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The growing interest on the part of the people in the Reformation, the aggressive character of the movement, and the increasing defections among the clergy created consternation among the Polish bishops. These high church dignitaries began now to feel that it was not safe any more to rely on the lower clergy. The synod of 1547, therefore, charged the bishops not to allow any priest to preach without a special permit from the bishop of the given diocese. Bishops that were careless in observing and enforcing this synodical ruling were to be fined 100 "grzywie?."

It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the Roman See and the Polish clergy were considerably apprehensive of the future of the Catholic Church in Poland, while the Protestants, on the other hand, looked forward with confidence, counting on the support of the young king. Just as soon as the news of the death of the old king reached the Pope, he at once dispatched to Poland a legate in the person of the Abbot Hieronimus Martinengo to carry to the young king his condolences, his congratulations, and his apostolic blessing, and to secure from him assurances of his loyalty to the Church of Rome and of his purpose to follow, in religious matters, in the footsteps of his father. The nuncio arrived in Poland in August, 1548. The king received him cordially, assured him of his respect for the Apostolic See, and advising him not to wait for the meeting of the next Diet, dismissed him.

The Protestants, too, became now very active, preaching their doctrines openly, and holding services on the estates and in the villages of the szlachta. Their forces were strengthened by the arrival in Poland in the summer of 1548 of the Bohemian Brethren. They had been expelled from Bohemia and were on the way to East Prussia, where they were offered the hospitality of Duke Albert. On their arrival in Posen, they were cordially received by the Starosta-General of Great Poland, Andrew G?rka, castellan of Posen. During their stay in Posen they preached publicly, and found many followers. Ordered by the king, at the request of Bishop Id?bie?ski of Posen, to move on, they left; but their brief stay prepared the ground for future work, and established connections which enabled them to return later on.

Scarcely had the bishop of Posen freed the city of the Bohemian Brethren, when he had a new case of heresy to deal with. The prebendary of St. John's, Andrew Pra?mowski, began to preach Calvinistic doctrines from the pulpit of his church. The bishop drove Pra?mowski out of his diocese. However, this did not stop Pra?mowski's activity as a Calvinistic preacher. Finding refuge in Radziej?w, Kuyavia, and protected there by the powerful magnate, Raphael Leszczy?ski, voyvoda of Brzez?? and starosta of Radziej?w, he prepared there the ground for the spread of Calvinism, and laid the foundation for the establishment of the Calvinistic Church in this voyvodship. The same thing was happening in Little Poland, where Lismanini, though now under the ban of the bishop of Cracow, was nevertheless very active, spreading Calvinistic doctrines. Catholic priests one after another began now to leave the Church of Rome, to preach the Reformation doctrines, and to reorganize their churches and the form of worship by doing away with the mass and with pictures and by introducing the cup at communion. Moreover, the aristocracy openly encouraged the spread of Protestantism in their possessions. Calvinistic churches sprang up at Alexandrowice of the Karmi?skis, at Chrz?cice of the Filipowskis, at Pi?cz?w of the Ole?nickis, and at Secynin of the Szafraniec family. Karmi?ski and Filipowski had been members of the secret circle in Cracow, meeting for purposes of discussion of the new ideas.

At the Diet of Piotrk?w, 1547-1548, the szlachta had in the very first article demanded the preaching of the pure word of God without any human or Roman admixtures. All this, however, had been done rather quietly as yet. But now at the very first Diet, called by the new king to meet in Piotrk?w again in 1548, questions of religious reform were brought boldly to the front. The szlachta demanded freedom to speak of God freely in every place, which thing the clergy forbade. But when the issue was raised in the Senate, the king replied that to speak of God was the prerogative of the clergy, and that he would follow them.

