At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Wyclif´s writings began to circulate in Bohemia. The main points in them to have an influence on Hus were the fervent desire to establish order in the church and the criticism of the actual state of the church. Hus did not accept some of the more radical of Wyclif´s new ideas at all (for example, Wyclif’s rejection of transubstantiation), and continued to adhere to the tradition of the church. However, in view of the lack of order in the church, which had at first two, and then later three popes, Hus was enthusiastic about Wyclif's view that the church is an invisible community preordained for salvation, and that if the visible church is not capable of living in accordance with the Gospel on its own, then the secular authorities should restore order, and that it is not official authorization which qualifies anyone to exercise an office, but their moral qualities. Hus was not, as is often asserted, a mere epigon of Wyclif, but he was attracted by Wyclif's way of thinking, because his philosophical and spiritual roots were similar: he tended towards Platonism and admired St. Augustine, just as Wyclif did.

At first, the Archbishop of Prague, Zbyněk Zajíc of Hazemburg, supported Hus' critical views; indeed, he twice appointed him as synodal preacher for the clergy of the Prague archdiocese. But then came the disputes over Wyclif, which started in Prague University in 1403, with the Czech masters defending Wyclif while the others made him out to be a heretic. In 1406 Archbishop Zbyněk tried to put an end to these disputes by banning Wyclif’s views which provoked a rupture between Hus and the Archbishop.

Hus’s opponents were particularly annoyed by the fact that he voiced his criticisms of them not only in the university and at synods (such criticism was not only usual but even ”fashionable“ in intellectual circles), but also in Czech from the pulpit in Bethlehem Chapel. Hus’s activities in Bethlehem Chapel gave rise to sermons preached on Sundays and holy days, Czech versions of some Latin mass hymns (such as “Jesus Christ, generous priest,”) and moralist tracts such as “Ten gold pieces” (a reworking of an older version), “On the seven deadly sins,” “A small mirror for a sinner,” and the tract “On the prevention of escheatage,” directed against the accumulation of church property.

After 1408 the attacks of Hus’s enemies, who came mainly from the ranks of the regular (monastic) clergy, began to increase. The reason for this was the preacher’s moral frankness and refusal to compromise, while the pretext given was that in many of his criticisms he was indeed plainly close to the views of Wyclif, who had been banned in both England and the Czech lands, although by now he had been dead for some time (he died in1384).

At the beginning of 1409, Wenceslaus IV tried to get Prague University to add its support to the French proposal for resolving the papal schism, which he himself supported. (The proposal was that both rival popes should resign and that a new one be elected.) His efforts, however, were thwarted by the opposition of the German masters, which led him to issue the Kutná Hora Decree on 18 January. By this decree Wenceslaus assigned three of the four votes in decisions taken by the university masters to masters coming from the Kingdom of Bohemia. In this way he ensured the support of the University for his favoured solution to the papal schism. In accordance with the new regulations, Jan Hus was elected Rector of Prague University that autumn.

In 1410, the Archbishop ordered Wyclif's books to be burned. Hus protested against this from the pulpit and, as a consequence, was anathematized by the Archbishop. Hus, however, continued in his activities and even wrote a tract on this subject (“De libris hereticorum legendis” – “Concerning the reading of heretical books”). The Archbishop then brought a complaint against Hus before the new pope, John XXIII, and Hus was summoned to appear before the papal court. However, he did not go; on the contrary, he became even more active in the University and the Bethlehem Chapel, writing a further tract entitled “Replica contra ocultum adversarium” (“Response against hidden enemies”). The Archbishop intensified the anathema against Hus, had it confirmed by the pope, and had it proclaimed in all the churches in Prague in March 1411. The angry king expelled Archbishop Zbyněk Zajíc from Prague. The prelate fled to King Sigismund in Hungary, but died on the way.

Albík of Uničov was appointed as the new Archbishop, but the situation in Prague did not become any calmer. Indeed, if anything, it became more acute.

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