UNITARIANS. 
Mkliael Servetus that Lslius Socinus, and 
many other Italians, first imbibed their 
anti-trinitarian opinions. From the papers 
-ot' LeeUus Socinus, his nephew, Faustus So- 
cinns, was afterwards led to the study of 
theology. He improved on the system of 
his uncle ; and was the cause of the Unita- 
rian doctrine spreading itself over a great 
part of Europe. In Poland, in particular, 
this sect made astonishing progress. By 
them was published the famous Kacovian 
Catechism ; and the writings of the Polones 
Fratres, in six large folio volumes, entitled, 
“ Bibliotheca Fratruni,” are replete with 
learning, and great biblical knowledge. 
The leading doctrines maintained by the 
Poloniau brethren, are as follow : 
That the Holy Scriptures are to be un- 
derstood and explained in such a manner as 
that their doctrines shall be strictly agree- 
able to the true principles of reason. 
In consequence of this leading point in 
their theology, they maintained that God, 
who is infinitely more perfect than man, 
though of a similar nature in some respects, 
exerted an act of that power by which he 
governs all things ; in consequence of 
which, an extraordinary person was born of 
the Virgin Mary. That person was Jesus 
Christ, whom God first translated to hea- 
ven by that portion of his divine power 
called the Holy Ghost. Socinus and some 
of his followers entertained this notion of 
Christ’s having been, in some unknown time 
of his life, taken up personally into heaven, 
and sent down again to the earth, by 
which they solved these expressions con- 
cerning him : “ No man has ascended to 
heaven but he that came down from 
heaven, even the Son of Man which is in 
heaven.” (John iii. 13.) Thus Moses, wl o 
was the type of Christ, before the promul- 
gation of the law, ascended to God upon 
Mount Sinai. So Christ, before he entered 
on the office assigned him by the Father, 
was in consequence of the divine counsel 
and agency, translated into heaven, that he 
might see tlie things he had to announce to 
the world in the name of God himself. 
Being thus fully instructed in the know- 
ledge of his counsels and designs, he sent 
him again into this sublunary world to pro- 
mulgate to mankind a new rule of life, more 
excellent than that under which they had 
formerly lived, to propagate divine truth by 
his ministry, and to confirm it by his 
death. 
That those who obey the voice of this di- 
vine teacher (and this obedience is in the 
power of every one whose will and inclina- 
tion leads that way) shall one day be 
clothed with new bodies, and inhabit eter- 
nally those blessed regions where God 
himself immediately resides. Such, on the 
contrary, as are disobedient and rebellious 
shall undergo most terrible and exquisite 
torments, which .shall be succeeded by an- 
nihilation, or the total extinction of their 
being. 
Faustus Socinus supposed that, in con- 
descension to human weakness, in order 
that mankind might have one of their own 
brethren more upon a level with them, to 
whom they might have recourse in their 
straits and necessities, Almighty God, for 
his eminent virtues, had conferred upon Je- 
sus Christ, the Son of Mary, some years 
after he was born, a high divine power, 
lordship, and dominion, for the government 
of the chri.stian world only ; and had quali- 
fied him to hear and answer the prayers of 
his followers in such matters as related to 
the cause of the gospel. The chief founda- 
tion on which Socinus founded the opinion 
of Christ’s being an object of religious 
worship, was the declarations in the scrip- 
tures concerning the kingdom and power 
bestowed upon him. The interpretation 
which he put on those passages which speak 
of angels and heavenly powers being put 
under him, and worshipping him; his having 
a knowledge of the secret thoughts of men 
imparted to him, and the like, which, with 
some presumed instances of the fact, of 
prayer being actually made to him, ho 
maintained to be a sufficient though indi- 
rect signification of the divine will, that 
men should invoke Christ by prayer. But 
he constantly acknowledged that there was 
no express precept for making him an ob-- 
jeet of religious worship. 
Socinus allowed that the title of true 
God might be given to Christ ; though all he 
meant by it was, that he had a real divine 
power and donimion bestowed upon him, to 
qualify him to take care of the concerns of 
Christians, and to Ijear and answer their 
prayers, though he was originally nothing 
more than a human creature. 
There were some among the early Soci- 
nians'who disapproved and rejected the 
worship paid to Christ, as being without 
any foundation in the Holy Scriptures, the 
only rule of Christian faith and worship. 
This is a general outline of the doctrines 
of the Socinians. 
The Unitarians, of the present day, are 
principally divided into Ariaus and Hums 
K k S 
