April 12 - Galileo is Convicted of Heresy

This Day in History: 12 April 2020

 

12 April 1633

 

387 years ago, today, Father Vincenzo Maculani de Firenzuola begun the inquisition of Galileo Galilei. He was ordered to turn himself in to begin his trial for expressing the belief that the Earth revolves around the Sun, also known as the Copernican theory, which the Catholic Church deemed heretical. This was the second time that Galileo faced criticism for refusing the accept Church orthodoxy that the Earth was the centre of the universe. In 1616, he had been forbidden from holding such beliefs. The Church had decided that the idea of the Sun moving around the Earth was an absolute fact that could not be disputed, despite the fact that scientists had already discovered that the Earth was not the centre of the universe.

 

In his trial, Galileo's argument failed him. 2 months later, the Church spoke the order that Galileo had rendered himself suspected of heresy, due to his beliefs. Along with the order came the penalty that the book of Dialogues of Galileo Galilei would be banned, as well as the salutary penance of reciting once a week the Seven Penitential Psalms. He agreed to no longer teach the heresy, and subsequently spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Despite the conviction, it took more than 300 years for the Church to admit that Galileo was right, thus clearing his name of heresy.

 

Want to find out more about the trial of Galileo Galilei? Click here for more details, or for more about his life, click here.