Unitarian martyrs
Encyclopedia
Unitarian martyrs are individuals who died for their adherence to Unitarianism
, a theological position which claims to derive from the Christian Bible and denies the Trinity
, instead maintaining that there is one God in one person (the Father). Following is a partial list ordered by date of some of these martyrs.
- was denounced at Rome for calling Jesus a "creature of God." Later (likely due to pressure), he recanted.
336 AD: Arius
- claimed to have been murdered by a mob in the streets of Constantinople
shortly after Constantine I
's death. However other accounts suggest that he was poisoned or that he was not murdered at all (see the article on Arius).
339 AD: Eusebius of Caesarea
- is suspected to have been murdered; his Ecclesiastical History
ends abruptly with the death of Constantine I
. In any case he was definitely excommunicated
There is a lot of recorded history for this period, some relates to the Unitarian belief, or questions regarding the Trinity.
- beheaded in Konstanz, Germany; believed Jesus was a leader and teacher, not a God due worship
1553: Michael Servetus
- burned at the stake after a prison term because of writing a book criticizing biblical evidence for a Trinity
.
1579: Francis David - Lutheran pastor in Transylvania
; after Unitarian
King John Sigismund died, orthodox views regained power. Francis David was placed in prison, where he ultimately died.
- a medical student, executed for dening the Holy Trinity
, an offence under England's Blasphemy Act 1697. On the morning of January 8, 1697, Thomas wrote to his 'friends' that "it is a principle innate and co-natural to every man to have an insatiable inclination to the truth, and to seek for it as for hid treasure. . . So I proceeded until the more I thought thereon, the further I was from finding the verity I desired. . ." Aikenhead may have read this letter outside the Tolbooth
, before making the long walk, under guard, to the gallows. He was said to have died Bible in hand, "with all the Marks of a true Penitent".
1942: Norbert Capek
– preached religious freedom (including Unitarianism). Was sent to the Dachau concentration camp, and later gassed to death at Hartheim Castle. Founder of the Czech Unitarian Church, and author of many hymns in Czech. Mother Spirit, Father Spirit and View the Starry Realm are both in Singing the Living Tradition, published by the Unitarian Universalist Association.
1965: Viola Liuzzo
was a 39-year-old white mother and a civil rights worker from Detroit who came to Alabama to help with voter registration. She was murdered March 25, 1965 en route to a civil rights meeting.
1965: James Reeb
clubbed in Selma, Alabama
, after responding to a call by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
for a second Selma–to–Montgomery–march
. Selma's public hospital refused to treat the Rev. Reeb, who was taken to University Hospital in Birmingham, two hours away. Reeb died on Thursday, March 11, with his wife by his side. His death inspired thousands to join
King in the successful third march to Montgomery.
1988: Toribio Quimada, founder of the UU Church of the Philippines, shot on Negros Island by unknown assailants believed to have been responding to his social justice ministry.
2008 Greg McKendry and Linda Kreager, members of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee
.
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, a theological position which claims to derive from the Christian Bible and denies the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, instead maintaining that there is one God in one person (the Father). Following is a partial list ordered by date of some of these martyrs.
Ancient times
260 AD: Dionysius of AlexandriaDionysius of Alexandria
Pope Dionysius of Alexandria, named "the Great," was the Pope of Alexandria from 248 until his death on November 17, 265 after seventeen years as a bishop. He was the first Pope to hold the title "the Great" . We have information on Dionysius because during his lifetime, Dionysius wrote many...
- was denounced at Rome for calling Jesus a "creature of God." Later (likely due to pressure), he recanted.
336 AD: Arius
Arius
Arius was a Christian presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt of Libyan origins. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead, which emphasized the Father's divinity over the Son , and his opposition to the Athanasian or Trinitarian Christology, made him a controversial figure in the First Council of...
- claimed to have been murdered by a mob in the streets of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
shortly after Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
's death. However other accounts suggest that he was poisoned or that he was not murdered at all (see the article on Arius).
