V - Fausto Sozzini (Faustus Socinus)
"He was not insensibly warped by traditional methods of thought but approached the Bible text with an unbiased mind."" – Wilbur
Updated: September 10, 2024
The heart of the matter
We now reach the heart of the matter. The Reformation had kicked off a hornet’s nest of changes, some good, some bad and some completely outrageous, and some would die. The “multiple” executions of Michael Servetus by both Catholics (in effigy) and Protestants (in reality) would be a harsh prelude to what would occur in Northern Italy, Switzerland and in Poland.
Italian reformers under the influence of Professor Matteo Gribaldi (1505 – 1564) began feeling the pressure of Catholic authorities. The Swiss Anabaptists under the influence of Conrad Grebel began feeling the pressure from the Zurich Protestant authorities. Finally, the Polish Brethren began feeling the pressure from Calvinist and Catholic authorities in Poland.
The very public execution of Michael Servetus in Geneva served to focus minds of the reformers in Poland. The Calvinists in Poland saw this event as a precedent. For the Polish Minor Church (the Polish Brethren), they had assumed Calvin to be their natural leader but Calvin’s intolerance towards an antitrinitarian (Servetus) turned out to be a major disappointment for them. With the arrival of the Italians (see IV. Michael Servetus and the Polish Brethren), they began to turn away from strict Calvinism and adopted an antitrinitarian position as well as the Anabaptist’s adult baptism.
But the survival of the Polish Brethren looked very much in doubt when most of the original leadership passed off the scene. Fortunately, an Italian named Faustus Socinus arrived and soon became the de facto leader of this community that had splintered into various groupings, both geographically and doctrinally. From southern Poland to central Lithuania, the Polish Brethren had grown substantially but also had failed to achieve a unity of purpose and doctrine that could sustain it over the long term. This was the role Socinus would provide.
He would become the intellectual force behind a new emerging Rationalist movement soon to be known as Socinianism. His major contribution was the push for a Catechism that used rational arguments to justify the positions of the Polish Brethren. Although not directly written by him, the document called The Racovian Catechism would become the defining document of Socinianism and would be widely read and studied far beyond the borders of Poland by thinkers in Holland, Britain even further afield in the English colonies of North America.
However, before we get bogged down in the weeds, it is important to underline the results of Socinianism. The Unitarian history Professor E. M. Wilbur provided a succinct summary (text bolded by the substack author).
It is intended here, therefore, to present not so much the history of a particular sect or form of Christian doctrine, as to consider broadly the development of a movement fundamentally characterized instead by its steadfast and increasing devotion to these three leading principles: first, complete freedom of religion rather than bondage to creeds or confessions; second the unrestricted use of reason in religion rather than reliance upon external authority or past tradition third, generous tolerance of differing religious views and usages rather than insistence upon uniformity in doctrine, worship or polity. Freedom, reason and tolerance: it is these conditions above all others that this movement has from the beginning increasingly sought to promote.1
Socinianism as a movement promoted freedom of thought, the use of reason rather than tradition for study of Scripture and a toleration of differing views rather than a strict conformity that stifled thinking.
The Polish Brethren before Socinus
Wilbur writes,
[T]he first leaders of the Minor Church were passing from the scene, leaving none to fill their places, and when for want of competent leadership the whole loosely organized movement was in grave danger of falling to pieces, that Faustus Socinus appeared on the scene.2
The articles in this series have not dwelt long on the early leaders of the Polish Minor Church as our focus has been on the influence of Michael Servetus on this emerging community. And this influence has been through the Italian reformers fleeing Calvin’s persecution of antitrinitarians. Not all historians agree Servetus had any influence over the Polish Brethren but I suggest Servetus did but indirectly.
As the Polish Minor Church emerged out of the Polish Calvinist Church, it went through a series of doctrinal struggles in an attempt to define their positions on various matters of doctrine. Two issues stood out which were eventually adopted: antitrinitarianism and adult baptism.
Antitrinitarianism
The first key position was a complete rejection of the Orthodox Trinity in favour of Unitarianism. They believed in a Supreme being who was the one and only God; the Son of God was born at a specific time by divine intervention; the Holy Spirit was seen as a distinct power of God. As it was neither Servetus’ theory nor Arianism, a label which their opponents slanderously applied to them (and still do). It was a unique position because it declared that Jesus had no pre-existence prior to his birth.
By 1565, thirteen years after Servetus’ death, the Polish Minor Church3 had settled the issue of the Trinity for themselves at least in general terms and the church now turned to other issues such as Baptism.4
Adult Baptism
The second position was a complete rejection of Infant Baptism. Infants are brought by parents to a priest who recited a formula and then sprinkled the forehead of the infant, which was deemed baptism by Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists and other mainstream churches. They declared this rejection of this practice a heresy; they called the baptism of adults Anabaptism meaning a second baptism as they considered infant baptism the only valid baptism. However, the Polish Minor Church argued only adults can repent; babies cannot, therefore, only a baptism in which a responsible adult can understand sin and repent can be baptized. Infants can neither know right or wrong and cannot understand the concept of repentance; hence, they are in no position to have a valid baptism. The Polish Brethren believed that only adults who can understand these concepts and act on them can have a valid baptism.
