Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 2.djvu/580

 564 THE HUSSITES. Prague, and many Bohemians had been in the Levant and Danu- bian provinces, from whom they learned that fees were required for ordination, thus rendering it void through simony ; moreover, they heard of three Bohemians who had been ordained without inquiry as to their morals, which satisfied them that no true ordi- nation was to be obtained there. Finally they turned to the Wal- denses, of whom there was a community on the Austrian border. These claimed to descend from the primitive Church ; that their ancestors had separated from Kome when the papacy was secular- ized under Silvester by the donation of Constantine, and that they had preserved the apostolic succession untainted. It remained for the brethren to see whether it was the will of God that they should organize themselves by means of these Waldenses. At Lhotka, in 1467, an assembly of about sixty chosen deputies was held. After fasting and earnest prayer, recourse was had to the lot, to decide whether they should separate themselves from the Boman priesthood. , The result was affirmative. Then they se- lected nine men, from among whom three or two or one should be drawm, or none, if God so willed it. Twelve cards were taken, on three of which w^as written '' is," and on nine " is not." These were mingled together, and a youth was directed to distribute nine of them among the men selected. All three with " is " proved to have been distributed, and the assembly devoutly thanked God for showing them the path to follow. Michael of Zamberg was sent to the Waldensian Bishop Stephen, who investigated his faith and life, and thanked God, with tears, that it had been vouchsafed him before he died to see such pious men. After episcopal conse- cration Michael returned ; careful inquiry was made as to the an- tecedents of one of the three elect, named Matthias, and he was duly consecrated as bishop by Michael, who thereupon laid down both his Waldensian episcopate and Catholic priesthood, and was again ordained anew by Matthias."^ gister (lb. 104-5). The Calixtins had the same trouble about the apostolic succession. A letter from the Church of Constantinople, in 1451, warmly urging union, and offering to supply spiritual pastors, shows that overtures had been made to the Greek Church to remove the difficulty; but apparently the Bohemians were not prepared to cut loose definitely from Catholicism (Flac. Illyr. Catal. Test. Veritatis, Lib. xix.
 * Wie sich die Mensclien u. s. w. (Goll, II. 99-100). — Das Buch der Prager Ma-