Chelčický, Petr (c. 1390-c. 1460)

Czech writer and theologian. The most influential writer of the Hussite religious reformation movement, he composed a number of Bible commentaries and treatises, written in a vigorous, popular style, among them The Net of Faith.

Chelčický was a believer in nonviolence, and held that true Christians should refrain from the pursuit of riches and power. The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who learnt of Chelčický from Czech friends, regarded him as his precursor.