Jan Hus, the Czech religious reformer whose teachings helped inspire the founding of the Moravian Church, “has more in common with Pope Francis than with the modern Moravian Church,” Professor Craig Atwood said at a recent lecture at the Moravian Archives.

The lecture, attended by some 70 people, was one of several events this year in recognition of the 600th anniversary of Hus’s execution as a heretic by the Catholic Church. Atwood is an associate professor of theology and ministry at Moravian Theological Seminary.

His talk, “A Historical Perspective on John Hus,” was a lively and informative overview of Hus’s life and the religious climate in Europe in the 15th century.

Hus is not only a significant figure for Moravians, he is a national hero in the Czech Republic.

As the Catholic Church moves one step closer to exonerating Hus of heresy, Pope Francis recently expressed regret about the execution of Hus, who was burned at the stake July 6, 1415.

Atwood argued that Hus as a symbol and a martyr had more influence on the founders of the Moravian church than Hus the man. Even now, he said, Moravians downplay his continued devotion to many Catholic teachings, although he also fought against much of what was going on in the Catholic Church at that time.

To understand Hus’s reform efforts, Atwood said, it is important to know how powerful the Catholic Church was throughout Europe at that time. It raised money through taxes, or tithes, and rents on church land. But those sources didn’t raise enough money to maintain the church, so priests began charging for things such as sacraments and indulgences, a practice known as Simony.

As commercialism and corruption became widespread, people like Hus began advocating for reform. In Czechoslovakia, reform efforts were underway even before Hus, and reformers were patronized by Charles IV of Czechoslovakia.

Hus was named director of Bethlehem Chapel in Czechoslovakia, where he preached against corrupt practices in the church, especially Simony, and gained the enthusiastic support of his students.

As his teachings became more influential, the number of his enemies in the church increased, Atwood said, and the Archbishop of Prague excommunicated him and tried to close the Bethlehem Chapel.

The king continued to support Hus, until Hus opposed the sale of indulgences, at which time the king banished him from Prague.

Atwood compared Hus’s reform effort to the Occupy Wall Street movement, in that the church at that time could be considered part of the 1 percent. Hus focused on economic oppression and the luxury of the church, contrasted to the poverty surrounding it.

But Hus’s fate was sealed in 1414 when Pope John 23rd (whom the Catholic Church now considers an antipope, so that name could be taken by the pope elected in the 1960s) invited him to a council. When he arrived there, he was arrested and imprisoned.

He was tried and convicted on 30 counts of heresy. Among them was his assertion that popes were not infallible. He refused to recant, so was executed.

It is a myth, Atwood said, that Hus wasn’t allowed to defend himself at his trial. Instead, he used the opportunity to promote his views.

The church hoped Hus’s execution would end his reform movement, Atwood said, but that didn’t happen. Hus’s followers continued to be targeted by the church as heretics, but Protestant reformers continued to use his example, well into the next century.

He also became a hero to those who wanted self-government for Czechoslovakia. But his connection to the Moravian Church is less clear, Atwood argued, although the Moravians claim him as a founder. He was actually more of a Catholic reformer than a radical Protestant, Atwood said, although the Catholic Church later tried to portray him as a radical.

Hus still believed in some Catholic dogma, such as transubstantiation.

“Perhaps,” Atwood said, “we should reconsider the image of him we project.”

The symbolism of his death, Atwood asserted, was “more influential than Hus the man.”