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$Unique_ID{COW02953}
$Pretitle{362}
$Title{Poland
Non-Roman Catholic Churches and Religious Denominations}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Lech Kurpiewski}
$Affiliation{Polish Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{church
polish
poland
muslim
religious
churches
council
world
mosque
catholic}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country: Poland
Book: Update on Poland
Author: Lech Kurpiewski
Affiliation: Polish Embassy, Washington DC
Date: 1990
Non-Roman Catholic Churches and Religious Denominations
There are 40 non-Roman Catholic churches and religious denominations in
Poland. Most of them were oficially recognized only after World War II when
the state implemented the constitutional principles of freedom of conscience
and worship, the separation of religion from the state and its institutions,
and the equality of all faiths and world outlooks. The largest of these
churches has several hundred thousand followers. Most of the remaining ones
have from several thousand to several score thousand faithful, and some have
less than a hundred adherents. The activity of these denominations proves in
practice that the state does not set the limits of citizens' freedom of belief
according to the size of the religious group they belong to. It also shows
that despite the numerical predominance of Catholics, Polish society is
pluralistic from the point of view of both religion and world outlook. Apart
from non-believers, living in Poland are representatives of all main religions
of the contemporary world.
Christian denominations
Among non-Roman Catholic churches and religious associations in Poland,
the most numerous are Christian denominations. There are 31 of them. An
important element of their activities is their participation in the Polish
Ecumenical Council, which is the national counterpart of the World Council of
Churches. Established in 1945, its traditions date back to the famous
Sandomierz Agreement, which was the first ecumenical initiative on Polish
soil.
At present, the following churches belong to the Polish Ecumenical
Council:
- the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church
- the Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession
- the Reformed Lutheran Church
- the Methodist Church
- the Polish Catholic Church
- the Old-Catholic Church of the Mariavites
- the Polish Christian Baptist Church
- the United Evangelical Church
The Polish Ecumenical Council, whose main objective is promoting friendly
relations between all Christians, also engages in public, historic, cultural
and patriotic undertakings, as well as in work for the cause of peace and
international cooperation. It is an example of how mutual tolerance can bring
about joint efforts for common goals, irrespective of differences in
doctrines.
The present Chairman of the Polish Ecumenical Council is superintendent
general the Rev. Adam Kuczma, head of the Methodist Church. He was chosen for
this post by the General Assembly of the Council in December 1986.
The Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw maintains close ties with the
Polish Ecumenical Council. The Academy is a state institution of higher
education which provides instruction to non-Roman Catholic clergy in Poland.
In the academic year 1986/87, it had 158 students - with 105 in the
evangelical section, 18 - in the Old-Catholic and 35 in the Orthodox sections.
The Christian Theological Academy employs 29 academic staff, including 3
professors and 5 assistant professors.
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church
As to the number of faithful, the largest non-Roman Catholic religious
denomination in Poland is the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The
Orthodox faith has been present in Poland since 1371, when the Halicz
Metropolis was formed. During the partitions, when Polish territory fell under
Prussian, Russian and Austrian rule, the Polish Orthodox Church became
subordinate to the Patriarch of Moscow. In 1922 Poles of Orthodox persuasion
undertook efforts to regain autonomy, which in 1948 led the Russian Orthodox
Church to grant them an autocephaly.
In the period between the two World Wars there were four million Orthodox
faithful in Poland. As a result of the territorial changes and migrations
brought about by World War II, this number fell and is now - according to
Church statistics - a little over 850 thousand.
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church is divided into five dioceses:
Warsaw-Bielsko Biala, Bialystok-Gdansk, Lodz-Poznan, Wroclaw-Szczecin and
Przemysl-Nowy Sacz; it has 21 deaneries, 242 parishes and affiliates, 311
churches and chapels and 252 catechetic centers. The Church has one
archbishop, four bishops, 234 priests, nine monks and fifteen nuns. It also
runs its own ecclesiastical seminary with 50 students. The Church publishes
the quarterly Wiadomosci Polskiego Autokefalicznego Kosciola Prawoslawnego
(Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church News) and the monthly Cerkownyj
Wiestnik. The head of the Church is the Metropolitan, Archbishop Bazyli
(Doroszkiewicz). Chief authority is vested in the hands of the National
Council and the Bishops' Council.
There is a whole family of Protestant sects in Poland: the Lutherans,
Calvins, Baptists, Methodists, Adventists, Christian Scientists,
Pentecostalists.
The Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession
In this group, the Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession has the
largest number of followers. It represents a faith which in Poland dates back
to the 16th century Reformation. Polish Evangelists greatly contributed to the
development of our national culture. In this context one can name Samuel
Bogumil Linde - author of the Dictionary of the Polish Language; Herman
Gizewiusz - writer, defender of the Polish tradition and language among the
Mazurian people; Oskar Kolberg - an authority on Polish folklore; general
Julian Konstanty Ordon - defender of the last bastion of resistance during the
1830 November Uprising; generals Juliusz Rommel and Wiktor Thommee -
defenders of Modlin and Warsaw in 1939.
The Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession was vehemently repressed
for its defence of the Polish language and culture during the Nazi occupation;
the then head of the Church consistory, Bishop Juliusz Bursche, was killed in
a Nazi concentration camp.
Today, the Church has some 75 thousand faithful. It is divided into 6
dioceses: of Cieszyn, Katowice, the Mazurian district, the Pomerania and Great
Poland region, Warsaw and Wroclaw. Its 121 parishes and 169 preachers'
stations with 181 churches, 148 chapels and 193 catechetic centers are served
by 90 clergymen and 223 lay employees. The Church publishes a biweekly
entitled Zwiastun (Herald). The highest authority is the Synod, composed of an
executive body and delegates of the clergy and laymen. Executive power is
vested in the hands of the Consistory, presently headed by Bishop Janusz
Narzynski.
The Evangelical Reformed Church
The traditional forms of Protestantism as established by John Calvin and
Urlich Zwingli, are continued by the Evangelical Reformed Church, whose
history dates back to the 16th century. Among its adherents were such famous
Poles as Mikolaj Rej, Jan Laski and Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski. Today the
Church's main centers are Warsaw, Lodz and the Great Poland region. It has
10 parishes, governed by parish assemblies and elected colleges. The places of
worship include 6 churches, 7 chapels and 6 catechetic centers with 5
clergymen and 34 lay workers. The Church publishes the Jednota (One-ness)
monthly. The highest governing body of the Evangelical Reformed Church is the
Synod, composed of clergy and lay delegates, who elect the executive
authorities: the consistory and bishop superintendent - at present Bishop
Zdzislaw Trenda.
The Methodist Church
Methodism, started in 1784 by John Wesley as a reform movement within the
Anglican Church, is represented in Poland by the Methodist Church. The first
Methodists appeared in ou