Henry Hedworth (1626–1705) of
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
was a
Unitarian writer.
Henry Hedworth is chiefly notable for being the first person in the English language to introduce Latin (and Dutch) term "Unitarian" into print in England 1673, fourteen years before
Stephen Nye
Stephen Nye (1648–1719) was an English clergyman, known as a theological writer and for his Unitarian views.
Life
Son of John Nye, he graduated B.A. at Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1665. He became rector of Little Hormead, Hertfordshire ...
of
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
became the first to use the word on a title page when he anonymously published ''Brief History of the Unitarians also called Socinians'' in 1687 (expanded 1691). The term was already found in private letters, since the term "Unitarian" was already known in England from works such as the ''
Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum quos Unitarios vocant'' (catalogued "post A.D. 1656", in fact 1668).
At this point, and for nearly 100 years after, the Anglican church generally referred to those holding these beliefs as
Socinians
Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...
after
Fausto Sozzini
Fausto Paolo Sozzini, also known as Faustus Socinus ( pl, Faust Socyn; 5 December 1539 – 4 March 1604), was an Italian theologian and, alongside his uncle Lelio Sozzini, founder of the Non-trinitarian Christian belief system known as Socinian ...
.
Hedworth was a student of
John Biddle (Unitarian)
John Biddle or Bidle (14 January 1615 – 22 September 1662) was an influential English nontrinitarian, and Unitarian. He is often called "the Father of English Unitarianism". Christopher Hill, ''Milton and the English Revolution'', p. 290.
Lif ...
and friend of
Thomas Firmin
Thomas Firmin (June 1632 – 1697) was an English businessman and philanthropist, publisher and unitarian member of the Church of England.Joseph Cornish ''The life of Mr. Thomas Firmin, citizen of London'' Devon 1780
Early life
Firmin was born to ...
.
[Sir Adolphus William Ward, Alfred Rayney Waller ''The Cambridge history of English literature'', Volume 10 1913 Page 426]
Works
* 1694 Stephen Nye, Henry Hedworth ''Considerations on the explications of the doctrine of the Trinity''
* 1672 ''The spirit of the Quakers tried, according to that discovery it hath made. Society of Friends''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedworth, Henry
1626 births
1705 deaths
English Unitarians