The Polish Brethren, usually known as Socinians, were perhaps the most infamous Christian sect belonging to the so-called ‘Radical Reformation’. Renowned for their anti-Trinitarian beliefs and their rationalistic approach towards religion, the Brethren also discussed theological-political concepts such as the legitimacy of magistracy and warfare. Relevant literature on the Brethren's socio-political views underestimates their participation in contemporary debates on the ius belli, describing them as pacifists who generally opposed politics and violence until the 1650s, when some of them began defending a more conventional approach towards magistracy and warfare. This article proves that this shift toward a more standard Protestant position occurred as early as the 1620s, when Johannes Crell and Jonas Szlichtyng, two of the most prominent spokespersons among the Brethren, reconciled politics and the Brethren's faith in their writings. The article highlights how the historical situation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth urged them to revise their views on magistracy and warfare, and it argues that they were assisted in this by their education in European universities, especially the Lutheran Academy of Altdorf near Nuremberg, which provided them with different perspectives on the legitimacy of defensive warfare.

波兰弟兄会，通常被称为 Socinians，可能是最臭名昭著的基督教教派，属于所谓的“激进改革”。兄弟会以其反三位一体的信仰和对宗教的理性态度而闻名，他们还讨论了神学政治概念，例如治安官和战争的合法性。关于弟兄会社会政治观点的相关文献低估了他们在当代战争中的参与度，将他们描述为普遍反对政治和暴力的和平主义者，直到 1650 年代他们中的一些人开始捍卫更传统的治安和战争方法。这篇文章证明，这种向更标准的新教立场的转变早在 1620 年代就发生了，当时弟兄会中最杰出的两位发言人约翰内斯·克雷尔和乔纳斯·施利希丁调和了政治和弟兄会对其著作的信仰。这篇文章强调了波兰立陶宛联邦的历史状况如何促使他们修正对治安和战争的看法，并认为他们在欧洲大学，尤其是纽伦堡附近的阿尔道夫路德学院接受教育，在这方面得到了帮助。为他们提供了关于防御性战争合法性的不同观点。