Faustus Socinus
On Sunday, November 22, 2015, Elder Wayne Wylie led a discussion on the Radical Reformers’ Rejection of the Ecumenical Creeds.
The ecumenical creeds, namely, the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition confess the foundational doctrines of the Christian Faith. The “Magisterial Reformers,” or the Lutherans, Calvinists and Anglicans, retained confession of the ecumenical creeds in their reforms of theology and practice.
The “Radical Reformers,” known also as the Anabaptist movement, however, rejected the ecumenical creeds. They emphasized a more individualistic form of divine revelation at the expense of Scripture. They, therefore, repeated many errors of the ancient heretics like Adoptionism and Docetism , among others. Socinianism was introduced. Faustus Socinus denied the deity of Christ and the exclusivity of salvation through him.
The communions born out of the Magisterial Reformaiton divided regionally due to blocks of nations establishing the various churches. Those who confessed a particular tradition moved to that tradition’s region of Europe.
The controversy over freewill was discussed. The freedom to do what one wants is limited by various factors, chief of all the moral nature of the individual. Semi-Pelagianism finds expression in post-Reformation era in the form of Arminianism. Crisis in the Reformed Churches recommended for an introduction to the debate at the Synod of Dort.
Listen to “Radicals Reject the Ecumenical Creeds” at mcopc.org.
Mid-Cities Presbyterian Church Library 