Lexicon · Definitions

Glossary of Socinianism

Central theological, philosophical, and historical terms that recur in Socinianism — concisely explained, with cross-references to the relevant topic pages.

70 entries · 20 letters

A

Accommodation: A hermeneutical principle: God reveals himself in a manner adapted to the capacity of his hearers. Sozzini and the Racovian theologians use it to read “divine-sounding” statements about Christ as the authorised speech of the messianic mediator — not as statements about his essence.
Antitrinitarianism: Umbrella term for theological positions that reject the doctrine of the Trinity — from the Arians through Sozzini to modern biblical unitarians. Not a unified system but a family of scriptural readings.
Apostles’ Creed: Early Christian Western baptismal creed. Socinians can subscribe to its central statements biblically (“Father, Creator”; “Son, born of the Virgin Mary”; “suffered, died, rose again”) — without reading them in a trinitarian sense.
Arianism: Doctrine of the Alexandrian presbyter Arius (4th c.): the Son is a superhuman entity called into being before creation and subordinate to God. Rejected by the Council of Nicaea in 325. To be distinguished from the Socinian position (Christ as a true human being).
Athanasian Creed: Early-medieval Latin confession (Quicumque vult) that secures the Trinity by means of stern anathemas. Sozzini cited it as a textbook example of post-biblical dogmatics.

B

Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum: Multi-volume Latin edition of the writings of the Polish Brethren, printed 1665–1668 in Amsterdam. Central source collection for Sozzini, Schmalz, Crell, Wiszowaty, and others.
Buzzard, Anthony: British-American theologian (b. 1935), co-founder of Atlanta Bible College and the most influential contemporary representative of biblical unitarianism. His book Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian is available in our Library.

C

Canon: The binding collection of biblical writings. Sozzini accepts the Protestant canon (39 + 27 books) and rests his theology exclusively on those writings — the Apocrypha and tradition carry no final teaching authority.
Christology: Doctrine of the person and work of Christ. The Socinian Christology defines Jesus by his work (man, Messiah, mediator), not by an abstract speculation about essence.
Confessio Racoviensis · Racovian Catechism: Principal confession of the Polish Brethren, published in Polish in 1605 and in Latin in 1609. Dialogical form, biblical argument. See Books.
Consubstantiality: Latin counterpart of homoousios: the doctrine that the three trinitarian persons share one essence. Rejected by the Socinians.
Crell, Johann · Johannes Crellius: German theologian (1590–1633), rector of the Academy at Raków. Author of major systematic works of the theology of the Polish Brethren (De Deo et Eius Attributis, De Uno Deo Patre) — to this day classics of biblical unitarianism.

D

De Iesu Christo Servatore: Sozzini’s principal work on soteriology (1578, printed 1594). It refutes the doctrine of satisfaction and develops a biblical account of redemption: Christ saves through teaching, example, resurrection, and exaltation — not through a vicarious penalty.
De Sacrae Scripturae Auctoritate: Sozzini’s methodological treatise on the authority, clarity, and sufficiency of the Bible (1588). It defends the Scripture principle against humanist and Roman objections. More: Scripture Principle.
Deism: Enlightenment doctrine of a Creator God who no longer intervenes. Socinianism is not deistic: God acts within history (the election of Israel, the sending of Jesus, the resurrection), works through his Spirit, and answers prayer — but he reveals himself without dividing his essence into three persons.
Dogma: A doctrinal proposition declared binding by a church. Sozzini accepts only what Scripture itself teaches — dogmas without biblical warrant are human enactments.

E

Ecclesiology: Doctrine of the church. Sozzini understands the church as the assembly of those who believe around Christ, not as a sacramental institution of salvation with a hierarchical magisterium. More: Church.
Exaltation of Christ: A central Socinian category: the man Jesus is, after the resurrection, “made Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), seated at God’s right hand (Phil 2:9–11; Heb 1:3), and invested with divine authority. What trinitarians derive from Christ’s essence is, for the Socinians, a bestowed status.
Exegesis: Interpretation of the Bible by grammatical-historical means. Sozzini raised the exegetical level of his time considerably — many of his readings (e.g. on John 1, Phil 2, Col 1) are today open for discussion even in non-unitarian scholarship.

F

Filioque: Latin addition to the creed stating that the Spirit proceeds “also from the Son”. Separates the Eastern and Western churches to this day. From a Socinian standpoint a dispute over a non-biblical construction.
Francken, Christian: An anti-trinitarian theologian (1552 – after 1610). For a time he taught the full worship of Christ — a position Sozzini rejected in their famous disputation. A symbol of the inner-Socinian controversy over relative versus absolute veneration.

