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'Ferenc Dávid' (occasionally rendered as ''Francis David''; ca. 1510 – November 15, 1579) was a Transylvanian Nontrinitarian and Unitarian preacher, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania.
Born in Kolozsvár (present-day Cluj-Napoca) to a Hungarian family, he studied in Wittenberg and Frankfurt. Elected Calvinist bishop of the Hungarian churches in Transylvania, he was appointed court preacher to John Sigismund, Prince of Transylvania. Dávid's discussion of the Trinity began in 1565, with doubts of the personality of the Holy Ghost, because he could find no scriptural basis for the doctrine of the Trinity.
His antagonist in public disputations was the Calvinist leader, Péter Juhász (''Melius''); his supporter was Giorgio Blandrata. John Sigismund, adopting his court-preacher's views, issued (1568) an edict of religious liberty at the Torda Diet, which allowed Dávid (retaining his existing title) to transfer his episcopate from the Calvinists to the Nontrinitarians, Kolozsvár being evacuated by all but his followers.
In 1571, John Sigismund was succeeded by Stephen Báthory, a Roman Catholic, and the policy shifted toward persecution of the new religious institutions. When, under the influence of Johannes Sommer, rector of the Kolozsvár gymnasium, Dávid abandoned the worship of Jesus Christ (about 1572), the attempted mediation of Faustus Socinus, upon Blandrata's request, was unsuccessful. Tried as an innovator, Dávid died in prison at Deva in 1579. The ruins of the prison site in the city now hold a memorial for Dávid.
Dávid is best known among modern-day Unitarian Universalists for his often quoted statement, "We need not think alike to love alike".

Contents

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External links

★ Major dates from the History of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church

★ Principles for Survival of Unitarianism in György Enyedi’s Sermons.

★ The Connection between Unitarian Thought and Early Modern Political Philosophy

★ The Cradle of Unitarianism by Alice Gibbs

★ Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith by Mark W. Harris

★ A Brief History of Unitarian Christianity

★ Sermon on Dávid (PDF document)

★ "The Transylvania Journey" by Rev. Michael McGee (25 July 2004)