Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios (English ''A Digest of Christian Theology according to the Unitarians'') is a statement of faith of the

Unitarian Church of Transylvania The Unitarian Church of Transylvania ( hu, Erdélyi Unitárius Egyház; ro, Biserica Unitariană din Transilvania), also known as the Hungarian Unitarian Church ( hu, Magyar Unitárius Egyház; ro, Biserica Unitariană Maghiară), is a Christian ...

officially recognised by

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

in 1782. The subtitle is ''in Usum Auditorum Theologiae concinnata et edita'' (English: ''compiled and published for the use of students of theology''). The work is traditionally ascribed to

Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám (Mărtiniș, Városfalva, 1683 – Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár, March 30, 1758) was a Hungarian Unitarian bishop.Earl Morse Wilbur ''A history of Unitarianism'' Vol.2 "Michael Lombard Szentabrahami was born in a Sz ...

(1737–1758), who revitalized the church after a period of persecution during the 18th century. It remains the official statement of faith of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania, though since the 19th Century subscription to it is no longer required.

Theology

The document is basically

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 ...

(as 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, ...

) with

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...

modifications. The characteristic Christology of

Laelio Sozzini Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini, or simply Lelio Sozzini (Latin: ''Laelius Socinus''; 29 January 1525 – 4 May 1562), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the Non-trinitarian Chri ...

, denying the

pre-existence of Christ The pre-existence of Christ asserts the existence of Christ before his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant Bible passages is where, in the Trinitarian interpretation, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis (substantive ...

but accepting the virgin birth,''Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios'' XXVIII ''.. Si Mariae Virginis Filius dei potest, ob nativitatem ex illa, quidni etiam Dei, quandoquidem alium Patrem non habuit praeter Deum, sicut Adam Luc III'' distinguishes the document from the more progressive Unitarianism of

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

(after

Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion The ''Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion'', written by 18th-century English Dissenting minister and polymath Joseph Priestley, is a three-volume work designed for religious education published by Joseph Johnson between 1772 and 1774. ...

1772) and

Thomas Belsham Thomas Belsham (26 April 175011 November 1829) was an English Unitarian minister Life Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the dissen ...

References

External links

Latin original scanned at Digitale-Sammlungen
Unitarianism Unitarian Church of Transylvania History of Christianity in Romania Christian statements of faith {{Unitarianism-stub Nature of Jesus Christ