H

Hellenisation: Term for the fusion of biblical faith with Greek metaphysics in the first Christian centuries. From a Socinian standpoint the soil from which categories such as essence, person, and hypostasis grew — alien to a Scripture shaped by Hebrew.
Hermeneutics: The theory of understanding biblical texts. Sozzini’s rule of thumb: Scripture interprets Scripture, clear passages before obscure ones, the whole picture before isolated verses, and reason used as a tool — not as a rival of revelation.
Homoousios: Greek for “of one essence”. Key term of the Council of Nicaea (325) for the relation of Father and Son. Not attested in the New Testament; introduced after the fact.
Hypostasis: Originally Greek for “substance, subsistence”; in trinitarian dogmatics it later came to mean “person”. The semantic shift is itself part of the history of the doctrine of the Trinity.

I

Incarnation: Doctrine of God’s “becoming human”. Sozzini reads John 1:14 (“the Word became flesh”) not as a change of subject by one person, but as the realisation of God’s purpose in the man Jesus.
Inspiration: The doctrine that Holy Scripture is “breathed out” by the Spirit of God (2 Tim 3:16). Sozzini affirms it emphatically but rejects any mechanical dictation theory; the human authors are real authors.

J

John 1:1: Key verse of the trinitarian debate. Sozzini renders it, in substance: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was divine” — as a statement about God’s creative will, not about a second person.
Justification: God declares the one who believes righteous. Sozzini affirms the Reformation doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith — but he ties it consistently to obedience and sanctification; dead faith saves no one (James 2).
Justin Martyr: Early Christian apologist († c. 165). The first clear identification of the pre-existent Logos with the Son — historically the starting point of the later doctrine of the Trinity. Sozzini sees here the point at which the process of Hellenisation begins.

K

Kenosis: Phil 2:7: Christ “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.” Read trinitarianly as the self-limitation of the pre-existent Son; read in a Socinian sense as the disposition of the messianic man, who freely chooses lowliness.

L

Lindsey, Theophilus: English theologian (1723–1808). In 1774 he opened the Essex Street Chapel in London — England’s first openly unitarian congregation. A direct extension of the Socinian legacy.
Locke, John: English philosopher (1632–1704). In The Reasonableness of Christianity he argues for a simple biblical Christianity in which the Trinity does not belong to what is necessary for salvation — a background shaped by Socinianism.
Logos: Greek for “word, reason, plan”. In the Johannine prologue, God’s uttered will. Sozzini’s Explicatio primae partis primi capitis Iohannis develops this non-personal reading.
Lord’s Supper · Eucharist: The memorial meal of Jesus’ community (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24–25). Understood in a Socinian sense as an act of remembrance and confession, not as a sacramentally effective sacrifice or a real presence of the body of Christ.

M

Mediator: 1 Tim 2:5: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Sozzini’s key verse: mediatorship is the precise function of Christ and is logically incompatible with full deity.
Memra: The Aramaic “word” of the Targumim. It describes God’s speaking and acting without introducing a second person. Important linguistic background for the Johannine Logos.
Messiah · Christ: Hebrew for “the anointed one” (mašîaḥ); Greek Christos. Israel’s royal and priestly mediator of salvation. In Socinianism this is the fundamental biblical category for Jesus — not a title applied to God.
Modalism · Sabellianism: Early Christian doctrine (Sabellius, 3rd c.): Father, Son, and Spirit are three modes of appearance of one and the same God. Rejected by Sozzini as by the mainline church — not because of too little Trinity, but because it bypasses the historical person of Jesus.
Monotheism: Belief in one single God. Socinian monotheism is strict: only the Father is God in the full sense (1 Cor 8:6; John 17:3).

N

Newton, Isaac: English natural philosopher and theologian (1642–1727). Privately a convinced anti-trinitarian and an intensive reader of Socinian works. His theological manuscripts (e.g. An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture) show his closeness to Sozzini.
Nicaea, Council of: Council convened in 325 by the emperor Constantine. Condemned Arius and introduced homoousios. From a Socinian standpoint the beginning of a politically imposed speculation on essence.

O

Original sin: Augustinian doctrine that all human beings already stand in Adam’s guilt prior to any deed of their own. Sozzini rejects it on exegetical and logical grounds. More: Original Sin.

P

Patristics: The theology of the Church Fathers (1st–8th c.). Sozzini reads them seriously, uses them historically, and finds that the trinitarian concept develops only step by step — it is not apostolic but the outcome of a history of ideas.
Perichoresis: Later trinitarian doctrine of the “mutual indwelling” of the three persons. Not attested in the biblical authors — a speculative bracket placed around later dogmatics.
Pneumatology: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. In a Socinian sense: the Holy Spirit is the effective power and presence of God (Acts 1:8; Luke 24:49) — not a third divine person. He “proceeds from” God, is “given”, “comes upon” — all personal language, but in the Hebrew sense of God’s rûach.
Polish Brethren · Ecclesia Minor: Reformation movement in Poland-Lithuania (1565–1658), theologically shaped by Sozzini. More: Polish Brethren.
Pre-existence: The question whether Christ existed personally before his earthly birth. Sozzini denies it; the texts cited in support are read as God’s foreknown plan. More: Pre-existence.

