed that the Church was above the popes who tried to control them. Upon this belief, John began to have ideas of reform and thought people should know what they were being taught by having their own Bibles in their own language. Back then, that was a big deal, but by this we are now entitled to our own Bibles. He also believed that salvation was not based on if you attended church or being a priest. He understood that is was all based on a person's relationship with God. This is another thing that John Huss learned from Wyclif's teachings. .
"The church shines in its walls, but starves in its poor saints; it clothes its stones with gold, but leaves its children naked.