To such an extent had the reform movement spread, that it became necessary for the Calvinists of Little Poland to establish a better church organization. In effect they held the first synod in 1550 at Pi?cz?w, in the possessions of Nicholas Ole?nicki, a descendant of the famous Bishop and Cardinal Zbigniew Ole?nicki. Shortly thereafter they appointed Felix Krzy?ak of Szczebrzeszyn as superintendent of the Reformed Churches of Little Poland. At the same time the clergy of the Roman Church were becoming more and more restless. Stanislaus Orzechowski, a canon of the cathedral chapter of Przemy?l and a man of noble rank, came out with denunciations of the evils of the church and with threats of marriage. Immediately a number of priests, Martin of Opoczyn, Martin Krowicki, Valentine, prebendary of Krzczon?w, and others, proceeded to take wives unto themselves. In spite of their marriages, some of them still held to their charges, and argued for a married clergy. Leonard S?o?czewski, who had openly criticized the Pope and the clergy while preacher of St. Mary's, Cracow, now bishop of Kamieniec, preached against Peter's primacy, the celibacy of the clergy, and their loose moral lives. Maciejowski, bishop of Cracow, though by no means a supporter of the Reformation, yet favored certain reforms, like the cup at communion and a married clergy. Francis Stankar, professor of Hebrew in the University of Cracow, propounded views of the Trinity which were contrary to those held by the church. When charged with heresy and arrested by the bishop, he escaped with the help of the neighboring szlachta, found refuge at Dubieck in the possessions of the magnate Stanislaus Stadnicki, established a school there with five teachers, and continued to disseminate his ideas.

This state of affairs stirred up the bishops to action. John Dziaduski, bishop of Przemy?l, having previously warned Orzechowski, who had married in spite of the warning, proceeded to try him along with some of the other married priests; but fearing interference from the szlachta, he condemned them in their absence without a hearing. Andrew Zebrzydowski, bishop of Cracow, summoned Conrad Krupka to justice; and when Krupka appeared accompanied by a number of friends, the bishop refused to hear him, and condemned him as a heretic without a trial. Orzechowski being a nobleman, his verdict had to be confirmed by the king before it could be executed. The king confirmed the verdict, and forwarded it to Kmita, starosta of Przemy?l for execution. Orzechowski was to be deprived of honor, his possessions were to be confiscated, and he was to be exiled. But Kmita, knowing the feeling of the szlachta in this matter, would not execute the verdict.

In the ecclesiastical attack on Orzechowski, the szlachta saw an attack upon its own special privileges. When Orzechowski appealed his case to the Diet in 1550, the Diet took it up readily. The matter created such a commotion as to cause the Diet to break up without any results. Instead of taking due warning, the bishops proceeded to exercise their authority in a still more high-handed way. In 1551 the bishop of Przemy?l condemned the magnate Stanislaus Stadnicki for protecting heretics. He did this in Stadnicki's absence, without a trial, and against the protests of Stadnicki's attorney. The Primate of Poland, Dzierzgowski, archbishop of Gnesen, showed his zeal by condemning as heretics Christopher Lasocki and James Ostrorog, two of the most powerful and distinguished magnates of Great Poland. In all these cases the bishops did not fail to declare distinctly that all the property of a condemned heretic was subject to confiscation. The Polish szlachta, regardless of religious affiliation or sympathies, rose almost to a man in most indignant protests against such high-handed usurpation of power on the part of the hierarchy and against such brutal attacks upon their most fundamental rights. At the provincial diets in the fall of that year, at which delegates were chosen to the next Diet, the szlachta voiced their indignation against the clergy, and instructed the chosen deputies to the Diet of 1552 to protest against ecclesiastical jurisdiction and to demand its abolition.

The Diet of 1552 met at Piotrk?w toward the end of January. The Chamber of Deputies elected as its president Raphael Leszczy?ski, starosta of Radziej?w, an avowed Calvinist, who during the mass at the opening of the Diet stood in the church with his head covered. He was the chief spokesman of the injured and aggrieved szlachta. When the Chancellor had finished reading the appeal from the throne to consider problems of defense, Leszczy?ski rose in the name of the Chamber and the szlachta, stating that the Chamber would take no action on any matter until the grievances of the szlachta, arising from the abuse of ecclesiastical jurisdiction were removed. In this attitude the Protestants were supported even by loyal Catholics. In the ensuing debate the bishops were left without any support. The secular senators, among whom were several very influential Protestants, sided with the Chamber of Deputies. The leaders of the opposition to ecclesiastical jurisdiction were: in the Senate, John Tarnowski, castellan of Cracow and grand hetman of Poland, a loyal Catholic; in the Chamber, Raphael Leszczy?ski, starosta of Radziej?w and president of the Chamber, an ardent Calvinist. The struggle resulted in the suspension of ecclesiastical jurisdiction for a year, the szlachta agreeing to pay the customary tithes, the payment of which had in many instances already been stopped.

