History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1MacCaffrey, James
Religion
History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution — Volume 1
MacCaffrey, James
Catholic Church -- History -- Modern period, 1500-
/Schwenkfeldians/.[8]--This sect owes its origin to Caspar von
Schwenkfeld (1489-1561), a native of Silesia, who, though attached to
many of the doctrines of Luther, believed that Luther was inclined to
lay too much stress on faith and external organisation to the
exclusion of real religion. He thought that more attention should be
paid to the mystical and devotional element, in other words to the
personal union of the individual soul with God. According to him, this
should be the beginning and end of all religion, and if it could be
accomplished organisation and dogma were to be treated as of secondary
importance. He rejected infant baptism, regarded the sacraments as
mere symbols, denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and
maintained that in the Incarnation the human nature of Christ was in a
sense deified. Schwenkfeld held several interviews with Luther in the
hope of winning him over to his opinions but without success. Owing to
his quarrel with the master, Schwenkfeld was banished from Strassburg
in 1533, and condemned by a Lutheran assembly at Schmalkald in 1540.
His doctrines found considerable support in Silesia and in the states
of several German princes, though it was only after Schwenkfeld's
death that his followers began to organise themselves into separate
communities. Owing to persecution many of them fled to America where
they settled in Pennsylvania (1634). In 1742 the sect was tolerated in
Prussia.
/Socinianism/.[9]--The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity found many
opponents in Latin countries about the time of the Reformation.
Michael Servetus, Gentilis, Campanus, and Blandrata, attacked the
Trinity from different points of view, but by far the most dangerous
adversaries of the doctrine were Laelius Socinus (1525-1562) and his
nephew Faustus Socinus (1539-1604). The former of these became a
member of a secret society founded at Vicenza (1546) for the
discussion and propagation of anti-Trinitarian views (1546). The
principal members of this body were Gentilis, Blandrata, Alciatus, and
Laelius Socinus, a priest of Siena and a man who stood in close
relationship with some of the leading Lutherans and Calvinists. When
the society at Vicenza was suppressed several of the prominent members
fled to Poland for asylum. Laelius Socinus, though he remained at
Zurich, was looked up to as the guiding spirit of the party till his
death in 1562. His nephew Faustus Socinus then stepped into the place
vacated by his uncle. The anti-Trinitarians in Poland, who had begun
to style themselves Unitarians since 1563, had established themselves
at Racow. In 1579 Faustus Socinus arrived in Poland, at a time when
the anti-Trinitarians were divided into opposing factions, but in a
short while he succeeded in winning most of them over to his own
views. The doctrines of Socinus and of his principal disciples were
explained in the /Catechism of Racow/ (first published in 1605) and in
the numerous theological works of Socinus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account