Unitarian Church of Transylvania
The Transylvania is currently in Romania after being controlled a long time by princes Hungarian, in particular at the XVIe-XVIIe centuries. The unitarian church results from the activity of theologists resulting from the radical Réforme.
Geopolitical situation
Towards 1555, the young prince of Transylvania, Jean Sigismond of Transylvania, reign on a territory where a long tradition of reception joined together the descendants of refugees Albigensian, of Vaud, Hussite S, anabaptists, beside the catholics and of the Lutherans. The latter, moreover, were on the way to dominate, so that the Isabelle queen, girl of Bona Sforza in Poland, believed good to obtain diet, in 1557, a edict of tolerance recognizing rights equal to the catholics and the Lutherans. The Church Lutheran of Transylvania takes then for chief Ferencz David, a former converted catholic priest, more shining the speaker of his time, and already Pasteur of the Lutherans in the capital, Cluj ( Hungarian: Kolozsvár )
Between pastors Lutherans, debates took place in connection with the Sainte Cène, some preferring the design calvinienne. Ferencz David defended initially the opinions of Luther, but, to finish, was let convince by the opposition. The formation of a party calvinist threatening the unit of the Church Lutheran, one had to admit the Schisme. In 1564, the Diet had to recognize the existence of a Church calvinist, whose David was named the bishop.
Of schism in schism
In 1563 already, the doctor anti-trinitaire Georges Biandrata had entered to the court of Cluj (Hungarian: Kolozsvár). With precaution, it probed the upgrading capabilities of prestigious Ferencz David, presenting to him in private its anti-trinitaires sights. David, indeed, appeared open to a new stage of the Réforme and took on him, in 1566, to declare without fear his acceptance of the theses of Michel Servet, then to make publish the following year a compilation of anti-trinitaires texts. At the time of the public debates, under the eye delighted by prince Jean Sigismond, David reversed with brilliance the arguments of orthodoxe and made new followers with the anti-trinitaire party. Finally, in 1568, the Prince, while confirming the preceding edicts of tolerance, “grants on its subjects the right to adhere to the confession of their choice”.
A unitarian Church was then created, whose prince himself became member (single case in the history). At his head, obviously, the apostle of the “continuous Reform appeared”, the David bishop. It remained with the Diet of 1571 only the care to legalize the existence of four Christian Churches: catholic, Lutheran, calvinist, unitarian.
Compared with the Small Church of the Polish Brothers , the unitarian Église of Transylvania very similar, but nonidentical, because was influenced by the Anabaptisme. Indeed, the unitarian ones prohibited the access to the higher uses of the State, neither the wearing of weapon, nor the right to the defensive war. Thus, under the reign of a unitarian prince himself, and also under its immediate successor, the unitarian Church could thrive, and even essaimer in close Hungary.
Stop of the innovations
The historian is astonished to note that a reform almost always leads to the creation of a hostile Tradition with future reforms. It was the case in Transylvania where Biandrata, become to advise of the Prince, obtained the legal prohibition of all innovation . Its goal was undoubtedly to prevent any dissidence among the unitarian ones, as that had occurred in Lithuania, where Brothers had generated one of them, the sect of “not adoring”. They was people who refused to adore Christ glorifié. The opinion of these not adoring reached the David bishop, who adopted them. A terrible conflict followed between him and Biandrata in 1578. Fausto Socin, called with the assistance by Biandrata, discussed all the winter with David, at whom it placed, but it convainquit not error. Also, in 1579, whereas Socin was already in Poland, David it was condemned and put in prison. It is in prison that he died following the deprivations endured in the prison of Deva. He had written on the wall of this one “No force cannot stop what is well! ”. David was a pure Judeo-Christian. During its lawsuit he had declared that the evidence of the divinity of Jesus was falsifications of the direction given by the historical context.
Contemporary situation
The unitarian church of Transylvania took again its growth since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Cet article integrates materials copyleft resulting from Unitarian Correspondence, Oct.-2002