Andreas Dudith

Who was Andreas Dudith?

Andreas Dudith, also András Dudith de Horahovicza; * February 5, 1533 in Buda † February 22, 1589 in Wrocław, was a Hungarian nobleman of Croatian and Italian origin, bishop, humanist and diplomat in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Dudić was born in Buda, capital city of the Kingdom of Hungary to a Hungarian noble family with Croatian origin. His father, Jeromos Dudits, was a Croatian and his mother was an Italian. He studied in Wrocław, Italy, Vienna, Brussels and Paris.

In 1560 king Ferdinand I appointed him the bishop of Knin, Croatia. He then participated in the Council of Trent where, in compliance with the wish of Ferdinand, he urged that the cup be given to the laity. Being appointed bishop of Pécs, Dudith went to Poland in 1565 as ambassador of Maximilian, where he married, and resigned his see, becoming an adherent of Protestantism. In Poland he began to sympathize with Socinian Anti-trinitarianism. Although he never declared himself officially a Unitarian, some researchers label him as one of the Anti-trinitarian thinkers.

After the election of Stephen Báthory as king of Poland, Dudić left Kraków and went to Wrocław and later to Moravia, where he supported the Bohemian Brothers.