From 1552 to 1565 the Protestants dominated all the Diets, electing invariably a Protestant as president of the Chamber of Deputies.

The united opposition of the Polish szlachta to the Polish clergy in 1552, the election of an avowed Protestant to the presidency of the Chamber in that year, and the actual, even though temporary, suspension of ecclesiastical jurisdiction,--all this had a most stimulating affect on the religious reform movement in Poland. Felix Krzy?ak and Francis Stankar, who had fled to Great Poland from the persecution of Bishop Zebrzydowski in 1551 and had found protection at Ostrorog in the possessions of Stanislaus and James Ostrorog, returned now to resume their work in Little Poland. For this they were now all the better qualified as a result of their acquaintance with the work of the Bohemian Brethren in Great Poland. They began to hold conferences and synods, thereby stimulating the interest and enthusiasm of the Protestants in the reform movement. The Protestant nobles, having the right of recommending candidates for vacant churches within their possessions, made now direct appointments of men sympathetic with the reform movement. In this way into many of the churches the new form of worship was introduced. At the same time many of the nobles began seriously to question the fundamental right of the clergy to tithes, and stopped payment, even though they had agreed in 1552 to continue this practice. They took these bold steps, believing that the young king was with them. They drew that inference from the king's close intimacy with Lismanini, who was now an avowed Calvinist, and with others equally well known for their heretical sympathies and contacts.

This growing boldness and aggressiveness of the Protestants provoked the clergy to renewed defensive and offensive activity. At the synod of Piotrk?w in 1554 the clergy were seriously inclined toward conciliatory measures, and after a long debate, finally resolved to invite the dissidents and schismatics to the next synod in an effort to reconcile them with the Mother Church. But they did not stop with that. They further resolved to appeal to the Pope for help; they requested the Vatican to send special legates to Poland to assist the Polish clergy in their struggle against the spreading heresy, and since the agreement of 1552 was now expired, they began to make fresh use of their ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The first one to set the example again was the archbishop of Gnesen, Dzierzgowski, and his first condemnatory verdict fell on Stanislaus Lutomirski, who had left the Church of Rome twelve years before by accepting Calvinism. Here was another clergyman of noble rank condemned by an ecclesiastical tribunal as a heretic, and thus deprived of honor, property, and country. The next one to exercise his jurisdiction was the bishop of Posen, Czarnkowski, who rendered verdicts of heresy against several citizens of that city. Dziaduski, bishop of Przemy?l, continued persecuting heretical preachers in his diocese. These episcopal condemnations, however, were of no effect; for the condemned persons always found protection in the possessions of some powerful magnate, in whose territory only his own jurisdiction prevailed. In consequence of this the bishops resorted sometimes to violence in order to execute their verdicts, though not necessarily with more success. Bishop Zebrzydowski of Cracow, for instance, summoned before his episcopal tribunal Martin Krowicki, who having become a Calvinist, married, left the priesthood, and was residing at Pincz?w, in the possessions of Stanislaus Ole?nicki. When Krowicki did not appear, the bishop condemned him without a trial, and planned to seize him by strategy. Krowicki was taken violently, thrown into a wagon, and carried away to the bishop's prison. But when Ole?nicki was informed of what had happened, he set out in pursuit of Krowicki's captors, overtook them, drove them away, and rescued the victim.

