De revolutionibus orbium coelestium This Holy Congregation has also learned about the spreading and acceptance by many of the false Pythagorean doctrine, altogether contrary to the Holy Scripture, that the earth moves and the sun is motionless, which is also taught by Nicholaus Copernicus' "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" and by Diego de Zúñiga's "In Job" ... Therefore, in order that this opinion may not creep any further to the prejudice of Catholic truth, the Congregation has decided that the books by Nicolaus Copernicus ["De revolutionibus"] and Diego de Zúñiga ["In Job"] be suspended until corrected. "De revolutionibus" was not formally banned but merely withdrawn
The Sun in culture The Sun in culture The Sun, as the source of energy and light for life on earth has been a central object in culture and religion since prehistory. Ritual solar worship has given rise to solar deities in theistic traditions throughout the world, and solar symbolism is ubiquitous. Apart from its immediate connection to light and warmth, the sun is also important in timekeeping as the main indicator of the day and the year. The earliest understanding of the Sun was that of a disk in the sky, whose presence above the horizon creates day and whose absence causes night.