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Radecius Valentine ,  (Polon. Radetzki,) was the son of Matthew Radecius, and is designated by Zeltner "Vir perquam facundus." He was known, among the CryptoSocinians of Altorf, by the name of Pancratius Eubulus. There exists a letter of Faust Socin, written Nov. 23rd, 1603, and addressed to him as Pastor of the Church at Clausenburg, and Superintendent of the Unitarian Churches in Transylvania. In the latter office he succeeded Matthew Torotszkai, and he retained it till his death. He was a married man, and the father of a family ; and when Socinus wrote the above-mentioned letter to him, Samuel Niecicius and Michael Gittichius were inmates in his house. In the month of October, 1605, he was appointed Pastor of the German, or Saxon Church at Clausenburg ; but from some cause, which is unexplained, he left Clausenburg, and went to Racow, on the 31st of July, 1608, apparently with the intention of remaining there. At the entreaties of the Church, however, he was induced to return, and resume his ministerial functions at Clausenburg. He visited Racow again, on the 5th of March, 1612, a few weeks before his father's death, at a time when there was a heavy fall of snow, which blocked up the roads, so as to render them, for a time, impassable for travellers. Smalcius makes a special allusion to this in his Diary ; but says, that Radecius returned to Transylvania before the thaw came on. At this time he was still Minister of the German, or Saxon Church at Clausenburg ; and he retained this office to the time of his death, which happened in the year 1631. This we learn from the Manuscript Synodical Acts, in which it is stated, that the Senate of Clausenburg, some time in the course of that year, informed the Synod of Racow of his decease, and made application for some one to take charge of the Congregation over which he had presided.

He did not publish anything himself ; but a few years after his death, appeared two small pieces by him, bearing the following titles.

1. A Form for the Administration of the Lord's Supper ; to which is annexed an Answer to certain Questions, pertaining to the Elucidation of the same ; and

2. A Morning and Evening Prayer. Both these were printed at Clausenburg, by George Abrugi, 1638, 8vo. Zeltner states, that the mode of administering the Lord's Supper, adopted in the above printed form, was similar to that, which had been practised by the Crypto-Socinians at Altorf.

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Przybitovius Christophe  is mentioned in the Synodical Acts, as having undertaken the Rectorship of the School at Czerniechow in the year 1642. He is to be distinguished from Peter Przybytovicius, Minister of Krupe, who died in 1617, though both probably belonged to the same family.

(Vidend. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 666.)

Le Roux Didier - Unitariens - © Since 2006 -  All rights reserved " No reproduction, even partial, other than those planned in the article L 122-5 of the code of the intellectual property, can be made by this site without the express authorization of the author ".

Le Roux Didier - Unitariens - © Since 2006 -  All rights reserved " No reproduction, even partial, other than those planned in the article L 122-5 of the code of the intellectual property, can be made by this site without the express authorization of the author ".

Przipcovius Samuel, (Polon. Przypkowski,) of Przypkowice, was a Polish Knight of noble family. Smalcius, in his Diary, (apud Zeltner, p. 1197,) mentions a gentleman, of the name of Nicholas Przybcovius, who sustained the office of Elder in the Church of Luclavice, and who died Sept. 1^st, 1612 ; and Bock thinks that this may have been the father of Samuel Przipcovius. Samuel was born about the year 1592 ; and having laid the foundation of his acquaintance with literature in his own country, removed, along with Daniel Taszycki, of Luclavice, to the University of Altorf, March 22^nd, 1614, at which time the Socinian movement in that seat of learning was acquiring great strength. On its being discovered, in 1616, that Przipcovius belonged to the Socinian party, he deliberated with himself, whether it would be better for him, of his own accord, to quit the University of Altorf, or await the result. Soon after this, he withdrew into Holland, and finished his Academical studies at Leyden. There, when little more than eighteen, as the author of the Preface to his works informs us, he published an anonymous tract "On the Peace and Concord of the Church," which was immediately ascribed to the pen of the celebrated Episcopius. The same writer tells us, that another of Przipcovius's juvenile productions was a reply to a severe satire of Daniel Heinsius, entitled, "Cras credo, hodie Nihil," in which Heinsius had poured out all the virulence of his wit and raillery on Uitenbogaerdt, Episcopius, and the other leaders of the liberal party in Holland. These secured for their author the admiration and applause of all competent judges. 

Przipcovius returned to his native country, loaded with academical honours ; and by his political and rhetorical writings, and particularly his Apology for Prince Janussius Radzivil, and his Panegyric on Vladislav IV., King of Poland, obtained great celebrity, and prepared the way for his own advancement to posts of distinguished honour and authority. Ruarus, writing to Grotius, in 1631, speaks of Przipcovius as Secretary to Prince Radzivil. After this, he attained to the dignity of Royal Secretary ; and when the Unitarians, at a still later period, were banished from the kingdom of Poland, he was appointed Secretary to Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg.

