14 Facts About Sebastian Castellio

Sebastian Castellio was a French preacher and theologian; and one of the first Reformed Christian proponents of religious toleration, freedom of conscience and thought.

Sebastian Castellio later wrote that he was deeply affected and moved 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.

In 1543, after the plague struck Geneva, Sebastian Castellio was one of the only divines in Geneva to visit the sick and console the dying.

At the time, Sebastian Castellio decided to translate the Bible into his native French, and was very excited to ask for an endorsement from his friend Calvin, but Calvin's endorsement was already given to his cousin Pierre Olivetan's French translation of the Bible, so Sebastian Castellio was rebuked and turned down.

Sebastian Castellio's plight brought sympathy and admiration from his contemporaries.

Sebastian Castellio's existence ranged from begging and digging ditches for food to proof-reading for the Basel printshop of Johannes Oporinus.

Sebastian Castellio worked as a private tutor while translating thousands of pages from Greek, Hebrew and Latin into French and German.

Sebastian Castellio's writings were widely circulated in manuscript form for a time, but were later forgotten.

The synods of Zurich and Schaffhausen were far from enthusiastic, and Sebastian Castellio took an especially hard line regarding the whole affair.

Three months later, Sebastian Castellio wrote a large part of the pamphlet Treatise on Heretics with the place of publication being given on the first page as Magdeburg rather than Basel.

Sebastian Castellio can be credited with a huge advance in the promotion of the concept of limited government.

Sebastian Castellio passionately argued for separation of church and state and against the idea of theocracy.

Sebastian Castellio died in Basel in 1563, and was buried in the tomb of a noble family.

Sebastian Castellio's enemies unearthed the body, burned it, and scattered the ashes.