Socinian

American  

[soh-sin-ee-uhn] / soʊˈsɪn i ən /

noun

1. a follower of Faustus and Laelius Socinus who rejected a number of traditional Christian doctrines, as the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and original sin, and who held that Christ was miraculously begotten and that salvation will be granted to those who adopt Christ's virtues.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Socinians or their doctrines.

Socinian British  

/ səʊˈsɪnɪən /

noun

1. a supporter of the beliefs of Faustus and Laelius Socinus, who rejected such traditional Christian doctrines as the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, and original sin, and held that those who follow Christ's virtues will be granted salvation

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Socinians or their beliefs

Other Word Forms

• Socinianism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Socinian

1635–45; < New Latin Sociniānus of, pertaining to Socinus; see -ian

Example Sentences

The bearing of this interpretation of the Epistle on the Socinian doctrine generally is plain.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews by Edwards, Thomas Charles

There is a mighty stir about the appointment of Dr. Hampden to the Regius Professorship of Divinity at Oxford, on the ground of his having put forth doctrines or arguments of a Socinian tendency.

From The Greville Memoirs A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV, Vol. III by Greville, Charles

There is no Socinian district in Scotland; old Scotch Episcopacy has not its single parish; and high Puseyism has not its half, or quarter, or even tithe of a parish.

From Leading Articles on Various Subjects by Davidson, John

It is, perhaps, scarcely fair to say this of the school as a whole, since the opinions of Broad Church divines differ widely from each other, ranging from the orthodox to the Socinian standing-point.

From My Path to Atheism by Besant, Annie Wood