339 AD: Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
- is suspected to have been murdered; his Ecclesiastical History
Church History (Eusebius)
The Church History of Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea was a 4th-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts...
ends abruptly with the death of Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
. In any case he was definitely excommunicated
Dark Ages
476 - 1000 A.D. - Dark Ages. Little history recorded.There is a lot of recorded history for this period, some relates to the Unitarian belief, or questions regarding the Trinity.
Renaissance
1529: Ludwig HaetzerLudwig Haetzer
Ludwig Haetzer was an Anabaptist.Born in Bischofszell, Thurgau, Switzerland, he wrote an article against the uses of images in worship, translated some Latin evangelical texts regarding the conversion of Jews, together with Hans Denck he translated the prophets of the Bible into German and...
- beheaded in Konstanz, Germany; believed Jesus was a leader and teacher, not a God due worship
1553: Michael Servetus
Michael Servetus
Michael Servetus was a Spanish theologian, physician, cartographer, and humanist. He was the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation...
- burned at the stake after a prison term because of writing a book criticizing biblical evidence for a Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
.
1579: Francis David - Lutheran pastor in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
; after Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
King John Sigismund died, orthodox views regained power. Francis David was placed in prison, where he ultimately died.
Modern times
1697: Thomas AikenheadThomas Aikenhead
Thomas Aikenhead was a Scottish student from Edinburgh, who was prosecuted and executed at the age of 20 on a charge of blasphemy. He was the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy.-Indictment:...
- a medical student, executed for dening the Holy Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, an offence under England's Blasphemy Act 1697. On the morning of January 8, 1697, Thomas wrote to his 'friends' that "it is a principle innate and co-natural to every man to have an insatiable inclination to the truth, and to seek for it as for hid treasure. . . So I proceeded until the more I thought thereon, the further I was from finding the verity I desired. . ." Aikenhead may have read this letter outside the Tolbooth
The Tolbooth
The Tolbooth in Aberdeen, Scotland is a 17th century former jail which is now operated as a museum. It was built between 1616 and 1629 and is attached to Aberdeen Sheriff Court on the city centre's Union Street....
, before making the long walk, under guard, to the gallows. He was said to have died Bible in hand, "with all the Marks of a true Penitent".
1942: Norbert Capek
Norbert Capek
Norbert Fabián Čapek was the founder of the modern Unitarian Church in the Czech Republic.-Early life:Čapek was born into a Roman Catholic family on 3 June 1870, in Radomyšl, a village in Strakonice District in southern Bohemia. As a boy he wanted to join the priesthood, but soon became...
– preached religious freedom (including Unitarianism). Was sent to the Dachau concentration camp, and later gassed to death at Hartheim Castle. Founder of the Czech Unitarian Church, and author of many hymns in Czech. Mother Spirit, Father Spirit and View the Starry Realm are both in Singing the Living Tradition, published by the Unitarian Universalist Association.
1965: Viola Liuzzo
Viola Liuzzo
Viola Fauver Gregg Liuzzo was a Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist from Michigan, who was murdered by Ku Klux Klan members after the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama...
was a 39-year-old white mother and a civil rights worker from Detroit who came to Alabama to help with voter registration. She was murdered March 25, 1965 en route to a civil rights meeting.
1965: James Reeb
James Reeb
James Reeb was a white American Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston, Massachusetts and pastor and civil rights activist in Washington, DC. While marching for civil rights in Selma, Alabama in 1965, he was beaten severely by segregationists and died of head injuries two days later in the...
clubbed in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, after responding to a call by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
for a second Selma–to–Montgomery–march
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
. Selma's public hospital refused to treat the Rev. Reeb, who was taken to University Hospital in Birmingham, two hours away. Reeb died on Thursday, March 11, with his wife by his side. His death inspired thousands to join
King in the successful third march to Montgomery.
1988: Toribio Quimada, founder of the UU Church of the Philippines, shot on Negros Island by unknown assailants believed to have been responding to his social justice ministry.
2008 Greg McKendry and Linda Kreager, members of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.