Other issues
Eventually other issues bubbled to the surface. The first was the rejection of the Moravian Anabaptist position of community of goods (all possessions held in common). The second was a rejection of the use of the sword in war. The third was the emphasis of a life based on the Sermon on the Mount. Other issues were debated and decided upon. Most were debated in synods and the community slowly defined most of its positions.
Another issue they debated was the adoration of Christ (prayer to Jesus). If Christ was a man, should he be worshipped? Should he be prayed to? The community settled it in the affirmative.
Dearth of leadership
By the late 1580s most of the early leaders of the Polish Minor Church, who were now calling themselves the Polish Brethren, died. One of the key early leaders, a man called Paulus, died leaving a large gap as he was often consulted on difficult issues. Despite these leadership losses, the Polish Brethren had became well established in many towns in Poland and Lithuania but mostly in the Calvinist areas. Lublin and Rakow in Poland were considered to be the main centers of the Polish Brethren and it was to these locations that the Italian refugees from Calvin’s Geneva found a home, including Laelius Socinus, the uncle of Faustus Socinus.
Laelius Socinus, the patriarch of Socinianism
In the previous article in this series (IV. Michael Servetus and the Polish Brethren) we focused on the many Italians that moved (or fled) to Poland and added their voices to the early development of the Polish Brethren. Of all the Italians, perhaps the most significant for the long term viability of the Polish Brethren was Laelius Socinus, sometimes known as ‘the patriarch of Socinianism’.
Lelio Sozzini, as he we was known in Italy, was from Sienna, born of well-known parentage and trained to be a lawyer.
For unknown reasons he left the Venetian territory in 1547 and settled in Zurich, several years before Servetus’ death. Wilbur writes that he was well-regarded by those who met him.
Wherever he went, Laelius Socinus inevitably won friends by his courtly manners, his breadth and depth of culture, his frank and attractive character, crowned by irreproachable morals and a deep and sincere piety. At the same time, he was a lawyer turned theologian, and in his intellectual approach to the problems of religion he was by temperament a reverent skeptic, always looking for the fundamental reasons of doctrines before he could accept them as his own. Modest and undogmatic in his spirit, he would seldom express his convictions save to his intimate and trusted friends; while to others he was the eager and unwearied inquirer, veiling his doubts under the form of questions.5
When Servetus was burned at the stake, Laelius Socinus was deeply disturbed by the Spaniard’s execution. As a result, he wrote in collaboration with the French theologian Sebastian Castellio a small treatise against the execution6 titled De haereticis, an sint persequendi (Should Heretics be Persecuted).
In 1549 Laelius Socinus corresponded with Calvin on various doctrinal matters and Calvin sent back several replies. However, Socinus kept pressing Calvin on these issues, Eventually, Calvin lost patience and broke off communication with him. Having given up on Calvin he decided to travel to Wittenberg to meet with Melanchthon, which was cordial. It was in Wittenberg that he first met Polish students and learned about reform (Calvinist) activities in that country and about the Polish Minor Church. He soon left for Kráków to see for himself the situation there amongst the Polish Brethren. After a brief stay, he returned to Geneva, then for some reason went back to Siena. After only a short time he returned to Switzerland but this time to Zurich.
With the death of Servetus, Laelius Socinus became an antitrinitarian, although guardedly so. He composed a confession of faith in July 15554 which although not clearly antitrinitarian was not trinitarian.
Under pressure, Laelius Socinus was forced to refrain from expressing his views and in fact never did thereafter. He then returned once again to Italy to his family estate to obtain some of his assets. He went back to the Swiss cantons and kept a low profile. He died in Zurich on May 14, 1562, at the early age of thirty-seven.
When his nephew Faustus Socinus learned of his death, Faustus took possession of his books and manuscripts and perhaps more importantly, his uncle’s connections to the Polish Brethren.
Faustus Socinus (1539 - 1604)
Faustus Socinus, whose name in Italian was Fausto Paolo Sozzini, was like his uncle Laelius, from an influential Italian family. Faustus was born in Siena, Italy on December 5th, 1539. His father Alessandro Sozzini was a professor of Civil Law at Padua and had three children, of whom Faustus was the middle child. Unfortunately, Alessandro died when Faustus was only two years old and so he was raised by his mother and grandmother in his father’s villa of Scopeto, six miles east of Siena.
As a child of an illustrious family of Law Professors, it was expected that he follow the family tradition to train as a lawyer but he took rather to Letters rather than Law. He seemed to have been disinterested in applying himself even to that as later in life he regretted not spending more time studying philosophy or to traditional theology. But he had a strong intellect and an aptitude for learning. It is perhaps because of this unusual upbringing that he was not versed in traditional ways of studying theology and could approach the Bible without the baggage such ways would bring.
