The Racovian Catechism ('' Pol.'': Katechizm Rakowski) is a

nontrinitarian Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ...

statement of faith from the 16th century. The title ''Racovian'' comes from the publishers, 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 had founded a sizeable town in

Raków, Kielce County Raków is a village in Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Raków. It lies in historic Lesser Poland, approximately south-east of the regional ...

, where 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 ...

and printing press was founded by

Jakub Sienieński Jakub Sienieński (died 1639) was a Polish nobleman, representative in the Sejm, who in 1602 founded the Racovian Academy. His father Jan Sienieński (d. 1599) founded the town of Raków, Kielce County in 1569. The family name, also written "z Sie ...

in 1602.

Authors

The

or ''Ecclesia Minor'' were an

antitrinitarian Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essen ...

minority of the Reformed Church in Poland who had separated from the

Calvinist 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 ...

majority, or ''Ecclesia Major'', in 1565. Several authors had a hand in drafting the Catechism: Valentinus Smalcius, Hieronim Moskorzowski,

Johannes Völkel Johannes Völkel ( la, Volkelius; c. 1565–1616) was a German Socinian writer. Völkel was probably born around 1565-1570, in Grimma, and probably converted during his studies at the University of Wittenberg, just as Valentin Schmalz had been con ...

and others. It is likely that some of the text had been prepared by the Italian exile

Fausto Sozzini 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 Socinian ...

, who had settled among the Polish Brethren in 1579, without ever formally joining, and who died in the year before the Catechism was drafted. Despite his lack of any official status in the church Sozzini had been influential in bringing the Polish church round to a

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

which closely resembled what he had learnt from his uncle

Lelio 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 ...

in exile in Switzerland as a young man. The Racovian Catechism was published in 1605, and subsequently translated into other languages. Smalcius produced a German version. The ''Ecclesia Minor'' survived in Poland until 1658 when it was outlawed by the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. These

nontrinitarians Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ...

, and their Catechism, would later become 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 ...

due to the prominence given to

's writings after his death in the series ''

Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum The ''Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum quos Unitarios vocant'' or ''Library of the Polish Brethren called Unitarians'' 1665, 1668, 1692 (not 1656 as incorrectly listed in some catalogs) is a collection of writings of the Polish Brethren published by ...

'' published in Amsterdam 1665 and widely circulated in England and elsewhere. In August 1650

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

licensed the Racovian catechism for publication by

William Dugard William Dugard, or Du Gard (9 January 1606 – 3 December 1662), was an English schoolmaster and printer. During the English Interregnum, he printed many important documents and propaganda, first in support of Charles I and later of Oliver Cromw ...

. On April 2, 1652 The English Parliament voted to seize and burn all copies circulating. A revised Latin edition of the Racovian catechism appeared in 1680 in Amsterdam, revised by Sozzini's grandson Andrzej Wiszowaty Sr. and great-grandson

Benedykt Wiszowaty Benedykt Wiszowaty (c.1650 – after 1704 Kosinowo) was a Polish Socinian, nobleman, author and publisher. After the Sejm expelled the Socinians from Poland, he left the country with his father. From 1666, they lived in Amsterdam, where he cond ...

. This was the base of Thomas Rees' 1818 English translation.

Contents (1818)

Preface *Section One - Of the Holy Scriptures :Chapter 1: Of the Authenticity of the Holy Scriptures :Chapter 2: Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures :Chapter 3: Of the Perspicuity of the Holy Scriptures *Section Two - Concerning the way of Salvation :Chapter 1: The Reasons of the Revelation of the Way of Salvation :Chapter 2: Concerning those Things which constitute the Way of Salvation *Section Three - Of the knowledge of God :Chapter 1: Of the Nature of God :Chapter 2: Of the Will of God *Section Four - Of the Knowledge of Christ :Chapter 1: Of the Person of Christ *Section Five - Of the Prophetic Office of Christ :Chapter 1: Of the Precepts of Christ which he added to the Law :Chapter 2: Of the Precepts of Christ delivered by him separately :Chapter 3: Of the Baptism of Water :Chapter 4: Of the Breaking of the Holy Bread :Chapter 5: Of the Promise of Eternal Life :Chapter 6: Of the Promise of the Holy Spirit :Chapter 7: Of the Confirmation of the Divine Will :Chapter 8: Of the Death of Christ :Chapter 9: Of Faith :Chapter 10: Of Free Will :Chapter 11: Of Justification *Section Six - Of the Priestly Office of Christ *Section Seven - Of the Kingly Office of Christ *Section Eight - Of the Church of Christ :Chapter 1: Of the Visible Church :Chapter 2: Of the Government of the Church of Christ :Chapter 3: Of the Discipline of the Church of Christ :Chapter 4: Of the Invisible Church

Distinctive doctrines

Christology

The most distinctive element in

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 opposed to

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

, Christology is the rejection of the personal

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 ...

