Socinianism
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Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian
theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
Lelio Sozzini Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini, or simply Lelio Sozzini (Latin: ''Laelius Socinus''; 29 January 1525 – 4 May 1562), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the Non-trinitarian C ...
(Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle and nephew, respectively, it was developed among the Polish Brethren in the Polish Reformed Church during the 16th and 17th centuries and embraced by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania during the same period. It is most famous for its Non-trinitarian
Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Diff ...
but contains a number of other heretical beliefs as well.


Origins

The ideas of Socinianism date from the wing of the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
known as the
Radical Reformation The Radical Reformation represented a response to corruption both in the Catholic Church and in the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. Beginning in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th century, the Ra ...
and have their root in the Italian
Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
movement of the 1540s, such as the anti-trinitarian Council of Venice in 1550.
Lelio Sozzini Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini, or simply Lelio Sozzini (Latin: ''Laelius Socinus''; 29 January 1525 – 4 May 1562), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the Non-trinitarian C ...
was the first of the Italian anti-trinitarians to go beyond Arian beliefs in print and deny the
pre-existence of Christ The pre-existence of Christ asserts the existence of Christ before his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant Bible passages is where, in the Trinitarian interpretation, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis (substan ...
in his ''Brevis explicatio in primum Johannis caput'' – a commentary on the meaning of the
Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aris ...
in John 1:1–15 (1562). Lelio Sozzini considered that the "beginning" of was the same as and referred to the new creation, not the Genesis creation. His nephew Fausto Sozzini published his own longer ''Brevis explicatio'' later, developing his uncle's arguments. Many years after the death of his uncle in Switzerland, Fausto Sozzini consulted with the
Unitarian Church in Transylvania The Unitarian Church of Transylvania ( hu, Erdélyi Unitárius Egyház; ro, Biserica Unitariană din Transilvania), also known as the Hungarian Unitarian Church ( hu, Magyar Unitárius Egyház; ro, Biserica Unitariană Maghiară), is a Christian ...
, attempting to mediate in the dispute between Giorgio Biandrata and Ferenc Dávid. He moved to Poland, where he married the daughter of a leading member of the Polish Brethren, the anti-trinitarian minority, or ''ecclesia minor''. In 1565, it had split from the
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
Reformed Church in Poland. Sozzini never joined the ''ecclesia minor'', but he was influential in reconciling several controversies among the Brethren: on conscientious objection, on prayer to Christ, and on the virgin birth. Fausto persuaded many in the Polish Brethren who were formerly
Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
, such as Marcin Czechowic, to adopt his uncle Lelio's views. Fausto Sozzini furthered his influence through his Racovian Catechism, published posthumously, which set out his uncle Lelio's views on
Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Diff ...
and replaced earlier catechisms of the ''Ecclesia Minor''. His influence continued after his death through the writings of his students published in Polish and Latin from the press of the Racovian Academy at Raków, Kielce County. The name ''Socinian'' started to be used in Holland and England from the 1610s onward, as the Latin publications were circulated among early Arminians, Remonstrants, Dissenters, and early English Unitarians. In the late 1660s, Fausto Sozzini's grandson
Andreas Wiszowaty Andrzej Wiszowaty Sr. (Latin ''Andreas Wissowatius'') ( Filipów 1608 - Amsterdam, 1678) was a Socinian theologian who worked with Joachim Stegmann (1595–1633) on the Racovian Catechism of 1605, and taught at the Racovian Academy of the Polish ...
and great-grandson
Benedykt Wiszowaty Benedykt Wiszowaty (c.1650 – after 1704 Kosinowo) was a Polish Socinian, nobleman, author and publisher. After the Sejm expelled the Socinians from Poland, he left the country with his father. From 1666, they lived in Amsterdam, where he con ...
published the nine-volume '' Biblioteca Fratrum Polonorum quos Unitarios vocant'' (1668) in Amsterdam, along with the works of F. Sozzini, the Austrian Johann Ludwig von Wolzogen, and the Poles
Johannes Crellius Johannes Crellius (Polish: ''Jan Crell'', English: John Crell; 26 July 1590 in Hellmitzheim – 11 June 1633 in Raków) was a Polish and German theologian. Life Johann Crell's father, Johann Crell Sr., was pastor of the church at Hellmitzheim, ...
,
Jonasz Szlichtyng Jonasz Szlichtyng (German: Jonas Schlichting) (1592 in Bukowiec, Lubusz Voivodeship – 1661 in Sulechów) was a Polish nobleman, theologian of the Socinian Polish Brethren and father of Krzysztof Szlichtyng. He studied in Germany, from where he ...
, and
Samuel Przypkowski Samuel Przypkowski (Przipcovius, Pripcovius) (1592–19 April 1670, Königsberg) was a Polish Socinian theologian, a leading figure in the Polish Brethren and an advocate of religious toleration. In ''Dissertatio de pace et concordia ecclesiae'', ...
. These books circulated among English and French thinkers, including
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...
,
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
,
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...
, and Pierre Bayle. In Britain and North America, Socinianism later became a catch-all term for any kind of dissenting belief. Sources in the 18th and 19th centuries frequently attributed the term ''Socinian'' anachronistically, using it to refer to ideas that embraced a much wider range than the narrowly defined position of the Racovian catechisms and library.


Beliefs

Socinian theology, as summarised in the Racovian Catechism, rejected the views of orthodox
Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...
on God's knowledge, on the
doctrine of the Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...
and the divinity of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
, and on soteriology.


