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George Biandrata (1516-1588) was born in the Piedmont area of Italy and died in Transylvania.  He

studied in France and Italy, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, and wrote a text in obstetrics.  He  became a physician to royal families in Poland and Transylvania.  He read Servetus's Errors of the Trinity and argued with Calvin in Geneva who threatened to have him arrested.  He fled with Lelio Socinus to Poland and they wrote a history of Unitarianism from Arius to Servetus. They left Poland for Transylvania and there Unitarianism took root.  Religious tolerance was protected by King Sigismund in Transyvania until his death.  Biandrata argued with Francis David that if Unitarianism was to survive, they had to compromise and not alienate the Trinitarian Protestant and Catholic churches in Transylvania.  David refused to abandon his ideals of an uncorrupted Unitarianism.  Biandrata worked with his opponents and agreed to accept infant baptism and the divinity of Jesus but would reject the Trinity as lacking scriptural authority.  He testified against David and David was found guilty of heresy and died in prison.  What Biandrata accomplished was the survival of Transylvanian Unitarianism which still exists today.  Biandrata has been criticized by those who felt principle was more important than a flawed compromise.  He has been praised by Transylvanian Unitarians because they would have been crushed like Unitarians in Europe if Biandrata had not worked out a compromise, betraying his his friend, Francis David.  It is the stuff of novels to reflect on the pragmatism needed to survive in a world filled with murderous extremism.   

--Elof Carlson - Designated Historian

     Elof Carlson has written about 100 Prologue UU History for You pieces since he was appointed our UU Designated Historian in 2012.  He has compiled these chronologically with five accompanying short essays as an e-book for you to download or read online.  Elof says, "The surprising effect of reading them in chronological order is that they create a history of the Unitarian and Universalist movements."  The book may be read or downloaded as a pdf at the following link on our website,  http://www.uubloomington.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/PROLOGUE-HISTORIES-Book-JUNE-2016-by-E-Carlson.pdf   There is also a circulating paper copy in the Fuchs Library.