antiunitárius

Antiunitárius is a term used in Hungarian historiography to describe individuals or groups that opposed Unitarian doctrine and the Unitarian Church, especially in the Kingdom of Hungary and the principality of Transylvania during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Unitarian movement in Transylvania, linked to reform-era currents, promoted belief in the oneness of God and rejected the Trinity, attracting supporters among some local communities and clergy. Opponents—primarily Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed ministers, as well as secular authorities—argued that Unitarianism undermined core confessions, ecclesiastical order, and political and social unity. They characterized Unitarian beliefs as heretical or dangerous to public morality and social cohesion, and they sought to curb their influence through doctrinal disputes, church discipline, and legal or administrative measures restricting worship, education, or property rights. The conflict varied by region and period, with shifts in policy and tolerance depending on rulers and broader political circumstances. The term antiunitárius is chiefly historical and descriptive, used to describe the spectrum of confessional opposition to Unitarians in early modern Hungary and Transylvania. Today, Unitarians in the region form a distinct religious tradition linked to a long history of religious plurality and evolving state-church relations, rather than to contemporary political movements.