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Acto institucional y conferencias en el Instituto – 21 de mayo de 2016

 

El pasado día 21 de mayo se celebró en la Casa Natal de Miguel Servet, sede del Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet", el primer Consejo Plenario del año, coincidiendo con el 40º aniversario de su creación. A las 9:00 de la mañana se había reunido el Consejo Permanente del Instituto en el Ayuntamiento de Villanueva de Sijena, tratando diversos asuntos, entre los que se destacan los siguientes:

- Informe sobre las futuras publicaciones del Instituto, destacando el libro de D. Sergio Ibarz, sobre dos sorores de Altorricón que profesaron en Sigena y, el libro de Dª. Íngrid Grúas Lalana, que versará sobre la figura de Dª. Blanca de Aragón y Anjou. Se resaltó que se está trabajando también en una traducción de una obra de Sebastián Castellio; humanista contemporáneo de Servet.
- Próximo acto académico del mes de octubre, que versará sobre los litigios relativos a los bienes de Sijena.
- Situación económica del Instituto.

Con posterioridad, se celebró el Consejo Plenario, que estuvo presidido, por D. Alfonso Salillas, Alcalde de Villanueva de Sijena, el Dr. Sergio Baches Opi, Promotor General del Instituto, el Dr. Fernando Alvira, Presidente del Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses, y la Dra. Ana Gómez, Secretaria General del Instituto. Empezó el acto dando la bienvenida D. Alfonso Salillas a todos los asistentes, para a continuación informar sobre las últimas novedades sobre los litigios para recuperar el patrimonio emigrado del Real Monasterio de Sijena.

El Promotor General, Dr. Sergio Baches, informó a los Consejeros sobre los actos del 40º aniversario del Instituto, así como sobre las nuevas publicaciones en las que trabaja el Instituto. Hizo también un resumen sobre los ingresos del Instituto e informó sobre al acuerdo adoptado por el Consejo Permanente de reinstaurar las cuotas a los Consejeros, explicando las razones de tal decisión. La Secretaria General, la Dra. Ana Gómez Rabal, expuso resumidamente los demás temas tratados en el Consejo Permanente.

Se propusieron de nuevos consejeros, y se nombró nueva Consejera de Número a Dª. Íngrid Grúas Lalana, quien expresó su alegría ante todos los consejeros asistentes por este nombramiento y su plena disposición a colaborar con el Instituto. Como acto final de este Consejo Plenario, se le ofreció un emotivo homenaje a Dª. Montserrat Foguet Gómez, quien durante varios años ha sido una magnífica guía en la Casa Natal de Miguel Servet, y se le entregó una placa en reconocimiento a toda su labor, tanto en la Casa Natal como en el Instituto.

Tras el Consejo Plenario se inició el acto académico con una primera lección magistral a cargo del Dr. Ignacio Javier García Pinilla, Catedrático de Filología Latina en la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, que trató sobre:

"Religión en los márgenes y su ocultación en la España del siglo XVI"

Posteriormente, el Dr. Antonio García Omedes, cirujano del Hospital San Jorge de Huesca y Académico Numerario de la Real Academia de Nobles y Bellas Artes de San Luis de Zaragoza, disertó sobre:

"El Monasterio de Villanueva de Sigena. Una fundación real a caballo entre el Románico y el Císter"

Tras un ameno y animado coloquio entre el público y los conferenciantes, se procedió a la tradicional ofrenda de flores ante monumento de Miguel Servet. El acto concluyó con un almuerzo en el Restaurante "La Bodega" de Villanueva de Sijena.
 

Texto de José Sobella Paraled y Sergio Baches Opi.
 © 2016 Intituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet”.
 

 
Galería fotográfica

   Fotos de Patricia Puértolas

 
 
Activities 2015

Report of the activities 2015
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Conferencia en el Instituto - 18 de mayo de 2014
 

El pasado 18 de mayo de 2014 el Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet” celebró su primer Consejo Plenario anual, donde tanto el Promotor General como el Alcalde de Villanueva de Sijena informaron a los consejeros de cuestiones relevantes para la institución y de la evolución de los proyectos de investigación que lidera y gestiona el Instituto. En el transcurso del Consejo Plenario, los miembros del Grupo de Teatro “El Molino” de Sariñena fueron nombrados consejeros del Instituto. Con este nombramiento, el Instituto quiere reconocer públicamente la magnífica y entregada labor de este cuadro de actrices y actores, que han hecho posible hasta la fecha seis representaciones de la obra de teatro “Miguel Servet, Soplo Efímero de Libertad”, contribuyendo así a la difusión de la figura del gran humanista aragonés. También fueron nombrados consejeros la Dra. Petra Schulte, D. Georges Ward y Dña. Marisa Royo.

Tras el Consejo Plenario, se celebró un acto académico con dos interesantes conferencias a cargo, respectivamente, del Dr. Antonio Rivera García (Profesor Titular de la Facultad de Filosofía, Universidad Complutense de Madrid) y D. Gonzalo Martínez (Vicepresidente del Ateneo de Zaragoza).                       

El profesor Antonio Rivera pronunció una conferencia titulada: “La respuesta de Calvino a las objeciones de un judío español, o las afinidades entre calvinistas y judíos”. En su presentación, el Dr. Rivera analizó un opúsculo de Calvino en el que el reformador contesta, a modo de diálogo, las preguntas que se encuentran en el texto de un judío español del siglo XIV; preguntas en las que este judío cuestionaba la virtualidad y la robustez de los postulados en los que se apoya religión cristiana, destacando las contradicciones que, a su juicio, existían en los Evangelios y, en particular en el Evangelio de Mateo. El escrito de Calvino fue redactado en 1555, pero no se publicó hasta después de su muerte por su estrecho colaborador, Teodoro de Beza.

Tras repasar el origen, la cronología y la finalidad de ambos escritos, el Dr. Rivera concluyó que, en este texto, Calvino acentúa la naturaleza divina de Cristo y, en este sentido, parece ser “heterodoxo” al no destacar en la misma medida la humanidad de Cristo (“teoría del rebajamiento”). Asimismo, también destacó la respuesta insatisfactoria que proporciona Calvino en este texto para explicar el trágico destino del pueblo judío.

