Unitarianism

Birth of The Unitarian Church in Transylvania

Robert

“Dávid Ferenc” (@unitariandavidferenc) posted this last year on Facebook:

On this date, January 6, in 1568 king John Sigismund assembled a Diet to be held in the town Torda (today Turda in Romania). At this Diet our Bishop Dávid Ferenc (Francis David) inspired the delegates to later approve the first toleration edict of freedom of faith among the Christian religions.

This was a new and revolutionary idea of freedom of religion at that time, and therefore January 6 1568 also is considered by tradition to be the birth of The Unitarian Church.

Persons identified in the famous painting by Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch showing Bishop Francis David at the Diet of Torda 1568.

Death of Michael Servetus

Robert

On this date, 27 October 1553, Michael Servetus, physician and theologian, was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland, for the crime of rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity. He was the first European to describe pulmonary circulation. The description, unnoticed by any of the heretic hunters who examined Servetus’ works, was hidden in the book that Calvin ordered to be burned along with Servetus himself.

A useful summary of Servetus’ life, works, and death, as well as a list of his works, can be found at the Michael Servetus Institute web site. Fuller descriptions of Servetus’ life, works, trial, and execution can be found in Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World, or Roland H. Bainton, Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553.

Death of Michael Servetus

Robert

On this date, 27 October 1553, Michael Servetus, physician and theologian, was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland, for the crime of rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity. He was the first European to describe pulmonary circulation. The description, unnoticed by any of the heretic hunters who examined Servetus’ books, was hidden in the book that Calvin ordered to be burned along with Servetus himself.

A useful summary of Servetus’ life, works, and death, as well as a list of his works, can be found at the Michael Servetus Institute web site. Fuller descriptions of Servetus’ life, works, trial, and execution can be found in Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World, or Roland H. Bainton, Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553.

Sunday, 28 April 2024: Margaret Fuller’s Transcendentalist “Credo”

Robert

[Margaret Fuller] was a leading light among the Transcendentalists. While for much of America Transcendentalism was a literary explosion, in fact it was a religious revolution. Birthed within Boston and the immediate surrounding areas among Unitarians, clergy and laypeople, Transcendentalism’s influences have continued to this day.

James Ford

We are currently having a full service on the first Sunday of each month, and a discussion on the other Sundays. We have completed Exploring, volume 2 of Building Your Own Theology, and this Sunday are beginning a new practice of discussing a different short reading each Sunday.

We will open with a very brief service and chalice lighting, after which members will guide each other through the discussion.

All are welcome to participate. The reading for this week is “A Faithful Skeptic: Margaret Fuller’s Transcendentalist “Credo”, by James Ford.

** NOTE: ZOOM will not be available this Sunday. **

Please Join us for Worship.

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on ZOOM and in person at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.

Children are welcome. The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park in the lot on the west side of the building; DO NOT PARK in the Washington Avenue pay lot. Please enter through the door at the back on the west side of the building.

Map

Note: ZOOM will not be available this Sunday.

A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing, follows from the end of the service until 12:00 noon. More about us.

If you are a regular attendee, we have added you to our Google Group if we had an email address. If you have not gotten a group email already, please email westforkuu@gmail.com so that we can add you to the group, which we will be using for staying in touch with each other. Public announcements will continue to be posted here on the website and on our Facebook page and Twitter account, as usual.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Birth of The Unitarian Church in Transylvania

Robert

“Dávid Ferenc” (@unitariandavidferenc) posted this earlier today (6 January 2024) on Facebook:

456 years ago today:

On this date, January 6, in 1568 king John Sigismund assembled a Diet to be held in the town Torda (today Turda in Romania). At this Diet our Bishop Francis David inspired the delegates to later approve the first toleration edict of freedom of faith among the Christian religions.

This was a new and revolutionary idea of freedom of religion at that time, and therefore January 6 1568 also is considered by tradition to be the birth of The Unitarian Church.

Persons identified in the famous painting by Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch showing Bishop Francis David at the Diet of Torda 1568.

Death of Michael Servetus

Robert

On this date, 27 October 1553, Michael Servetus, physician and theologian, was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland, for the crime of rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity. He was the first European to describe pulmonary circulation. The description, unnoticed by any of the heretic hunters who examined Servetus’ books, was hidden in the book that Calvin ordered to be burned along with Servetus himself.

A full description of Servetus’ trial and execution can be found in Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World, or Roland H. Bainton, Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553.

Read more here.

Death of Michael Servetus

Robert

On this date, 27 October 1553, Michael Servetus, physician and theologian, was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland, for the crime of rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity. He was the first European to describe pulmonary circulation. The description, unnoticed by any of the heretic hunters who examined Servetus’ books, was hidden in the book that Calvin ordered to be burned along with Servetus himself.

A full description of Servetus’ trial and execution can be found in Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World, or Roland H. Bainton, Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553.

Read more here.

Birth of The Unitarian Church in Transylvania

Robert

“Dávid Ferenc” (@unitariandavidferenc) posted this earlier today (6 January 2021) on Facebook:

On this day, January 6, in 1568 king John Sigismund assembled a Diet to be held in the town Torda (today Turda in Romania). At this Diet our Bishop Francis David inspired the delegates to later approve the first toleration edict of freedom of faith among the Christian religions.

This was a new and revolutionary idea of freedom of religion at that time, and therefore January 6 1568 also is considered by tradition to be the birth of The Unitarian Church.

Here’s the famous painting by Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch showing Bishop Francis David at the Diet of Torda. A painting well known by Unitarians.

Francis David at the Diet of Torda, 6 January 1568

You Can Sit Here Any Time

Robert

While wandering through Devon on a trip to England a couple of years ago, we came upon the Sidmouth Unitarian Church, the “Dissenter of Sidmouth”, founded in 1710,

Dissenter of Sidmouth

Dissenter of Sidmouth

and we were inspired by the Dissenter Wall.

The Dissenter Wall

The Dissenter Wall — You Can Sit Here Any Time

“You can sit here any time, all ages and beliefs are welcome.”

We shall aspire to this motto.