During the Cossack war in 1648, in which the Unitarians were great sufferers, and on their subsequent banishment from Poland, which proved fatal to their existence as a religious body in that country, Przipcovius was reduced to extreme want ; and till the year 1663, he, in common with the rest of the Polish Brethren, underwent a variety of hardships, which he narrates in a letter, addressed to John Naeranus, and written in the same year. He afterwards spent the principal part of his life in the court and the camp. Nor had he only to contend against the misfortunes to which he was subjected, in common with the rest of the Polish exiles; but refusing to become the implicit follower of any master, and preferring rather the title of an eclectic in religion, he found that the minds of his Brethren were alienated from him. He entertained different sentiments from the generality of the Socinians, concerning the office of the Civil Magistrate, the duration of Christ's kingdom and power, and the person of the Saviour, whom he believed to be properly, and without any figure, the Son of God, begotten of the divine essence, though not from eternity. But though there was not a perfect agreement in opinion between him and them, yet they honoured him as a skilful theologian, and placed confidence in him as a man of talent and experience. The Assembly held at Kreutzberg devolved on him the task of conducting an epistolary correspondence with their Brethren of other nations, for the purpose of promoting the interests, and increasing the numbers of their religious body. For some years he resided at Konigsberg ; but he was compelled to leave that place at the instance of the Provincial Diet, although the Prince had extended over him the shield of his protection. To this circumstance he feelingly alludes, in a letter addressed to John Naeranus a few months before his own death. He had hoped, that the edict might have been delayed for some time, by the influence of the Most Illustrious Duke Boguslav Radzivil, Governor of Prussia, and the last Protestant of that name ; but that hope had recently been frustrated by the Duke's sudden death, on the 31^st of December, 1669. His own death soon followed ; for, on the 19^th of June, 1670, after a life of extraordinary vicissitude, he breathed his last, on the borders of Prussia, in the seventy-eighth year of his age.

The author of the Preface, prefixed to his Works, says, that he supported himself from the profits of the posts conferred upon him by the Elector of Brandenburg, and Prince Radzivil. "Out of these," adds the same writer, "as far as he possibly could, he maintained some families at his own house, stinting himself, in order that he might relieve the more by his kindness ; and making no provision for the support of the widow of his only son, and two grandchildren, to whom, at the age of seventy, and already on the borders of the grave, if God were not to take charge of them, he had nothing to leave, but actual starvation."

It is truly astonishing, that one, whose attention was so distracted by military and court affairs, should have been able to make such attainments in critical and exegetical theology, as are rarely to be met with. Ruarus calls him a man of a most elegant turn of mind ; and the following extract from a letter, written by him at the age of seventy, and containing a description of the sufferings endured by the exiled Polish Brethren, from the year 1648 to 1663, will fully justify the encomium. "Postulas ut calamitatis et egestatis nostrae tibi descriptionem exhibeam. Infandum tu nempe jubes renovare dolorem, ire per vestigia luctuum iterum, et cruda adhuc et hiantia, necdum cicatricibus obducta retractare vulnera: horret animus ad exceptos tot fulminum ictus, attonitus et pavens. Qui nos casus hucusque agitaverint, quaeque ipse miserrima vidi, et quorum pars quantulacunque fui exponere, non mens tantum, sed manus quoque ac calamus trepidat et refugit. Fuimus, fuimus Troes, et vel ipsa non multo ante benignitate Dei, tot per annos indulta Ecclesiis nostris felicitas, acriorem sensum praesentium malorum reddit: ut etiam recordari pigeat, quando, et quomodo, et quibus gradibus, quod fuimus esse desinimus. Et nisi mentes nostras, causae ob quam patimur bonitas, et commendatae quondam a Domino hujus generis patientiae solatia erigerent, tanta calamitatis procella prostratis atque obrutis pene optimum factu videbatur, quo levius ferantur praesentia, praeteritorum memonam amittere. Quia tamen aliquam status nostri imaginem poscis, dabimus earn non suis h. e. vivis coloribus depictam, sed simplicissimis lineamentis adumbratam, ea cursim attingentes in quibus immorari molestum est," &c. (Hist. Ref. Pol. L. iii. C. xvii. pp. 278, 279.)

Many of the works of Przipcovius were collected after his death, and published in the year 1692, in folio, so as to form a tenth volume of the "Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum." That collection, indeed, originally consisted of no more than eight volumes, comprising the principal works of Faust Socin, John Crellius, John Ludovicus Wolzogenius, and Jonas Schlichtingius, but a set is scarcely regarded as complete, without this supplementary volume, and another, containing the works of Daniel Brenius. It is entitled, "Sacred Thoughts on the Beginning of Matthew's Gospel, and on all the Apostolical Epistles, together with Treatises on several Subjects, and particularly on the Rights of the Christian Magistrate." The following is a more detailed account of the contents of this volume. 

1. Thoughts on the Beginning of Matthew's Gospel, (viz. from Chap. i. to Chap, vi.) and on all the Apostolical Epistles, except the one to the Hebrews. (Fol. 1—368.) The "Thoughts on Matthew" had been before published under the name of Julius Celsus, and those on the Apostolical Epistles contribute greatly to the explanation of the text; for the meaning and intention of the sacred writer are always pointed out, though with great brevity, and where the commentator differs from those of his own school, which he sometimes does, he is never at a loss for arguments by which to justify his own interpretation. Subjoined to the "Thoughts on the Epistle to the Colossians," is "A Reply to some friendly Notes" upon them by Andrew Wissowatius. (Fol. 196—206.) Wissowatius was dissatisfied, among other things, with the distinction, which Przipcovius had made between the ordinary and extraordinary power of Christ, in his interpretation of Col. i. 15; and this led him to write the Notes, to which our author replies. A manuscript copy of the Works of Przipcovius fell into the hands of Bock, who says, that, on comparing the "Thoughts upon the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians," as they appear in the printed copies, with the text of this manuscript, he found that the editor had made not a few alterations, and not unfrequently added his own meditations, so as almost to give them the appearance of a different work ; and he extends the same remark to Przipcovius's " Reply to the friendly Notes" of Wissowatius.