R

Raków · Racovia: Town in Poland, from 1569 the centre of the Polish Brethren. Seat of the famous academy (1602–1638) and of the press that issued, among other works, the Racovian Catechism.
Reason: For Sozzini, reason is a tool and a measure in the reading of Scripture, not an independent source of revelation. What Scripture does not say and what contradicts reason (e.g. “three persons in one essence”) cannot be a matter of divine faith.
Reconciliation: The restoration of the relationship between God and humankind. In a Socinian sense, not a penal payment by Christ to God, but God’s own work in Christ that brings sinners back to repentance and into fellowship with the Father (2 Cor 5:18–21).
Reformation: The 16th-century movement against the Roman teaching. Socinians see their theology as the consistent continuation of the Scripture principle: what Luther and Calvin did not think through to the end — the Trinity, the doctrine of original sin, satisfaction — is examined radically against Scripture from a Socinian standpoint.
Revelation: God’s making himself known. Sozzini defines it strictly in historical and Scripture-bound terms: what God lets us know stands in the Bible; what goes beyond that (e.g. the inner essence of God) is speculation, not revelation.

S

Satisfaction: Medieval doctrine (Anselm) that Christ rendered God a due “satisfaction” through his suffering. Sozzini refutes it at length in De Iesu Christo Servatore: forgiveness excludes payment.
Schmalz, Valentin · Smalcius: German-Polish theologian (1572–1622), leading co-author of the Racovian Catechism. Translated the New Testament into Polish and defended the theology of the Polish Brethren against Lutheran critics.
Scripture principle: The principle that the Bible is the sole final norm in matters of faith. Sozzini set it out methodically in De Sacrae Scripturae Auctoritate. More: Scripture Principle.
Servetus, Michael · Miguel Serveto: Spanish physician and theologian (1511–1553). Author of De Trinitatis Erroribus (1531) and Christianismi Restitutio (1553). On account of his critique of the Trinity he was burned at Geneva at Calvin’s instigation — an important forerunner of the anti-trinitarian movement.
Shema Israel: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut 6:4). The foundational confession of biblical monotheism, quoted by Jesus himself as the “first commandment” (Mark 12:29).
Sola Scriptura: The Reformation principle “Scripture alone”. Socinians take it more radically because they apply it to the post-biblical confessions themselves.
Soteriology: Doctrine of redemption. In Socinianism, redemption takes place through Christ’s teaching, suffering, resurrection, and exaltation, and through the faith and obedience that follow — not through a juridical payment of a penalty.
Sozzini, Fausto · Faustus Socinus, 1539–1604: Italian-Polish theologian, leading thinker of the Polish Brethren and the namesake of Socinianism. More: Fausto Sozzini.
Sozzini, Lelio · 1525–1562: Fausto’s uncle, an Italian reformer in correspondence with Calvin and Bullinger. Early theological impulses that Fausto would later work out systematically.

T

Theology of the cross: Interpretation of the cross of Christ. In a Socinian sense: the cross is the culmination of Christ’s obedience and faithfulness and the condition of his resurrection — not a penalty borne in God’s place, but the way to salvation for every believer.
Trinity: Doctrine of one God in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). From a Socinian standpoint it is post-biblically formulated, logically unclear, and exegetically not compelling. More: Trinity.
Tritheism: The doctrine of three divine persons that in fact amount to three gods. Sozzini charges the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity with falling into either modalism or tritheism — a coherent middle position, he argues, is conceptually impossible.
Tuggy, Dale: American philosopher of religion (b. 1965). With his podcast trinities and numerous essays one of the academically most accomplished contemporary representatives of biblical unitarianism.

U

Unitarianism: Umbrella term for movements that confess one single God (the Father). Biblical unitarianism today traces its theological line back to Sozzini and the Polish Brethren.

W

Wiszowaty, Andrzej: Polish theologian (1608–1678), grandson of Sozzini and a key figure of the exile years after 1658. Initiator of the Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum (1665–1668), which preserved the intellectual legacy of the Polish Brethren for Europe.
Worship of Christ: Sozzini affirms a relative veneration of the exalted Christ (Acts 7:59), but distinguishes it from the ultimate worship due to God alone (Matt 4:10). More: Worship of Christ.
Worship, relative: Sozzini’s key term for the address paid to the exalted Christ: he receives prayer and praise (Acts 7:59; 2 Cor 12:8), but always with a view to and to the glory of the Father (Phil 2:11). In contrast to the absolute worship that belongs to God alone.