Antitrinitarian Biography - v. 1 Author:Robert Wallace Subtitle: Or, Sketches of the Lives and Writings of Distinguished Antitrinitarians; Exhibiting a View of the State of the Unitarian Doctrine and Worship in the Principal Nations of Europe, From the Reformation to the Close of the Seventeenth Century: to Which Is Prefixed a History of Unitarianism in England During the Same Period Volume: v. 1 ... more »General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1850 Original Publisher: E. T. Whitfield Subjects: Unitarian Universalist churches Unitarianism Unitarian churches in Great Britain Unitarian churches Religion / Christianity / Denominations Religion / Unitarian Universalism Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION, CONTAINING A REVIEW OF THE STATE OF RELIGIOUS PARTIES, AND A SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF UNITARIANISM IN ENGLAND, PBOX THE REFORMATION TO THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTUKY. The principal cause, to which the introduction of Unitarianism into England may be attributed, is the sympathy felt for the persecuted Baptists of Holland. About the year 1535, soon after the death of John Van Geelen, one of their leaders, many of them sought refuge in England, where they spread their opinions, and gradually increased, till they formed a considerable party. The laws against heretics had been relaxed in the year preceding, by the repeal of 2 Hen. IV., which enacted, " that, if any persons were suspected of heresy, the ordinary might detain them in prison till they were canonically purged, or did abjure their errors; provided always, that the proceedings against them were publicly ended within three months. If they were convicted, the Diocesan, or his Commissary, might imprison them at discretion. Those that refused to abjure the...« less