Johannes Völkel ( la, Volkelius; c. 1565–1616) was a German

Socinian 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 ...

writer. Völkel was probably born around 1565-1570, in

Grimma Grimma ( hsb, Grima) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district. Location The town is in northern Saxony, southeast of Leipzig and south o ...

, and probably converted during his studies at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

, just as Valentin Schmalz had been converted while at the

University of Strassburg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, in any case he had joined the

Polish Brethren The Polish Brethren (Polish: ''Bracia Polscy'') were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. By those on the outside, they were called " Arians" or " Socinians" ( ...

by 1585. Völkel taught at the

Racovian Academy The Racovian Academy ('' la, Gymnasium Bonarum Artium'') was a Socinian school operated from 1602 to 1638 by the Polish Brethren in Raków, Sandomierz Voivodeship of Lesser Poland. The communitarian Arian settlement of Raków was founded in 1569 ...

and is often credited with a hand in the

Racovian Catechism The Racovian Catechism ('' Pol.'': Katechizm Rakowski) is a nontrinitarian statement of faith from the 16th century. The title ''Racovian'' comes from the publishers, the Polish Brethren, who had founded a sizeable town in Raków, Kielce County, ...

of 1605 along with Hieronim Moskorzowski, Piotr Stoiński the younger (Polish-born son of Pierre Statorius Sr.), and Valentin Schmalz. Certainly he had a hand in the German translation of 1608. Völkel was one of several Socinians who corresponded with

Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

. He died in Raków.

''De vera religione''

Völkel's major work was the legacy of the thought of

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 ...

and the first generation of the Racovian academy in ''De vera religione'', "Of True Religion".Sarah Mortimer ''Reason and Religion in the English Revolution'' 2010 Page 31 "The most significant Socinian work of this period was De Vera Religione, for it provided a new summary of Socinian thought which took into account the intellectual developments of the previous decades." This was edited posthumously by Jan Crell: * ''Iohannis Volkelii misnici - de vera religione libri quinque quibus praefixus est Iohannis Crellii Franci Liber de Deo et ejus attributis, ita ut unum cum illis opus constituat.'' Five editions were published between 1630 and 1642, being influential on John Locke and others. ''De vera religione'' was the first major systematic presentation of Socinian teaching published at the

, and widely exported around Europe, and earned many responses; among them the ''Prodromus'' of the Calvinist encyclopedist

Johann Heinrich Alsted Johann Heinrich Alsted (March 1588 – November 9, 1638), "the true parent of all the Encyclopædias", s:Budget of Paradoxes/O. was a German-born Transylvanian Saxon Calvinist minister and academic, known for his varied interests: in Ramism and ...

(1641), and

Samuel Desmarets Samuel Des Marets or Desmarets ( la, Maresius; Oisemont, 1599 – Groningen, 18 May 1673) was a French Protestant theologian.'III. Maréts (Samuel des)' in L.M. Chaudon, ''Dictionnaire Universel, Historique, Critique, et Bibliographique'', 19 Vols ...

's negatively annotated anti-edition "The Socinian Hydra expunged!" (1651): * Samuel Desmarets - ''Hydra Socinianismi expugnata: sive, Johannis Volkelii Misnici, De vera religione, (ut falsò inscribuntur) libri quinque : quibus præfixus est Johannis Crellii Franci (ejusdem commatis) liber de Deo & ejus attributis, ita ut unum cum illis opus (integrumque, Socinianæ impietatis systema) constituat: cum eorundem refutatione exacta per additas annotationes & censuras necessarias.'' 1651

Other works

Völkel died before ''De vera religione'' could be published. In his life he published various pamphlets, most notably against the Lithuanian Jesuit Martinus Smiglecius (in Lithuanian: Martynas Smigleckis) who had argued against Calvinists,

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and

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 ...

, that the only church could be Rome. * ''Nodi Gordii à Martino Smiglecio nexi dissolutio'' 1613 ("The Gordian Knot of Martynas Smigleckis untied") Following Smiglecius' reply in 1615, Völkel published a further response: * ''Responsio ad vanam refutationem dissolutionis nodi Gordii a Martino Smiglecio nexi dissolutio'' 1618 ("A reply to the vain refutation to The Gordian Knot untied")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkel, Johannes 1616 deaths German Unitarians Year of birth uncertain