The Surprising Religious Views of 16th century Poland

Asilum Haereticorum

the heretics asylum

The Surprising Religious Views of 16^th century Poland

Original act of the Warsaw Confederation

"Whereas in our Common Wealth [sic] there is no small disagreement in the matter of the Christian faith, and in order to prevent that any harmful contention should arise from this, as we see clearly taking place in other kingdoms, we swear to each other... that albeit we are dissidents in religion, we will keep the peace between ourselves, and that we will not, for the sake of our various faith and difference of church, either shed blood or confiscate property, deny favor, imprison or banish, and that furthermore we will not aid or abet any power or office which strives to this in any way whatsoever..."

Article of the Warsaw Confederation

by Pani Jadwiga Radomykowa

Originally Presented at the String Theory Ithra in the Canton of Bearwood October 2014

Section One: A brief overview of Polish History

This is not a exhaustive list of everything that happened in Poland, but rather major events, especially ones that shaped religious feelings in the country.

5^th - 9^th Century

The first Slavic tribes settle in the lands that will one day be Poland. Beyond archeological evidence, there is little known about this time, save that the people called themselves the Polane “People of the Land.”

10^th Century

Baptism of Poland. King Mieszko I, the creator of the polish state marries Dobrawa, the daughter of the Bohemian ruler, a devout catholic. The king converts as does the rest of the state over the next centuries. Poland is recognized as a sovereign nation by Otto III in 1000.

11^th - 14^th Century:

Poland begins to form as a country. During this time it is much like it's neighbors the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) and other more “Western” European states.

1030: there is a pagan uprising.

1182: the first meeting of the Sejm (lower house of parliament).

1264: Statute of Kalisz Giving Jews much freedom.

1308: the Teutonic Knights capture Gdańsk (Danzig), this begins the long history of tension between the Order and the Polish State.

1333: Formation of the Szlachta a legally privileged noble class.

1347: The Wiślica Statutes are drafted. This is the first time that customary law is codified.

1384: Jadwiga of Anjou is crowned King of Poland

1385: Jadwiga Marries Lithuanian duke Jagiello this binds Poland and Lithuania together, part of the agreement is Jagiello converts to Christianity along with all of Lithuania.

15^th Century:

Poland and the Teutonic Order begin almost 200 years of on again off again warfare called the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War or simply the Great War.

1410: Battle of Grunwald, first major battle of the Great War, and the beginning of the decline of the Teutonic Knights.

1432: Union of Grodno, the beginnings of the Polish Lithuanian alliances being formalized.

1454: Nieszawa Statutes are signed which state that the king must get permission from the Szlachta before making new laws, raising armies or levying new taxes.

16^th Century:

1505: Nihli Novi (“Nothing New”) Act signed, limiting Polish kings from making any new laws with out the blessing of the nobility.

1569: Union of Lublin, the creation of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.

1573: Warsaw Confederation signed, guaranteeing religious freedom for all freedmen of Poland

Section Two: Foundations of Religious Tolerance

In the early 16^th century Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius called Poland the asylum of heretics.

This name was not unearned. During a time when reading the wrong book could get a man killed, and worshiping “incorrectly” could damn one to hell, not to mention be tortured before meeting that fate, Poland had opened her borders to men of all faiths, and took a rather lackadaisical view on upholding the religious “rights” of the church.

The Jagiellon Dynasty 1386-1572 was considered the height of Polish Culture. As it began to wain the Sejm (senate) sought to protect the unified Poland and prevent separatists from undermining hundreds of years of work. To that end, there had to be a unified voice, and a key point of contention was the different views of religion. Therefore the defacto culture of religious tolerance was codified in the Warsaw Confederation.

This fell in line with the Sarmation ideology espoused by the szlatcha who believed that no one man should have the ability to rules over the life and death of another, this included bishops and the king. Moreover this became imperative after the St. Bartholomew's day massacre in France where 20,000 Protestants were killed by rioting Catholics. They set up rules that a king had to sign before being given the grown, called the Henrician Articles, these were 16 unchangeable rules, one of which is that they must observe the edicts of the Warsaw Confederation. This ties in with the Golden Liberty, an article of the szlatcha that stated all nobles are equal regardless of rank, class or religion.

