The Directive in Unitarian Universalist History: Transylvanian Heresy
This morning, as part of our on-going search for the directive in Unitarian Universalist history, we have chosen
to explore the rise of Unitarianism in Eastern Europe in the 16th Century. Four individuals are especially crucial
to the story: Isabella from Poland, her son John Sigismund, Prince of Transylvania, Giorgio Biandrata, an Italian
physician, and Francis Dávid, a Transylvanian churchman.
Transylvania in the fifteenth century was caught between the conflicting empires of Islam and Christianity. As
a border region, with cultural ties to the west, yet living under the shadow of Turkish military power, Transylvania
was able to establish a precarious independence, which it maintained for about one hundred years, balancing one
great empire off against the other. During that period of independence, the nation was ruled first by the widowed
Queen Isabella, who served as regent for her son during his minority, and then, by John Sigismund himself, when
he achieved adulthood.
Francis Dávid was born in the Transylvanian city of Kolozsvar in 1510 , the son of a Saxon shoemaker,
and a Magyar noblewoman--an uncommon, albeit romantic heritage in those days and in that place. He came of age
in the context of that other great source of turmoil, the Protestant Reformation.
The presence within Transylvania of a substantial community of German speaking people who looked to Saxony for
their ethnic identity provided a thoroughfare by which the ideas of the early Reformation entered the region. By
1520, copies of Luther's books were circulating in Transylvania. And so Lutheranism spread, first among the Saxons,
and then to the rest of the population. Indeed, so popular were the teachings of the Reformation, that the Catholics
who did not convert began to leave the country until there was only a handful of Catholics remaining among the
powerful families of Transylvania. Even the Roman Catholic Bishop opted for an extended vacation. There would not
be a Catholic bishop in Transylvania for the next one hundred and fifty years.
When Isabella began to rule, she found that despite her own preference for Roman Catholicism, the Reformation was
too well established to be uprooted. Her immediate response was a decree of toleration, which enjoined that: "each
person maintain whatever religious faith he wishes, with old or new rituals... just so long, however, as they bring
no harm to bear on anyone at all, lest the followers of a new religion be a source of irritation to the old profession
of faith or become in some way injurious to its followers...."
Isabella's decree was a remarkable document, made even more remarkable when viewed against the background of what
was happening elsewhere in Europe. Isabella was a contemporary of Mary Tudor, a Catholic ruler called to the throne
of England, a nation recently converted to Protestantism. Mary's response earned her the title "Bloody Mary"
for her persecution of Protestants. Isabella chose the path of tolerance and free exchange of ideas, seeking to
protect minority opinion thus preserving the peace. In 1559, she died, having secured the throne for her son, John
Sigismund.
This was the world in which Francis Dávid came of age. Because of his mixed heritage, Dávid was fluent
in German and Hungarian; a good student, he soon added Latin. His was a restless and inquiring mind wedded to a
powerful oratorical skill. For three years he studied at Wittenberg. On his return to Transylvania he was named
rector of a Catholic School and served as parish priest; but in 1553, the same year that Michael Servetus was burned
at the stake by John Calvin in Geneva, Francis Dávid threw in his lot with the Lutherans. He was first named
Rector of the Lutheran school at Kolozsvar and then Bishop of the Hungarian section of the Lutheran Church. In
a series of debates, he defended Lutheranism against the rising tide of Calvin's Reformed church. It was generally
agreed that Dávid won the debates, but in the end, the Calvinists won Dávid. Soon after, he resigned
as Lutheran Bishop and cast his lot with the more radical Reformed, or Calvinist Church. By 1564, Francis Dávid
had become the Bishop, or Superintendent of the Reformed Church of Transylvania.
