UNITARIANS, in church history, are those who believe that there is but one God, the supreme object of religious worship ; and that this God is the Father only, and not a Trinity consisting of Fa the•, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The Unitarians having been frequently confounded with the old Socinians, it is but justice to observe, that a very mate rial difference exists in some parts of the ' religion* faith of these two sects. The Socinians believed that Jesus Christ, thoughts human being, was advanced by God to the government of the whole cre ated universe, and was, therefore, the proper object of religious worship. On account of their essential deviation from the doctrine of Socinus, in this and some other respects, the modern Unitarians disclaim the appellation Socinian, as inap plicable to their views of religious faith and worship. This term is, however, very comprehensive, and is applicable to a great variety of persons, who, notwith standing, agree in this one common prin ciple, that there is no distinction in the divine nature.
The appellation of Unitarian may be considered as a generic term, including in it a number of specific differences. In deed, all those who reject the dactri re of the Trinity, and pay divine worship to the Father only, may with propriety be called Unitarians. As it is a principle among this body of Christians, that the most unbounded liberty ought to be granted to every individual to understand and explain the doctrines of the Scrip tures according to his own particular views, it has long been divided into a number of parties, differing on various subjects not immediately affecting the leading doctrine of the Divine Unity. Though the ancient Arians appear never to have adopted this appellation, yet most of their successors of the present day assert, that they have a just claim to the title ; because, they say, that they pay divine adoration to the one God and Father only, and not to Jesus Christ, or to the Holy Ghost. If this be admitted, it will appear that the Unitarian doctrine is of very ancient date. Indeed, they profess to derive their fah solely from the sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
Soon after the Nicene Council, when the Christian world had wearied itself with religions wars and disputes concern ing doctrines and government, and the Papal power had, apparently, converted the kingdom of Christ into a kingdom of this world, the subjects of religious con ttoversy ceased, in a great degree, to agitate the minds of men, until the me morable period ofthe Iteformation. Then again did the flame, which had been long %mothering,, hurst out; and the great sind leading maxim, of the right of pri vate judgment in matters of religion, on which' the Reformation was founded, once more gave liberty to the powers of the human understanding. How far -those powers were exerted against many of the doctrines of the Church of Home, we have already described in the articles PROTESTANTS and REFORMATION. Though Luther and his adherents had done much towards effecting a complete.re formation in religion, it was thought by many persons of great learning and piety, that much still remained to be cleared away, before the religion ofJesus Christ could again assume its native lustre and purity. Among the number of those who were of this opinion, was a learned and eminent physician of Spain, common ly called Michael Servetus. This gen
tleman, conceiving that the ideas gene rally maintained concerning the Trinity, and some other popular doctrines, were false and dangerous, discovered and pro pagated what he conceived to be a more rational theory ; the leading features of which related to the doctrine of the Tri nity, which he flatly denied ; at least hi the manner in which it was then com monly understood.
On this subject be published his fa mous book, entitled "De Trinitatis Er roribus ;" with which, as Oecolampadius, writing to Bucer, observes, the reform ers at Berne were very much offended. At the same time he remarks, that the churches would b.e very ill spoken or, unless their divines would make it their business to " cry it down." " We know not," he continues, " how that beast, (Servetus) came to creep in among us ; he wrests all passages of Scripture to prove; that the Son is not co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father, and that the man Christ is the Son of Cod." Now it was, that the fears of Melanc thon began to be realized. In a letter to Joachim Cameraper, this reforMer thus expresses himself: " You know that I was always afraid, that these disputes about the Trinity would break out some time or other. Good God ! what trage dies will this question produce among posterity ;—whether the Logos be is sub stance or a person." To alleviate, in sonic measure, these fears, this meek re former wrote a letter to the Popish Se nate at Venice, beseeching them to use their utmost endeavours to prevent the spread of the errors contained in Serve tus's book. It was, however, reserved zeal of Calvin to convince the re ligious world, that the reformers, with all their zeal against popery, had not learned to shake off a spirit of fiery persecution against those whom they chose to accoutt heretics. Not content with calling Ser vetus " the proudest knave of the Span ish nation,' " a villanous, obscene, barking dog, a blockhead and a beast," this furious bigot, with all the abominable cant with which the genius of his reli gious creed could amply supply him, caused the unhappy Servetus to be burnt at the stake as a heretic, after having ha rassed and tormented him in every possi ble way that the most determined vil lainy and artful hypocrisy could suggest. Thus died the first Unitarian martyr after the Reformation ; and thus was he treated by one of the principal reformers ! It was probably from the books of Mi chael Servetus, that Lzelins Socinus, and many other Italians, first imbibed their anti-trinitarian opinions. From the pa pers of tRelius Socinus, his nephew, Faustus Socinus, was afterwards led to the study of theology. Ile improved on the system of his uncle; and was the cause of the Unitarian doctrine spreading itself over a great part of Europe. In Poland, in particular, this sect made astonishing progress. By them was published the famous Racovian Catechism ; and the writings of the Polones Fratres, in six large tblio volumes, entitled " Biblio theea Fratrum," are replete with learning and great biblical knowledge. The lead ing doctrines maintained by the Polo Man 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 agreeable to the true principles of rea son.