AboutJon Bond Expertise Will answer all questions regarding Unitarian Universalist (UU)church; including ancient history (Universalists go back to at least 250 A.D.) and medieval history (Unitarians look to 1553 A.D. as their beginning) up to merger of the two movements in 1961 and continuing up to present. Am familiar with Christian church organizations and relationship of UUs to traditional churches.
Experience Currently member of Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado. Past vice-president of Board of Trustees and currently on Membership Committee. Have taught UU history for over 20 years. Have attended Unitarian Universalist General Assemblies (annual meetings held in June) for past 15 years.
Organizations Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, Colorado
Question I was wonder who was the original founder of the Unitarians and who were the significant individuals that got i going, not famous people who are Unitarians but people who origianted it. I also wanted to know if there was one person who started it, or an orginazation. And if it was all around in different place or if it was just in originaly in one place
Answer
Hello Sarah –
In the last 50 minutes, I got another question from a person who also wanted to know about the origins of Unitarianism. Some of my answer to you will be the same portions of answers to the other person.
Sarah, I'll try to answer your question. Remember, I'm one of over 250,000 people in our association and, if you ask another UU (Unitarian Universalist), you may get a different (but, hopefully, not conflicting) answer. Since you asked specifically about the specific geographic origin of Unitarianism, I can answer that one as a background (including where the two groups originated.)
The concept of Unitarianism generally looks to a Catholic priest, Michael Servetus, as a spiritual originator. Servetus was born in Spain in 1511 and died in 1553, after attacking the doctrines of the Trinity. Unitarianism is a doctrinal system characterized chiefly by a belief in the unipersonality of God and the normal humanity of Jesus, as contrasted with the Trinity and the eternal deity (divinity) of Jesus. Most Unitarians I've spoken with reject the divinity of Jesus, but do recognize him (Jesus) as a great moral teacher. The first official use of the term occurred in 1638 in Transylvania, a province of Hungary which became part of Romania after World War I. It referred to those who believed in the unity of God, but not in the dogma of the Trinity.
Universalism is the theological doctrine that all souls will ultimately be saved and that there are no torments of hell. Universalism has been asserted at various times in different contexts throughout the history of the "Christian church"--e.g., Origen in the 3rd century. The Universalists also denied the miraculous element in Scripture, and rejected such important Bible doctrines as the total depravity of man and the Trinity. The Unitarian Universalist Association was created in May of 1961 as a merger of Unitarians and Universalists.
Universalism can be traced all the way back to the Alexandrian Christian School and the early church fathers, Clement of Alexandria and Origen. However, the Universalist belief that the whole human race will be "saved," was condemned as a heresy by a Church Council in 544 A.D.
Unitarianism is similarly ancient and heretical. It's my understanding that a King of Transylvania, John Sigismund, authorized Unitarians to be one of three accepted religions.
For more information about both groups (Unitarians and Universalists,) please feel free to check out our web site http://uua.org/ A good book to check on is “The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide” – ISBN 0-933840-45-4
