Matthias Vehe known as Glirius (c.1545-1590) was a German Protestant religious radical, who converted to a form of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

and anti-trinitarianism, rejecting the ''

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

'' as revelation. The identity of Vehe and the writer Glirius, who published ''Mattanjah'' (Knowledge of God, 1578) in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, was established by G. E. Lessing. The history of the group including Vehe has been reconsidered by recent scholarship.

Life

He was born in Ballenberg, and brought up in Königshofen. He studied at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, and at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

under David Chytræus. He was arrested by the local Church Council with others in 1570, as a dissenter from the

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

being introduced by the

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

. He was at that time deacon at Kaiserslautern.

Adam Neuser Adam Neuser (c. 153012 October 1576) was a Protestant pastor of Heidelberg who held Antitrinitarian views. Neuser was born in Gunzenhausen and was a popular pastor and theologian in Heidelberg in the 1560s, serving at the ''Peterskirche'' and ...

, later a convert to Islam, eventually escaped with help from

Simon Grynaeus Simon Grynaeus (born Simon Griner; 1493 – 1 August 1541) was a German scholar and theologian of the Protestant Reformation. Biography Grynaeus was the son of Jacob Gryner, a Swabian peasant, and was born at Veringendorf, in Hohenzollern-Sigma ...

. Johannes Sylvan was executed, in 1572. Two others involved were Jacob Suter and

Johann Hasler Johann Hasler (born 1548, died after 1602), also known as Haslerus, was a 16th-century Swiss Theology, theologian and physician. He is known for his association with a group of antitrinitarians including Johann Sylvan and Adam Neuser and for develo ...

. He took refuge in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, teaching at the Unitarian college at

Kolozsvár ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , l ...

(now Cluj-Napoca, in Romania), where

Ferenc Dávid Ferenc Dávid (also rendered as ''Francis David'' or ''Francis Davidis''; born as Franz David Hertel, c. 1520 – 15 November 1579) was a Unitarian preacher from Transylvania, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, and the le ...

was the head. Others with radical Christian views there were Jacobus Palaeologus and

Christian Francken Christian Francken ( Gardelegen c.1550 - Rome? after 1610) was a former Jesuit who became an anti-Trinitarian writer. In 1577 Francken left his position as professor of the Jesuit college in Vienna and commenced the publication from Basel and La ...

. Vehe's followers András Eőssi and

Simon Péchi Chancellor Simon Péchi (1575–1642) was a Hungarian Székely official, and wealthy supporter of Matthias Vehe and nobleman András Eőssi's Szekler Sabbatarians movement in Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: ...

founded the Szekler Sabbatarians, after Dávid died in prison in 1579. It has been said that Vehe was primarily responsible (as

Faustus Socinus 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 Sociniani ...

claimed) for the 1581 ''Defensio Francisci Davidis''. By then he had been expelled from Kolozsvár. He spent most of the rest of his life in Poland, publishing under pseudonyms. He returned to Germany in 1589, was arrested, and died in December 1590.Burchill, pp. 130-1.

Life

Notes

Further reading