Johannes Crellius (Polish: ''Jan Crell'', English: John Crell; 26 July 1590 in Hellmitzheim – 11 June 1633 in

Raków Rakow may refer to: People *Benzion Rakow (1925–1985), rabbi in London, England *Bezalel Rakow (1927–2003), rabbi of Gateshead, England * Ed Rakow (1935–2000), American baseball player * Edward F. Rakow (1861–1942) *Mary Rakow, American no ...

) was a Polish and German theologian.

Life

Johann Crell's father, Johann Crell Sr., was pastor of the church at Hellmitzheim, (today part of Iphofen in Kitzingen District), in Franken, northern Bavaria. His son

Krzysztof Crell-Spinowski Krzysztof Crell-Spinowski (Latin: Crellius Spinovius, English: Christopher Crell) ( Raków, Kielce County 1622 - December 12, 1680) was an Arian theologian, pastor of the church of the Polish Brethren. Christopher Crellius was the middle generatio ...

(1622–1680), and his grandsons Christopher Crell Jr. M.D. of London (1658-),

Samuel Crellius Samuel Crell-Spinowski (25 March 1660 in Kluczbork – 9 June 1747 in Amsterdam) was an Arian philosopher and theologian, pastor of the church of the Polish Brethren. Son of Christopher Crellius and grandson of Johannes Crellius. Samuel's moth ...

(1660–1747) and Paweł Crell-Spinowski (1677-), as well as his great-grandsons in Georgia, United States, were all proponents of Socinian views. Crellius moved to Poland at the age of 22, and quickly became known as one of the chief theologians of the Socinians, also known as Polish brethren. From 1613 he worked at the Racovian Academy at

, of which he was the rector from 1616 to 1621. In 1630 he worked with Joachim Stegmann Sr. in the production of a German version of the Racovian New Testament.

Influence

Several of Crell's works were printed first by Rodecki and Sternacki at the printery of the Racovian Academy 1602-1638. These and others then appeared as Vol.III-V of

Frans Kuyper Frans Kuyper (Latin: Cuperus) (1629, Amsterdam — 21 October 1691, Rotterdam) was a Dutch Socinian writer and printer. Life First a Remonstrant minister at Vlaardingen, he left the church on his objection to infant baptism. From 1663–1673 he ope ...

's ''Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum quos Unitarios vocant'' ("Library of the Polish Brethren called Unitarians") Amsterdam 1668 Crell also featured in

Christopher Sand Christopher Sandius Jr. (Königsberg, October 12, 1644 – Amsterdam, November 30, 1680) was an Arian writer and publisher of Socinian works without himself being a Socinian. His name was Latinized as Christophorus Sandius, though his German name a ...

's bibliography and biographical collection '' Bibliotheca antitrinitariorum'' (1684). These works were widely distributed being owned by Voltaire,

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

and other

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

thinkers. Two of Crell's works were translated into English. First, ''A Learned and Exceeding Well-Compiled Vindication of Liberty of Religion'' (London: 1646). Second, ''The Two Books ... Touching on God the Father: Wherein Many Things Also Concerning the Nature of the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit are Discoursed of''. The first edition was published in Konigsburg (1665). A second edition was published in London (1691). It was re-titled ''The Unity of God Answered and Defended'', but with the exception of the title page it was identical to the first edition.Jasnowski, 61 Knowledge of Crell's works passed out of the later generations of English Unitarians. However Thomas Belsham is one of the Unitarian authors who had access to Crell in the Latin and he repeatedly cites Crell in his ''The Epistles of Paul the Apostle Translated, with an Exposition, and Notes'' (1822).

Works

* 1623 ''Ad librum Hugonis Grotii quem de satisfactione Christi...'' - on Grotius. * 1630 ''De Deo et eius attributis...'' - on God and his attributes. * 1631 ''De uno Deo Patre libri duo'' - translated into English as ''The Two Books of John Crellius Francus on One God the Father'' * 1635 ''Prima ethices elementa'' - on the elements of ethics. * 1637 ''C. Vindiciae pro religionis liberate'' - on the freedom of conscience. * 1665 His works were published first (before Vol.I-II) as part of the series '' Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum'' by

in Amsterdam. ;Translations * ''A learned and exceeding well-compiled vindication of liberty of religion'' by Johann Crell * ''De la tolérance dans la religion ou de la liberté de conscience.'' Par Crellius. L'intolérance convaincue de crime et de folie. Ouvrage traduit de l'anglois. (French Edition) ;Misattributed * Hermann Cingallus ''Scriptura S. Trinitatis Revelatrix'' (

Gouda Gouda may refer to: * Gouda, South Holland, a city in the Netherlands ** Gouda (pottery), style of pottery manufactured in Gouda ** Gouda cheese, type of cheese originally made in and around Gouda ** Gouda railway station * Gouda, Western Cape, a s ...

1678) attributed by John Locke to Crell but

Robert Wallace (Unitarian) Robert Wallace (1791–1850) was an English Unitarian minister, now best known for his ''Antitrinitarian Biography'' (1850). Life He was born at Dudley, Worcestershire, on 26 February 1791. In 1808 he came under the influence of James Hews Brans ...

reattributes to Christopher Sandius * Icander ''Das fast auf dem höchsten Gipfel der Vollkommenheit prangende Dresden'', 1726 - a work by a Swedish architect on baroque Dresden with no connection to Socinianism, (cataloguing error by web-based reprint houses)

References

Jasnowski, Józef. "A Tentative Bibliography of Non-Literary Works of Polish Authors Translated into English (1560-1918)." The Polish Review 16, no. 4 (1971): 58-76.

External links

''Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum'' online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crellius, Johannes 1590 births 1633 deaths 17th-century German Protestant theologians Polish Unitarian theologians Translators of the Bible into German 17th-century German writers 17th-century Polish writers German male non-fiction writers 17th-century German male writers 17th-century translators