Tras la conferencia del D. Rivera, D. Gonzalo Martínez disertó sobre la institución consuetudinaria aragonesa del “casamiento en casa” y su importancia en el mantenimiento de la solidaridad en las relaciones familiares en Aragón desde la Edad Media. A estos efectos, analizó el concepto de “casa” y, en consecuencia, los elementos que lo integran, así como la importancia de los diferentes miembros de la “casa” (padres, hijos, hermanos o tíos o “tiones”) y su relación con ese patrimonio familiar que se intenta preservar a lo largo del tiempo evitando su disgregación hereditaria. En este contexto, nuestro conferenciante destacó el papel que esta institución en la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres a los efectos de heredar la “casa”, destacando también que no siempre heredaba el hijo o la hija mayor, sino el más capaz.

D. Gonzalo también se remitió a algunos episodios históricos en los que se aplicó esta institución, como los esponsales entre Dña. Petronila, hija de Ramiro II el Monje, y el conde Ramón Berenguer IV. Ello significó precisamente que Dña. Petronia podía, siempre que no falleciese, transmitir a su heredero la “Casa” de Aragón, como así sucedió finalmente en la figura de Alfonso II, primer rey de la Corona de Aragón.

Tras el acto académico, los asistentes procedieron a la tradicional ofrenda floral ante la estatua de Miguel Servet.

Galería fotográfica

 

 

El Instituto agradece a D. Alberto Lasheras y a D. Georges Ward la cesión gratuita de estas fotografías.
© 2014 Sergio Baches

ACTIVIDADES VARIAS 2013

- Conferencia "La intervención de Pedro II de Aragón en la batalla de Muret y sus consecuencias políticas". D. Francisco Vicente. 19 de mayo de 2013.
- Conferencia  "El relicario sijenense de Santa Waldesca. Historia y vicisitudes". D. Juan José Nieto. 19 de mayo de 2013.
- Conferencia: "Servet, Castellio y Calvino, Textos entrelazados”. Dra. Ana Gómez Rabal. Serveto (Valle de Gistaín). 30 de agosto de 2013.
- Conferencia “El contexto político-militar de la batalla de Muret: la Cruzada contra los Cátaros (1209-1229”), Dr.Martín Alvira Cabrer, Inauguración de placa conmemorativa del VIII centenario de la batalla de Muret, en honor al Rey Pedro II. 17 de noviembre de 2013.

Noticias

http://www.desdemonegros.com/index.php?id=noticiadesarrollada&idnoticia=535

http://www.desdemonegros.com/index.php?id=noticiadesarrollada&idnoticia=539
 

Galería fotográfica acto conmemorativo del VIII centenario de la batalla de Muret:
http://www.desdemonegros.com/Global/plantillas/secciones/galeria.php?seccion=g_actos&id_foto=13

 
ACTIVIDADES VARIAS 2012
 

- Conferencia: "El Dios Comunitario en la Biblia, Trinidad y Sagrada Escritura". Dra. Inmaculada Rodríguez Torné. Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet", 16 de junio de 2012.
- Presentación de la traducción al francés de la "Restitución del Cristianismo", Dra. Rolande-Michelle Benin. Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet", 28 de octubre de 2012
- Estreno de la Obra de Teatro: Miguel Servet, Soplo Efímero de Libertad. Autor: Sergio Baches. Villanueva de Sijena, 16 de junio de 2012 y Sariñena, 23 de junio de 2012.
- Conferencia: " Una visión práctica de la teología de Servet", Dr. Sergio Baches, Centro cultural "Miguel Servet", Serveto (Huesca), 31 de agosto de 2012.
- Conferencia: "La relación entre los tratados técnicos de pintura medievales y la pintura mural del Real Monasterio de Sijena", Dra. Rosa Gasol y Dña. Marta Segarrés.  Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet", 28 de octubre de 2012.

 
PRESENTACIÓN DEL LIBRO "MIGUEL SERVET. MÉDICO Y TEÓLOGO" EN SAN SEBASTIÁN
 

El pasado 29 de febrero de 2012, a las 18:30 horas en punto, Sergio Baches Opi y José María Urkia Etxabe presentaron, con sendas conferencias, el libro que, con motivo de los 500 años de su nacimiento, han escrito sobre Miguel Servet, en la sede del Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Guipúzcoa (San Sebastián). El primero analiza al Servet teólogo, y Urkia incide en los trabajos sobre medicina. La obra ha sido editada por el Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Guipúzcoa y la Real Sociedad Bascongada de los Amigos del País, con la colaboración del Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet” (Michael Servetus Institute) y la Fundación del propio Colegio.

Según comenta el Dr. José María Urkia en el libro, “Servet fue profético, preparará las bases para que Harvey, un siglo más tarde, complete la fisiología de la circulación de la sangre, gracias a la medida y la experimentación.


La obra del malogrado Servet no alcanzó la difusión necesaria. Valverde de Amusco (1556) y Colombo (1559) se encargarían de difundirla, silenciando a Servet, tal vez por miedo a la Inquisición”. Durante su conferencia, el Dr. Urkía recordó al Servet científico y contextualizó su descubrimiento de la circulación menor de la sangre desde un punto de vista histórico. También recordó el análisis psicológico que el Dr. Gregorio Marañón realizó de Servet, y la importancia del humanista aragonés en el desarrollo del derecho a la libertad de conciencia.

 

Por su parte, el Dr. Sergio Baches comenta en el libro que “no se puede decir que Servet fuera antitrinitario'’. Según Baches, Servet creía en la Trinidad, pero con una interpretación distinta a la que se estableció los concilios ecuménicos de Nicea y Constantinopla en el siglo IV. Sergio Baches escribe también que, “Servet no era un teólogo acomodado en las estructuras establecidas”, sino “un místico con una cristología y una concepción de la religión tan humanas que desbordan los postulados, no sólo de la Iglesia romana, sino de las propias reformas protestantes no radicales». 

Durante su conferencia, Sergio Baches destacó la vigencia y modernidad de muchos de los postulados teológicos de Servet y desgranó los principales fundamentos de su teología, así como los elementos específicos de la organización y práctica cristiana que proponía Servet.

El acto, magníficamente organizado por sus anfitriones, contó con la asistencia de más de 90 personas, cuyas intervenciones y preguntas posteriores a las dos conferencias de los Dres. Urkia y Baches dieron lugar a un vivo e interesante coloquio.
 

