Michael Servetus and the Socinians - Antitrinitarians of the Reformation
Michael Servetus has the singular distinction of having been burned by the Catholics in effigy and by the Protestants in actuality. - Roland H. Bainton.
Note: This is a new section of my Substack. I am moving all my history posts from my website over to Substack. This is the first part of the history of the Spaniard Michael Servetus who lived during the time of early explorers of Canada. His story is a part of the massive cultural changes taking place in Europe during the early part of the 16th Century.
Why Michael Servetus?
Has there ever been such a strange uniting of efforts by two powerful rivals - the Protestants and Catholics - to expunge from amongst themselves someone they considered so repulsive? Probably so, but Michael Servetus was considered so diabolical that in the midst of the rupture between Rome and the Protestants, both were determined to stamp out this radical whose teachings they considered too dangerous for Christianity.
Michael Servetus had crossed that boundary by rejecting two of the most fundamental teachings of orthodox Christianity - the Trinity and Infant Baptism. This was simply intolerable for the Churches and Servetus forfeited his life for his impiety. Yet Servetus did succeed. His influence survived.
These series of articles outline Servetus’ teachings and follows his contributions on specific developments during Reformation (early 16th Century). His first contribution was the development of an increasing tolerance for religious dissidents. His second contribution was the emergence of two teachings that outraged both Protestants and Catholics, namely antitrinitarianism and adult baptism. This became known as the “Third Way” and it ultimately became the distinguishing feature of an influential group originating in Krakow, Poland known as Polish Brethren, or more commonly the Socinians. With their emphasis on rationalism, their approach to reasoning was picked up by none other than Sir Isaac Newton. And at the core of all this was Michael Servetus, the Spaniard who challenged the intellectual and theological status quo of Western Europe.
Contents
Introduction
The Radical Reformer Michael Servetus
The Polish Brethren
Faustus Socinus and Socinianism
Conclusion
Further Reading