Sitting between the Orthodox Grand Duchy of Moscow to the East, Muslim Empire to the South, and the rest of Europe torn between reformation and counter reformation to the west Poland welcomed Catholics, Protestants, Jews and even Muslims to settle it's lands. Every time there would be a religious purge in a neighboring land, Poland’s' population would grow. This led to more skilled laborers and a better economy.

By the mid 16^th century records put about 3/4^th of all Jewish people live in Poland. In 1503 a Chief Rabbi was appointed, and by 1551 Jews could elect their own Chief Rabbi. He was allowed to make rules, and laws for the Polish Jews and collect taxes, however only about 30% of funds raised were used for the Jewish people, the rest went to the kingdom for protection. 1567 a Talmudic academy was found in Lublin. During this time the Statute of Kalisz was written, 26 rules for the treatment of Jewish people. Of note:

         1. ...Should a Jew be taken to court, not only a Christian must testify against him,            but also a Jew, in order for the case to be considered valid.

17. ...Any Jew may freely and securely walk or ride without any let or hindrance in our realm. They shall pay customary tolls just as other Christians do, and nothing else

Section Three: Religious Freedom Made Manifest.

The szlatcha were the noble class in Poland. Unlike most kingdoms of this time, the szlatcha could come from any rank or class. During this time most szlatcha were Catholic or Orthodox with a small number of Muslims.

In 1569 the city of Rakow was founded as the seat of the Polish Brethren With was a minor branch of the Reformed Church of Poland a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. This later changed into the Unitarian belief.

The Church in Poland had an unusual relationship with the Vatican, rather than being appointed by Rome, the kingdoms bishops were chosen by the King who submitted his candidates. However, if the Church did not agree with a choice this had little effect, for it was ignored, and bishops were invested anyways. Even attempts to excommunicate bishops and kings fell upon deaf ears.

Summed up by a deputy of the Sejm in 1550:

“The gentlemen of the clergy summon us, citing their titles and invoking some foreign, Romish law, contrary to the laws and freedoms of our realm, attempting to extend their jurisdiction and that of their mater the Roman Pope, which jurisdiction we, not finding it in our statutes neither can nor will bear; for we know no other jurisdiction than the supremacy of his majesty the King our master.”

Various religions were worshiped during this time. Luther's declaration was popular in northern and western parts of Poland. Those who held the faith were called lax Catholics. Many priests had common-in-law wives, recognized their offspring and gave them positions due to their rank. As such, protestant demands weren't shocking. Calvinism was quite popular as well throughout the land, both because putting men as equals echoed feelings of the szlatcha and as well as the fact that there was little rite and ceremony making it a cheap religion to be a part of. Moreover, during this time Bishop Drohojowski of Kujavia allowed Catholics and Lutherans to share churches in his diocese.

By mid 16^th century Poland had almost 100 mosques.

In 1554 Bishop Czarnkowski sentenced 3 merchants to be burned at the stake. They were saved by the Szlachta who were mostly Catholic. He later sentenced a cobbler and over 100 nobles came to his rescue, this time laying siege to the episcopal estate and freeing the man. The bishop was then banished from the town. Later when a man was killed for supposedly stealing a host from the local church and selling it to Jews for apparent occult rites, there was an outcry and again the szlatcha raised arms against the church, and managed to save three Jews that were going to be burned the next day. As Jan Tarnowski a noble of the time points out, “It is not a question of religion, it is a question of liberty.”

Shortly after this the Sejm came to unanimous agreement that there would be no liberty while a force independent of the parliamentary system was able to judge people. Therefore the ecclesiastical tribunal was annulled in 1562. There was an outcry from the church, how could the laws of the bible and the will of God be upheld? The poet Mikołaj Rej gave the church the Szlatcha's reply when he wrote that if God was offended, God would punish.

Further Reading:

Chorzempa, Rosemary A. Polish Roots : Korzenie Polskie. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub., 1993. Print.

Davies, Norman. God's Playground: A History of Poland: In Two Volumes. New York: Columbia UP, 2005. Print.

Hewett, Phillip. Racovia: An Early Liberal Religious Community. Providence, RI: Blackstone Editions, 2004. Print.

Zamoyski, Adam. Poland: A History. New York: Hippocrene, 2012. Print.

Wandycz, Piotr Stefan. The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.

Zamoyski, Adam. The Polish Way: A Thousand-year History of the Poles and Their Culture. New York: Hippocrene, 1994. Print.