Francesco Lismanini ( – April 1566) was an Italian Franciscan friar of Greek origin, who converted to Calvinism and also a Protestant reformer.

Biography

Lismanini was born in on

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. His Greek parents soon moved to Italy and in 1515 the family arrived in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland, where in 1525, Francis became a Franciscan friar. A fine preacher, he was chosen by Queen

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen consort, Queen of Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Poland and List of Lithuanian consorts, Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund the Old, and Duchess of Bari and ...

, compatriot and wife of King

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

, as a preacher and confessor. In 1540, he was elected as a Franciscan Father, but as a humanist of the Erasmian circle and proponent of reformed doctrines, in 1550 he was suspected of heresy during a trip to Italy. In 1553, arrived in Moravia, then returning again to Italy and then Switzerland, where he openly proclaimed Calvinism and became a friend of

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...

and Johannes Wolf. He returned to Poland to be part of the Protestant Church of Poland. He tried to reach an agreement with the anti-Trinitarian church of the Polish Brethren to strengthen the Reform movement, but due to the opposition of Calvin and Bullinger, the attempt failed. Thus in the late 1550s he was involved with numerous Calvinist and Lutheran disputes with people such as

Francesco Stancaro Francesco Stancaro (also Latin: Franciscus Stancarus) (1501 in Mantua – 1574 in Stopnica) was an Italian Catholic priest, theologian, Protestant convert, and Protestant reformer who became professor of Hebrew at the University of Königsberg. ...

. In 1563, he entered the service of Duke

Albrecht of Prussia Albert of Prussia (; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, grand master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, ...

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, where he died in April 1566.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lismanini, Francesco 1504 births 1566 deaths Italian Franciscans Italian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Clergy from Corfu Italian people of Greek descent Converts to Calvinism from Roman Catholicism