2. A Dissertation on the Peace and Concord of the Church (Fol. 369—386); formerly published under the Name of Irenaeus Philalethes. Eleutherop. Typ. Godf. Philadelphus, 1628, 12mo. A second edition, amended and enlarged by the author, was printed in 1630, 12mo. This Dissertation was erroneously attributed to "the evermemorable John Hales," by Anthony Wood ; and by others, to the celebrated Episcopius. There is no doubt that Przipcovius was the author ; but that it was published by him, as has been asserted, at the age of eighteen, is chronologically impossible.

3. An Apology against the Satire of the celebrated Daniel Heinsius, entitled, "Cras credo, hodie Nihil" (Fol. 387—402) ; first published in 1644, 4to.

4. An Apology for the Most Illustrious and Mighty Janussius Duke Radzivil, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, &c, formerly Palatine of Wilna, and Chief General of the Armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. (Fol. 403*—410*.) This was originally published without date, in 4to.; but did not appear till after the death of the Prince, whose cause it pleads.

5. A Panegyric dedicated to the Honour and Glory of the Most Serene and Potent Prince and Lord, the Lord Vladislav Sigismund, King of Poland, &c.; by a Polish Knight. 1633. (Fol. 403—416.)

6. A Life of Faust Socin, of Sienna, (Fol. 417— 425,) first published in 1636, 4 to., and again in 1651, 12 mo.; and afterwards prefixed to the Works of F. Socinus in the "Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum," T. I. A German version of this Life, by Joachim Pastorius, appeared in 1637, 4to.; a Dutch one in 1663, 4to., which came to a second edition in 1664, 8vo.; and John Biddle published an English translation of it in 1653, 12mo., London. 

7. A Dissertation to be prefixed to the Works of F. Socinus. (Fol. 427—433.) This Dissertation was first published in 1636, 4 to., under the title, "De Christianorum Summo Bono," and again in 1651, l2mo.; and was afterwards prefixed to the collected Works of Faust Socin, in the "Bibl. Fratr. Polon." T. I. In the editions of 1636 and 1651, as well as in that of 1692, the following lines were added; but they are wanting in the reprint of 1656, at the beginning of the First Volume of the Works of F. Socinus.

Autor dissimulat nomen: tu nosse laboras:

Edidimus nomen: nee tamen edidimus.
[Noinen autoris SAPIS CUM ZELO PURIU8.] 

Num sine flagranti pura est sapientia Zelo ?
Cum Zelo sapiens purius ergo sapis.

Biddle translated this Dissertation into English, and published it with the "Life of Faustus Socinus," under the title of "An Excellent Discourse, which the same Polonian Knight would have premised to the Works of Socinus." He also translated the following "Elogy of the Writings of Socinus out of Bodecherus," which, as Bock informs us, (Hist. Ant. T. I. p. 674,) was annexed to the original Latin, on a separate leaf. "The truth is to be acknowledged everywhere. For neither doth she receive her value from any person, but give it to him. Nor can we in this place forbear to give this testimony unto Socinus, where he agreed with the Orthodox: let the Christian world hear, if it please. He disputeth with the thrust: granteth to the adversary whatsoever he may without prejudice to the truth, and his cause ; where the adversary is to be pressed, there he maketh a stand, and argueth the conscience; contendeth rather with Scriptures than with suppositions ; and with reasons, not with prejudices, as the School of Calvin is for the most part wont to do ; he sheltereth not himself amidst certain nice captions ; he seeketh not starting-holes, but hits the very throat of the cause. In him Atheists, Jews, Gentiles, Papists, find matter of employment, otherwise than in the writings of the Calvinista."

8. The Judgment of one who retains the sound and ancient Custom of his Ancestors, and of a Catholic who loves his Religion no less than his Country, respecting a Libel presented by Father Nicholas Cichovius to the Polish Diet. (Fol. 435—450.) The Libel alluded to was entitled, "An Exhortation to the Knights of Poland, to adhere firmly to the Constitution of the Kingdom, enacted against Arians and Socinians." Przipcovius's reply to this Libel was published originally in 4to., and written in the Polish language ; but was without date, or printer's name. He wrote it after his exile, under the disguise of a Roman Catholic.

9. The Apology of afflicted Innocence, addressed to the Most Serene Elector of Brandenburg, and Supreme Prince of the Duchy of Prussia, (Fol. 451—453,) written in the name of the Polish exiles, who had been driven from their country, on account of their retigion. It seems to have been drawn up originally in French. The manuscript copy of the Latin version, inserted in the works of Przipcovius, fell into the hands of Bock, from whom we learn, that tbis Apology was presented to the Elector on the 20^th of March, 1666.

