Albert, András
The religious freedom and the religious tolerance in Western Europe (1532-1685)
Religious tolerance, freedom of religion, reformation Europe, Transylvania, confessional conflicts
By comparing the political and religious relations between Transylvania and Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, it can be emphasized and demonstrated that Transylvania was an island of religious peace in a Europe of religious intolerance. Between 1568 and 1690, culture and religious life in the Principality of Transylvania flourished in the spirit of tolerance. With the enactment of freedom of religion, the Principality of Transylvania became one of the most enlightened states in 16th-century Europe. Western Europe at the beginning of the 16th century did not know any forms of religious tolerance. The Roman Catholic Church of the time classified all theological and religious views that differed from its own as heresy, and as a sin against God, punishing followers with death.
ALBERT, ANDRÁS
John Calvin the reformer of Geneva and the Michael Servet’s legal action (1531-1553)
Religion freedom, persecution, inquisition, legal action, conviction and execution
In 1554, Sebastian Castellio (1515-1563) published his „De haereticis an sint persequindi”, a work based on the trial and execution of Servetus. He became known as a defender of religious tolerance in Western European countries. He advocated persecution of heretics and religious freedom and interpreted religious tolerance. Sebastian Castellio, in his treatise "On Heresy", addressed the problem of religious freedom and the persecution of religious tolerance. In the work, he proclaimed that heresy should not be punished with either ecclesiastical or civil penalties. Faith and religious beliefs are free and should not be coerced. In making this statement, he referred to the Servet trial and its consequence. Who was right: Castellion or Calvin? Castellio was right, given the terrible jurisprudence. No one should have been condemned for the free expression of thought and opinion. As far as the teaching of the Church was concerned, Calvin was right. Michael Servetus was wrong in his opposition to biblical and ecclesiastical teaching. In the spirit of the 16th century, the spreading of his false teaching had to be stopped at all costs, and he had to be sentenced to death according to the legal custom of the time and the ecclesiastical laws.
ALBERT, ANDRÁS
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