Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/733

* tTNITARIANISM. 639 TJNITARIANISM. doiii of God." Original Christianity, they main- tain, was not the acceptance of any formal creed, but the adoption of a spirit like that of Jesus, whom they regard not as a God to be worshiped, but as a divinely prepared teacher to be loved and followed. They point to the fact that the view of Jesus as God, equal to the Supreme Being, was ardently resisted, especially by the Arians, who in the fourth century con- stituted nearly lialf of Christendom. (See Arius; Athanasius. ) The Arian view of Jesus as a separate and subordinate being was widely held by the forerunners of modern Unitarians, but it was not a successful solution of the problem respecting the nature and rank of Jesus. Arian- ism was declared heresy in the fourth century, and was steadily crushed out by the growing power of the ortliodox Church. Among the earliest movements of the Reforma- tion epoch were some in which we find the seeds of modern Unitarianism. The study of the Bible brought new appreciation of the original teach- ings of Jesus. The reformers, indeed, carried over into Protestantism many of the character- istics and thoughts of the dogmatic Christianity which they rejected, yet they opened the way to larger interpretations. A definite affirmation of the doctrines now called 'Unitarian' was made at Vicenza in Italy in 1546, Avlien a number of leading scliolars of Northern Italy came together to discuss and promulgate their anti-Trinitarian views. They were dispersed or destroyed, and the exiles found refuge in Switzerland, Poland, and Transylvania. In Poland the doctrines taught by these fugitives fell into fruitful soil. The leaders in this movement were two Italians, uncle and nephew — Lfflius and Faustus Socinus. The prominence of these men in the movement for a more rational interpretation of Christianity gave to their societies and teachings the name Socinian. (See Socinus.) At the close of the sixteenth century there were more than four hundred Socinian churches in Poland. At Piakow there was a Unitarian college with more than a thousand students, and in 1G05 there was pub- lislied the so-called "'Racovian Catechism."' which is the definite and formal statement of the Unitarian theology of the Reformation period. The bitter hostility of the Roman Catholics and the tacit consent of the orthodox Protestants of Poland united to overthrow the prosperity of the Tree Brethren.' In 10.58. after increasing persecutions. King .John Casimir finally decreed the death or expulsion from Poland of all So- cinians who woiild not embrace Catholicism. Thousands were killed and thousands more ex- iled, until by IfiTO all trace of this Unitarian movement had disappeared from Poland. In 15(i.S Francis David preached a similar doctrine in the streets of Klausenburg, in Tran- sylvania, and began a movement of far-reaching significance. For a number of years the Unita- rian views were disseminated without hin- drance among the Hungarians. In the seven- teenth century, however, persecutions began. The churches and schools of the Unitarians were con- fiscated, their printing-presses destroyed, and their lands wrested from them. But such was the tenacity of the people that in spite of two centuries of bitter trial the Unitarian cause sur- vived in Hungary. Not till 1791 did royal decree restore to the Unitarians the free exercise of their religion. A last effort to crush them oc- curred as late as 1857, but with the help of fellow-believers in England and America the Hungarian Unitarians survived that attack also; and while fewer in number than in the seven- teenth century, they arc now again increasing. One other definite landmark among the earlier assertions of the Unitarian spirit must be noted. In loo3 a fugitive Spanisli scholar, Jlichael Servctus (q.v.), printed at Vienne a remarkable book called The i'cstorulion of Christianity. In this book he declared that it was nut alone a reformation of the Church, but a reformation of principles that was needed, and a return to the pure teachings of Jesus. Servetus was burned at the stake in Geneva in 1553, Calvin consenting, but his books were widely read. The teachings of Socinus and Servetus found a ready reception in England. The "Racovian Catechism"' was dedicated to James I., and at- tracted so much attention that in 1G14 Parlia- ment ordered all cojjies seized and publicly burned. A little later, denial of the Trinity was made punishable by death. The last persons ]nit to death for religious opinions in England were Unitarians. John Biddle (q.v.), a school- master in Gloucester, was the boldest leader of the earlj' English Unitarians. In spite of perse- cution, he maintained that "thei'e is no other authorized interpreter of Scripture than-reason." Cromwell countenanced and pensioned Biddle; but after the Protector's death he was once more thrown into prison, where he died (16G2). The story of Unitarianism in England during the seventeenth century is one of struggling and isolated martyrs. No public organization was possible, owing to measures of repression, but some of the greatest men of the age, such as John Milton. .John Locke, and Sir Isaac Newton, recorded their final judgment in favor of the Unitarian interpretation of Christianity. During the eighteenth century there was a steady broadening of religious thought in Eng- land. When the Act of Toleration in 1689 per- mitted the building of non-conformist chapels, a number of the English Presbyterian churches left their trust deeds 'open' and refused to bind their successors to any definite formularies. Before the end of the eighteenth century many of these churches, without any sudden change, had come to a Unitarian position. They did not take the name, but continued for the most part to call themselves Presbyterian, and some do so still. Joseph Priestley ( q.v. ), the discoverer of oxygen, was minister of one of these churches in Birming- ham. His book on The Corruption of Christianity (17S2) exerted a wide influence. In 1794 he emigrated to America and. settling in Pennsyl- vania, established in Philadelphia and in North- umberland Unitarian congregations. The first church in England established with the definite Uniiarian name was organized in 1774, by Theophilus Lindsey. who gave up hig living in the Established Church and organized the Esse.x Street Chapel in London on the site where now stands Essex Hall, the headquarters of the British and Foreign Unitarian .Association. To this nucleus slowly gravitated many of the Presbyterian churches already named, and others from the General Baptist Connection, and simi- lar progressive communions. It was not, how-