WI:Jan Hus exhiled to Muscovy

Let's see. Jan Hus is one of the original reformers of Western Christianity so basically he could have potentially helped reform Eastern Christianity if he was exiled in Muscovy, but how and why would be be exiled there?
 

HeWhoIsMe

Banned
Is it possible for Jan Hus to be exhiled to Muscovy, could his exhile result in a Hussite Russia?

Hmm...I think the real question here is not whether Hus could have been exiled to Muscovy(or any other Russian principality for that matter) but whether his radical views would have a similar effect on the Orthodox Russian peasants that they had on the Catholic Bohemian burghers.
The Russian Orthodox Church was always a more docile and traditional institution compared to the Roman Catholic Church and almost always was totally under the firm control of the secular monarchs. Thus it never grew so powerful as to invite the amount of resentment from the common people that the Catholic Church did. The Orthodox Church never issued indulgences, and the local Patriarch never had the secular power to intervene in state matters. Infact, I suspect that the common Russian peasant harbored a much stronger affection and respect for his spiritual leaders than for his monarch. Thus I'm afraid that Hus's teachings would have fallen on deaf ears.

In addition, the Orthodox clergy wouldn't sit aside and watch the newcomer spread his "blasphemy" among their followers. The Patriarch might not possess the secular power to have Hus right out burned on the stake, but still being the ultimate authority in matters of religion in the Russian territories, and enjoying the approval of his spiritual subjects, he would make Hus's life harder...ridiculously harder...

Still, if we are to explore all possibilities, then maybe a crazy Russian Prince, with ulterior motives, would contemplate providing asylum to an exiled Hus so that he could have a tool with which to keep inciting Central European peasants and burghers from the safety or Russian lands, for whatever reason...
Of course nothing would stop Hus from trying his game with the Russian serfs, too. And Hus's Russian patrons would definitely NOT be liking that!

Providing a base and refuge for the Hussite cause would probably sour Russia's relations with it's own Church and all members of the Holy Roman Empire, Rome and conceivably, all the Catholic kingdoms between these 2 and Muscovy...In the end and judging from the amount of unrest and instability the Hussites caused in the OTL, I wouldn't be surprised to see German, Bohemian, Polish, Hungarian even Italian "crusader" armies marching to Muscovy with the aim of bringing the heretic Hus's head back on a plate and maybe deposing whoever monarch was stupid enough to side with and sposor team Hus.
As a side goal they might even have tried converting the Muscovites to the "true faith" although that is seriously far-fetched!!!

So having considered all of the above, why would any sensible Russian ruler be willing to provide refuge to Jan Hus?
 
Hmm...I think the real question here is not whether Hus could have been exiled to Muscovy(or any other Russian principality for that matter) but whether his radical views would have a similar effect on the Orthodox Russian peasants that they had on the Catholic Bohemian burghers.
The Russian Orthodox Church was always a more docile and traditional institution compared to the Roman Catholic Church and almost always was totally under the firm control of the secular monarchs. Thus it never grew so powerful as to invite the amount of resentment from the common people that the Catholic Church did. The Orthodox Church never issued indulgences, and the local Patriarch never had the secular power to intervene in state matters. Infact, I suspect that the common Russian peasant harbored a much stronger affection and respect for his spiritual leaders than for his monarch. Thus I'm afraid that Hus's teachings would have fallen on deaf ears.

In addition, the Orthodox clergy wouldn't sit aside and watch the newcomer spread his "blasphemy" among their followers. The Patriarch might not possess the secular power to have Hus right out burned on the stake, but still being the ultimate authority in matters of religion in the Russian territories, and enjoying the approval of his spiritual subjects, he would make Hus's life harder...ridiculously harder...

Still, if we are to explore all possibilities, then maybe a crazy Russian Prince, with ulterior motives, would contemplate providing asylum to an exiled Hus so that he could have a tool with which to keep inciting Central European peasants and burghers from the safety or Russian lands, for whatever reason...
Of course nothing would stop Hus from trying his game with the Russian serfs, too. And Hus's Russian patrons would definitely NOT be liking that!

Providing a base and refuge for the Hussite cause would probably sour Russia's relations with it's own Church and all members of the Holy Roman Empire, Rome and conceivably, all the Catholic kingdoms between these 2 and Muscovy...In the end and judging from the amount of unrest and instability the Hussites caused in the OTL, I wouldn't be surprised to see German, Bohemian, Polish, Hungarian even Italian "crusader" armies marching to Muscovy with the aim of bringing the heretic Hus's head back on a plate and maybe deposing whoever monarch was stupid enough to side with and sposor team Hus.
As a side goal they might even have tried converting the Muscovites to the "true faith" although that is seriously far-fetched!!!

So having considered all of the above, why would any sensible Russian ruler be willing to provide refuge to Jan Hus?

That's what I'm thinking too. I mean, Jan Hus' presence in Muscovy would have multiplied the Times of Troubles a lot worse.
 
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