When his grandfather passed away, Faustus inherited a quarter of the Sozzini family estates. Soon afterwards, he learned his uncle Laelius also passed away. He highly regarded his uncle and was devastated to hear of his passing. He quickly went to Laelius’ home in Switzerland to take possession of his uncle’s books and papers.
He returned to Italy and spent twelve years there which he recollected as being as wasted time, although he managed to write a highly regarded treatise on the authority of Scripture. In 1578 he decided to leave for Basel, Switzerland where he soon became a part of a group of Italians who had known his uncle Laelius.
When the Italian Duke overseeing Faustus’ inheritance died, Socinus no longer received payments from his estate which were normally forwarded to him by the Duke. Consequently, Socinus had to publish his works using his real name to earn money.
Wilbur commented on his writings,
He apologetically says of himself that he never studied philosophy nor applied himself to scholastic theology, and never dabbled even in Logic beyond the rudiments, and that very late in life. It was, however, this very deficiency in the conventional education of the time that contributed to his distinction as an original theologian, since when he came to work out a reformed system of doctrine, he was not insensibly warped by traditional methods of thought but approached the Bible text with an unbiased mind.7
Faustus Socinus in Poland
While living in Basel, Faustus Socinus was contacted by Dr. Giovanni Biandrata (see Part IV in this series) to come to Kolozsvár (modern day Cluj-Napoca in Romania) via Kráków to help resolve some issues related to prayers to Jesus which Dr. Biandrata felt was undermining the Polish Brethren there. After spending some time there, he was unable to make any difference.
Another controversy had arisen in Kolozsvár which was centered around the acceptability of the Polish Brethren bearing arms (weapons) and holding civil offices that required the use of a sword. Socinus defended the church’s position of not taking up arms and pacifism during warfare. He returned to Kráków having achieved very little there.
Back in Kráków the Jesuits of the Catholic Church began a concerted effort to persecute the Polish Brethren but King Stephen of Poland took their side (despite being Catholic he needed the Calvinists). For safety, Socinus departed to stay at nobleman’s estate in a small village south of Kráków called Pawlikowice. On this estate, the authority of the King’s representatives was limited and could not arrest Socinus.
Finally enjoying peace, he turned to theological questions and made productive use of the time on the estate. One benefit on his stay in Pawlikowice was his marriage to the nobleman’s daughter Elizabeth in 1586. However, tragedy soon struck as within a year his new bride died (perhaps in childbirth) leaving Socinus distraught. Soon afterwards, King Stephen also died so he decided to move back to Kráków.
In Kráków he made acquaintance with the Italian reformers living there and those who knew his uncle Laelius. Seeking membership in the church of the Polish Brethren, he was rebuffed because he took the view that baptism was not a requirement which the Polish Brethren, naturally, could not accept. This rebuff “was felt keenly” but Socinus took it in stride and despite this became a strong supporter of the Polish Brethren.
However he might differ from them as over baptism, he was in sympathy with their general doctrinal positions and even more with their earnest efforts to lead consistent Christian lives. Consequently, he continued to worship with them the rest of his life. He shared in the discussions at their synods and attempted to guide them by his counsels. He soon became their accepted leader and their champion against opponents whether Calvinist or Catholic. He eventually set his stamp upon their theology, although it is not entirely clear whether he was ever allowed full membership. Was ever another such case in all Christian history.8
In Kráków he encountered opposition of a more brutal kind. Drunk university students decided to make an example of this “heretic” Socinus. They smashed into his home, dragged him out of his bed despite being bedridden from a sickness and decided to drown him. A professor at the University in Kráków seeing what was happening rescued him and secretly sent him away from the city to Igolomia where he stayed for some time. But as this village was too close to Kráków Socinus decided to move some forty-five miles away to the village of Luclawice. This is where he would live for the remainder of his life. After contributing more to the Polish Brethren through his writings, he soon became ill and died on March 4th, 1604 leaving behind his only child, a daughter Agnese Socinus (1587–1654) from his brief marriage to his wife Elizabeth.
To be continued
In our next and final installment of Michael Servetus and the Socinians, we discuss the work of Faustus Socinus amongst the Polish Brethren and the development of Socinianism which as an intellectual movement become today’s Unitarianism and whose contributions to modernity are surprising.
Wilbur, Earl Morse. A History of Unitarianism. (Boston, Beacon Press. 1969). 13
Wilbur, E. M. A History of Unitarianism. (Boston, Beacon Press. 1969). 409
The majority of Calvinists joined the larger Church, they were called the Polish Major Church. Those remaining, including the intellectual leadership, became known as the Polish Minor Church.
Wilbur, E.M, Unitarianism, 328.
Wilbur E.M. Unitarianism, 256.
Wilbur E.M., Unitarianism, 244-5.
Wilbur E.M. Unitarianism, 389.
Wilbur, E.M. Unitarianism, 417.