Protestant faith in Poland

[pieter]

Reformation and Counterreformation in Poland

A.) Reformation and Tolerance

Under King Sigmund II. (1548-1572), the teachings of Martin Luther, Jean Calvin and of the Bohemian Brethren found followers throughout Poland. The diet of 1555 introduced FREEDOM OF CONFESSION (TOLERANCE); Poland discontinued to pay St. Peter's Penny. Protestantism had it's most ardent followers in the cities of Danzig, Thorn and Elbing, which still were German in character. The majority of Poland's nobility had converted to protestantism. Poland's tolerance policy attracted those who were persecuted because of their confession, from the Netherlands, France, Silesia. The policy of tolerance resulted in political gains : Lutheran LIVONIA (with Courland) in 1561 asked for Polish protection (against Russian incursions) and became an autonomous region within the Kingdom of Poland. In 1569, the Estates of Catholic/Protestant Poland and Catholic/Greek Orthodox Lithuania established the UNION OF LUBLIN, merging the two countries and their institutions. Religious tolerance was a necessary precondition for the formation of the Polish-Lithuanian state. The nobility of Poland and Lithuania, over the following decades, merged to form a unit, a Polish-Lithuanian nobility speaking Polish. On West Prussia's diet, German language was discontinued ca. 1590, replaced by Polish.

B.) The Counterreformation

STANISLAS HOSIUS, bishop of Ermland, was one of the presidents of the COUNCIL OF TRENT, where a thorough reform of the Catholic Church as well as steps to regain the population of territories lost to protestantism was decided upon. Hosius became the driving force of the COUNTERREFORMATION in Poland. In 1564 he convinced King Sigmund II., who previously tended toward protestantism. The Jesuits were called in, they established a college in Braunsberg (Ermland) and an academy in Vilnius. Most of Poland and Lithuania returned to Catholicism; only the autonomous territories of Livonia, Courland, the Duchy of Prussia and the cities of Riga, Danzig, Thorn and Elbing remained protestant. In 1589, Moscow's metropolit had seceded from Constantinople, had declared himself PATRIARCH OF ALL RUSSIA, a claim including the Orthodox communities within Lithuania, a claim Poland could not accept. In 1596, King Sigismund III. Vasa and his chancellor Zamoyski established the CHURCH UNION OF BREST-LITOWSK, the merger of Poland-Lithuania's Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. The orthodox church provinces of Lithuania had been integrated in the Catholic church organization, but continued to follow their traditional rites. However, a part of the Greek-Orthodox clergy rejected the union. So, a Greek unified church and a traditionally independent Greek Orthodox church coexisted in the Eastern Provinces.
After the Counterreformation, the Greek Orthodox and Protestant Church continued to be a factor. However, they had been marginalized, reduced to fairly autonomous territories in the north respectivelly to provinces on the eastern fringe. The Counterreformation had changed the quality of religious tolerance into a mere toleration; Catholicism had forcefully been reestablished as the dominant religion. Formally, Protestantism and the Orthoidox were tolerated, but the Jesuits actively pursued a policy of converting souls to Catholicism. When Poland and Sweden agreed on the border in Livonia, leaving the Daugavpils area in Polish hands (1635, Polish Livonia), it was recatholicized. The Jesuits also were active converting the Cossacks, and the Cossack uprising of 1648 was directed as much against the Jesuits as against the Polish state.
In 1655 the 1ST NORDIC WAR broke out. The Swedish army advanced, but was unable to take the small monastery JASNA GORA. In commemoration of this event, an icon kept there, the BLACK MARY OF CZESTOCHOWA, was declared the (symbolic) Queen of Poland (1656). Ever since, Poland has been identified with Catholicism.

Other link:
freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~koby/political/chapter_08/08reformation.html

[pieter]

Another interesting article on the subject. ( history.boisestate.edu/WESTCIV/reformat/poland.htm )


The Reformation in Poland

Poland may be thoroughly Catholic today, but the Reformation made great progress in that country in the middle and later 1500s. It is a prime example of the weaknesses of the reforming movement and the successes of the Catholic Reformation.

Students from Wittenberg brought the reforming message early to Danzig and Cracow, but here as elsewhere national sentiments directly affected the course of the reform movement. Partly because of Polish political traditions, partly because of long-standing ties with France, and partly because of a growing antipathy toward Germans, the Poles took much more strongly to Calvinism and Calvinistic sects. It's worth pointing out, too, that the Hussites had flourished in western Poland, so the country had a long tradition of dissatisfaction with the clergy. Moreover, the country also had a long tradition of religious toleration: many Jews had fled thither from persecutions in the West, and there was even an Islamic Tatar population in Lithuania. In the event, a number of different reform churches took root in Poland, especially during the 1540s and 1550s. While ideas and enclaves could be found everywhere, different flavors of Protestantism flourished in different regions of Poland, for exactly the same reason they did in Germany: due to the preferences and protection of the local nobility.

