IT HAPPENED

On September 29, 1509

Miguel Servet was born

Theologian, physician, doctor and scientist

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Xavier Massó

On September 29, 1509, Miguel Servet –Michael Servetus-, theologian, physician, doctor and scientist, was born in Villanueva de Sigena (Huesca, Aragon, Spain). He was the discoverer of the minor circulation of blood and the first one to propose the idea of a blood circulatory system. Of heretical religious positions according to either Catholics and Protestants, he was burned alive in Geneva by order of Calvin.

Generally, it is thought that the burners of witches, Jews and heretics were the Catholics with their inquisitions, their autos de fe and their bonfires. And while it is true that they were devoted with authentic fervour to these tasks, it is no less true that the Protestants – Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists… – were not far behind, even far surpassing them on many occasions, both in quality and quantity. Miguel Servet is an example of this.

Servetus was a typical Renaissance character, certainly in a somewhat atrabilious version –like another illustrious lay martyr, the Italian Giordano Bruno–, a scholar of his time, concerned with theological, scientific and humanistic issues, a critical and heterodox spirit, somewhat eccentric and surely also naive, but a scholar. His father was the notary of Sigena and his mother came from a converted Jewish family. He excelled early in his studies and he became the pupil of Fray Juan de Quintana, who became confessor of King Charles I of Spain. After studying Law in Toulouse, he accompanied Quintana around Europe, travelling in the royal entourage and attending the coronation of Charles I as Emperor Charles V in Bologna in 1530.

He was interested in Protestantism, while frequently entering into polemics with its theological leaders. He denied the Trinity, considering that Jesus Christ was a man, but admitting that Mary had been fertilized by the divine logos. He considered also that the Holy Spirit was God’s way of manifesting himself to men. Later, he was inclined towards a kind of somewhat syncretic pantheism, which irritated Catholics and Protestants alike. A real dangerous business…

After completing his work ‘On the errors concerning the Trinity‘, he sent a copy to the bishop of Zaragoza, who was horrified and brought it to the attention of the Inquisition. Servet was then in France and he began to be sought by the French inquisitors. He adopted then the French name of Michel de Villeneuve and managed to go unnoticed. In 1537 he moved to Paris to study medicine at the Sorbonne.

He maintained correspondence with Calvin, to whom he sent a copy of his work ‘Restitution of Christianity‘, a treatise in wich, although theological, he exposed the minor circulation of the blood, from the heart to the lungs and from the lungs to the heart. It is not sure if he was aware of the transcendental importance of his discovery. For Servet, this was also theology, since blood was the carrier of the soul. But whether Servet had realized the importance his discovery, Calvin certainly did and considered it heretical. To reconvert him, Calvin sent him a copy of his ‘Institutions of the Christian Religion’. Servetus noted in the margins of the pages – as it was usual at that time – the observations and corrections that he considered appropriate and returned it to him. Calvin took it very badly and wrote to him warning him that if he’d ever come to Geneva, he’d be in trouble.

‘The Restitution of Christianity’ was published anonymously in France in 1553, and caused a great stir, being considered an impious book. And someone saw the opportunity to definitively destroy Servetus/Villeneuve. An anonymous letter from Geneva, most likely written by Calvin himself, in which the name of the author of the work was revealed, reached the hands of the inquisitor of Lyon. Servetus was arrested, imprisoned and sentenced to death. But he managed to escape from prison, which is why he could only be burned in effigy… for the moment.

Sought throughout the Catholic world, Servetus may have thought that Calvin had forgotten his threat and headed for Geneva. It is not known whether he intended to take refuge there or he was just in transit in his way to Italy. The fact is that Calvin recognised him while he was attending one of his sermons and had him arrested. He was tortured and tried for heresy. Servetus defended himself by arguing that the real heretic was Calvin, which made his situation even worse than it was. He was burned at the stake on 23 October 1553.

Only one voice was raised in defence of Servetus. A very worthy humanist, Sebastian Castellio, a staunch defender of freedom of conscience. He dared to call Servetus’s sentence a murder and held a debate with Calvin that is a true plea for freedom of expression and against intolerance and tyranny. Castellio was saved from the stake because he moved to Bern and died before Calvin could manage to hunt him down. In the words of Stefan Zweig, Castellio was “snatched by divine goodness from the clutches of his adversaries.” Servetus was not so lucky. To both, Servetus and Castellio, we want to pay tribute today.

Source: educational EVIDENCE

Rights: Creative Commons