This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 18

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1523 – Ludwig Hetzer, a Protestant with Unitarian beliefs, published a treatise against the worship of images. He denounced the trinity, claiming that “the Father alone is the true God…” Hetzer was arrested, charged with impugning the doctrine of the Trinity by the Synod of Constance, and ordered beheaded and burned. The sentence was carried out the same day.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 17

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Harris Manchester College today

1816 – Russell Lant Carpenter was born in Exeter, England. He was the son of Lant Carpenter, a prominent Unitarian minister. He studied for the ministry at Manchester New College in York, now in Oxford, and went on to serve many churches. His sermons were often on social topics, unusual in that day, and he excoriated England for introducing the opium trade into China. He also addressed the evils of alcohol, slavery, and vivisection.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 16

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The Great Marketplace in Warsaw, Poland

1611 – Iwan Tyskiewicz, a Socinian, was executed in the great marketplace of Warsaw, Poland, for heresy. His tongue was cut out and one hand and one foot cut off before he was beheaded. Tysziewicz’s life would have been spared had he renounced his faith. He is considered the first martyr of Unitarianism as an organized movement.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 15

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Coat of Arms of Brzesc, Poland

1588 – Peter Gonesius professed his Unitarianism at the Synod of Brzesc in Poland. Said to be Polish Unitarianism what Francis Dávid was to Transylvanian Unitarianism, Gonesius was the first of the Polish Anapabtist reformers to publicly declare the union of two theologies — the use of adult reason in achieving faith and the monotheistic nature of God.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 14

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Sion College (Jamie Berras, flickr.com)

1647 – The Presbyterian ministers of London, England, met at Sion College to protest the errors, heresies, and blasphemies of the time and to denounce toleration of such ideas. They were objecting to the growing influence of Unitarian beliefs on English Presbyterians.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 13

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1816 – The Second Society of Universalists was incorporated in Boston in order to attract Hosea Ballou as the minister. The congregation erected a large brick building at a cost of $22,000, which became known as the School Street Church, and dedicated the building on October 16, 1817. Ballou, known as the “father of American Universalism,” had become a Universalist at age 19. Read more about Hosea Ballou at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

 

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 12

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1805 – Frederic Henry Hedge was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served Unitarian churches in Arlington and Brookline, Massachusetts; Bangor, Maine; and Providence, Rhode Island. Hedge’s influence extended beyond the denomination. He was appointed nonresident professor at Harvard Divinity School and then as professor of German languages and literature at Harvard College. A friend of Thomas Carlyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Hedge was one of the original leaders of the Transcendentalists. Read more about Frederic Henry Hedge at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 11

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1928 – Lewis Howard Latimer, a Unitarian African-American inventor and engineer, died at age 80. Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, he was one of the founding members of the First Unitarian Church of Flushing, New York. He was the only African-American member of the Edison Pioneers, Thomas Edison’s engineering division of the Edison Company. Latimer prepared the mechanical drawings for Alexander Graham Bell’s patent application for the telephone. He also authored important inventions in electrical lighting. Read more about Lewis Howard Latimer at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 10

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1741 – John Murray was born in Alton, England. The beginning of Universalism in America is often traced back to the grounding of Murray’s boat at Cranberry Inlet, New Jersey, at 1770, near Thomas Potter’s family chapel. Potter believed God sent Murray to preach Universalism there. In 1793, Murray moved to Boston and stayed there as minister until his death. Known as an eloquent preacher, General George Washington appointed Murray as chaplain to the Rhode Island Brigade during the Revolutionary War. Read more about John Murray at: www.HarvardSquareLibrary.org – the digital library of Unitarian Universalism.

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This Day in Unitarian Universalist History December 9

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1608 – The celebrated poet John Milton was born in Cheapside, England. He was a devout Puritan who was influential in Oliver Cromwell’s government after the death of King Charles I in 1649. Milton is rememberd primarily as the author of Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Aereopagitica. Milton’s Treatise on Christian Doctrine, published posthumously, affirmed his Unitarian beliefs.

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