ARBANASICH, PIETRO

ARBANASICH, PIETRO. — Sardinian apostate. During the culminating period of the Italian Risorgimento, he passed from Catholicism to Protestantism. He was initially pastor of the Italian Evangelical Church—that of A. Gavazzi—and later of the Baptist denomination, a branch of the “Southern Baptist Convention,” based in Richmond (Virginia, United States). For seventeen years he spread his errors in Sardinia, where, in 1886, he founded a Baptist community in Iglesias, provoking controversies and stirring up persecutions. Yet, in his heart, he aspired to unity among the divided members of his fellow believers. “Fra’ Pietro” or “Barba Piero” was his literary pseudonym. He died in Florence on 13 January 1906, and at his funeral a prayer was offered by Saverio Fera, his colleague and a leading figure in Freemasonry.