His prominence in the religious debates of the time, brought Dávid to the attention of one of the king's
most trusted advisors, Dr. Giorgio Biandrata. Biandrata was an Italian who had come to the Transylvanian court
via a circuitous route. A physician specializing in the diseases of women, he had always had an avocational
interest in theological matters. He had fled Italy to avoid an unpleasant encounter with the Inquisition. In Geneva,
he aroused Calvin's suspicions and so moved on. In Poland, appointed physician to the Italian-born Queen he was
instrumental in advancing the fortunes of the Minor Church of Poland, a radical unitarian church. Biandrata moved
to Transylvania to serve as physician, first to Isabella, and later to her son, John Sigismund. Sigismund came
to rely on him for more than medical advice, charging him with diplomatic missions and with organizing the discussions
and debates surrounding the religious controversies of the time.
It was in this context that he first encountered Francis Dávid. Biandrata saw in this powerful thinker,
this skilled debater, this respected leader an ally in his personal effort to achieve a radical reformation of
religion. Biandrata sensed in Dávid, who had been first a Catholic priest, then a Lutheran Bishop and now
the Calvinist leader, a restless spirit not yet at the end of his journey. Given the unsettled state of the Reformed
church, this was the ideal time to institute doctrinal changes, and Francis Dávid was the key person to
do that. Thus began a strong and effective partnership.
Biandrata began insinuating questions concerning the doctrine of the Trinity into religious conversations and debates
within the Reformed Church, and Francis Dávid began addressing the same issues from the pulpit of the great
church in Kolozsvar. The two men hoped to clear away the doctrines of the Trinity and the deity of Jesus before
the Reformed Church in Transylvania adopted any kind of creedal statement. As part of this campaign, Biandrata
succeeded in having Dávid named Court Preacher by John Sigismund.
Inevitably, these activities aroused suspicion. Unable to dislodge the radicals from their position in court, the
orthodox forces began a public attack on Dávid and Biandrata. The immediate effect was to make even more
public and pressing the discussion of the doctrines in question. In 1566, King John Sigismund called a Synod for
the purpose of discussing the doctrine of the Trinity and related issues. Biandrata was charged with establishing
the ground rules. He proposed that only the language of scripture would be appropriate for the discussion, not
the language of doctrine or dogma or philosophy. This put his opponents at an immediate and extreme disadvantage,
since the doctrine of the Trinity had emerged only after 325 C.E.--after the New Testament had been written--and
there is virtually no discussion of it within the Bible itself. The result of the debate was inconclusive, except
that it marked the beginning of a permanent schism between two wings of the Reformed Church.
The King's confidence in his physician and his court preacher continued to grow. He provided them with a printing
press with which to reach a wider audience. From the press came a number of books which held the doctrine of the
Trinity up to ridicule, and advanced what Biandrata and Dávid believed to be a purer Christianity. The effect
of their literary effort was to enrage their orthodox opponents and fuel even more controversy; so, King John Sigismund
called for a debate between those defending the Unity of God and those supporting the doctrine of the Trinity.
The debate began March 3, 1568, in the great hall of the palace. For ten days, from at 5 a.m. until dark, Francis
Dávid carried the bulk of the arguments for the radical reformers. In the end, it was generally conceded
that he had won the debate. On his return to Kolozsvar, the court preacher was met by a crowd of residents of the
city. Mounting a boulder by the side of the road, he preached the gospel of the strict unity of God to a receptive
audience, and most of the town's citizens embraced the Unitarian faith as preached by Francis Dávid.
Now Dávid and Biandrata moved additional books through their press, and engaged their antagonists in debate
at every opportunity. At the conclusion of one such debate, King John Sigismund ordered that henceforth the Unitarians
were not to be interfered with. Furthermore he decreed: "Inasmuch as we know that faith is the gift of God...we
demand that in our dominions there will be freedom of conscience."
Now Sigismund was prepared to declare himself religiously, The King, his High Chamberlain, and most of the court
embraced Unitarianism. The majority of the population followed them into the new faith. For the only time in history,
the Unitarians constituted the majority, in a nation ruled by the only Unitarian monarch in history. One could
question the sincerity of this sudden conversion of an entire people--perhaps it was more political than religious;
and yet, despite centuries of persecution, the church they created still survives, centering a-round the ancient
rallying call, "Egy Az Isten." God is One!