. The theme of Christ's preexistence occurs repeatedly in the Racovian Catechism, with detailed discussion of disputed verses, such as: * "In the Beginning was the Word" John 1:1 – The explanation is given, taken from

's ''Brief explanation of John Chapter 1'' 1561 (and developed in Fausto Sozzini's later work of the same name), that the Beginning refers to the Beginning of the Gospel, not the old creation. * "Before Abraham was I am" John 8:58 – is treated that the ''

ego eimi ''Ego eimi'' ( grc, ἐγώ εἰμι ) "I am", "I exist", is the first person singular present active indicative of the verb "to be" in ancient Greek. The use of this phrase in some of the uses found in the Gospel of John is considered to have ...

'' refers to "I am" before "Abraham becomes" (future) many nations in the work of Christ. * " came down from heaven" John 6:38 – is related to being "born of the Virgin" * That Christ was literally dead in the grave for three days – as a proof of

Christian mortalism Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interm ...

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

and the humanity of Christ. Most early Socinians accepted the infallibility of the New Testament and so accepted the account of the literal

virgin birth of Jesus The virgin birth of Jesus is the Christian doctrine that Jesus was conceived by his mother, Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit and without sexual intercourse. It is mentioned only in and , and the modern scholarly consensus is that the ...

, but many later Socinians (i.e., Unitarians) did not.

The personal devil

The Racovian Catechism makes muted reference to the devil in seven places which prompts the 1818 translator Thomas Rees, to footnote references to the works of

Hugh Farmer Hugh Farmer (20 January 1714, – 5 February 1787) was an English Dissenter and theologian. He was educated at the Dissenting Academy in Northampton under Philip Doddridge, and became pastor of a congregation at Walthamstow, Essex. In 1701 he bec ...

(1761) and John Simpson (1804). Yet these references are in keeping with the somewhat subdued handling of the devil in the ''

Biblioteca Fratrum Polonorum The ''Bibliotheca antitrinitariorum'', or ''Antitrinitarian Library'', first published in 1684, is a posthumously published work of Christopher Sandius (English: Christopher Sand), an exiled Prussian Antitrinitarian in Amsterdam, who chronologicall ...

''. The Collegia Vicentina at Vicenza (1546) had questioned not only the existence of the devil but even of angels.

Translations

* 1608 German by Valentinus Smalcius * 1650 In August,

licensed by John Milton, then a censor, to print the Catechism in London * 1652 English version printed Broer Jansz,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, attributed to John Biddle whose own "Twofold Catechism" was first published in 1654 * 1652 In April, Parliament orders all copies in England to be gathered and burned: it may have been this action that prompted Biddle to have another edition printed in Amsterdam * 1659 Dutch version (paraphrase)

Collegiants In Christian history, the Collegiants ( la, Collegiani; nl, Collegianten), also called Collegians, were an association, founded in 1619 among the Arminians and Anabaptists in Holland. They were so called because of their colleges (meetings) hel ...

Earl Morse Wilbur Earl Morse Wilbur (Jericho, Vermont, April 26, 1866 – Berkeley, California, January 8, 1956) was an American Unitarian minister, educator, and historian of Unitarianism. Wilbur was the first dean 1904-1910; then president 1911-1931; and u ...

br>Ch.20
/ref> * 1666 Dutch version (official) * 1680 revised Latin Edition by

Andrzej Wiszowaty Andrzej Wiszowaty Sr. (Latin ''Andreas Wissowatius'') ( Filipów 1608 - Amsterdam, 1678) was a Socinian theologian who worked with Joachim Stegmann (1595–1633) on the Racovian Catechism of 1605, and taught at the Racovian Academy of the Polish Bre ...

and

, Amsterdam. * 1818 English: ''The Racovian Catechism of 1605 A Sketch of the History of Unitarianism in Poland and the adjacent countries.'' Thomas Rees, F.S.A. London: Printed for Longman

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Online edition of Rees' translation at Archive.org complete
Nontrinitarianism Polish Unitarians History of Lesser Poland Christian statements of faith 16th century in Poland History of Christianity in Poland Nature of Jesus Christ