While the bishops were vainly prosecuting and persecuting the heretics, the Protestants were steadily strengthening their ranks by perfecting their organization and by effecting a very important union of the Calvinists with the Bohemian Brethren of Great Poland. During his temporary retreat in Great Poland in 1551, caused by Bishop Zebrzydowski's persecution, Felix Krzy?ak, superintendent of the Calvinistic churches of Little Poland, became acquainted with the Bohemian Brethren there, and invited them to unite with the Calvinists of Little Poland. After two preliminary conferences between the representatives of both groups, one held in Little Poland at Chrz?cice, in the possessions of Filipowski, and another in Great Poland at Go?uchow, in the possessions of Raphael Leszczy?ski, a Protestant synod was called together to meet at Ko?minek, near Kalisz, in August, 1555, at which time a union between the two above mentioned bodies was effected. The basis of agreement was that each body retain its separate organization and its form of worship, while both were to work toward gradual uniformity in both respects.

The growth of Protestanism and the development of opposition had made the religious question exceedingly acute, and placed it at the Diet of 1555 in the very forefront of problems calling for immediate settlement. The importance of this question was fully recognized by the king himself, who had placed it among the matters to be discussed. Encouraged by the gains made at the Diet of 1552 and provoked by the high-handed repressive measures employed by the bishops, the Protestants planned to make a still more determined stand at this Diet against ecclesiastical Jurisdiction. At the provincial diets they chose, therefore, some of the most powerful magnates and most ardent Protestants, like Leszczy?ski, Ostrorog, and Marszewski of Great Poland, and Ossoli?ski, Siennicki, and others of Little Poland, as deputies of the Chamber. The bishops, realizing the seriousness of the impending conflict, came out in force, and were ready to make concessions, if need be. The Diet, called for the 22nd of April, 1555, met in first session on the 28th. As could have been expected, the Chamber again chose a Protestant for its president in the person of Nicholas Siennicki. In his speech of welcome to the king on behalf of the Chamber the next day, Siennicki stated the wishes of the szlachta. In brief, they wanted the abolition of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and full religious liberty. A project of adjustment was, therefore, worked out, having the full approval of the king and the secular members of the Senate, providing: that everyone be at liberty to keep at home or at his church such clergymen as preached the pure Word of God; that these be free to follow their own ritual and ceremonies; that those wishing it be allowed to have the communion administered in both kinds; that priests deprived of their benefices have them restored for the length of their lives, whereupon the lords were to be free to choose such priests as they might wish, or, where the former incumbent was already dead, the nobles could do as they pleased; that all episcopal judgments in religious matters against whomsoever issued be declared null and void; that the clergy be free to marry; that all the clergy, whatever their rank, be declared entitled to their former incomes, according to old customs; that blasphemy against the Trinity and the Eucharist as celebrated by the Roman Church, attacks upon the form of worship of that church, and forcible conversions of Catholics be prohibited; and that all these provisions have the approval and guaranty of the king and be made binding until the restoration of universal peace either by a national or a provincial synod.

In accordance with his agreement to call a National Synod together to settle the existing religious differences, the king took steps to secure the Pope's sanction of this move and of several contemplated reforms. He sent Stanislaus Maciejowski, castellan of Sandomir and crown court marshal, to Rome with congratulations to the new Pope, Paul IV, and with the request for his sanction of the following proposed reforms:

The Pope was astonished at the request, and refused to sanction the suggested reforms absolutely. To the fourth point he acceded, but never really intended to keep his promise.

The nature of the proceedings and the decisions of the Diet of 1555 and the proposed religious reforms for which the Polish king asked papal sanction caused the Apostolic See a good deal of concern, and led the Vatican to send at once Louis Alois Lippomano, bishop of Verona, as special legate to Poland. From this time on the Apostolic See kept a special envoy in Poland constantly to watch the course of events. Lippomano was a man without tact, and not at all particular in his choice of means to accomplish his objects. His reputation had preceded him, and his arrival in Poland in October, 1555, stirred up the Protestant element in the population to great indignation. The king received him cordially. But owing to his lack of tact, Lippomano soon lost the king's favor, and won the ill-will even of good Catholics.

