Obirek Wizja Kościoła i państwa w kazaniach sk. Piotra Skargi

Piotr Skarga was the leading Jesuit in Poland-Lithuania around 1600. In 1606, he published a catechism for soldiers: Żołnierskie nabożeństwo (The soldier's piety), a book which is commonly said to have been inspired by a catechism by another Jesuit, Antonio Possevino's Il soldato christiano (1569). The aim of this article is to compare the two books and to address the following questions: to what extent and in what way was Possevino's view of soldiers adaptable to Polish-Lithuanian realities? Can we identify a common discourse on soldiers and war in both texts, although they were not written at the same time nor in the same cultural and social context? Or did the strategy of accommodation lead to major differences between the texts, making it difficult to speak of a common Jesuit view on soldiers and war?

2022

In this paper, I would like to venture beyond the predominant historiographical framework of the "monarchical Church" and focus on other areas of episcopal activity, usually omitted from examination, but which were at the core of bishops’ activities — namely, the leadership in Christian worship. I argue that the liturgical manuscripts from the Piast realms, usually overlooked or analyzed outside of their proper societal and political context, shed light on the polyvalent agency of various bishops, including in respect to the Piast rulers. The codices from medieval Poland used during ecclesiastical services, if analyzed properly, tell a different story than that usually encountered in the narratives on the "monarchical Church". This paper, although not examining the foundations on which the "monarchical Church" model was elevated, analyzes medieval Church in the Piast realms from another viewpoint, offering insights into concerns other than those usually present in recent historiography. To unfold this different perspective, I will first describe the significance of the liturgy for episcopal self-conceptualization in the late tenth to early eleventh centuries, including an example of a hierarch active in the Piast realm. Having laid these foundations, I will then move to the extant corpus of Polish manuscripts, offering a reconsideration of selected liturgical codices, which have been misinterpreted in previous scholarship primarily because they were analyzed within the framework of the "monarchical Church". Finally, I will briefly examine hitherto largely unknown pontificals, produced before 1200 and preserved in Poland, that provide insight into the manifold activities of bishops in one of the Central European dioceses but lack developed political liturgy, which would be expected if one subscribes to the "monarchical Church" vision.

Slavonic and East European Review, 2017

Східноєвропейський історичний вісник, 2022

Мета дослідження – аналіз державно-правових процесів, які вплинули на організаційний розвиток Православної Церкви у Великому князівстві Литовському, Руському, Жемайтійському та Короні королівства Польського і як наслідок – на трансформацію суспільства. The purpose of the study is to analyze the state and legal processes that inuenced the organizational development of the Orthodox Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia (Rus’), Samogitia (Žemaitija) and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and as the consequence – transformation of the society.

