On the Non-Invocation of Jesus Christ in Holy Prayer

May Christ be invoked in prayer? One of the sixteenth century's most fascinating theological controversies.

In this treatise, the Italian theologian Faustus Socinus (Fausto Sozzini, 1539–1604), founder of the Socinian movement, responds to the radical theses of his fellow Antitrinitarian Franciscus Davidis, who condemned every invocation of Christ in prayer as idolatry. What began as an internal dispute among like-minded reformers grew into a theological document of lasting significance — a testimony to how seriously these early thinkers wrestled with the question of the right worship of God.

Drawing on minute exegesis of Scripture, Socinus argues that the invocation of Christ is indeed attested in the New Testament — above all by the dying prayer of Stephen, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" — and that this practice in no way violates the sole worship of the one God, but rather redounds to Christ's highest honor. Against Davidis, and answering the objections of Georgius Blandrata, he distinguishes carefully between what stands expressly written and what may be inferred, weighing Greek terms and biblical formulas of prayer with remarkable precision.

Rendered into English from the Latin original, this treatise is a key document for understanding the Antitrinitarian movement and its internal debates. Yet it also poses questions that remain strikingly relevant: How is the veneration of Christ related to the worship of God? What role does Christ play in the prayer of the believer? And how does one arrive, through the careful reading of Scripture, at binding statements about the worship of God?

This reading and working edition invites readers not to follow blindly, but to think along — in the spirit of the Apostle Paul's exhortation: "Test everything; hold fast to what is good."

Essential reading for anyone interested in Reformation history, the roots of Unitarianism, the history of Christian doctrine, and the enduring debate over the worship of Christ.