To mend matters, the legate started to exert his influence first on those nearest to the king. He wrote a letter to Nicholas Radziwill the Black, palatine, chancellor, and grand marshal of Lithuania, the most powerful magnate in the Grand Duchy, an ardent Calvinist, whose zeal contributed greatly to the spread of Protestantism in Poland as well as in the Grand Duchy. In this letter Lippomano endeavored to win and convert Radziwill to the Church of Rome. Radziwill, however, could not be won back to the Roman Church. He replied, exposing the unfavorable character of the Catholic clergy, and let this correspondence be published. The publication of this correspondence made Lippomano still more unpopular in Poland, and changed completely whatever friendly attitude the king may have had toward him.

Having failed at court, Lippomano turned now to the bishops to arouse their loyalty and to rekindle their zeal. But here, too, he failed to meet with better success. Many of the bishops were ready to capitulate and to negotiate with the szlachta in order to save their bishoprics and their incomes. Some of them, like Drohojowski, bishop of Kuyavia, and Ucha?ski, bishop of Che?m, were actually favorably disposed toward the reform movement. Others, again, like Zebrzydowski, bishop of Cracow, owing to past association with the reformers, were under constant suspicion. The only men among the Polish hierarchy upon whom the nuncio could rely were the Primate of Poland, Dzierzgowski, and the bishop of Warmya, Hosius; and of these two the primate had to be largely discounted as he had neither the learning nor the ability to be of any help in such a difficult situation. The legate had, therefore, no easy sailing to find support for his plans among the Polish bishops, or to keep them from associating with heretics.

Seeing the fruitlessness of his efforts among the bishops, he turned to the lower clergy, visiting churches, holding conferences with the members of the cathedral chapters and the parish priests. Here he met with better response and greater success. He discovered that the lower clergy were both more loyal and more concerned about the real needs of the church and the remedies to correct existing evils.

If the results of the Diet of 1555 made the Apostolic See vigilant as regards Poland, it is not to be wondered at; for such vigilance was imperative. The Protestants were now more active than ever. The Calvinists of Little Poland energetically developed their work in all the churches occupied by them before the Diet of 1555 and acknowledged by the Diet as theirs in the royal cities, particularly Cracow and Posen, and even in the territories of the royal domain wherever Protestants were found. They founded schools at Pi?cz?w, Secynin, and Ko?minek. They were holding frequent synods, and were strengthening and perfecting their internal organization. If the Calvinists of Little Poland were active, so were also the Bohemian Brethren of Great Poland. The number of their followers increased to such an extent that by 1557 a separate senior or superintendent for Great Poland was appointed by the central administrative authority in Moravia. Moreover, to counteract Lippomano's activity, the Polish Protestants invited to Poland two distinguished reformers, Francis Lismanini and John ?aski. Both of these arrived in the country toward the end of 1556. The first, being a foreigner, the Catholics succeeded in having banished from the country by order of the king, though not until after a good deal of effort. The second, however, being a distinguished native, could not be banished. So he stayed, and worked faithfully, though fruitlessly, for a union of the Lutherans with the other two already united Protestant bodies, the Calvinists of Little Poland and the Bohemian Brethren of Great Poland.

When the new Diet, called for November 25, 1556, assembled in Warsaw, the Protestants were well represented in it. They came out in full force to counterbalance the presence and any possible influence of the papal nuncio on the deliberations of the Diet. The king, being in need of money for a war which was threatening with the Knights of the Sword, had to court the favor of the Chamber in order to get it to vote the necessary contributions for the conduct of the war. The pressing problems before the new Diet were, then, those of defense and of religion. According to the rescript of the preceding Diet, the problem of "egzekucji praw," or of the execution of laws, a matter similar to the English "quo warranto," which had come up for consideration at that time and had been postponed until the next Diet, was to be taken up and considered first. However, it was decided to lay this problem aside again until a more opportune time, owing to the more pressing question of adequate finances for the conduct of the coming war. The Chamber was ready to vote the necessary contribution, on condition, however, of a satisfactory settlement of the existing religious differences. Thus the religious question again became the most important, and on its solution depended the success of any program for a proper defense of the country. But no satisfactory solution of the religious problem was in sight. The Chamber, therefore, proposed that, in case a better adjustment of the religious differences was impossible at this time, the decisions of 1555 be continued in force and be more strictly observed. The spiritual lords were most reluctant to give their assent to this proposal. The Chamber, again, threatened that it would not otherwise vote the necessary funds for the conduct of the war. Hence, the king issued an edict, dated January 13, 1557, continuing the religious settlement of 1555 in force during his absence from the country, with the added provision that should anyone in any way violate those decisions, the king would regard such violations as an offense against his person and against his government, would judge the offenders in the king's courts, and would punish them according to law. Thereupon the Chamber voted the needed contribution.

