Jacob Palaeologus

Jacob Palaeologus
Chios, birthplace of Jacob Palaelogus
Bornc 1520
DiedMarch 23, 1585
NationalityGenoese/Greek
Occupation(s)Reformer, theologian, controversialist
Notable workDisputatio Scholastica, Catechesis Christiana
Theological work
Notable ideasnonadorantism, religious toleration

Jacob Palaeologus, also called Giacomo da Chio (c. 1520 – March 23, 1585), was a Dominican friar who renounced his religious vows and became an antitrinitarian theologian. A polemicist against both Calvinism and Papal Power, Palaeologus cultivated a wide range of high-placed contacts and correspondents in the imperial, royal, and aristocratic households in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire;[1] while formulating and propagating a radically heterodox version of Christianity, in which Jesus Christ was not to be invoked in worship, and where differences between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were rejected as spurious fabrications. He was continually pursued by his many enemies, repeatedly escaping through his many covert supporters.

Palaeologus played an active role in the high politics of European religion and diplomacy over a period of twenty years before he lost imperial favour; and having been extradited to the Papal States, was executed for heresy by the Roman Inquisition.

  1. ^ Williams 2000, p. 1125.