"Heretical" Astronomer Copernicus on This Day in History

The Dark Side of Christian History

This Day in History: Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus died on this day in 1543. His major achievement was formulating a model of the universe that placed the Sun (heliocentrism) rather than Earth (geocentrism) at the center of the universe, which put him at odds with the prevailing theology of the time. As John Calvin wrote in his Commentary on Genesis: "We indeed are not ignorant that the circuit of the heavens is finite, and that the earth, like a little globe, is placed in the centre." Because he feared religious persecution, he did not officially publish his work until he was on his death-bed. Copernicus dedicated his book to the Pope, but the Catholic Church repudiated it and placed it on the Index of Prohibited Books. In 1633, 90 years after his death, the Church convicted astronomer Galileo Galilei of "strong suspicion of heresy" for espousing Copernicus's theory of heliocentrism. After a day in prison, Galileo spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

It could have been worse for these two, such as it was for Italian philosopher and doctor Pietro d'Abano. Pietro d'Abano came under suspicion by the Church for dabbling in the occult and died in prison. 40 years after his death, his books were put on trial, and when found guilty, his body was exhumed and burned.

Czech priest Jan Hus was burned at the stake for questioning authority. In his view, sinful authority ceases to be an authority.

English Franciscan and philosopher William of Ockham (the man who gave us the principle of Occam's Razor) not only questioned church authority, but believed it to be heretical. He was forced to live in exile.

Spanish polymath and doctor, Michael Servetus, was burned alive for questioning the doctrine of the Trinity. His death resulted in widespread criticism of Calvin, sparking a debate among Protestants about the death penalty for heretics.

Another anti-Trinitarian, Etienne Dolet, was convicted of heresy, and then strangled and burned with his books due to the combined efforts of the parlement of Paris, the Inquisition, and the theological faculty of the Sorbonne.  

Law student Pomponio De Algerio, declared that the "Church deviates in many things from truth." For this he was boiled in oil. The Venetian ambassador to Rome reported that he lived for 15 minutes, remaining calm and composed the entire time.

A medical pioneer from Baghdad, Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi (or simply Rhazes) introduced western teachings, rational thought into the Arabic world. One of his books, Continens Liber, was a landmark book on medicine. The book made him famous, but offended a Muslim priest who ordered the doctor to be beaten, which caused him to go blind. This prevented him from any future practice.

Female philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, Hypatia, was one of the most brilliant people in her day and she attracted a lot of attention. As such, she became a threat to some christians in her time. During Lent in March 415, a mob of Christians stripped Hypatia naked and murdered her. They also cut out her eyeballs and tore her body into pieces and dragged her limbs through the town to a place called Cinarion, where they set them on fire.

See also: The Trial of Galileo by A Mezieres 1877
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