10. Hyperaspistes, or a Defence of the Apology presented to the Most Serene and Potent Prince and Lord, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, &c, and delivered to the Most Illustrious Diet of the Duchy of Prussia, in the Year 1666, by the Churches lately suffering Persecution in Poland, and now in a State of Exile and Danger in Prussia. (Fol. 451—474.) In this work Przipcovius reprobates the opinions of that party among the Unitarians, who were said to judaize. He endeavours to prove, against them and others, that the Lord Jesus Christ is to be regarded as the Son of God, not in a metaphorical, but a literal sense; that he is properly speaking the onlybegotten Son of God ; that there are two natures in Christ, the human and the divine ; that the Son of God, who now reigns in heaven, possesses not the human, but the celestial and divine nature, and therefore may and ought to be truly and properly called the divine substance, and God by nature; and lastly, that the reign of Christ is eternal and perpetual, in subordination to God the Father, and in dependence on him. But although he acknowledges, in common with the reputedly orthodox, that there is in Christ a divine as well as a human nature, he supposes, and endeavours to persuade others, that the divine succeeds the human, which it expels.

11. Apologetical Animadversions on the severe Satire of John Amos Comenius against the recently persecuted Churches in Poland, published by him in his reply to the "Irenicum Irenicorum" of an anonymous Writer. (Fol. 475—531.) The anonymous writer alluded to is Daniel Zwicker, of whom more will be said hereafter. (Vide Art. 311.) Przipcovius denies that the author of the "Irenicum" is a Socinian ; and Bock, who contends that he is a Socinian, nevertheless admits, that he differs from the Socinians on many points in that very book and elsewhere, and has a strong leaning towards the sect of the Mennonites.

12. Reply to a Paper of the Illustrious and Magnificent Lord, George Niemiricius, Vice-Chamberlain of Kiow, in which, having himself gone over to the Greek Church, he exhorts all Dissenters from the Romish Religion in the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to take Refuge in the Bosom of the Eastern Church: translated from the Polish into the Latin. (Fol. 533— 596.) In this reply, which was originally published under the name of Julius Celsus, the author expresses the opinion, that one retarding cause of the course of the Reformation was, that when the Italians, French and Spaniards, after being in bondage to Antichrist, aspired to liberty of conscience, but found the same restraints imposed upon free inquiry by the Reformed as the Catholic Church, they paused, and instead of advancing, went backwards.

13. A Proof that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ neither can, nor ought to be called the Father metaphorically; and that his only-begotten Son neither can, nor ought to be called the Son metaphorically. (Fol. 597— 599.) In this tract, the author enters into a defence of the former Chapters of his "Hyperaspistes," (No. 10,) against Schlichtingius's "Commentary on the Gospel of John." It appears from a memorandum of his own, in red ink, written on the margin of his manuscript, that it was composed during his exile, at Elgota, in 1664.

14. Religion vindicated from the Calumnies of Atheism, in Reply to the Letter of F. M. (Fol. 600—617.) This Vindication of Religion was first printed in 1672, 12mo.; and, as the title-page informs us, at Eleutheropolis, (i. e. Amsterdam,) by Christian Ammonius. It was ushered into the world by Christopher Sandius, Junior; and the editor of the collected Works of Przipcovius thinks that it was the last production of his pen.

15. Animadversions on a Publication, "Concerning the Nature of Christ's Kingdom," in which the Inquiry is instituted, Whether Earthly Dominions belong to the Christian, or Subject of that Kingdom? (Fol. 619—681.) These Animadversions were first published in 1650, and were directed against a work of Daniel Brenius, written in the Dutch language. Przipcovius decides, that earthly dominions do belong to the Christian, and that among the subjects of Christ the office of Magistrate ought to have place.

16. On the Right of the Christian Magistrate, and of private Individuals, in Matters of Peace and War. (Fol. 683—736.) In this work Przipcovius undertakes to refute the arguments of those among the Polish Brethren, who contend, that it is unlawful for a Christian to bear the office of a Civil Magistrate, to sanction the infliction of capital punishments, to wage war, and to serve in a military capacity ; but it is chiefly directed against Joachim Stegmann, Jun., and Daniel Zwicker.

17. A lengthened Apology of the Treatise, "On the Right of the Christian Magistrate," (Fol. 737—851,) against Joachim Stegmann, Jun.

18. A Vindication of the Treatise concerning the Magistrate, against the Objections of Daniel Zwicker. (Fol. 853—880.) This Vindication closes the volume of the collected works of Przipcovius ; but he left behind him many other detached writings, some published, and others unpublished, of which the reader will find brief notices in what remains of the present article.

19. A Congratulatory Address to Prince Janussius Radzivil, on his return from the Cossack Expedition. 1649. Polon. MS.

20. A History of the Churches of the Unitarians in the Kingdom of Poland. This History was written, in compliance with a request of the Synod, repeatedly made to its author, between the years 1627 and 1663. Sandius informs us, that it was destroyed by fire, during the exile into which Przipcovius was driven, on account of his religion ; and that not a few of his other works were lost in those times of persecution. Schelhorn, in a "HistoricoLiterary Dissertation on Books which have perished by Fire," inserted in the seventh volume of his "Amcenitates Literariae," (p. 127,) mentions the same fact, on the authority of Sandius.

