Socinianism is a form of Antitrinitarianism, named for Laelius Socinus (died 1562 in Zürich) and of his nephew Faustus Socinus (died 1604 in Poland). The former was one of the founders of a religious society that had to operate secretly in order to avoid persecution. The Socinian sect became far more widespread after Faustus Socinus, Laelius Socinus's nephew, became a valued member. In 1574 the Socinians, who referred to themselves as Unitarians, issued a "Catechism of the Unitarians," in which they laid out their views of the nature and perfection of the Godhead, as well as other principles of their group. Nontrinitarianism or antitrinitarianism is the doctrinal description applied to rejection of the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons in the Holy Trinity. ... Lelio Francesco Maria Sozini (Latin Socinus) (1525-1562), Humanist and Reformer, was born at Siena on January 29 1525. ... Year 1562 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... View of the inner city with the four main churches visible, and the Albis in the backdrop Zürich (German: , Zürich German: Züri , French: , in English generally Zurich, Italian: ) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and... Fausto Paolo Sozzini (December 5, 1539 - March 4, 1604), theologian, was a founder of the school of Christian thought known as Socinianism, based on the Latinized spelling of his name. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 – Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ...

The group became more widely known in Poland and began to prosper, opening colleges and publishing literature, until 1638, when the Socinians were banished from Poland by the Catholics. Up until this point of time it was widely believed that Socinianism would become a dominant belief in Europe.

Socinians held views rooted in rationality only and rejected orthodox teachings on the Trinity and on the divinity of Jesus, as summarised in the Racovian Catechism. They also believed that God's omniscience was limited to what was a necessary truth in the future (what would definitely happen), and did not apply to what was a contingent truth (what might happen). They believed that, if God knew every possible future, human free will was impossible; and as such rejected the "hard" view of omniscience. They are to be differentiated from Arians, who believed in a preexistent Christ. The Socinians held that the Son of God did not exist until he was born a man. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity, the doctrine... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Racovian Catechism is a nontrinitarian statement of faith from the 16th century. ... Philosophers generally consider logical possibility to be the broadest sort of subjunctive possibility in modal logic. ... Modal logic, or (less commonly) intensional logic is the branch of logic that deals with sentences that are qualified by modalities such as can, could, might, may, must, possibly, and necessarily, and others. ... Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986. ...

The Socinians congregated especially in Transylvania, in Poland (see Polish brethren) and in the Netherlands. They were driven from their seat at Raków in 1643. Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or ; Hungarian: ; German: ; Serbian: / or / ) is a historical region in central and western Romania. ... Polish Brethren (also called Antitrinitians, Arians, or Socinians) was the name of a Christian Polish sect from the 16th century. ... Raków is a village in Kielce County, Poland. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ...

Socinianism is considered to be an antecedent or early form of Unitarianism and the term is still used today to refer to the belief that Jesus did not preexist his life as a human. It has been suggested that Unitarian Christianity be merged into this article or section. ...

Note: In Christianity, Socinianism is also called Psilanthropism, the presumed etymology of "psilanthropism" stems from the Greek psilo (merely, only) and anthropos (man, human being).

Psilanthropism was rejected by the ecumenical councils, especially in the First Council of Nicaea, which was convened to deal directly with this.

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See also

• Polish Brethren

Polish Brethren (also called Antitrinitians, Arians, or Socinians) was the name of a Christian Polish sect from the 16th century. ...

External links

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14113a.htm