Pope and the clergy, but to the Bible and the law of Christ. God
alone had the power of the keys; God alone must be obeyed; and the
Holy Catholic Church consisted, not of the Pope, the Cardinals, the
Priests, and so many baptized members, but "of all those that had
been chosen by God." It is hard to imagine a doctrine more
Protestant than this. It struck at the root of the whole Papal
conception. It undermined the authority of the Catholic Church, and
no one could say to what, ere long, it might lead. It was time,
said many, to take decisive action.

For this purpose Sigismund, King of the Romans and of Hungary,
persuaded Pope John XXIII. to summon a general Church Council at
Constance; and at the same time he invited Hus to attend the Council
in person, and there expound his views. John Hus set out for
Constance. As soon as he arrived in the city, he received from
Sigismund that famous letter of "safe conduct" on which whole
volumes have been written. The King's promise was as clear as day.
He promised Hus, in the plainest terms, three things: first, that
he should come unharmed to the city; second, that he should have a
free hearing; and third, that if he did not submit to the decision
of the Council he should be allowed to go home. Of those promises
only the first was ever fulfilled. John Hus soon found himself
caught in a trap. He was imprisoned by order of the Pope. He was
placed in a dungeon on an island in the Rhine, and lay next to a
sewer; and Sigismund either would not or could not lift a finger to
help him. For three and a-half mouths he lay in his dungeon; and
then he was removed to the draughty tower of a castle on Lake
Geneva. His opinions were examined and condemned by the Council;
and at last, when he was called to appear in person, he found that
he had been condemned as a heretic already. As soon as he opened