21. A Treatise on Liberty of Conscience, in two Books, of which one only appears to have been finished. MS. The object of this work was, to shew, that men are not to be driven to embrace the Christian Religion. It came, with other manuscripts of Przipcovius, into the hands of Bock, who gives an outline of its contents, with an extract from the beginning of the Preface. (Hist. Ant. T. I. P. ii. pp. 682—684.)

22. A Periphrasis of the Lord's Prayer.

23. A Prayer to God, in Elegiac Verse.

24. A Prayer to Christ, the Son of God, in the same kind of verse. No. 22—24 were subjoined to a little work of Andrew Wissowatius, Jun., printed at Amsterdam, A.D. 1682, 12mo., and entitled, "Stimuli Virtutum, Frena Peccatorum." No. 23 and 24 were translated into Polish verse, by a person, who assumed as his signature Z. M.

25. Arguments against Atheists, proving that there is a God, and that He ought to be worshiped, but only in the Way in which He is worshiped by Christians. MS. This also was translated into Polish verse by Z. M.

26. A fraternal Declaration to a non-fraternal Admonition, which the Author has addressed to the Dissenters, under the Name of a Polish Knight. 1646, 4to. Polon. This work was drawn up in 1645, and printed by Kmita in the year following, after being revised by Christopher Lubieniecius.

27. A Short Disquisition on Faith.

28. Remarks on the Adoration of the Man Christ Jesus, addressed to Claude, a Frenchman. MS. 1626.

29. The Injury done to oppressed and betrayed Liberty a Reproach to the Diet of the Year 1647 ; or an Account of the impending Charge against Jonas Schlichtingius. Bock says, that, as far as he knows, this valuable historical document has never seen the light, and intimates his intention of giving it a place in his History of Socinianism in Poland.

30. A Request made to the King, in the Cause of the Dissenters, at the Diet of the Year 1652. MS. Polon. Sandius, in his list of anonymous writings, mentions a similar petition of the Polish Churches to King Vladislav, to which he assigns the date 1645 ; and Bock supposes it to have been drawn up either by Przipcovius, or Stanislaus Lubieniecius, Junior.

31. Epitaph of the Vice-Chancellor of the Kingdom George Ossolinius's Nymph Cavaleria, composed by a Polish Knight of the ancient Valour and Faith. MS. This is a satirical composition, in the lapidary style, occasioned by a proposal to institute a new equestrian order of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, which was approved of by the King, and received the sanction of Pope Urban VIII.

32. An Ode on the Prussian Treaty with Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. MS. The Treaty to which this Ode refers was the one made in 1630.

33. The Institutions of Monks and Anchorites not the best Method of arriving at the Perfection of Holiness, but injurious and dangerous to the Church. MS.

34. A Hymn on the Apostles' Creed. Polon. This Hymn was inserted in the Book of Psalms and Hymns used by the Polish Brethren; and was composed at the request of the Synod of Siedliski, A. D. 1643.

35. A Comparison of the Apostles' Creed with the Creeds of the present Day. MS. Sandius refers to this manuscript in his "Bibl. Ant." (p. 126); and Bock has printed it from the manuscript copy of the Works of Przipcovius which fell into his hands, and in which it is entitled, "Antithesis Symboli Unitariorum et Trinitariorum." As the whole occupies but a small space, the reader will perhaps be gratified to see the following translation of it, which is adopted, with slight variations, from that of the late Dr. Toulmin. (Memoirs of the Life, Character, Sentiments, and Writings of Faustus Socinus. London, Johnson, 1777, 8vo. pp. 447—452.)

36. A Letter to Valentine Radecius, of Clausenburg, dated Caschau, March 31st, 1624. MS.

37. Letters to John Naeranus, Pastor of the Remonstrant Church, Oudewater, Holland, and to various other Persons. MSS. From a letter to John Naeranus, dated Jan. 31st, 1670, which was the last written by Przipcovius, the author of the Preface to his collected works has given the following extract. "Age is not so burdensome to me, and (though lengthened out amidst heavy cares to the seventyeighth year) has not so shattered the powers of my memory, but that I well recollect our receiving from you a few years ago an important favour, and one of which we ought to retain a grateful remembrance." In these words he alludes to a collection, made in Holland on behalf of the Socinian exiles, in whose fate John Naeranus had taken a warm and lively interest.

38. On the Faith of the New Catholics, that is, of those who have gone over from the Unitarians to the Papists. Polon. Sandius has included this in his list of anonymous writings, (B. A. p. 178,) but supposes it to have been written by Przipcovius. Some of the Socinians, it would appear, in order to evade the conditions of the Decree of 1658, outwardly conformed to the Catholic religion ; but the number of such apostates, it is to be hoped, was not great. Despair induced some among them to make the proposal of entering the pale of the Catholic Church ; and the affair was to be arranged by a friendly Conference, which was sanctioned by Trzebicki, Bishop of Cracow, and took place on the 10^th of March, 1660, at Roznow. The result, however, was unsatisfactory; and those who joined the Catholic Church, did so upon their own individual responsibility, and not with the approbation of the leaders of their party.

39. A Letter to John Na?ranus. This Letter was written in the Autumn of 1663, at Konigsberg; and is inserted in Lubieniecius's "History of the Polish Reformation" (L. iii. C. xvii. pp. 278—285). It contains an account of the sufferings of the Polish Unitarians from 1648 to 1658.

