I am in Basel, the place that was home to Sebastian Castellio, one of the almost completely forgotten but most important proponents of liberty, tolerance and freedom of religion in the 16th century. Dave Andrews

Castellio ‘was born in 1515 in the village of Bresse bordering Switzerland, France, and Savoy. Having been educated at the age of twenty at the University of Lyon, Castellio became an expert in Latin, Hebrew and Greek and wrote theological works in the various languages of Europe.

‘Castellio was deeply affected when he saw the burning of heretics in Lyon by the French Inquisition, and at the age of twenty-four he decided to subscribe to the teachings of the Reformation.

‘After leaving Lyon, Castellio made his way to Strasbourg where he met John Calvin. Having made a very strong impression on Calvin, Calvin asked Castellio to join him in 1542 as Rector of the Collège de Genève.

‘Because of his unique relationship with Calvin, Castellio enjoyed great respect in the world of Protestant Christian theology. In 1542 he published his first book of Sacred Dialogues in Latin and French.

‘In 1543, after the plague struck Geneva, Sebastian Castellio was the only divine in Geneva to visit the sick and console the dying; the Geneva Consistory and Calvin himself refused to visit the sick, Calvin directing his servants to declare him “indispensable” and later writing in his own defense that “it would not do to weaken the whole Church in order to help a part of it.” For his outstanding work, the Geneva City Council recommended Castellio’s permanent appointment as preacher in Vandoeuvres.’

Castellio ‘was considered to be one of the most learned men of his time, equal, if not superior, to John Calvin.’ And he publically challenged Calvin ‘when during a public meeting Castellio rose to his feet and claimed that clergy should stop persecuting those who disagree with them on matters of Biblical interpretation, and should be held to the same standards that all other believers were held to. Soon after, Calvin charged Castellio with the offense of “undermining the prestige of the clergy.” Castellio was forced to resign from his position of Rector and asked to be dismissed from being a preacher in Vandoeuvres..” ‘Voltaire wrote: “Castellio was a far greater scholar than Calvin, whose jealousy drove him out of Geneva”.’

‘The man who once was the Rector in Geneva was now homeless and in deep poverty. The next few years were desperate times for him. Though one of the most learned men of his time, his life came down to begging for food from door to door. Living in abject poverty with his eight dependents, Castellio was forced to depend on strangers to stay alive. His plight brought admiration from his contemporaries. Montaigne wrote “it was deplorable that a man who had done such good service as Castellio should have fallen upon evil days”.’

‘Castellio’s existence ranged from begging and digging ditches for food to proof-reading for the Basel printshop of Johannes Oporinus. He also worked as a private tutor while translating thousands of pages from Greek, Hebrew and Latin into French and German.

‘Castellio’s fortunes gradually improved, and in August 1553 he was made a Master of Arts of the University of Basel and appointed to a prestigious teaching position. However, in October 1553, the physician and theologian Michael Servetus was executed in Geneva for blasphemy and heresy – in particular his repudiation of the doctrine of the trinity. Many prominent Protestant leaders of the day approved of the execution, and Melanchthon wrote to Calvin: “To you also the Church owes gratitude at the present moment, and will owe it to the latest posterity….I affirm also that your magistrates did right in punishing, after a regular trial, this blasphemous man.” However, many other contemporary scholars were outraged both publicly and privately over the execution of Servetus. Castellio took an especially hard line regarding the whole affair. He became enraged over what he saw as a blatant murder committed by Calvin, and spoke of his “hands dripping with the blood of Servetus”.’

‘Castellio wrote a large part of the pamphlet Should Heretics be Persecuted? Castellio ventured into a passionate discourse revolving around the question “What is a heretic?” He repeatedly argued against one man (Calvin)’s inerrant interpretation of Christian Scripture and concluded that a heretic is anyone who disagrees with another regarding the meaning of Scripture, thus being a relative term and a relative charge. Concerning the execution of Michael Servetus, Castellio wrote: “When Servetus fought with reasons and writings, he should have been repulsed by reasons and writings”.’ “Killing a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man”.’

‘Castellio can be credited with a huge advance in the promotion of the concept of limited government. He passionately argued for a separation of state and Church and against the idea of theocracy. Arguing that no one is entitled to direct and control another’s thought, he stated that authorities should have “no concern with matters of opinion” and concluded: “We can live together peacefully only when we control our intolerance. Even though there will always be differences of opinion from time to time, we can at any rate come to general understandings, can love one another, and can enter the bonds of peace, pending the day when we shall attain unity of faith.”

‘Castellio died in Basel in 1563, and was buried in the tomb of a noble family. His enemies unearthed the body, burned it, and scattered the ashes. Some of his students erected a monument to his memory, which was later destroyed by accident; only the inscription is preserved.’ Tomorrow I go in search of the inscription in honour of the memory of Sebastian Castellio.

Edited from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Castellio