In consequence of this turn of events at the Diet of 1556-1557, the papal legate, Lippomano, immediately left Poland for Rome. There he complained of the lack of religious fervor and zeal on the part of the Polish hierarchy, attributing to their religious indifference the vigorous growth of Protestantism in Poland, and of the king that he was permitting everyone to believe and to worship as he pleased. His complaint of the Polish bishops was not altogether groundless. How little they apparently cared for the spiritual welfare of the church is shown by their attendance at the synod of 1557, which met at Piotrk?w on May 17. Besides the archbishop of Gnesen, there were present two bishops only, Zebrzydowski, bishop of Cracow, and Ucha?ski, bishop of Che?m. The other bishops were represented by their delegates. Moreover, one of the bishops present, Ucha?ski, asked his colleagues to vote at the next Diet for the introduction into the Polish church of communion of both kinds. But the delegates of the cathedral chapters opposed this suggested innovation most decidedly, and turned it down.

Meanwhile the Reformation was making steady progress, not only in the possessions of the szlachta, but also in cities and among government officials. And owing to the fact that Protestants were now found among senators, starostas, royal court officials, and among the king's most intimate friends, punishment of heretics was becoming increasingly more difficult. In Little Poland the Calvinistic churches had become so numerous that for administrative purposes they were divided in 1560 into districts, over which superintendents were appointed both clerical and lay,--clerical, to care for the spiritual welfare of the churches, and lay, for the administration of temporal affairs. At the joint synod of the Calvinists and the Bohemian Brethren at W?odzis?aw, on June 15, 1557, on motion of the distinguished reformer John ?aski, it was decided that steps be taken to effect a union with the Lutherans, such as had previously been effected between the Calvinists of Little Poland and the Bohemian Brethren of Great Poland.

At the Diet of 1558-1559, called at Piotrk?w for November 20, 1558, the Protestants were again in full control, and for president of the Chamber of Deputies they again elected Nicholas Siennicki, who presided over its deliberations in 1555. The foremost problem before the present Diet was "the execution of laws," and, of course, inseparably connected with it was that of religion. Growing out of these, there were the further problems of the exemption from military service of the mayors of ecclesiastical villages, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and the participation of the clergy in royal elections. Bishop Ucha?ski moved in the Senate that problems of religion be set aside until the calling of a national synod, in which both the clergy and the laity would be free to participate. He argued that only such an assembly so composed and gathered for that particular purpose would be able to adjust the troublesome religious differences. The Chamber was willing to set matters of religion aside until a national synod could be called together, but on condition that ecclesiastical jurisdiction, not only in matters of religion, but in all matters, with all cases pending, be suspended. Knowing the seriousness of the situation, yet very reluctant to surrender their jurisdiction, the bishops pledged themselves to use it with utmost care. But the new papal legate, Kamill, bishop of Sutri, refused to countenance any idea of calling a national synod, to which, besides the Roman clergy, the laity and the heretics would be admitted. The Chamber, on the other hand, was equally determined to do away and for good with ecclesiastical jurisdiction in all matters.

Next, in connection with the larger problem of the execution of laws, the Chamber questioned the legality of the exemption from military service of the mayors of ecclesiastical villages. It was found that according to the Code of Casimir the Great the mayors of ecclesiastical villages were required to render military service. The Diets of 1538 and of 1550 confirmed the old law, requiring compliance with its provisions, unless the clergy produced documentary evidence of special privileges of exemption for such cases. The Chamber of 1558, therefore, demanded that the clergy produce the documentary privileges they claimed to possess, but the evidence was not forthcoming.