40. A Letter to the Polish Brethren, written at Konigsberg, A. D. 1658. Polon. MS. Bock promised to give this Letter a place in the third Part of his " Historia Antitrinitariorum" (C. iv.); which has never yet seen the light.

41. A genuine Account of the Charge brought against James Sieninius, and of the Verdict passed in that Cause. MS. This also Bock promised to give at full length in his "History of Socinianism in Poland."

42. Sponges for wiping out the Spots of Innocence. MS. This was a fragment, written in reply to one Victor Bonnus, who seems to have aspersed the characters, and misrepresented the doctrines of the Socinians.

43. The Unitarians' Claim to Religious Liberty in Poland, written by a Polish Knight. This is the last of the tracts, appended to Sandius's "Bibliotheca Antitrinitariorum" (pp. 267—296); and is attributed by Bock to Przipcovius, although Sandius, and the generality of writers who mention it, have ascribed it to Stanislaus Lubieniecius, Jun.

44. An Explanation of the Origin, Commencement and Progress of the Confederations in Poland. Przipcovius was requested to write such a work as this, at the Synod of Racow, in 1627; and at the Synod of Kissielin, in 1638, which was the first meeting of the kind held after the expulsion of the Sociniaus from Racow, he was enjoined to finish it.

(Vidend. SandiiB. A. pp. 123—126. Bock, Hist. Ant. T.I. pp. 667— 700. Zeltneri Hist. Crypto-Socin. Altorf. p. 374. Smalcii Diar. A. D. 1612, apud Zeltn. p. 1197. Toulmin's Mem. of F. Socinus, App. ii. pp. 439—452. Lubieniecii Hist. Ref. Polon. L. iii. C. xvii. Vindicise pro Unitariorum in Polonia Religionis Libertate, ab Equite Polono conscriptffi. Schelhomii Amccn. Lit. T. VII. p. 127, etc.)

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Preussius John,  (Germ. Preussen,) was a native of Lübben, in Lower Lusatia, and therefore a Saxon; but seems to have borne the surname  Marchicus, because he spent much of his time in the Marquisate of Brandenburg. He was born about the year 1620. In the list of Konigsberg Students, September 17^th, 1644, during the Rectorship of Weier, his name is entered as " Johannes Preussius, Cruciburgo Silesius;" and the next name on the same list is "Adamus Dudithius, Cruciburgo Silesius," without doubt the grandson of Andrew Dudithius, a name of great celebrity among the Socinians. These two young men seem to have gone together to the University of Konigsberg: but why Preussius called himself a Silesian, of Kreutzburg, it is difficult to conjecture. Perhaps he did so, on account of his having been brought up among the Socinians of that place, and having imbibed his religious opinions there. Lauterbach expressly states, that he studied, when a young man, both in Prussia and Belgium; and that his father was a tanner at Lübben.

The first mention of his name in the Synodical Acts is in the account of the Assembly of Raszcow, A. D. 1650, when he obtained permission from the Church to go abroad, and had an allowance of a hundred dollars granted to him for that purpose. But he either did not undertake this journey, or soon returned; for in the year following, at the Assembly of Czarcow, he received an order to serve the Churches collected in Volhynia, in the capacity of a Preacher. In 1652, he was appointed ordinary Minister of a Church in the Palatinate of Kiovia, apparently that of Iwanitz; and it was at the same time determined, that his ordination and inauguration should be performed by the Ministers of Volhynia, as stated in the Acts of the Assembly of Czarcow. But it appears, from the Acts of the Assembly of Siedliski, that he was at length ordained at Siedliski, in 1653, with Christopher Crellius, by Paul Rynievicius, Karnievius, Siedlecius and Wissowatius; and that he was at the same time appointed Minister of the Church of Luclavice. In 1654, by a resolution of the Assembly of Czarcow, he was sent to officiate to the Unitarians at Meseritz, and was enjoined, by the Assembly of Rasczow in 1655, to make frequent excursions into Silesia, Lusatia, the Marquisate of Brandenburg, and other countries, and everywhere, as far as he could, to sow the seeds, or watch the growth of Socinianism. Nor is there any reason to doubt, that he acted up to the full spirit of this injunction, and laboured with all diligence to diffuse the doctrines of his Church, particularly in the Marquisate of Brandenburg; for he endeavoured to bring over his own brother, and other subjects of those states, as is proved by a letter which he addressed to Sturmius, Primary and Consistorial Pastor of Lübben. Whether he was thrown into prison at this time cannot with certainty be determined: but he speaks of bonds, and being detained in prison, in his letters to his Dutch friends. In a letter written October 26th, 1659, and addressed to Bartholomew Stoss, First Court Preacher of Brandenburg, he mentions his fourth banishment, his extreme poverty and distress, his nine children, his wife in a state of pregnancy, and numerous calamities incurred on account of his belief in the One God the Father; but makes no allusion to bonds and imprisonment. Nor does it seem probable, that he was imprisoned at Custrin just at that time. But in 1664, he was imprisoned, and sent to Custrin, for his repeated attempts to make converts to his own opinions among the inhabitants of Brandenburg. When his examination by the Commissaries in that place was finished, a full report of it was transmitted to Berlin, with an intimation that he should be banished from the territory of Brandenburg. By the sentence of the Elector, however, passed with the concurrence of the clergy of Berlin, he was restored to liberty, on condition that he should abstain from preaching publicly within the territory of Brandenburg, under pain of banishment.

