Transylvania, was the Italian physician, Giorgio, Biandrata. Though he had gained a temporary victory in securing the condemnation of David, and still guided the policy of the church for a little while afterwards, Biandrata's influence among the Unitarians from this time on grew steadily less. While it is not likely that he ever returned to the Catholic Church, as is sometimes charged, the rest of his life was spent in Jesuit circles at court, and his interest in his own church is said to have grown cold. Legend surrounds the time, place, and circumstances of his death, but the truth probably is that he died a natural death in 1588 at Gyulafehervar. Socinus's part in the transaction also brought much criticism upon him, and it was believed for a time that he had willingly joined with Biandrata in a conspiracy to bring about David's death. But his conduct when carefully examined seems to have been entirely correct, as of one who tried simply by force of argument to bring David to a different view. Failing in this, he left Transylvania without having any part in David's trial, or being even aware that anything more was intended than to restrain him from preaching until a general synod should settle the doctrine of the church. CHAPTER XXIV UNITARIANISM IN TRANSYLVANIA AFTER The imprisonment of David left the Unitarian churches without organization or leadership. Biandrata's interest in their cause led him at once to set about organizing them on a foundation which should make them safe from further attacks under the law, and should ensure them an orderly and responsible growth. Within a month he called a general synod at Kolozsvar, and it was attended by nearly all the clergy. In their hearts very many of them sympathized with David and shared his views, and they were little inclined to fall in with any plans Biandrata might now have in hand; but to save the church from the charge of being "deniers of Christ," he got them (by misrepresentation or a trick, it is said) to adopt a confession of faith which was supposed to be compiled from books published in the time of John Sigismund. It made the adoration of Christ henceforth compulsory in public worship, and was designed to be a bar to any further changes in the direction in which David had been moving. A consistory of twenty-four members was chosen to manage church affairs, and a little later twelve deans were elected to have supervision of as many separate districts. Biandrata also had a candidate for bishop; but the brethren were unwilling to vote for him while David still lived, so that on Biandrata's nomination the prince appointed his candi date both bishop and chief minister of the Kolozsvar church. The new bishop, Demetrius Hunyadi, was wisely chosen. He had been a protégé of John Sigismund, a friend of Stephen Bathori, and rector of the Kolozsvar school. While conservative in his beliefs, he was highly educated, as well as a man of great organizing ability. He soon convened the consistory to establish rules for the government of the churches, and it ordered that infant baptism, which had not been observed for some time, should be restored; while the ministers were all made subject to the bishop and consistory. In the autumn the judgment of the Polish churches on the case of David was received, strongly condemning the views of David. All but sixteen or eighteen out of 250 ministers subscribed to it, while most of the rest at length gave in. All debate on the disputed questions was henceforth closed. Bishop Hunyadi lived until 1592, and in his time the church became well established in ways that were safe and conservative, though they left little room for progress. In many cases, however, the conformity was only outward. Whatever they might have been compelled to adopt, the ministers could not so easily change their convictions, and many of them continued quietly to believe and preach and practice as before. In fact, as soon as Biandrata's pressure was off, no serious attempt was made for several years to enforce the severe laws which had been passed against David's teaching; and various high nobles and officials were known openly to hold his views. Even a hundred years later there were many of the Unitarians who did not practice infant baptism; and refusal to adore Christ was widespread for nearly sixty years until, as we shall soon see, the subject again brought the Unitarians before the Diet. David's views had been very generally accepted among the churches in Lower Hungary, and as these were not subject to Transylvania but under the Turkish rule, they paid no heed to the new regulations. Moreover, many of the best ministers in the church now left Transylvania and went to Hungary that they might enjoy greater religious freedom. There was an angry interchange of letters, the Hungarians sharply upbraiding the Transylvanians for their desertion of David. The Hungarian churches now withdrew by themselves and chose a bishop of their own, and henceforth, in spite of efforts to win them back, they had little to do with the brethren in Transylvania, and little sympathy with them. At the same time, many of the nobles, setting political prospects before religious convictions, abandoned the Unitarian Church and professed the Calvinist or the Catholic faith. Transylvania was on the way to become Catholic again; and the next prince, the young Sigismund Bathori, who had been educated by the Jesuits, was the willing tool of their policy to turn the country over to Catholic Austria. He was persuaded to put many of the Protestant magnates to death on a false charge of treason, and he left his land for some years like a football to be fought over between Austria and Turkey, and to be wounded, burned, and pillaged by each in turn. For eighteen years from his accession in 1588 there was no peace or security in Transylvania. All this aggravated the misfortunes of the Unitarians. Prince Sigismund surrendered his government to the Emperor Rudolf in 1595 and retired from the country. The Emperor then sent his bloody General Basta to subdue Transylvania and exterminate Protestantism. The Catholic bishop recommended that the Unitarian churches be taken away and their ministers banished, and in many cases this was done. The Jesuits returned and were given the chief Unitarian church at Kolozsvar in 1603. General Barbiano, a Roman monk turned soldier, declared that they would kill every grown person in Hungary and Transylvania who refused to join the Catholic Church. Basta treated the Protestants so cruelly that for generations they used his name to frighten their children. He hung ministers up to smother in smoke from piles of their own burning books, or flayed them alive. His soldiers pillaged the houses of the nobles, and ravished their wives and daughters. Terrible famine followed. For a few months, while their enemies fell out with one another, there was a successful uprising of the Transylvanians under the leadership of a brave Szekler named Moses Szekely, who was a Unitarian.1 He proved a great general, and won most of the country back, took Kolozsvar, expelled the Jesuits, and restored their church to the Unitarians. It looked for a time as if the Unitarians were again to have a ruler of their own faith; for after winning sweeping victories Szekely was elected prince at Gyulafehervar in 1603. He was about to be recognized by the Emperor when the enemy settled their quarrels and united against him, and a few weeks later he was defeated and killed in a night battle near Brasso (Kronstadt), and most of the nobility of the land were captured or fell with him. Basta returned, more cruel than ever. Most of the ministers fled the country, and the Unitarian bishop saved his life by hiding in an iron mine. The church at Kolzsvar was again given to the Jesuits, and for three years the Unitarians there had to worship secretly in a private house. At length the Protestants of Hungary and Transylvania rallied under the heroic leader Stephen Bocskai, a Calvinist of Nagyvarad, who was elected prince in 1605. 1 He was leader of the Szekler party who had supported Bekes. |