Thereupon a still more serious question was raised, namely, that concerning the clergy's participation in royal elections. Since the bishops were ever appealing to canonical law rather than to the law of the land, and since they regarded the interests of the Church of Rome and their loyalty to the Pope of greater importance than the interests of the country and their loyalty to the Polish king, the Chamber through its spokesman, Hieronimus Ossoli?ski, a Protestant, argued in the Senate in the king's presence that from such a weighty matter as the election of a Polish king the bishops, whose allegiance is divided, should be excluded.

This proposal capped the climax. It now became fully evident to all that the difficulties had become practically insurmountable, and instead of diminishing they were constantly increasing. The king proposed, therefore, a dissolution of the Diet. His proposal, being acceptable to all parties, was put in effect February 8, 1559.

At this Diet the Protestants had been in indisputable control, and in their struggle with the hierarchy had made considerable advance. They had demanded the abolition of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the appeal to canonical law, not only in questions of religion, but in all other matters. They had proved that mayors of ecclesiastical villages were subject to military service in time of need, and not exempt from it as the clergy claimed. They had raised the question of the right of the bishops, as representatives of a foreign potentate, to participate in the elections of the Polish king.

In the face of the growing strength and aggressiveness of Protestanism, it is interesting to note the policy of the Catholic Church toward the state, toward its own clergy, and toward Protestanism, as that policy is revealed in the decisions of the synod of 1561. The Polish Catholic clergy fully realized by this time the precarious position of the Catholic Church in Poland, and decided upon conciliatory measures. To show the king their loyalty and generosity, they agreed to make a liberal contribution, 60,000 thalers, to the king's treasury for purposes of defense. To win the people back to the Mother Church, they resolved on reforms in the life of the Polish episcopate and the abandonment of the persecution of Protestants. The bishops were urged to live more simply, to give more personal attention to the administration of their dioceses, to establish schools, to assist in the education of the sons of the poorer gentry by providing free maintenance for them at their episcopal courts. To reclaim the Protestants, they resolved now to treat them kindly. Even the Vatican adopted a conciliatory attitude toward the Polish government by immediately confirming the king's appointment to the archbishopric of Gnesen in 1562 of Bishop Ucha?ski, who for years had been a suspected heretic and a persona non grata to the Holy See.

Nevertheless, whenever their incomes were at stake, the Polish bishops were still quick to resort to their ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and to excommunicate those failing to pay their tithes according to the agreement at the Diet of 1555. If the excommunicated person remained under the ban for a year without an effort to have it lifted, his property was to be seized and confiscated. The execution of such episcopal decrees was not easy; for the civil authorities declined to act. And even if there were officials who tried to execute such decrees, they found the task was altogether too difficult to perform. For instance, Lasocki, a well known Arian Protestant, failing to pay his tithes to the cathedral chapter of Cracow, was excommunicated. After a year Chancellor Ocieski, who was at the same time starosta of Cracow, ordered his possessions seized. The Protestant nobility, aroused by this order, came armed, one thousand men strong, to Cracow on May 14, 1561, and refused to allow the seizure of Lasocki's estate.

At the next Diet, assembled in Warsaw toward the end of November, 1563, the clergy made a show of presenting their privileges, exempting the mayors of their villages from military service, with the declaration that they were doing it "ad informationem" and not "ad judicum." The indefiniteness of the documents was apparent. But the Chamber, though predominantly Protestant again with Nicholas Siennicki presiding, was inclined to be conciliatory. It agreed that the clergy should enjoy personal exemption from the so-called "pospolite ruszenie," or general rising in arms, but it did express the feeling that they should share in the burdens of defense by money contributions. After several consultations with the papal legate, the clergy declared their willingness to make a substantial contribution to the country's defense at this time, but could not obligate themselves regarding the future; and that they would do this on condition that the law passed at the last Diet virtually doing away with ecclesiastical jurisdiction be repealed and that the Edict of Warsaw of 1557, which had then been expressly recalled by the king as unconstitutional, be enforced. These reservations and conditions were not acceptable. And when the bishops refused to recede from the position they had taken, the king signed a manifesto, imposing a tax of 20 groszen per ?an, or 20 groats per hide of land, of which 10 groszen were to come from the tithes. This evoked a veritable furor among the bishops. But it was useless. The king was firm; and from now on to the end of his reign whenever a tax was imposed for purposes of defense, the same proportion was to come from the tithes.

