Johann Sylvan
Encyclopedia
Johann Sylvan was a Reformed
German
theologian who was executed for his heretical
Antitrinitarian beliefs.
in the County of Tyrol
. By 1555 he was employed as a preacher by the bishop of Würzburg
. In 1559 he fled Würzburg and joined the Lutheran church in Tübingen
. In 1560 he became a minister in Calw
.
Frederick III
of the Electoral Palatinate. During the same year he became pastor and church superintendent of Kaiserslautern
. In 1566 Sylvanus took part in a diplomatic mission to the Netherlands
. From 1567 Sylvanus became pastor in Ladenburg
and was emerging as a prominent figure within the Palatine church. The Palatinate would be rocked by controversy in 1568 on the question of church discipline
, and Sylvan along with his friends Thomas Erastus
and Adam Neuser
emerged as leaders of the anti-disciplinist faction against Calvinists such as Caspar Olevianus.
to refute a work by the Italian Antitrinitarian Giorgio Biandrata
. The attempt to refute Biandrata’s treatise only convinced him of the veracity of Biandrata’s arguments, especially when the famed Hebrew scholar Immanuel Tremellius
could offer him no support of the doctrine of the Trinity
from the Old Testament
.
Sylvan became part of an Antitrinitarian cell that included Adam Neuser
, Matthias Vehe-Glirius
, Jakob Suter and Johann Hasler. In 1570 John Sylvan wrote an Antitrinitarian manifesto entitled True Christian Confession of the Ancient Faith of the One True God and of Messiah Jesus of the True Christ, against the Three-Person Idol and the Two-Natured False Deity of the Antichrist.
Sylvan and Neuser attempted to migrate to Transylvania
. Their letter to the Transylvanian prince was discovered and Sylvan – who unlike Adam Neuser was unable to flee – was arrested. Although Johann Sylvan later recanted his Unitarian faith, he was condemned and beheaded on the Heidelberg
marketplace.
Elector Frederick’s own compromised confessional position, as an advocate of the theoretically illegal Reformed faith, created the context in which the Palatine court felt it had no other choice than to execute Sylvan and thus demonstrate the state’s theological orthodoxy.
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
theologian who was executed for his heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
Antitrinitarian beliefs.
Origins and early career
Johann Sylvan probably came from the Etsch valleyEtschtal
The Etschtal is the name given to that part of alpine valley of the Adige in Trentino-South Tyrol, Italy, which stretches from Merano to Bolzano and from Salurn to Rovereto. It is also sometimes used to define the whole river valley, up to its entrance into the Padan Plain.South of Rovereto, the...
in the County of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
. By 1555 he was employed as a preacher by the bishop of Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
. In 1559 he fled Würzburg and joined the Lutheran church in Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
. In 1560 he became a minister in Calw
Calw
Calw is a municipality in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital of the district Calw. It is located in the northern Black Forest.-History:...
.
Reformed pastor
In 1563 he entered the service of the Reformed ElectorPrince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
Frederick III
Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine in 1559...
of the Electoral Palatinate. During the same year he became pastor and church superintendent of Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
. In 1566 Sylvanus took part in a diplomatic mission to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. From 1567 Sylvanus became pastor in Ladenburg
Ladenburg
Ladenburg is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Neckar, 10 km east of Mannheim, and 10 km northwest of Heidelberg.It has an old town from the Late Middle Ages...
and was emerging as a prominent figure within the Palatine church. The Palatinate would be rocked by controversy in 1568 on the question of church discipline
Church discipline
Church discipline comes in two types: formative and corrective. Formative discipline, or discipleship, seeks to help form the character and life of the believer. In this sense, every church disciplines it members. Jonathan Leeman has noted that "every church disciplines its members formally...
, and Sylvan along with his friends Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus was a Swiss physician and theologian best known for a posthumously published work in which he argued that the sins of Christians should be punished by the state, and not by the church withholding the sacraments...
and Adam Neuser
Adam Neuser
Adam Neuser was a Protestant pastor of Heidelberg who held Antitrinitarian views.Adam Neuser was a popular pastor and theologian in Heidelberg in the 1560s serving at the Peterskirche and later the Heiliggeistkirche...
emerged as leaders of the anti-disciplinist faction against Calvinists such as Caspar Olevianus.
Antitrinitarian
Sylvan was asked by Jan ŁasickiJan Łasicki
Jan Łasicki was a Polish historian and theologian. He was well-educated and traveled extensively in Western Europe from 1556 to 1581. Around 1557 he converted Calvinism, becoming a follower of the Unity of the Brethren after 1567....
to refute a work by the Italian Antitrinitarian Giorgio Biandrata
Giorgio Biandrata
Giorgio Biandrata or Blandrata , was an Italian physician and polemicist, who came of the De Biandrate family, powerful from the early part of the 13th century, was born at Saluzzo, the youngest son of Bernardino Biandrata.He graduated in arts and medicine at Montpellier in 1533, and specialized in...
. The attempt to refute Biandrata’s treatise only convinced him of the veracity of Biandrata’s arguments, especially when the famed Hebrew scholar Immanuel Tremellius
Immanuel Tremellius
Immanuel Tremellius was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator.- Life :He was born at Ferrara, and educated at the University of Padua...
could offer him no support of the doctrine of the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
.
Sylvan became part of an Antitrinitarian cell that included Adam Neuser
Adam Neuser
Adam Neuser was a Protestant pastor of Heidelberg who held Antitrinitarian views.Adam Neuser was a popular pastor and theologian in Heidelberg in the 1560s serving at the Peterskirche and later the Heiliggeistkirche...
, Matthias Vehe-Glirius
Matthias Vehe
Matthias Vehe known as Glirius was a German Protestant religious radical, who converted to a form of Judaism and anti-trinitarianism, rejecting the New Testament as revelation....
, Jakob Suter and Johann Hasler. In 1570 John Sylvan wrote an Antitrinitarian manifesto entitled True Christian Confession of the Ancient Faith of the One True God and of Messiah Jesus of the True Christ, against the Three-Person Idol and the Two-Natured False Deity of the Antichrist.
Sylvan and Neuser attempted to migrate to Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. Their letter to the Transylvanian prince was discovered and Sylvan – who unlike Adam Neuser was unable to flee – was arrested. Although Johann Sylvan later recanted his Unitarian faith, he was condemned and beheaded on the Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
marketplace.
Elector Frederick’s own compromised confessional position, as an advocate of the theoretically illegal Reformed faith, created the context in which the Palatine court felt it had no other choice than to execute Sylvan and thus demonstrate the state’s theological orthodoxy.