The Racovian New Testament refers to two separate translations produced by the Unitarian

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" ( ...

at the printing presses of 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 ...

, Raków, Poland.

Enyedi's "Preface to the Racovian New Testament"

Christopher Sandius 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 ...

in his '' Anti-Trinitarian Library'' lists the preface in Latin to a "Racovian New Testament", by the Transylvanian Unitarian bishop George Enyedinus, which Sand notes is impossible since Enyedi died before either of the known Racovian versions were published. It may be that Enyedi's preface attached to some other translation produced by the

, for example, as the suggestion by Wallace that this may refer to the translation into Polish of the New Testament of

Marcin Czechowic Martin Czechowic (or ''Marcin Czechowic'') (c.1532–1613) was a Polish Socinian (Unitarian) minister, Protestant reformer, theologian and writer. Life Born in Zbąszyń on the German border, Czechowic received a humanistic education in Pozn ...

published at Raków before the existence of the academy in 1577 by Alexius Rodecki, and without the place of printing being indicated. Or alternatively since the preface attributed to Enyedi is in Latin, there may have conceivably have been a Latin New Testament originating from Rodecki's press which is now unknown.

Polish New Testament

Aside from Rodecki's printing of Czechowicz' version in 1577 the first official translation was that translation by Walenty Smalc from Greek to Polish in 1606, reprinted 1620. The existence of a preface from 1605 suggests that the 1606 edition may have been a second printing. An extensive subtitle argues for

sola scriptura , meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of aut ...

view of scriptures and the typical

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 ...

belief in Jesus as "Son of God,... not God, ...born of the virgin birth".Michał Wiszniewski ''Historya literatury polskiej'' 1844 p597

German New Testament

1630 saw the appearance of a German translation by Johannes Crell and Joachim Stegmann.

Other Unitarian New Testaments

The version of Stegmann and Crell is not to be confused with the German New Testament based on Courcelles' Greek text by Jeremias Felbinger, Amsterdam 1660.

References

{{reflist, 2 Unitarianism Bible translations into Polish Bible translations into German Protestantism in Poland History of Protestantism in Germany Christianity in the Holy Roman Empire