Galería fotográfica

 
     

     
 
         

Prensa

http://www.diariovasco.com/v/20120301/cultura/libro-reivindica-figura-miguel-20120301.html

http://www.radiohuesca.com/noticia/459763/Presentacion-del-libro-Miguel-Servet-Medico-y-Teologo-en-San-Sebastian

 

Tienda en línea

http://www.miguelservet.org/tienda.htm

 

Organizado por el Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Guipúzcoa, la Fundación del Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Médicos de Guipúzcoa y la Real Sociedad Bascongada de los Amigos del País.

 

OPENING CEREMONY OF THE “SERVETUS YEAR 2011” AT THE MICHAEL SERVETUS INSTITUTE

 

COMMEMORATION OF THE 500th ANNIVERSARY OF MICHAEL SERVETUS BIRTH IN VILLANUEVA DE SIJENA (ARAGON – SPAIN)

 

Miguel ServetNovember 13th, 2010 - Free entrance

Institutional Event

9:30 h.: Meeting of the Board of Trustees (Town Hall of Villanueva de Sijena).

11:00 h.: Meeting of the General Assembly of the Institute (Servetus House).
 
- Welcoming speech of the Major of Villanueva de Sijena, Mr. Ildefonso Salillas Lacasa.
- Report of the Director of the Institute, Mr. Sergio Baches Opi, on the matters dealt with in the Board of Trustees’ meeting.
- Report on the financial situation of the Institute.
- Proposal and appointment of new Counselors of the Institute.
- Questions.
 
11.45 h.: Coffee-break.

Academic Event

12:30 h.:  - Welcoming speech by Mr. Ramón Miranda Torres, Director General of Culture - Government of Aragon.

- Opening Introduction to Michael Servetus. Dr. Fernando Solsona Motrel, University of Zaragoza. Counselor of the Michael Servetus Institute.

"El legado de Miguel Servet: ¿Por qué y para qué se debe celebrar el V Centenario?"

12:45 h.: Lecture by Mrs. María Dolores Masana Argüelles, President of the ONG "Reporters without borders” in Spain (http://en.rsf.org):

 

"Press Freedom as a fundamental right in the international context”

 

Presentation by Mr. Sergio Baches Opi. 

13:30 h.: Discussion.

14:00 h.: Lunch. Restaurant "La Bodega" (Villanueva de Sijena)*.

16:30 h.: Lecture by Dr. Kovács Sándor, Professor of Church History in the Unitarian Seminary at Koloszvar (Rumania):

"Michael Servetus in the Transylvanian Unitarian movement” 

Presentation by Mr. Jaume de Marcos. Lecture in English with Spanish translation.


17:30 h.: Discussion.

18:15 h.: Concert in homage to Michael Servetus - "Choir of Sariñena" (Church of Villanueva de Sijena). Director:  Mr. Antonio Gil. Violoncello: Mr. Daniel Escolano. 

 19:30 h.: Flower and candle offering at the statue of Michael Servetus in Villanueva de Sijena. Public reading of the Servetus‘ Prayer.

 20:00 h.: Cocktail.  

 * Reservations should be made prior to November 8th, 2010. Restaurant telephone: +34 974 57 81 87 (Price 20€)  

 These lectures are validated by the University of Zaragoza as a one free-choice credit.

 

Subvencionado por el Gobierno de Aragón
 
 

ACADEMIC EVENT AT THE INSTITUTE - APRIL 18, 2010

 
 

NeofatoLast April 18, 2010 the Michael Servetus Institute held its first General Assembly and academic session of the year. The Mayor of Villanueva de Sijena, Mr. Alfonso Salillas welcomed all the attendants and he informed the members of the Institute of the actions taken by the City Coucil with regard to the recently discovered pieces of art which belonged one time to the Royal Monastery of Sixena.

Thereafter, the Director of the Institute, Sergio Baches Opi, took the floor to inform the Assembly about the financials of the Institute and the contacts that the Institute is currently holding with the Government Aragon to prepare the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Michael Servetus (1511-1533), which is expected to begin in October 2010 and finish in October 2011. The Director of the Institute also reported that the Institute will participate in the International Congress that is being organized in Saluzzo (Italy) by the “Association Giorgio Biandrata” in homage to Servetus and Biandrata. This Congress, he pointed out, will take place the 21st and the 22nd of May 2010.

Neofato

After his intervention, the event moved forward to formally appoint the new members (called “Counselors”) of the Institute by delivering to them their Diplomas and the Medallion of the Institute.

The new Counselors are Mrs. Gabriela Soro, Agriculture Engineer (Madrid), Mr. Francisco Sánchez Méndez, M.D. (Barcelona), and Mrs. María del Carmen Marco Liarte, M.D. (Zaragoza).

The appointment of the new Counselors of the Institute will be duly ratified by the City Council.

 

Neofato

Following the appointment of the new Counselors, the Director General of Culture of the Government of Aragon, Mr. Ramón Miranda, addressed a few words to the attendants to highlight that the Government of Aragon will give its support to the “Servetus Year 2011” .

 He also pointed out that the General Directorate of Culture shares !the vision of the Michael Servetus Institute in the sense that the specific events that are being 2sed should be aimed at getting the works life and legacy of Michael Servetus closer to the non-specialized public and that the Serventian Year cannot be narrowed down to mere academic celebrations addressed to a minority.

 

Servetus Revis(it)ed: The impact of his thought in Transylvania

Neofato

The member of the Michael Servetus Institute, Jaume de Marcos Andreu gave the first lecture of the day. According to Jaume de Marcos, for many years, Michael Servetus was considered a religious maverick, an isolated heretic who built no church and had no disciples to continue his work, and whose only impact was his death at the stake in Geneve, which caused some outrage and tainted Calvin's reputation. This view was challenged by Stanislas Kot's studies on Servetusnnnn's influence in Poland and Transylvania.

Nowadays, he argued, it is hard to deny the influence of Servetus's ideas in the emergence and development of the Anti-trinitarian movements in Central Europe. He highlighted the spreading of Servetian ideas in the Principality of Transylvania in the second half of the 16th century, especially through the Italian physician and religious reformer, Giorgio Biandrata, and the Transylvanian Ferenc Dávid.