On January 14, 1571, the Diet and the King provided formal, legal recognition to the Unitarian Church, naming Unitarianism,
Calvinism, Lutheranism and Catholicism the four "received" religions of the realm. The effect of this
act was to provide Unitarians with a degree of security in the face of the changes and challenges which lay ahead.
Ironically, this proved to be John Sigismund's last public act. On the next day, while on a hunting trip, his carriage
overturned. The King received injuries from which he never recovered; he died two month later.
John Sigismund, Giorgio Biandrata and Francis Dávid were a remarkable three-some. Following the policy of
his mother, the King made toleration the hall-mark of his reign, only demanding of dissenters that they live in
peace with those with whom they differed. Biandrata and Dávid, fervent in their faith and convinced of its
truth, did not call for the destruction of their opponents, but advanced the King's policy of tolerance. The consequence
was that this was one of the few places in Europe where the Reformation occurred without bloodshed.
John Sigismund died without issue. He had named his High Chamberlain, who was a Unitarian, as his successor. Unfortunately
for the Unitarians, however, the chamberlain was out of the country on a mission for the King when Sigismund died.
His mission to the Holy Roman Emperor aroused suspicion in the mind of the Turkish Sultan who withdrew his support
of Sigismund's heir. In view of this attitude of the Turks, the parliament elected Stephen Báthory to be
the new Prince of Transylvania. One of the few Catholic nobles left in the country, Báthory accepted the
throne, promising to preserve the liberties of the nation, a promise he set about to keep. However, he dismissed
most of the Unitarians at the court--the major exception being Dr. Giorgio Biandrata who was retained as a trusted
counselor.
Francis Dávid was dismissed as court preacher; the printing press was confiscated, and strict censorship,
aimed largely at the Unitarians, was instituted. When Stephen reaffirmed the decree establishing the four received
religions, he made it clear that he did so with one major reservation. He announced that the decree related to
those religions as they had existed in at the time of the death of John Sigismund in 1571. He warned that he would
not tolerate any changes, any deviations from the faith as it had existed at that date. Any innovations would be
reason for severe punishment.
Giorgio Biandrata, whose political acumen had given him more lives than a cat, was too shrewd not to understand
how greatly the environment had changed or how dangerous was the situation facing his infant church. By the same
token, he was too good a student of human nature not to recognize how galling and restricting this new environment
would be to Francis Dávid. So Biandrata took it upon himself to admonish his younger colleague, urging caution
and discretion.
For a while Unitarianism continued to grow and to perfect its organization. Francis Dávid was chosen as
the Bishop or superintendent of the Unitarian churches. Biandrata cautioned him again that tolerance depended upon
adherence to the faith as it had existed in 1571. Prince Stephen was at this time inviting Catholic missionaries
into the country, and imposing minor but annoying restrictions on the Unitarians.
Still the Unitarians prospered. In 1578 over three hundred ministers participated in a synod held at Torda. However,
Francis Dávid was less interested in the organization of the church than he was in completing his dream
of a reformed doctrine. He welcomed a decision by the Synod which affirmed the right of ministers to discuss and
investigate among themselves matters of doctrine which had not been settled by a general synod. Dávid viewed
this decision as authority to begin exploring such unsettled issues as whether the Lord's supper should be considered
a sacrament, or only a meal and the validity of infant baptism. He soon abandoned both practices at Kolozsvar.
But most dangerous of all, Francis Dávid began private discussions concerning whether it is appropriate
to worship Jesus or invoke him in prayers. When reports of these developments reached Biandrata, he became deeply
alarmed for the future of the Unitarian Church. Immediately he wrote Dávid, warning him not to make a public
issue of any of these matters, lest the Prince seize the opportunity to punish the church.