After the Polish exile in 1662, he was commissioned, along with Stanislaus Lubieniecius, to undertake a journey to Fredericksburg; and there, as well as in other places, to seek a union with the Arminians, and at the same time to salute by the way the Brethren dispersed throughout the Marquisate of Brandenburg, and to confirm them in the opinions which they had embraced. At that time he was discharging the ministerial office at Zullichau, and had the care of the Polish exiles on the borders of Brandenburg and Silesia. But either he did not perform this journey at all, or returned in a short time, as the circumstances above related shew.

He died in the month of February, 1696, at the age of more than sixty. Samuel Crellius married his daughter, and Sigismund Reinhart calls him "Vir certe acuti ingenii." His writings, which are of great rarity, were as follow.

1. A Letter to Sturmius, Primary and Consistorial Pastor of Lübben, written May 3rd, 1656 or 1657.

2. Sacred Songs in German, bearing the following title. Hertzliches Saytenspiel, oder geistreiche und schriftmassige Lieder: von Johann Preussen, Diener der Gemeine J. C. am Worte Gottes. Im Jahr 1657; druckte es Erasmus Rossner zu Frankf. a. d. Oder. 8vo.

3. A Letter written at Crossen, Dec. 17th, 1661, and sent to Berlin; probably addressed to Bartholomew Stoss, and relating to the death of Jonas Schlichtingius.

4. Sacred Prayers in German, bearing the following title. Geistlicher Weyrauch Gotte zum Opfer und siissen Geruch, dem Nächsten aber, (vornemlich den Einfältigen,) zu Erweckung inbriinstiger Andacht angeziindet von Johann Preussen, Diener der Gemeine J. C. am Worte Gottes. 1662, 8vo. A former edition had been printed at Thorn in 1645, without any mention of the place. The last edition, or that of 1662, was printed in Pomerania. The work contains no form of prayer addressed to the Holy Spirit.

5. A Confession of Faith, bearing the following title. Glaubensbekänntniss, der allgemeinen Christlichen Warheit zu Steuer, zu Rettung aber seiner eigenen Unschuld, an den Tag gegeben von Joh. Preussen. Im Jahr nach der Geburth des Sohnes Gottes, 1662, 4to. The place of printing is not mentioned; but we learn from Reinhart that it was in Pomerania. In Article iv., the author says, "I believe that the Holy Spirit, of which mention is made in Scripture, and which is given to men, is the power of the Most High God, by which he moves the hearts of men, illumines the perception and the intellect, and leads them into all truth."

6. Letters to Dutch Friends, respecting his Apprehension and Detention in Prison. 1664. MS.

7. On Liberty of Conscience. MS.

8. A Poem on the Death of Michael Servetus. Polon. MS. Mosheim endeavoured, by the aid of La Croze, to obtain possession of this Poem from Samuel Crellius, and thus rescue it from oblivion, but the attempt appears to have been unsuccessful. Allwoerden alludes to a manuscript account of the death of Servetus, written by John Preussius, which he suspects to have been compiled from the "Dialogue between Calvin and Vaticanus." He further states, that, in compiling his own "History of M. Servetus," the copy of the "Christianismi Restitutio," which he used, was a manuscript one, written out partly by John Preussius, partly by Jeremiah Felbinger, and partly by some third and unknown person; and that this copy was made from a printed one, which Daniel Mark Szent-Ivani, Superintendent of the Transylvanian Churches, had procured in England, and had lent to Preussius, on his return to his own country through the Marquisate of Brandenburg, probably some time between the years 1660 and 1670.

9. A Poem on Pride, shewing its Genealogy. MS. Polon.

10. Sacred Songs in German, bearing the following title. Fasten-Speise, krancke Gewissen damit zu erquicken, von einem wohlerfahrnen bekehrten Sunder, vor busfertige und zerknirschte Hertzen zubereitet, auf freyen Tisch getragen. 1678, 8vo.

11. Theologia, oder Gesprache von unterschiedenen Artickeln der Christlichen Religion, u. s. w. 1682, Freystadt in Verlegung der Authoren, 4to. This work, which was clandestinely printed at Lübben, was publicly proscribed, and a heavy fine imposed upon Christopher Gruber, the printer. The reason why it is not mentioned by Sandius is, because it was printed after that writer's death, which happened in 1680. The Preface purports to have been written by the printer, (who assumes the name of John Dienstel,) and is dated Freystadt, Aug. 1st. In this Preface, the work is said to have been offered to him by two Ministers of the Church, for the purpose of printing, which he would not undertake before he had weighed its contents with his confessionary, which intimated, that its publication would not be injurious to the truth, although the arguments were such as might be perverted. Two persons hold a conversation together, Martin, a tailor, who, under the character of a perfectly simple-minded man, defends the orthodox faith, and Christian, a shoemaker, who undertakes, with a great show of learning, to defend the Arian and Socinian parties. When they have proceeded too far to extricate themselves, they seek the aid of their respective Pastors, who dispute together for three days: but as neither is disposed to give in, the dispute remains unsettled. At the close of the conference between the two Ministers, ten undoubted criteria are proposed, from which, as the writer thinks, it may be determined, with the greatest certainty, that the Polish Brethren, who were banished from their country, July 10^th, 1660, and who receive their denomination from none but Christ, are in possession of a genuine and uncorrupted Confession of Faith, and of divine truth. At the end of the book is a conversation, in the form of A Catechism, on the Christian Faith, the Communion of Saints, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

