Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios (English ''A Digest of Christian Theology according to the Unitarians'') is a

statement of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds: ...

of the

Unitarian Church of Transylvania The Unitarian Church of Transylvania (; ), also known as the Hungarian Unitarian Church (; ), is a Nontrinitarian Christian denomination of the Unitarian tradition, based in the city of Cluj, Transylvania, Romania. Founded in 1568 in the Eastern ...

officially recognised by

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

in 1782. The subtitle is ''in Usum Auditorum Theologiae concinnata et edita'' (English: ''Compiled and published for the use of students of theology''). The work is traditionally ascribed to

Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám Mihály () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the English Michael and may refer to: * Mihály András (1917–1993), Hungarian cellist, composer, and academic teacher * Mihály Apafi (1632–1690), Hungarian Prince of Transy ...

(1737–1758), who revitalized the church after a period of persecution during the 18th century. It remains the official statement of faith of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania, though since the 19th century subscription to it is no longer required.

Theology

The document is basically

Socinian Socinianism ( ) is a Nontrinitarian Christian belief system developed and co-founded during the Protestant Reformation by the Italian Renaissance humanists and theologians Lelio Sozzini and Fausto Sozzini, uncle and nephew, respectively. I ...

(as the

Racovian Catechism The Racovian Catechism ('' Pol.'': Katechizm Rakowski) is a nontrinitarian statement of faith from the 16th century. The title ''Racovian'' comes from the publishers, the Polish Brethren, who had founded a sizeable town in Raków, Kielce County, w ...

) with

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

modifications. The characteristic Christology of

Laelio Sozzini Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini (; 29 January 1525 – 4 May 1562), often known in English by his Latinized name Laelius Socinus ( ), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the ...

, denying the

pre-existence of Christ The pre-existence of Christ asserts the existence of Christ prior to his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant Bible passages is John 1 () where, in the Trinitarian interpretation, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasi ...

but accepting the virgin birth,''Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios'' XXVIII ''.. Si Mariae Virginis Filius dei potest, ob nativitatem ex illa, quidni etiam Dei, quandoquidem alium Patrem non habuit praeter Deum, sicut Adam Luc III'' distinguishes the document from the more progressive Unitarianism of

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

(after

Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion The ''Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion'', written by 18th-century English Dissenting minister and polymath Joseph Priestley, is a three-volume work designed for religious education published by Joseph Johnson between 1772 and 1774. ...

1772) and

Thomas Belsham Thomas Belsham (26 April 175011 November 1829) was an English Unitarian minister. Life Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the di ...

References

External links

Latin original scanned at Digitale-Sammlungen
1782 documents 1782 in the Holy Roman Empire 1782 in Christianity Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Unitarian Church of Transylvania History of Christianity in Romania Christian statements of faith {{Unitarianism-stub Nature of Jesus Christ