The notable victories achieved by the Protestants over the Roman clergy at the last two Diets opened the way wide to the spread of the Reformation. They also encouraged the szlachta to go still farther in their efforts to emancipate themselves from the power of the clergy. With ecclesiastical jurisdiction practically abolished, the szlachta began now to question the legitimacy of tithes. They were led to this by the insistence of the clergy that the tithes be paid, and by continuing to summon before their courts those who failed to do so and even the starostas who, in compliance with the law of the Diet of 1562-1563, refused to execute the verdicts of their courts. When, therefore, the Diet of 1565 assembled at Piotrk?w on January 18, the Chamber under the presidency of Nicholas Siennicki wanted to know the ground on which the szlachta was required to pay the tithes and the purposes for which the clergy were using them. And since the clergy was unwilling to share the burden of the country's defense, the szlachta was disinclined to pay the tithes. The Deputies complained also about the summons served by episcopal courts on the szlachta for non-payment of tithes and on the starostas for refusing to execute episcopal decrees; whereupon the king sanctioned a law making all such summons null and void. This was the last blow administered to the effectiveness of ecclesiastical jurisdiction; and as a result of it the victory of the Protestants was complete.

An idea of the relative strength and influence of Protestantism at this time may be gained from the composition of the Senate in the Diet of 1569, the number of Protestant parishes in the realm, and from a complaint of Peter Skarga, the greatest Jesuit preacher in Poland at the close of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. The total number of senatorial seats in the Diet of 1569 was 133. Of these 70 were occupied by Catholics, 15 of whom were bishops, 58 by Protestant dignitaries, 2 by Greek Orthodox senators, and 3 were vacant. Of the total number of senators the Protestants came close to having one-half, and, exclusive of the Catholic bishops, the Protestants outnumbered the Catholic temporal peers by three. The number of Protestant parishes in Poland toward the close of the 16th century, according to Professor Henry Merczyng's researches and calculations, was about 600, or one-sixth of the total number of Roman Catholic parishes in Poland including Lithuania. The same relative proportion existed between the Protestant and the Catholic szlachta of Poland at this time. That this estimate of Professor Merczyng's of Protestant strength in Poland at this time is very conservative can be seen from Peter Skarga's complaint, made at the close of the 16th century, that two thousand Romanist churches had been converted into Protestant places of worship.

The causes of this remarkable development of the Reformation movement in Poland were not only political, as previous studies have sufficiently established, but also social and economic. To show this is the purpose of the present study.

Walerjan Krasi?ski, Zarys dziej?w Reformacji w Polsce, Warsaw, 1903, vol. i, p. 26; W?. Smole?ski. Dzieje narodu polskiego, Warsaw, 1904, p. 21.

Smole?ski, pp. 30-31; Krasi?ski, vol. i, pp. 29-30.

Krasi?ski, vol. i, p. 31.

Ibid., vol. i, pp. 31-32.

Smole?ski, pp. 41-42.

Krasi?ski, vol. i, p. 34.

Smole?ski, p. 31.

An interesting and detailed account of this incident is given by Stanislaus Smolka in his Szkice historyczne, Warsaw, 1883, pp. 259-281. See also Eugene Starczewski, Mo?now?adztwo polskie, Warsaw, 1914, pp. 114-115.

Krasi?ski, vol. i, pp. 34-36.

Smole?ski, pp. 25-26.

Ibid., p. 31; Krasi?ski, vol. i, p. 30.

Smole?ski, p. 31; Krasi?ski, vol. i, p. 37.

Starczewski, p. 72.

Vincent Zakrzewski, Powstanie i wzrost Ref. w Polsce, Leipzig, 1870, p. 112. When the Roman Inquisition called Ucha?ski to appear before it to give account of himself and to be tried as a heretic, he refused to do so, protesting against being called a heretic before a previous trial .

Zakrzewski, pp. 179-180.

Smole?ski, p. 19.

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