12. Progress in the Study of the Knowledge of God the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: or, A Consideration of "The Consideration of certain Words, Terms and Phrases, used by Divines in Reference to the Doctrine of the Trinity, by a Lover of Truth and Peace, published in 4to. at Cosmopolis;" submitted to the Judgment of the Lovers of Truth and Piety, by their Friend and Ally, whom if you wish to know, You are wise in a true Sense [in Vero Sensu Sapis:—by transposition, Johannes Preussius], Alethopolis, 8vo. To this treatise are appended,

13. Two Letters to a Friend, without date, or author's name; but written, as the editor informs us, by John Preussius.

14. Manuscript Letters addressed to various Correspondents. Some of these fell into the hands of Bock, who particularizes one, in German, written to Barth. Stoss, at Custrin, (or, as Preussius calls it, at Patmos,) Oct. 26th, 1659; and containing a short history of Socinianism in Poland.

(Vidend. Sandii B. A. pp. 163, 164. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I. pp. 647 —666. Attiooerden, Hist. Mich. Serveti, Prooem. § iv. pp. 126. 181, 182.Vofft, Catal. Historico-Crit . Libr. Rar. pp. 554—556.)

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Powling William was a sawyer, of Thornham, in Kent, who, in the reign of Mary, made the following Confession, which was signed by himself ; and countersigned by Nicholas Harpsfield, Archdeacon of Canterbury, Warham St. Leger, Thomas Roydon, George Clerk, and Thomas Hendle, as Commissioners and Witnesses.

"I. William Powling confesseth, That, before his imprisonment, he refused to come to the Church, because the service is in a tongue that doth not edify ; and he thinketh it contrary to God's word ; and saith, that there are certain things used contrary to the Testament both Old and New. II. And saith That he doth not believe, that there is in the real natural body of our Saviour Jesus Christ the form of bread ; and that it is no article of faith ; and therefore refuseth to come to Church. III. And saith further, That it is no article of our faith, that there is One God and Three Persons, but One God Almighty, in whom he believeth; and saith that Christ is not almighty of himself, but received all power from his Father, and is made God over all things unto us ; and saith, that he was not God of the same substance of God from the beginning. IV. And as for the Holy Ghost, he saith, That he believeth he is not God, but believeth he is the spirit of God the Father only, given to the Son, and not God of himself."

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Polanus Simon et Wilhelm Martin  settled at Luclavice, when the Church and School of that place were in their most flourishing condition. They were, as Lubieniecius says, the best and most celebrated Chemists in the kingdom of Poland. The same author informs us, that Simon Polanus assisted Jerome Moscorovius in his chemical and medical studies ; but the rest of his history lies buried in the deepest obscurity.  

(Vidend. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. I . pp. 645, 646. 1008. Lubieniecii Hist Ref. Pol. L. iii. C. xv. p. 273. Zettneri Hist Crypto-Socin. Altorf. p. 274.)

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Podlodovius Stanislaus?, (Polon. Podlodowski,) has been reckoned among the more learned of the Socinian body. That he was a Pole by birth his name seems to indicate. Of the incidents of his life we are comparatively ignorant. Yet there is no reason to doubt, that he was the Stanislaus Podlodovius, to whom Daniel Tilenus addressed a letter, dated Paris, Nov. 9th, 1623, which was inserted in the "Epistolae Eccl. Prsestantium et Eruditorum" (N. 427, p. 698 of the last edition). From this letter it appears, that the subject of the present article had been travelling abroad about the years 1622 and 1623, particularly in France; and had just returned to his own country. That his mind was unsettled on religious subjects at this time, is evident, from the following passage in the abovementioned letter of Tilenus. "I quite approve of your determination, not to suffer yourself to follow the faith of another, or to be led by any merely human authority, in a matter of such importance; but diligently and carefully to scrutinize the dogmas of theologians, and try them by the standard of the divine word. Would that it were the fixed and unalterable determination of all Christians to remember that they are Christ's flock; not brutes, but beings endowed with a rational and spiritual nature!" At the Synod of Racow, in 1624, Podlodovius was authorized to prepare a work, On the Concord and Union of the Evangelical and Unitarian Churches; which, we know, had long been a favourite object with the Socinians, and one to which they had devoted considerable attention. In the year 1630, Podlodovius was reminded of his engagement, and urged, by the Synod of Racow, to bring this work to a conclusion.

(Vidend. Bock, Hist . Ant. T. I. pp. 644, 645.)

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Pinerius was invited, by the Assembly of Siedliski, to undertake the office of domestic tutor in the family of M. Niemiericius. In 1645, at the Assembly of Zulienien, he was nominated Master of the School at Clausenburg; but he seems either not to have entered upon the duties of this office, or to have retained it only for a short time, because we are informed, that, at the Assembly of Daszow, in 1648, he was recommended to engage in private tuition, the Church being unable any longer to allow him a salary out of its own funds.

(Vidend. Bock, Hist. Ant. T. L p. 633.)

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