 

The Priory of Mrs. Blanca of Aragon and Anjou

Neofato
The academic session continued with an interesting lecture by Mrs. Carmen Carrera, also a member of our Institute and a History scholar, on the priory of one of the most conspicuous prioress of the Monastery of Sixena: Mrs. Blanca of Aragon and Anjou.

Mrs. Blanca of Aragón was the daughter of King James II and of Blanca of Anjou. She joined the Community of nuns of Sixena when she was a child and later on, when she was only 19, she became the Prioress. Mrs. Blanca turned the Monastery into a royal residence, where the Aragonese nobility sent their daughters to become nuns of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.

Some of the most magnificent constructions of the Monastery, such as the Priory Palace, were built during her priory. Mrs. Carmen Carrera distinguished between two clear-cut periods in her mandate: one when the King, her father, was alive and he contributed regularly with important donations to the economic sustain of the Community and the other after his death, when Sixena started a steady decadence.

 

Alter the two lectures, the Director of the Institute opened a lively discussion and the public asked several questions to the two lecturers. The event finished with the traditional and touchy flower offering in front of the statue of Michael Servetus.

 

Neofato

By Neofato.
From left to right: Sergio Baches, Carmen Carrera, Jaume de  Marcos and Alfonso Salillas.

 

 

N.B. You can see further photographs in the following link:
http://picasaweb.google.es/neofato/MiguelServet18042010#

 
>Press<
 
http://www.heraldo.es/noticias/una_obra_titeres_serie_television_popularizaran_figura_miguel_servet.html
http://www.diariodelaltoaragon.es/NoticiasDetalle.aspx?Id=626751
 
Subvencionado por el Gobierno de Aragón
 
 
SEMINAR AT THE INSTITUTE/ CASTELLIO AGAINST CALVIN – October 24, 2009
 

Last October 24, 2009, the Michael Servetus Institute held a seminar to present its new El Director del Instituto presentando el borrador de programa de actividades del “Año Servet 2011”publication, the first translation into Spanish from Latin of the book by Sebastian Castellio Against Calvin’s Libel (1554). With this work, the Institute wraps up a research and translation project that was initiated already two years ago and submits to the worldwide Servetian and Reformation scientific community a contribution which it deems fundamental to understand the reactions that Servetus’ execution at Geneva raised amongst his contemporaries. The book includes an Introduction to Castellio's life and works by the Director of the Michael Servetus Institute, Sergio Baches, and a Note to the edition also by Mr. Baches. You can check the Index of the book following this link:

http://www.miguelservet.org/tienda.htm

El Director del Instituto presentando el libro

In the same event, the General Assembly of the Institute set up the “Commission for the organization of the commemorating events of the 500th anniversary of Servetus’ birth”. Our members widely discussed a draft program of the activities foreseen for 2011 previously drafted by the Director of the Institute. The General Assembly also approved to forward the Program of proposed activities to the Government of Aragon and set a meeting for further discussions.

The authors of the translation, Prof. Joaquín Fernández Cacho and Dr Ana Gómez Rabal, gave two lectures on Castellio’s works, his life and the difficulties that the translation has posed to them. You will find below a summary of their interventions. Many members of our  Institute as well as students of the University of Zaragoza attended the lectures. The Director of the Department of Culture of the Government of Aragon, Mr. Ramón Miranda, was also present during the seminar and delivered the closing speech pointing out the dangers posed by fanaticism to our society.

Lecture by Dr. Ana Gómez Rabal

Conferencia de la Dra. Ana Gómez Rabal

Dr Ana Gómez Rabal lectured on “The importance of Castellio as a contemporary of Servetus.” She started her lecture with the famous Castellio’s sentence: “To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man”, written by the latter in the aftermath of Servetus’ death which had been instigated by John Calvin and executed in the hill of Champel in Geneva, on October 27, 1553 (hominem occidere non est doctrinam tueri, sed est hominem occidere). Michael Servetus had been a harbinger of freedom of conscience and freedom of speech. She also pointed out, as an example of this assertion, the words written by Servetus in his book De iustitia regni Christi (Justice in Christ Kingdom, published in 1532); Servetus, a free spirit, shows his tolerance highlighting that:

 

All seem to me to be partly right and partly mistaken, and each espies the error of others and fails to see his own. May God in His mercy enable us to perceive our errors without obstinacy. (De iustitia regni Christi, chapter IV, p. F7v)

According to Dr. Gómez Rabal, Servetus’ death, the way he died and the reasons of his execution raised many concerns already at his time and a strong discussion that continued in the following centuries. In this regard, she indicated that Castellio’s stance in favor of Servetus and against Calvin is particularly significant due to its closeness at the time and at the place where Servetus died. For Dr Gómez Rabal, if the defense of freedom of conscience and speech is part of the indelible Servetus’ legacy, which is regarded as one of his most outstanding achievements, Castellio is to be acknowledged for his firm commitment to the cause of tolerance. And he deserves to be remembered precisely during this year 2009, when the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth is being commemorated (1509 -1511).

Castellio’s sentence previously cited belongs to his work Contra libellum Calvini in quo ostendere conatur haereticos iure gladii coercendos esse (Against the book of Calvin which calls for coercion of heretics by the sword), which Castellio wrote in 1554, but which was not printed until 1612, to dismantle all the explanations submitted by Calvin in his work Defensio orthodoxae fidei de sacra Trinitate, contra prodigiosos errores Michaelis Serveti Hispani (i.e., Defense of the orthodox faith in the sacred Trinity against the prodigious errors of the Spaniard Michael Servetus, published in 1554) to justify the judgment against Servetus and his death.

In the same vein, Castellio intends to devoid of arguments what in his view is an excess of dogmatic and formal zeal on the part of Calvin vis-à-vis those who do not follow his instructions and teachings, and he gathers and comments paragraphs of Calvin’s fundamental work, the Institutiones (first published in 1536).