Reluctantly Dávid agreed to avoid public exploration of the matters which were of growing concern for him.
However, his personal ponderings continued unabated. He also continued his private conversations, confiding his
deepening convictions to others in informal ways. Finally, as his questions grew into firm convictions, Dávid
began to take his doctrinal conclusions into the pulpit of the great church at Kolozsvar.
Biandrata tried again to convince Dávid to keep his mouth shut. Dávid, however, called a synod of
the church, which affirmed that "to purify old doctrine from errors and superstition is not an innovation;
and that a natural consequence of faith in one God is the doctrine that he alone should be worshipped." Armed
with the Synod's action, Dávid began preaching directly to the question, declaring that to invoke Christ
is no better than invoking Mary or the Saints.
Biandrata, whatever he may have thought of Dávid's doctrinal position, knew what the political consequences
would be. Angry and alarmed he responded by threatening with banishment any clergy who continued to support Dávid's
position. In an effort to insulate the church from punishment, he reported Dávid's activities to Prince
Stephen and declared himself as Dávid's enemy in this matter. The Prince issued an order to Dávid
to refrain from further preaching. Dávid, convinced of the rightness of his position, preached twice on
the following Sunday, explaining clearly to his congregants the reasons for his impending arrest.
As he had expected, Dávid was arrested and held for trial before the parliament. For the trial the Prince
appointed as prosecutor, Giorgio Biandrata. Dávid, ill and weak, defended himself as best he could. He argued
that the issue of invoking Christ in prayers was not a new matter, that he and Biandrata and others had opposed
it more than eight years before. Biandrata swore that he had never held that opinion. It became a matter of the
word of a rebellious cleric against a trusted royal counselor. In the end, Francis Dávid was found guilty
of innovation and condemned to perpetual imprisonment. He died in the dungeon at Deva, November 15, 1579, a martyr
to the cause of Unitarianism in Transylvania and still, today, the great hero of those who proclaim "Egy Az
Isten; God Is One!"
Biandrata maneuvered a conservative confession of faith which he imposed on the Unitarian Church, he restored infant
baptism, reinstated the Lord's Supper as a commemorative meal, and arranged to have the Prince name a new bishop--one
who could be trusted to attend to the administrative needs of the institution. After 1580, Giorgio Biandrata's
influence in the church waned, as he continued to be seen as the traitor who betrayed Francis Dávid and
the movement to which he gave his life. Biandrata died in 1588, little mourned by the church he had done so very
much to create.
The great tragedy of Dávid and Biandrata lies in the fact that each of them, in his own way was deeply committed
to the Unitarian cause. Biandrata acted to save the church from political peril. Dávid acted to advance
needed reform, even at the expense of constant and recurring conflict. This, he seemed to believe was the mission
of the church, and he was prepared to risk everything, his own well-being and the well-being of the church in the
pursuit of greater truth and purity of doctrine. In this, perhaps more than any other way, Francis Dávid
embodied the Unitarian spirit. He refused to affirm what he did not believe, he remained open to new truth as it
emerged, and he stubbornly insisted on a life consistent with that new truth, regardless of the cost.
Giorgio Biandrata fades into silence at the end of this story. The last words belong to Francis Dávid. Inscribed
on the wall of the dungeon cell in which he died in 1579 were these words:
Neither the sword of popes,nor the cross,nor the image of death will halt the march of truth.
I wrote what I felt and that is what I preached with trusting spirit. I am convinced that after my destruction
the teachings of the false prophets will collapse.
The sermon in a Unitarian Universalist setting is never the last word on any subject, but rather an invitation to further dialog.
You may want to read other visitors' comments on David and Beverly Bumbaugh's "The Directive in Unitarian Universalist History: Transylvanian Heresy" .
If you wish to add your own comments on this sermon, please enter your name, e-mail address, city, state or province, country, and of course your comments into the following form:
Send questions or comments about this form to Bill Griffeth
Return to home page