The Journal of Ecclesiastical History , 2024

These studies of religious literature written and published in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the duchy/kingdom of Prussia from the mid-sixteenth century until the early eighteenth century offer much to specialists. Given the price charged for this handsome hardback volume, sales will doubtless be limited and most readers will download particular chapters via university libraries. The editors have made correspondingly little effort to tie the collection together in the introduction, which slightly exceeds a page in length, and would have been better styled a preface. 'The aim has been not only to confront different types of texts and experiences, but also to situate this heritage in social and confessional context' (p. ), but no such confrontations and contextualisations are attempted in the introduction. The editors declare their 'will to overcome the frontiers and strains of the modern world that push us towards exploring separateness instead of the realities of deep mutual dependency' (p. ), but there is a substantial gap between what is preached and what is practised. This book deals with Catholics of the Latin rite and Protestants of various hues, who wrote in Polish and/or Lithuanian. The crossing of these boundaries is welcome, but the Commonwealth was far more diverse than this, even if its Jews, Muslims and Karaites are implicitly reserved to separate studies. For a brief explanation of the socio-cultural and religious landscape, the reader must turn to Mirosława Hanusiewicz-Lavallee's chapter, which substitutes for an introduction to the volume. No other chapter deals with Eastern Christendom (whether Orthodox, Uniate or Armenian); nor is any attention paid to Courland and Livonia. Moreover, the authors are all affiliated in Vilnius, Warsaw or Lublin; there are no contributions from Ukrainian, Belarusian or Latvian literary scholars, or from further afield. The editors should have acknowledged these limitations, rather than exempting themselves 'to some extent from the obligation of modesty' (p. ). The eleven chapters cover a range of genres, of which poetry and sermons are the best represented. Underpinning them all, however, is the Bible. In most cases, this is the Bible in Polishin Protestant and Catholic translations. However, Gina Kavaliunaite's chapter provides a groundbreaking account of the genesis of the first New Testament to be published in Lithuanianin Königsberg in , dedicated to Frederick I, king in Prussia. A fuller explanation of the situation and significance of the Lithuanian-speaking population in the northern reaches of the duchy (later kingdom) of Prussia (also known as Lithuania minor) would have been welcome. The first translation of the Bible into Lithuanian, undertaken by Samuel Bogusław Chylinśki in mid seventeenthcentury England, was not printed because of disagreements among the leaders of the Lithuanian Reformed Church, while a rival translation of the New Testament was probably lost to fire. Kavaliunaitėreviews the evidence to establish the contributions of the translators and editors. The attempt to produce a text accessible to the speakers of different dialects of Lithuanian was not, however, wholly successful. It was not only Protestant Churches that needed Holy Scripture in Lithuanian: the Jesuits used a copy of this New Testament,

2024

Lucjan Blit's (1904-1978) personality and writings are worth examining because of his biography, his views, his broad prospects (Polish and international), which allowed him to draw objective conclusions about the situation in post-war Poland. Blit described, among other things, state-church relations in Poland (mainly concerning Roman Catholic Church) and the situation in this regard in other countries of the Soviet bloc. Today I'm recalling some of his analyses of the socio-political situation in Poland under the rule of Władysław Gomułka.

Studia Ceranea. Journal of the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe, 2021

One of the by–products of quaint nineteenth–century archival monitoring systems, the ‘grey papers’ where readers are expected to leave a record of their consultation of a manuscript (but do not always do so) is the ability to spy on those who have consulted the material before one.1 Emolument records from the parshes of Maišiagala and Paberžė in the early sixteenth century betray the foraging of one Edmundas Rimša many years ago, presumably on the track of Venclovas Agripa’s prehistory.2 Reading these ancient texts we wonder whether a certain Rimszelis ever repaid Jacko Westortowicz’s wife the 70 groats he owed her husband in 1484, but that is an irrelevant distraction. The aim of this article is to present the early growth of the parish of Paberžė through the actions of its first parish priest, Peter of Karviniškės in order to explore the mechanics of Catholic ecclesiastical foundation in Lithuania before the Reformation through the life of a parish priest.

The Image of Piety in Medieval Manuscripts in Slovakia and in Europe, 2021

The article concerning the example of the town of Svätý Jur presents liturgical life and popular religious piety at the end of the Middle Ages in a context outside the main cities or main religious centres. Back then, this small town had only some hundreds of citizens. It was not the seat of any major Church institutions and it did not reach supraregional significance. Nevertheless, the development of the local parish was positively influenced by the fact that it was one of the main seats of the dynasty of the Counts of Svätý Jur and Pezinok. Their impact was manifested also in the field of liturgy, notably through the foundation of new benefices and the enlargement of church inventory thanks to their donations. Apart from the governing dynasty, parish life was also supported by local bourgeoisie who also contributed to material uplift. This paper is based on preserved written mentions and it analyses single elements of liturgical life (Holy Masses, the Liturgy of the Hours, processions, etc.), by also referring to their musical component, incl. expressions of popular religious piety (mainly in terms of benefices and devises). It shall also describe medieval equipment of church (altars, goldsmith works, relics) according to parts that are preserved still today and also on the basis of mentions reported in archival documents.