Photo: Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹¹

Symon Budny

Polish-Belarusian writer and philosopher

Szymon Budny or Symon Budny (Belarusian: Сымон Будны, Polish: Szymon Budny, Russian: Симон Будный; c.1533, Budne – 13 January 1593, Vishnyeva) was a Polish-Belarusian humanist, educator, Hebraist, Bible translator, Protestant reformer, philosopher, sociologist and historian, active in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was one of the first to promote the development of Belarusian culture in the Belarusian language.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Symon Budny (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jan 1530, died Jan 13, 1593.¹

About

He was one of the leaders of the Polish Brethren.

From Wikipedia’s article on Symon Budny, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Nyasvizh printing house (16th century)Founder¹⁰

Early life and education

Date not recordedJagiellonian University³

Career

Occupation: translator, priest, philosopher, humanist, typographer, writer, theologian, Bible translator.⁵

Date not recordedFounded Nyasvizh printing house (16th century)⁴

Known for: Catechism of Simon Budny, Bible of Nieśwież.⁶

Personal life

BornJan 1530, Budne, Podlaskie Voivodeship⁷
DiedJan 13, 1593, Višnieva⁸
CitizenshipPolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Grand Duchy of Lithuania⁹

Politics

Budny supported the limited educated monarchy concept of the state (with Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski), which would enable the development of the Sejm.

Gregory Paul of Brzeziny (Gregorius Paulus) and Palaeologus had been involved in a long heated exchange over the role of the Christian in the state since 1572, which had been kept unpublished. Though Marcin Czechowic in Dialogue XII of his Christian Colloquies, took Grzegorz Paweł z Brzezin's non-violent position. In 1580 Budny, then the leading minister among the socially conservative Lithuanian Brethren, published the whole correspondence, including Palaeologus' taunts of the pacifist position of the Ecclesia Minor Polish Brethren in his Defensio. The Polish brethren then asked Grzegorz Paweł z Brzezin to write a reply but he excused himself on the grounds of ill health, and the task fell to the then 41-year-old Fausto Sozzini, which he did and published a defence of conscientious objection and separation from the state in 1581.