SOCIN'IANS, the followers of Socinus, the uncle and the nephew, both of the same name, and celebrated for similar opinions concerning the nature of Christ. The nephew, Faustus Socinus, was the principal founder of the sect. lie was an Italian, born at Sienna, in 1b39; who after publishing a treatise on the nature of the Saviour, desired to be admitted into a society of Unitarians already existing in Poland. Their opinions de not appear to have precisely corresponded with his, and admission was refused him ; nor did he effect during his lifetime the institu tion of any distinct congregation ; but the views which he disseminated in his writings were gradually referred to and adopted by many ministers and religions communities, especially in Poland, where Crcllius, Wolgozenius, and others pub lished a Soeinian system of theology, comprised in the Bibliotheca Fro trum Polonorum. Since the death of Soeiuus, the theologians who have asserted the mere humanity of Christ have been gen erally denominated Socinians. The doc
trines, however, to which that appellation can with strictness be applied arc not precisely equivalent to those of the mod ern Unitarians. The Soeinian denies the existence of Christ previous to his birth of the Virgin Mary : he allows, however, that that birth was miraculous, and con siders the Saviour as an object of peculiar reverence and an inferior degree of wor ship. By the term Mediator, as applied to Christ, he understands that in estab lishing the new covenant he was the me dium between God and men ; and of his sacrifice lie says that as the Jewish sac rifices were not made for the payment of sins, but for the remission of them, so also the death of Christ was designed for the remission of sins through God's favor, and not for the satisfaction of them as an equivalent.