Warsaw Confederation
The Warsaw Confederation, signed on 28 January 1573 by the Polish national assembly (sejm konwokacyjny) in
It was an important development in the
Though it did not prevent all conflict based on religion, it did make the Commonwealth a much safer and more tolerant place than most of contemporaneous Europe, especially during the subsequent Thirty Years' War.[2]
History
Following the childless death of the last king of the
In January the nobles signed a document in which representatives of all the major religions pledged each other mutual support and tolerance. A new political system was arising, aided by the confederation which contributed to its stability. Religious tolerance was an important factor in a multiethnic and multi-religious state, as the territories of the Commonwealth were inhabited by many generations of people from different ethnic backgrounds (Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenian, Germans and Jews) and of different denominations (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish and even Muslim). "This country became what Cardinal Hozjusz called "a place of shelter for heretics". It was a place where the most radical religious sects, trying to escape persecution in other countries of the Christian world, sought refuge.[4]
This act was not imposed by a government or by consequences of war, but rather resulted from the actions of members of Polish-Lithuanian society. It was also influenced by the 1572 French
The people most involved in preparing the articles were
The articles of the Warsaw Confederation were later incorporated into the
Importance
Late-16th-century Poland stood between the Orthodox
There is debate as to whether
In 2003, the text of the Warsaw Confederation was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme.[4]
Quotes
Certainly, the wording and substance of the declaration of the Confederation of Warsaw of 28 January 1573 were extraordinary with regards to prevailing conditions elsewhere in Europe; and they governed the principles of religious life in the Republic for over two hundred years.
— Norman Davies[6]
See also
References
- ^ Stone, Daniel, The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386–1795, Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2001.
- ^ Adam Zamojski, "The Polish Way", New York, Hippocrene Books, 1987.
- ^ "THE WARSAW CONFEDERATION (1573). THE 449TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WARSAW CONFEDERATION". Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ a b "The Confederation of Warsaw of 28th of January 1573: Religious tolerance guaranteed | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization".
- ^ "WARSAW CONFEDERATION: TOLERANCE IN THE NAME OF CIVIL LIBERTIES". 14 February 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ Norman Davies, The Origins to 1795, vol. 1, God's Playground (New York: Columbia University, 2005), 126.
Sources
Further reading
- Ole-Peter Grell, Robert W. Scribner (eds.), Tolerance and Intolerance in the European Reformation, Cambridge University Press, 2002,
- A. Jobert, La tolerance religieuse en Pologne au XVIc siecle, Studi di onore di Ettore Lo Gato Giovanni Maver, Firenze 1962, pp. 337–343,
- ISBN 0-19-925340-4
- M. Korolko, J. Tazbir, Konfederacja warszawska 1573 roku wielka karta polskiej tolerancji, Warszawa Instytut Wydawniczy PAX 1980.
- G. Schramm, Der Polnische Adel und die Reformation, Wiesbaden 1965.
External links
- Photo
- Original text in Polish Archived 2005-02-05 at the Wayback Machine Same here
- (in Polish) DWA BEZKRÓLEWIA — KONFEDERACJA WARSZAWSKA Archived 2007-02-18 at the Wayback Machine by ks. dr Tadeusz Wojak