Thereafter, Dr. Gómez Rabal referred briefly to Castellio’s biography (born in 1515 in Saint-Martin-du-Fresne, nearby Nantua, a town belonging at that time to the Savoy county and now to the Ain Department, in the Region of Rhône-Alpes) and located in the route between Lyon and Geneva, around 70 km from the latter city. Like Servetus, Castellio also went to Lyon, he acquired expertise in editing texts, and thereafter he edited and translated the Bible into Latin and French. And just like Servetus, Castellio approached the holy texts with a free and open-minded approach, something which made him clash with Cavin in Geneva and brought him numerous drawbacks during all his life. This paragraph, as clear as sincere, of his Preface to his work Contra libellum Calvini provides an example of this attitude:

The Spaniard Michael Servetus was burnt in Geneva for his religious opinions, on October 26 [in fact it was the 27 th] last year, which was 1553, by order and wish of Calvin, shepherd of this Church. Once known his torture, many were offended, especially French and Italians. First, because a man had been killed just because his religious beliefs. Second, because it was killed with so much cruelty. Third, because his executioner was a shepherd. Fourth, because –even this was said– Calvin had conspired with his enemies to kill him. Fifth, because his books had been burnt in Frankfurt. Sixth, because he was condemned to hell by demagogues

 And he continues:

I will make, if God so desires, the intentions of this man finally become apparent to those who want to remain blind. Maybe, as he always does, Calvin will say that I am a follower of Servetus. But this should not concern anyone. I do not defend Servetus’ doctrine, but I set forth the falsity of Calvin’s doctrine. Therefore, I will not discuss about the Trinity, baptism or any other important questions, since, as they have been burnt, certainly by Calvin’s zeal, I do not have Servetus' books to know what were his beliefs on them. But in the other items that are not in discrepancy with Servetus, I will show Calvin’s mistakes in a way that anyone can realize that he is groping around due to his thirst for blood. (Contra libellum Calvini, Preface, fol. A2v).

Castellio died in Basel on December 29, 1563, suffering from long-lasting privations, attacked by powerful enemies and threatened with lawsuits, and his book was only printed 50 years later: in 1612, in The Netherlands, thanks to the determination of a Dutch editor, and without his name appearing on it.

 

Contra libellum Calvini is composed as a dialogue between Calvin himself and a character named Vaticanus. The author shows that Calvin had to justify the Servetus' death at the stake: Calvin, a reformer, and also a man of the Renaissance who studied the Holy Scriptures, handed down a death sentence against another man, Servetus, who claimed the need of studying the Holy Scriptures, of understanding and of interpreting them. And, in front of this scenario, Castellio speaks out without any scope for doubt: a difference in  interpretation cannot lead to the execution of those whose interpretation does not coincide with ours. This is where the defense of freedom lies upon, and in turn the defense of justice during a century of bloody religious conflicts. “To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man”. That is the commitment that Castellio made as a writer and as a person endowed with such an ethical greatness that not only seduces us but which also impresses all those who have feel attracted or enchanted by Michael Servetus.

 

Unfortunately, as it was pointed out by Dr. Gómez Rabal and is highlighted in the Introduction to the Spanish translation of Castellio’s work, the Contra libellum Calvini has hardly been studied in Spain. Actually there are only a few translations of this work into modern languages. Therefore, it has been necessary to produce a commented version in Spanish to make it accessible to a broad audience interested in the problem related to religious intolerance; a problem which also concerns us so much nowadays.

Lecture by Prof. Joaquín Fernández Cacho

El Prof. Fernández Cacho iniciando su lección magistral

Prof. Fernández Cacho started his lecture thanking the Michael Servetus Institute and his Director, Sergio Baches Opi, for their support to carry out the translation of Castellio’s work, and all the help received from Dr. Gómez Rabal, without whose dedication the translation of Castellio’s work would have been more difficult.

 

Prof. Fernández Cacho focused his lecture on two aspects: first, he commented some of the difficulties that he has found in making the translation, and second, he showed what, according to him, is the core argument of Castellio’s work as far as Servetus’ death is concerned.

Before starting the main part of his lecture and as an introduction, Prof. Fernández Cacho referred to the title of Castellio’s work Contra libellum Calvini in quo ostendere conatur haereticos iure gladii coercendos esse. Libellus, in Latín, is a diminutive of liber, libri, “libro”, that refers to the bark on which things could be written before it was done on papyrus. Yet libellus, already since antiquity, means also “pamphlet” and “libel”, “betrayal”, “accusation”, as it can be found in Plinius or in Juvenal, among others. Prof. Fernández drew our attention on the fact that when he translated this term into “libel”, he wanted to preserve that ambiguity akin to Latin and Spanish where, according to the Dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy, it means both “a short writing” and “a defamatory writing”.

And this is what precisely is, according to Castellio’s view, the work that Calvin wrote to defend Servetus execution on October 27, 1553: a “libel”, “a defamatory accusing book”.

As far as the translation problems are concerned, he pointed out that Castellio's work, justifies itself (i.e., the parts of the text are so intertwined that they give a holistic meaning to the work and therefore, a complete meaning cannot be found when one approaches the text for the first time. Only once the whole test has been analyzed, its whole meaning becomes apparent to the translator).

In this work, the knowledge that Castellio had of the Bible (as most of his fellow humanists) is particularly important. This is reflected in his text as the whole of it is based in a profound and systematic reading of the Holy Scriptures. For this reason, the translators had to overcome some difficulties since Castellio used different versions of the Bible and in many occasions he trusts his memory when he copies Biblical quotations throughout the test.

Público asistente a las conferencias

After illustrating these difficulties with several examples Prof. Fernández Cacho highlighted that the basis of all the discussion between Calvin and Castellio lies on how the Holy Scriptures must be interpreted. During Reformation time (as well as in all times) there are two ways to read them (i.e., to interpret them): in a literal way or allegorically. While Erasmus chose the second option, Luther and Calvin opted for the first. It goes without saying that this has a strong bearing on the more or less  tolerant approach that these theologians showed vis-à-vis dissenters.

To introduce the second part of his lecture, i.e., Castellio's core argument against Servetus’ death, Prof. Fernández Cacho referred to the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. Following Matthew's Gospel, Castellio is contrary to the death penalty, and he wants to postpone the punishment (that in any case it will be a spiritual one) until the “harvest”, i.e., until the Final Judgment:

Christ orders that [punishment] be delayed until the harvest, to avoid any good man to be killed with the others. It is better to keep all the bad men until the judgment than to have one single good man killed with those bad men who deserve death.

Castellio's core argument is based on a terminological distinction. According to Castellio, Calvin confused words since he identified “heretic” with “impious”, “blasphemers” or “apostates” (haeresis, impius, nepharius, blasphemus, aposthata, in Latin), as he explained several times throughout the text. Thus, this is seen in Vaticanus' reply to Calvin, 35 [text 5], where he pointed out Calvin’s confusion when he identified impiety and error (Est enim aliud impietas, aliud error).

