Chapter 117 Fire
Sure enough, in Central and Western Europe, being a bishop was a quick way to make money. This time, the harvest is really not small.
There are gold coins, silver coins, ducats, florins, all kinds of currencies.
"The rest of the travel expenses are paid," Peter joked.
This is actually not a clever move, but Europe today doesn't even know this. So it was cheaper for Peter.
"These must cost at least 100,000 lei"
"No, at least two hundred thousand."
Seeing bags of gold coins being put into the car, Peter felt happy. In order to prevent discovery, he also asked people to put grain on it, so that it would be foolproof.
This was an unexpected gain, because Peter didn't expect the bishop to squeeze him so hard. All of a sudden, I had a lot more private money.
Of course, Peter did not forget the business of coming here. He knew that the religious conflicts in Bohemia were already difficult to bridge, so he decided to add fuel to their fire.
Peter could not remember what the Ninety-Five Theses were, but he could write something close to it. As long as the meaning remains unchanged, any words will do.
"God is merciful and loves everyone equally."
"The Pope does not have the will or power to absolve any sins. He can only absolve people from punishments imposed by his own authority or by canon law."
“The tares which changed the penalties of canon law into the penalties of purgatory were evidently sown by the devil while the bishops were sleeping.”
“If there are some people who can accept total immunity, it is only for the perfect people, and only a very small number.
Therefore, indiscriminately promoting forgiveness of sins will inevitably lead to the majority of people being deceived. "
“Those who buy indulgences in the assurance of their salvation will be punished with everlasting damnation along with their instigators.”
There are twenty-four in total, and all of them hit the point directly. He was firing not just at indulgences, but at the Pope and the entire Catholic Church.
Mason on the side thought this was too much and protested to Peter.
"Sir, you will chill them."
"Chilling, is it God, or are these guys enriching themselves in the name of God?"
Peter made no secret of his hostility to Catholicism. Firstly, he was an Orthodox Christian. Secondly, he wanted to destroy the foundation of Catholicism and thus lay the foundation for the expansion of Orthodoxy into Italy and Central Europe.
He said a lot to Mason, mainly contrasting the corruption of the Catholic Church with the incorruption of the Orthodox Church. The last sentence: "Since the Pope is selling indulgences to save souls and not for money, then why did he cancel the pardons and forgiveness he had promised with the same effect?"
Killer!
Mason was completely speechless. After all, the Catholic Church has this kind of virtue. He could only deal with it with silence.
Although there was a debate, the twenty-four points written by Peter could not be published directly because he wrote them in Wallachian and had to be translated into German and Czech. For this, he must find someone.
Peter asked Wallachians doing business in Prague to translate it into German, and then prepared a translation into Czech.
"Finding a translator requires someone who is very proficient in Czech."
It is not difficult to find such a person near Charles University, and the price offered is very high. As long as he is not a devout Christian, there will be no problem.
"John, do you want to go to the city hall to see what's new?"
"No, I want to go alone."
John rejected the kindness of his classmates. He needed to think for himself and how to digest the testimony of a few days ago.
Why did his country become like this? Why did the bishops and nobles exploit Bohemia so much? Why?
While he was thinking, Pastor Andrew, whom he had met in college, came to see him.
"John, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking about what happened at church a few days ago."
Andrew knew that John was thinking about indulgences and reassured him that they were permitted by the pope and that as long as they had them, they could ascend to heaven. John couldn't say anything, so he asked him what happened.
"Oh, it's like this. There is a person who wants to find someone who is very familiar with German and Czech to translate the article. I heard that he is from the East. I think you are quite good, so I came to see you."
"translate?"
"Yes, and the price given is also very high. Do you want to try it?"
John thought he was bored and decided to give it a try. He followed the path given by the priest to the hotel.
"Do you need to translate this?"
"Ah, yes, do you want to try it?"
John came here and after some translation was hired, one hundred for two ducats.
John was shocked by the high price, but he still didn't understand why no one was there until he read the transcript.
"This..." John was speechless. When the person next to him saw this, he thought it was the same as the previous person, so he said.
"If you want to give up, then please do so."
John fought in his mind, and finally decided to take the job. Not just for the money, but also for the content.
One document after another was translated, and John even shortened his sleeping time in order to complete his work as soon as possible.
Of course, he wrote it down as he was copying it and prepared it for the general public, who did not understand German, so he prepared a Czech version.
When he came to the door with a stack of papers, he not only got paid, but also received an extra bonus.
"This is a reward from my lord, accept it."
"Why, I just did this little thing."
"My Lord said that you are the only one to take this job, which is enough to prove your piety and courage to God, so I reward you and hope that you can continue to remain loyal to God."
John was encouraged to preach the gospel to the people and to practice it as Jesus did, not as the bishops were doing now.
Peter watched John's leaving figure upstairs, feeling increasingly certain that he was the person he wanted to see. John, no, he should be called Jan, Jan Hus.
"Are you all ready?"
"Everything is ready, but where to put it?"
Peter proposed a very bold idea, how bold, he planned to put it on the door of the cathedral.
God, does Peter think he is Martin Luther? And are Orthodox Christians preparing to be burned at the stake before posting objectionable articles before going to a Catholic church? Even Nicholas disagreed with Peter's idea.
Well, even if you can't stick it to the door of the cathedral, then go to the pub and market. However, the curfew has been very strict and some other method is needed.
And it’s not easy to stick it on. There is no glue or nails, so I just make the paste myself. The cost is high, just boil the wheat flour until it becomes sticky.
As for the bishop, he was sad. Not only was the money gone, but heretical leaflets were also found in his diocese. This is not a slap in his face. This is a slap in the face of the Catholic Church.