The 16th century Polish kings were either indifferent to the reform issues, or genuinely believed it was not the place of a king to interfere in religious disputes. In any event, the Polish king could do little effectively without the cooperation of the Polish Diet (Sjem), and the Diet was dominated by reformist princes. Indeed, in the 1550s, they were strong enough to get legislation passed specifically excluding the Catholic Church from a variety of public spheres. Poland seemed to be travelling down the same road as other Protestant nations.

But it never got much further. the reasons are complex and make for a fascinating study. To oversimplify here, I will boil it down to two main factors: the variety of Protestants sects within Poland, and a renewed Catholic vigor.

Calvinists were perhaps strongest in Poland, but there were also a number of Zwinglians. Besides these, a strong group of Socinians (Anti-Trinitarians) were protected by a variety of princes. There was even a kind of re-birth of the Hussites, known as the Bohemian Brotherhood. While these (and other) groups could agree on a handful of core principles, when attempts at reform went further, their differences weakened them in the face of Catholic opposition. Even their great proclamation of 1570, the Concord of Sandomir, was boycotted by the Socinians.

Beyond these divisions, the poor of Poland never abandoned the Catholic cause. With the nobility going Protestant, the peasants and lesser nobility, who were steadfastly in opposition to the great nobles and viewed the king as their ally, naturally took the opposite view in religion. Thus, even where the Protestants were strong, a significant portion of the population remained Catholic.

This provided fertile ground for the post-Tridentine Church (that is, the Catholic Church after the Council of Trent). Led by Bishop Hosius of Warmia, and by the papal legate John Francis Commendoni, the Catholic Church in Poland made a determined effort to reform itself and to win back those who had fallen away. Here there was no Inquisition nor decisions on the field of battle. The Counter-Reformation in Poland was generally peaceful and successful. The Hosius and Commendoni brought Jesuits into the country, and the Order founded schools, debated the Protestants, and helped greatly to restore the credibility and respectability of the Catholic Church.

Interestingly, the Protestants were not run out of the country. Rather, they continued to be tolerated by the government. But throughout Europe, the Protestant cause only flourished when it was able to associate itself with the national identity, and that it failed to do in Poland. Protestants simply became fewer and fewer in number, until they were only a tiny minority.

A postscript is worth mentioning here. Nicholas Copernicus died in 1543. He spent most of his career in Poland as a practicing medical doctor but deriving his steady income as a canon in the Church at Warmia (Ermland). The Protestant Reformation was in full swing at the time, and was just really catching fire in Poland itself. Given that political-religious environment, and given his own position as a Church employee, it's hardly surprising that Copernicus chose not to publish his On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres until after his death.

[pieter]

I really get the impression that the Polish church was an intellectual church, because unlike the West where Catholicism was defended or forced upon the people by the Sword in the South of the Netherlands and Germany, Flanders, Wallon and France, by the Spanish and French (supported by German and Austrian monarchs - both The Spainiards and Austrians were Habsburgs-). In Poland reason, the debate - competition of ideas -, and the strong pressence of Jesuits and the faith of the people kept Poland Catholic on the long term. The devidance between the Protestants did nit help their cause.
In Western Europe much blood has been shed during and after the Reformation, during the 80 years war in the Netherlands (1568 - 1648) and the 30 year war in Germany (1618 - 1648).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years'_War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years'_War

[pieter]

Protestantism in Poland today

Protestantism, divided into several denominations, is the third largest branch of the Christian religion in Poland. The Augsburg Evangelical (Lutheran) Church accounts for over 85 thousand. The next largest churches are the United Pentecostal Church (ca.17 thousand members), and the Seventh Day Adventist Church (10 thousand members). The remaining Protestant churches have up to 5-6 thousand members each. Poland also has several Old Catholic churches (viz. not in communion with Rome). They include the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites, the Polish National Catholic Church of Poland, and the Catholic Church of the Mariavites. Their combined congregations amount to over 88 thousand people.