 

Calvin, 35 (impious)

But, as it was, in another time, such an injustice squeezed out the Saint Prophets of God and the Apostles, they did not deny that it were unfair to defend with legitimate power the worship of God and its heavenly doctrine, so that the penalty imposed by divine will would be exerted over the impious that promoted its destruction. Certainly, as we will see later, God had established a severe judgment against those who had tried that the people separated from the true religion.

Vaticanus

And we do not deny it. But there is controversy on who are those destructive impious. By no means those who dissent from Calvin must be held impious and promoters of the destruction of the celestial doctrine. I will put an example which shall cast light on this. At Christ’s time, there were four sects among Jewish: Scribes, Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes, and all accepted the Law, but each group interpreted it differently. If any of them had tried to deny the Law or to subvert it impiously as well as to induce their members to worship to Jupiter or to another God, it would have been rightly punished. And rightly and deservedly they punished the Macabees who had introduced Greek rites in the Jewish schools. But no law ordered to punish with the sword those sects that did not corrupt the Law impiously and artificially, but were just mistaken in its interpretation.

Thus, today there are many Christian sects that accept the Gospel piously and religiously, but which dissent from each other in its interpretation. If anyone fully denied the Gospel that it had previously endorsed, and damned Christ or God, and blasphemed openly, I would not say anything in his favor. But he who believes in Christ’s words, but interprets them differently from us, I would not consider him an impious that promotes the destruction of religion. Impiety is one thing and error is something else.

If Calvin had been a Pharisee, he would have killed all the Scribes, Sadducees and Essenes and he would have not allowed them to be indoctrinated by Christ. I am of the opinion that, before Christ arrival, they could not be called heretics, but, after his arrival, those who did not obey him, despite being requested to do so by him, were heretics. Thus, I do not think that many sects of nowadays could be considered as heretics. But when the word and wisdom to which nobody will resist comes, if someone does not follow it, I will take him as a heretic. If such were Calvin’s wisdom, I would not be able to duly contradict him. However, he has not been endowed with such wisdom. Therefore, using Calvin’s own words cited before, we must wait until Christ comes as a judge and not circumvent recklessly God’s judgment.

Prof. Fernández Cacho pointed out that we can see the same line of argument in other paragraphs, which he also analyzed in detail before leading us to a text of Castellio in which he defended that the civil magistrate must only punish external and worldly offences but he must refrain from intervening in religious disputes.

Castellio went back on the Greek origin of the word “heretic” that he defined it as “sect” or “opinion” (Nos igitur vocabulum sic explicabimus. Haeresis graecum vocabulum est, quod sectam, sive opinionem declarat). He distinguishes three types of sects: good ones (laudabiles), bad ones (impiae) and doubtful ones (mediae) and which can be found already at Christ and Apostles’ times.

And those types of sects can also be found at the time when Castellio writes, as he points out later (pii, impii, medii). The impious are those who despise God, the blasphemers who are enemies of all religion, apostates, and many of them atheists; the doubtful ones are those who are God’s feared, those who believe in the Holy Scriptures, but who do not interpret them rightly.
 
For Castellio, the heretics are believers who are wrong according to those that do not follow their same sect and must be treated the same way as Christ taught that lost souls [descarriados] should be treated in the Parable of the Good Shepherd. Castellio is aware of the fact that men are not certain to decide which is the best sect among all sects. This judgment must be left in God’s hands. Should this not be the case, a war of religion would break out in which ones and others would kill each other, converting Christ into Satan. This point being reached, Prof. Fernández Cacho revealed that Castellio’s tolerance had its limits, since Castellio is not against the magistrates punish impious, atheist, apostates and blasphemers, and in this point he agrees with Calvin.
Prof. Fernández Cacho analyzed what he labeled as a contradiction in Castellio’s arguments; a contradiction that is it not easily explained if the arguments in favor of tolerance that we found throughout his work are analyzed. How is it possible, he asked himself, that Castellio considered that Moses' Law, under which apostates and blasphemers were condemned, had been superseded by Christ’s arrival, and he maintained that they could be condemned, despite the fact that he argued that he magistrate should refrain from intervening in religious disputes?
 
According to him, a convincing explanation has not yet been found, but some hypothesis can be put forward in that regard. According to Prof. Fernández Cacho, some relieve that this is a concession that Castellio makes to Calvin as part of his dialogue-friendly vein. Others also point out that at that time the impious, as Castellio’s says in its work (see Reply of Vaticanus to Calvin, 129), were identified with felons (homines avari, libidinosi et voluptatum sectatores maximi) against whom magistrates must act.Another reason could be that he did not dare to take until the end his reasoning. For Fernández Cacho, it is evident, if we take into account his interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, that the punishment should be spiritual and must be postponed until the Final Judgment. On the other hand, Castellio explicitly condemns the punishment of a man due to his beliefs pursuant to the most well-known sentence in his work (Hominem occidere non est doctrinam tueri, sed est hominem occidere). And this sentence leaves no scope for doubt; it refers to “a man” (hominem), without any nuances or qualifications related to a religious or non-religious aspects.
 
After confirming that this contradiction is in fact difficult to understand, Prof. Fernández Cacho pointed at a line or argument which, in his opinion, must be further explored. The argument under which Castellio admits that impious must be condemned is similar to that laid down by Socrates in Gorgias 522e, although a sensu contrario, when talking about justice and injustice, and the defenselessness of a man before a tribunal, he replies at Calicles’ request:

Socrates: Yes, Calicles, [it is fine to me that a man finds himself in such a situation in his city and that he may not be able to defend himself], provided that he had that only defense means that you have acknowledged several times, i.e., that he has availed to himself of the protection that consists in not having said or done anything unfair against gods or mankind. We have agreed on several occasions that this line of defense is the most effective. If someone showed that I am unable to avail myself of this type of protection and of providing it to other person, I would feel ashamed to see that my error has been proved, either in the presence of few or many people, or before the only person that disagrees with me, and if, due to such incapability, I would be condemned to death, I would get angry; but if I lost life due to my lack of praising rhetoric, I am certain that you would see me to accept death with serenity. Because nobody is afraid of death as such, except he who is totally irrational and a coward; what it is really feared is to commit an act of injustice. Indeed, the most serious harm is having the soul going to Hell loaded with numerous offences.