Christology

The Racovian publications, like the Sozzinis, rejected the
pre-existence of Christ The pre-existence of Christ asserts the existence of Christ before his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant Bible passages is where, in the Trinitarian interpretation, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis (substan ...
and held that
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
did not exist until he was conceived as a human being. This view had been put forward before by the 4th-century bishop Photinus, but it conflicts with the mainline
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
, and
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
views, which hold that the
Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aris ...
referred to in the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
was Jesus.


Human nature

The Socinians held that humans were created mortal in the beginning and would have died naturally whether Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree or not. They also rejected the doctrine of
original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ...
.


Atonement

Socinianism also rejected the propitiatory view of atonement.


Predestination and omniscience

The Socinians believed that God's
omniscience Omniscience () is the capacity to know everything. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, this is an attribute of God. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain. In Buddhism, there are dif ...
was limited to what was a necessary truth in the future (what would ''definitely'' happen) and did not apply to what was a contingent truth (what ''might'' happen). They believed that, if God knew every possible future, human
free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...
was impossible and as such rejected the "hard" view of omniscience.


Skepticism

Later writers such as Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823–86) asserted that Socinian theology was rooted in skepticism. However, the original Polish Socinians were believers in miracles and the virgin birth, although there were a few radicals, such as Symon Budny and Jacobus Palaeologus, who denied these.


Conscientious objection

Although not directly a doctrinal belief, the principle of conscientious objection and the obedient relation of the believer to the state became a distinct position of Socinianism as it was formalized in the Racovian publications. Before F. Sozzini's arrival in Poland, there had been a wide range of positions from the total otherworldliness, common property, and withdrawal from the state of Marcin Czechowic of
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
through to the advocacy of military service by Symon Budny. The next generation of Polish Brethren stabilized between these two positions, carrying wooden swords to follow the letter of the law and allowing senior Socinians such as
Hieronim Moskorzowski Hieronim Moskorzowski or Moskorzewski, also known as Moscorovius, Jarosz Moskorzowski, pseudonymy: Eusebius, Medicus, Nobilis, Subditus Fidelis (c. 1560 in Moskorzew – 1625 in Raków, Kielce County) was an administrator of the Racovian Academy, ...
to vote in the
Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
.


Offshoots

The direct doctrinal descendants of the original Socinians are the Unitarian Christians of Transylvania and England. Although the Polish Brethren never adopted the name "Unitarian" while in Poland, when they were disbanded in 1658, those who fled to Holland eventually embraced the term "Unitarian" (which they got from the Transylvanians), as they preferred not to be called Socinians. The term had been used by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania as early as 1600. Socinian theology continued in Transylvania, where Polish exiles such as Andrzej Wiszowaty Jr., taught in the Unitarian College (1726–1740), as evidenced in the ''
Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios (English ''A Digest of Christian Theology according to the Unitarians'') is a statement of faith of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania officially recognised by Joseph II in 1782. The subt ...
'' of
Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám ( Városfalva, 1683 – Kolozsvár, March 30, 1758) was a Hungarian Unitarian bishop.Earl Morse Wilbur ''A history of Unitarianism'' Vol.2 "Michael Lombard Szentabrahami was born in a Szekler village in 1683. H ...
, recognized as the statement of faith of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania by Emperor Joseph II in 1782. Early English Unitarians such as
Henry Hedworth Henry Hedworth (1626–1705) of Huntingdon was a Unitarian writer. Henry Hedworth is chiefly notable for being the first person in the English language to introduce Latin (and Dutch) term "Unitarian" into print in England 1673, fourteen years befo ...
and John Biddle retroactively applied the term "Unitarian" to the Polish Brethren. By 1676 there were at least three Socinian meeting houses in London, even if the Act of Toleration of 1689 saw Socinians and Catholics excluded from official recognition. Socinian ideas continued to have significant influence on Unitarians in England throughout the entire period of their development. Modern Socinians (in Christological terms) include the small number of " Biblical Unitarian" churches such as the Christadelphians, the
Church of God General Conference The Church of God General Conference (CoGGC) is a nontrinitarian, Adventist Christian body which is also known as the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith and the Church of God General Conference (McDonough, Georgia). The Church of the Blessed ...
and the
Church of the Blessed Hope The Church of the Blessed Hope (or Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith) is a small first-day Adventist Christian body. The churches have common roots with the Christadelphians and the Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith). Backgr ...
,Religious studies: Volume 17 Cambridge University Press. Online Journals – 1981 "Our Socinian contemporaries, the Christadelphians, are singularly lacking in what the eighteenth century censured as enthusiasm; to a serious enquirer they will argue about their beliefs with endless patience, courtesy, and ingenuity, ..." though these churches are not direct descendants of the Polish Brethren.


Related beliefs

At the time of Fausto Sozzini, Symon Budny held a variant of unitarianism including denial of the virgin birth of Jesus and arguing that Jesus was the son of Joseph, for which he was excluded from the Racovian community.


See also

*
Nicodemite A Nicodemite () is a person suspected of publicly misrepresenting their religious faith to conceal their true beliefs. The term is sometimes defined as referring to a Protestant Christian who lived in a Roman Catholic country and escaped persecuti ...
* Nontrinitarianism * Polish Brethren


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

* * {{Authority control Christian terminology Heresy in Christianity Polish Unitarians Unitarianism Nature of Jesus Christ