The Jehovah's Witness Religious Association has a membership of approx. 130 thousand. There are several other religious groups operating in Poland, including the Muslim Religious Union (Islam), the Union of Jewish Religious Communities (the Judaic religion), the Karaite Religious Board (a religion which combines elements of Judaism and Islam, and is observed predominantly by the Karaite ethnic minority of Turkic origin), and quite a number of organisations related to Oriental religions, e.g. the International Krishna Awareness Society and the Buddhist Society.

www.poland.gov.pl/Churches,and,Religious,Life,in,Poland,397.html

[pieter]

My Polish grandmother had neighbours who were Jehovah's Witness,
and they often repaired things for her for litte wage.
She herself was very religious Catholic and went to church every sunday of
her life, while my grandfather was not such a chruchgoer, he prefered
to read books.

[Jaga]

Pieter,

very good website

My dad wrote a book about protestant religion in Poland. Protestant religion, especially Lutheran and Kalvin denominations were very popular in Poland during Renaissance especially among the aristocracy, Poland was very tollerant towards the representatives of other religions. But the influence of protestantism faded off partly due to the contrreformation but mainly due to the fact that these denominations did not offer any improvement to the lower classes of the society. So, they were not really embraced by the majority of Poles ever, it was more of the snobism to belong to a different denomination

[Jaga]

Pieter and all,

do you know that Pilsudski converted to a protestant religion? Do you know why?

[pieter]

admin said:

Pieter and all,

do you know that Pilsudski converted to a protestant religion? Do you know why?

Jaga,

I didn't even knew he had become a Protestant, so I don't know why he converted?

Pieter

[hollister]

Jaga,
I think that Pilsudski wanted to did marry a divored woman (Maria?) shades of Henry the VIII?
I think he converted back after a time though.
Holly

[Jaga]

Holly is a winner, this was very common to convert because of a second marriage!

Pieter, we all need to learn

anyways, a very interesting website!

[pieter]

Jaga,

You are right Jaga, never to old to learn. Actually there is very little information about
Pilsudski's private life in English, German or Dutch. I only know the statesman,
Marshall, politician, activists, Visionairy patriot, not the husbant, father, uncle
and so family man. I know he was a workaholic!

Pieter

www.polonica.net/Marshal-Jozef-Pilsudski.htm

[pieter]

In Holland I learned after a while that the differances between Catholic and Protestant faith
is less big than I thought. Differant rituals and chruchorganisation, but the bottomline
of the Christian message, and central role of Jesus Christ and the bible and singing the
Gospel, is the same in both churches. I don't know if that is differant in other countries.
(maybe Dutch Catholicism is more infleunce by the Oecemenical movement?).

[Pawian]

pieter said:

In 1655 the 1ST NORDIC WAR broke out. The Swedish army advanced, but was unable to take the small monastery JASNA GORA. In commemoration of this event, an icon kept there, the BLACK MARY OF CZESTOCHOWA, was declared the (symbolic) Queen of Poland (1656). Ever since, Poland has been identified with Catholicism.

This part of your initial text should be eleborated on. Before 1655 protestantism and catholicism coexisted without bigger problems. SOme Polish kings were protestant. Many members of the Polish elite adopted calvinism, for example. Nobody critisized them.

However, during the war (The famous Deluge) protestant Swedes and their German mercenaries did nasty things to Polish churches and cloisters. They were often helped by protestant gentry. The Roman Catholic church was in real danger.

Hence, the national rising which toppled invading forces was stirred and fueled by priests who urged people to defend the holy Virgin Mary of Częstochowa as well as motherland .

After the war, protestant gentry was ordered either to convert back to catholicism or leave the country. They were seen as traitors who had cooperated with Swedes in attempts to dismantle the Polish state.
Protestant religion stopped flourishing. The name began to be associated with satanic works.

[oldpolish]

Religious publications, apologies, written attacks, polemical dialogs are great part of Polish Renaissance literature.

After expelling, Antitrinitarins started to publish their works in Amsterdam, the whole business is called Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum (Biblioteka Braci Polskich, Collected Works of Polish Brotherhood). It is said to be important for preparation of Western Enlightenment.

I read some time ago that Hosius asked about conception of banning only Socynians did not agree. reason? He didn't want to differ better and worse heresy...

I gained education in school which was in past Jesuit Collegium. Jesuits stared to change course after Swedish invasion. In 1500's and 1600's Protestant students was allowed to study in Jeusit school and were not obliged to take a part in catholic Masses. In first half of 1700's Poish high clergy persecuted Protestants not by sword but through making administration problems. For example Protestant churches were not allowed to be rebuild nor repaired and there was no possibility to build new ones.

Janusz Tazbir, Polish scholar said that Polish Reformation was rather intellectual adventure than "looking for true Word of God" ("szukanie szczyrego Słowa Bożego")

[Jaga]

Socyn grave is in Penderecki's property somewhere near Krakow. I was there once...