According to the above, the only assurance that a human being has that he will not be unfairly condemned is not having said or done anything unfair against either the gods or mankind. This means that if a human being has made something unjust against gods or mankind, his condemnation is fair. In this regard, Castellio’s argument related to injustices against gods (i.e., against God), in the 16th century, would coincide with that of Socrates.
 
In view of the foregoing and according to Prof. Fernández Cacho, the fact that Socrates was a highly respected figure during the Renaissance, as well as the broad publicity that a “Christianized” Socrates had during this period, would have favored the idea of chasing and prosecuting the impious, atheists and apostates, something that, as pointed out by other authors, was a pervasive idea during that time.

As a conclusion, our lecturer insisted upon the fact that Castellio was a pioneer in the defense of religious tolerance, even at the risk of his own life. He created the concept of freedom of conscience and tolerance before Locke, Hume and Voltaire. Castellio defended Servetus, not because he had endorsed his ideas, as he stressed in his Against Calvin’s Libel, but because of a sheer feeling that freedom of conscience must be upheld. He was one of the first, if not the first, to develop and stand by such concept.

This is the reason why Castellio, although forgotten and not enough vindicated, stands out in the history of Western thought. In the 16th century, not even Protestant religious leaders raised their voices against the punishment of heretics. In this regard, Sebastian Castellio was ahead of his time and a forerunner of the French Revolution and the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen”.

Clausura del acto por D. Ramón Miranda

Fire offering

The academic event finished with the traditional Fire offering and the reading of the touching “Servetus Prayer”. The Director of the Department of Culture of the Government of Aragón. Mr. Ramón Miranda, and both lecturers, laid a bouquet of flowers at the statue of Servetus erected before the monumental façade of the Church of Villanueva de Sijena.

© 2009 Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet” /Translation Sergio Baches & Jaume de Marcos.

 

Photo gallery
 
  Discurso de bienvenida de D. Alfonso Salillas, Alcalde de Villanueva   Público asistente a la presentación del libro   Público asistente al acto  
 
 
  oloquio: Jaume de Marcos conversando con J. Fernández Cacho   De izda. a dcha. Sergio Baches, Ramón Miranda, Alfonso Salillas, Ana Gómez Rabal y Joaquín Fernández Cacho   Público asistente a la ofrenda del fuego  
 

Subvencionado por el Gobierno de Aragón

 

 

 

 
PRESENTATION OF ESTUDIOS SOBRE MIGUEL SERVET IV - 26 OCTOBER 2009
 
NEW SEMINAR AT THE MICHAEL SERVETUS INSTITUTE - 24 october 2009
 
 
LECTURES AT THE MICHAEL SERVETUS INSTITUTE- April 19, 2009
 
 
OPENING OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR
 
 
SEMINAR ON MICHAEL SERVETUS
 
 
LECTURE BY DR. JUAN ANTONIO CREMADES SANZ-PASTOR
 
 
SEMINARIO: ¿CHOQUE O ENCUENTRO DE CIVILIZACIONES?
Un acercamiento desde Aragón. El dilema Islam - Occidente desde Miguel Servet.
 
 
SEMINAR: CLASH OR MEETING OF CIVILIZATIONS?
The Islam-West dilemma since Michael Servetus.
 
 
LECTURE ON THE INFLUENCE OF SERVETUS ON CALVINISM
 
 
30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MICHAEL SERVETUS INSTITUTE
 
 
MARIO SABAN NOS INTRODUCE EN SIJENA A LOS ORÍGENES JUDÍOS DEL CRISTIANISMO
 
El pasado 17 de septiembre, el prestigioso investigador argentino Mario Saban impartió en el Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet” y ante un numeroso público un seminario sobre los orígenes jurídicos del Cristianismo. Tras unas palabras de bienvenida a cargo del Alcalde de Villanueva, D. Alfonso Salillas y una breve pero emotiva introducción a cargo del Promotor General del Instituto, D. Bizén d’o Río, sobre la historia de los judíos en Aragón, el Prof. Saban inició su disertación destacando que Jesús fue por nacimiento y tradición un judío, así como todos aquéllos que le proclamaron como el Mesías. Según Saban, quien ha plasmado sus investigaciones en varios libros, Jesús no pensó nunca en fundar una nueva religión.

Durante el seminario, Saban también destacó que en los Evangelios se aprecia claramente la dicotomía entre Jesús, quien proclama abiertamente su pacifismo, incluso frente a los enemigos de Judea, representados a la sazón por los ocupantes romanos, y la beligerancia contra el ocupante romano de algunos de los apóstoles, más preocupados por instaurar la independencia del Reino de Israel frente a Roma que el Reino de los Cielos anunciado por Jesús. Saban subrayó también que Jesús, cuando acude a Jerusalén, era consciente de que su movimiento se había convertido a los ojos de Roma y de la jerarquía judía (saduceos) del Templo de Jerusalén, en un problema político y, a pesar de ello, se entrega como mártir en prueba de su supremacía ética frente a sus enemigos.

En la segunda parte del seminario, el Prof. Saban explicó cómo el judío Saulo de Tarso (San Pablo) fue el verdadero creador y primer difusor a gran escala de lo que en un principio fue un movimiento dentro del judaísmo y no una nueva religión, pero que agrupaba a aquéllos judíos que creían que el Mesías anunciado en las Escrituras había sido enviado por Dios a la tierra y que éste no era otro que Jesús de Nazaret. Es a partir del siglo II cuando se produce la ruptura entre el judaísmo y el nuevo movimiento cristiano representada, entre otras manifestaciones, por el cambio de la Pascua judía por el Domingo de Resurrección o del Sabbath por el Domingo. Este distanciamiento entre los judíos que no creían en Jesús como el Mesías y los cristianos se explica en parte por el deseo de estos últimos de convertir a su fe al mismísimo Imperio romano para lo que necesitaban marcar definitivamente las distancias con los judíos de Judea, quienes en el año 114 D.C. se habían revelado de nuevo contra el Imperio romano. Es, por tanto, en el siglo II cuando nace el Cristianismo como nueva religión.

