On This Day In History: Copernicus’ s Book Banned By Catholic Church – On Mar 5, 1616

AncientPages.com - On March 5, 1616, the Catholic Church banned Nicolaus Copernicus's book "On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres" (De revolutionibus orbium coelestium).

Copernicus's conversation with God. Painting by Jan Matejko. Credit: Public Domain

In the book, first published in 1543 in Nuremberg, Copernicus (1473 - 1543) challenged scientific thinking by advancing the belief that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the Universe.

This theory also challenged the religious thought that man, who God created, was the center of all things. At its publication, Copernicus' book did not create tremendous controversy, partly because of its dedication to the pope.

However, once Galileo began his astronomical work and published his findings (which supported the Copernican theory), the book was temporarily suspended in 1616 following a decree against Copernicus' theories.

Following Galileo's trial by the Roman Inquisition, Copernicus's book was banned and remained on the list of prohibited books until 1835.

Copernicus, who died in 1543, never knew what controversy his work caused. He did not receive a published book copy until shortly before his death.

His original manuscript, lost to the world for 300 years, was located in Prague in the middle of the 19th century.

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