The Synods of Pińczów were a series of 22 Calvinist synods held in the town of

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 (2005). Pińczów belongs to the historic Polish province of Lesser Poland, a ...

from 1550-1563. At the time of the Reformation

belonged to a Calvinist nobleman, Nicholas Oleśnicki, and was one of the centers of Calvinism and Arianism in Poland. Synods were held in the former Pauline monastery church. Associated with these synods were the Pińczów Academy and the Brest Bible

translation project A translation project is a project that deals with the activity of translating. From a technical point of view, a translation project is closely related to the project management of the translation process. But, from an intercultural point of vi ...

, together with the emergence of 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" ( ...

who were later known as

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 ...

Major Protestant synods in Pińczów

* Autumn 1550 - the first congress of Protestant gentry and clergy. * April 1556 Peter Gonesius is the first Antitrinitarian to be excommunicated. * 1559

Jan Laski Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

convenes a synod against

Francesco Stancaro Francesco Stancaro (also Latin: Franciscus Stancarus) (1501 in Mantua – 1574 in Stopnica) was an Italian Catholic priest, theologian, Protestant convert, and Protestant reformer who became professor of Hebrew at the University of Königsberg ...

* 1559 - Remigiusz Chełmski and the French grammarian Pierre Statorius deny the validity of prayer to the Holy Spirit, calling it "blasphemy." The Synod approves a draft translation of the Bible of Brest and appoints translators to work on the project. * In 1562 Stanisław Paklepka and Gregory Paul of Brzeziny reject the doctrine of the Trinity as a "papal" concept, without Biblical support. On 2 April, a majority approve of a synodal creed rejecting the Trinity. * In October 1563, the last General Synod in Pińczów sees the formation of a "Polish Minor Reformed Church" (''Ecclesia minor''), comprising antitrinitarians, called "Arians" or "Polish Brethren", who separate from the Greater Calvinist Reformed Church (''Ecclesia maior''). :''substantially translated from Polish Wikipedia''

Other Protestant synods

Pińczów was not the only location of Protestant synods. In 1556, at the Synod of

Secemin Secemin is a village in Włoszczowa County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Secemin. It lies historic Lesser Poland, approximately south-west of Włoszczo ...

,(January 22, 1556), Peter Gonesius denied the Trinity, leading to his excommunication mentioned above, Valerian Krasinski ''Sketch of the religious history of the Slavonic nations'' Page 160 1851 and gave a more complete development of his doctrine at the synod of Brest, in Lithuania, in 1558, when he rejected the baptism of infants.

Calvinist synods

After 1563 Calvinist synods continued to be held, but separately.

Polish Brethren synods

* 1564 Synod of Piotrków Trybunalski, where a final separation of Calvinists and Polish Brethren took place. * December 25, 1565 anti-Trinitarian synod at Węgrów * 24 June 1567 Synod of Skrzynno a synod between the Arians and Socinians among the Antitrinitarian Polish Brethren

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Synods Of Pinczow 16th-century Calvinism Polish Unitarians 1550s in Poland 1560s in Poland