Tanto el Promotor General, como su Secretario General, Sergio Baches Opi, mostraron su satisfacción por la gran acogida que ha tenido este seminario, destacando que con esta iniciativa el Instituto había querido contribuir a una comprensión más profunda del judaísmo de Jesús y de la influencia del judaísmo en la historia del Cristianismo, fomentando de este modo la mutua comprensión entre ambas religiones que desde el Concilio Vaticano II caracteriza las relaciones entre ambas comunidades.
 
LOS ORÍGENES JUDÍOS DEL CRISTIANISMO
 
Objetivo:
Las relaciones entre el Cristianismo y el Judaísmo no siempre han transcurrido pacíficamente. Sólo a partir del Concilio Vaticano II y, en particular, a raíz de la autocrítica formulada por Juan XXIII al tratamiento injusto que la Iglesia había inflingido al pueblo judío desde los inicios del Cristianismo, puede hablarse de un acercamiento sincero entre ambas religiones.
El desencuentro entre el Cristianismo y el Judaísmo resulta sorprendente si se tiene en cuenta el papel que este último desempeñó en los orígenes del Cristianismo y, en consecuencia, en la configuración de la civilización occidental. Con la organización de este seminario, el Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet" ( Michael Servetus Institute ) quiere contribuir a una comprensión más profunda del judaísmo de Jesús y de la influencia del Judaísmo en los inicios del Cristianismo, fomentando de este modo la mutua comprensión entre ambas religiones. Este seminario también permitirá a los asistentes identificar las diferencias principales entre el pensamiento hebreo y la teología cristiana.

El seminario será impartido por el Prof. Mario Javier Saban:

  - Licenciado en Derecho por la Universidad de Buenos Aires.
- Profesor de Historia del Derecho en la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires.
- Profesor de Judaísmo en el Centro de Estudios Judíos (CEJ) de Buenos Aires.
- Profesor sobre los "Orígenes Judíos del Cristianismo" en el Centro de Estudios Pastorales de Barcelona (CEP).
- Profesor del curso de especialización de "Pensamiento Hebreo" en la Universidad de Lérida.
- Secretario de Relaciones Externas de la Confraternidad Judeocristiana de Cataluña.
Es autor de ocho libros sobre temática hebrea, entre los que se pueden destacar los siguientes títulos: "Las raíces judías del Cristianismo", "El Judaísmo de San Pablo", "El sábado hebreo en el Cristianismo", "Judíos Conversos I", "Judíos Conversos II" y "La matriz intelectual del Judaísmo y la génesis de Europa".
Programa:
 

10:30 hrs. Introducción a cargo de D. Bizen D'o Río Martínez, Promotor del Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet": "Breve relato de la historia de los judíos en Aragón"

11:00 hrs. La situación de Judea en el siglo I y el Judaísmo de Jesús.

11:45 hrs. Coloquio y preguntas.

12:00 hrs. Pausa café.

12:30 hrs. El Judaísmo de San Pablo. La Iglesia a finales del siglo I. La ruptura definitiva en el siglo II entre el mundo judío y la Iglesia.

13:15 hrs. Coloquio y preguntas.

13:45 hrs. Clausura del seminario .

Lugar de impartición y fecha:
 

Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses "Miguel Servet", Casa Natal de Miguel Servet, Villanueva de Sijena (Huesca).   www.miguelservet.org Domingo, 17 de septiembre de 2006

Inscripciones:
Precio:
 

Miembros del Instituto : Gratuito.

No miembros : 6 €. A ingresar en el siguiente nº de cuenta: 2085 - 2516 - 8403 - 00304715.

On July 11, 2004, the Michael Servetus Institute and the Spanish Unitarian Universalist Society organized a panel under the title "The case of Michael Sevetus: Dialogue and freedom of conscience" in the Forum of Barcelona (2004). This workshop was part of the events that the Parliament of the World’s Religions carried out in the Forum between the 7th and the 13rd July, 2004.

Among more than 500 panels and workshops, the panel on Michael Servetus was particularly noteworthy and had a remarkable attendance of 50+ participants who completely filled the room that had been assigned for this activity.

 
LECTURES:
 
PHOTO GALLERY:
     
       
     
 

Written by Jaume de Marcos and Sergio Baches Opi. Photos by César Calavera Opi

 

 
On April18, 2004, Dr. Ana Gómez Rabal gave a lecture in the House of Michael Servetus, about the philological aspects of the three first works of Michael Servetus (i.e. De Trinitatis Erroribus, Dialogorum de Trinitate and De Iustitia Regni Christi). Dr. Ana Gómez referred to the semantic and stylistic care with which Servetus developed and explained his theological arguments and she pointed out the wide use made by Servetus of textual criticism on the first sources of the Christian faith (Old and New Testament, exclusively), in accordance with the radical spirit of the Renaissance.
 
 
Like Erasmus or Cardinal Cisneros, a thinker as Servetus, was forced to submerge in the original sources for "reforming" the theological knowledge.

This eagerness to study deeply the original sources required not only a profound knowledge of Latin, but also of Greek and Hebrew, the original languages in which the New and the Old Testament were written. This new and bold intellectual and philological approach towards the first sources caused the marginalization and persecution not only of Servetus, but also of other intellectuals such as Dolet or Sánchez de las Brozas. According to Dr. Gómez Rabal, Servetus was a “pure intellectual - with a critical methodological criterion. He did not have any congregation or followers because he developed a doctrine for the individual and to a lesser extent for society as a whole. His voice, in spite of his isolation, was heard and his attitude was taken as a model to be followed.”Dr. Gómez Rabal emphasized the “extreme linguistic conscience” present in Servetus’ first works that was characterised by the austere use of theological terms, the deep knowledge of the “semantic nuances” of the words used in the first sources (e.g.: person = mask”), and their context.This task implies a “constant philosophical scepticism” that led Servetus to distrust the subsequent re-formulation of the theological truths by the Scholastics. His radical approach to textual analysis will influence decisively his defence of a new interpretation of the dogma of the Trinity in his first works.

Finally, Dr. Gómez Rabal also drew our attention to some typesetter mistakes found both in the first editions of these works in 1531 (De Trinitatis Erroribus) and 1532 (Dialogorum de Trinitate, De Iustitia Regni Christi) and also in those spurious versions made at Ratisbona in 1721.

 

 

 

 

 
     
       
 
 
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