POLAND
192
POLAND
France to Poland, freemasonrj' spread especially in
the higher circles of society, where French literature
had done its work of corruption. Atheism was
preached openly and acknowledged. New palaces
arose while the churches fell into decay; the Theatines
left the countrj' (17S.5); at this time too the Society
of Jesus was suppressed (1773), and its possessions
converted to the use of popular education; a com-
mission on education was created. With the consent
of Pius VI, several church holydays were abolished,
the number of those retained being only seventeen,
besides Sundays. Further attacks on the property of
the bishops, and especially of the richly endowed
orders, followed.
At the first Diet, after the coronation of King Stanislaus Augustus (1764), the Polish Church was represented by two archbishops and fifteen bishops. The external splendour of the Catholic Church in Poland had reached its zenith. But the political dis- turbances and wars, the repeated passage of armies, continued for perhaps a year mthout interruption, the conflict with the dissidents, were extremely disastrous to the Church. After the three partitions (1773, 1793, 179.5), the Government of Russia strove to exlirpate, not only Pohsh nationahty, but also the Cathohc Church. After the insurrection of 1S31, the Uniats were forced into apostasy; convents were suppressed, churches closed. Even harsher measures were adopted after 1S63: by a cabinet order of 1S6-1, the property of the Church was confiscated, the convents still in existence suppressed; in 1867 the clergy were placed under the authority of a commission at St. Petersburg, without any regard to the wishes of the Apostolic See. The liturgical books and devotions of the schismatics were forcibly introduced into the churchesof the Uniats. Peasants who tried to prevent the schismatical popes from entering the churches were simply shot down; the christening of children as Catholics and the solemnization of matrimony in Catholic churches were forbidden. Not until after the war vrith Japan was an edict of toleration pro- claimed in Russia, making it permissible for schis- matics to be reconciled with Rome. The Prussian Government treated the Catholic Poles no better than did the Russian. The Catholic clergy in Prussian Poland was subordinated to the temporal power. The election of bishops, prelates, and superiors of rehgious societies, in view of the extensive right of veto, was made to depend upon the decision of an administra- tive council, which receives the oath of allegiance from the clergy and gives them instructions for the celebra- tion of German national anniversaries. In civil and criminal proceedings, too, the clergy is subject to the civil authorities. The ecclesiastical courts have juris- diction only in matters of a purely religious character; but they have not the right to order temporary or permanent divorce in the case of mixed marriages. The properties of the Catholic clergj- as such were con- fiscated; for the support of the clergj- a part of the income of the confiscated estates and the interest on capital, which belongs to ecclesiastical corporations, but had been lent to private indi\-iduals, was set aside. In addition to this the Government granted the clergy permission to accept payment at a fixed rate for the performance of services attached to their office. In Galieia (Austrian Poland) the patent of toleration of Joseph II, granted in 1781, admitted Protestants, Cal- vinists and schismatics to official positions, secured for them freedom of religious belief, and even the permission, where there were about 100 Protestant families in a community, to build churches, etc. (but without steeples and bells, and with entrances at the side). Although Catholicism was recognized as the dominant religion, the Church was nevertheless sub- ject to the control of the State. Without the placet of the State papal Bulls and pastoral letters were invalid. The Government assumed the supervision
and conduct of seminaries for the training of priests,
and prescribed the character and method of instruc-
tion in theolog}% In 1782 the convents of the con-
templative orders were suppressed, and their property
converted to the fund for religious purposes. At
present, however, the Church is free from state re-
strictions in the Polish pro\'inces; and as a result
Catholicism is here making progress.
IV. The Religious Orders in Poland. — The Augustinian Hermits were introduced into Poland in the second half of the thirteenth century, and at one time had more than thirty-five convents there. At present there remains but one Augustinian convent in all the territory- that was Poland: that at the Church of St. Catherine, Cracow. A convent for nuns of the same order, connected with the same church since the seventeenth centurj', now ser\'es for the training and education of girls.
The Basilians (see Basil, Rule of Saint), perse- cuted by the Greek Iconoclasts, migrated in large num- bers to "the Slavic countries and founded convents and schools. In Poland, particularly, they rendered great ser\-ices in the most varied fields of ecclesiastical activ- ity. From them sprang excellent bishops, archbishops metropohtan, and their order was known as "the order of prelates". From them, too, teachers in the schools, seminaries, and universities were recruited. Many of them became famous in science as well as by their virtuous and self-sacrificing life. The common people held this order in high esteem and gladly fre- quented the devotions in their convents. The Basil- ians devoted themselves to the schools with a zeal that shrank from no sacrifice, expecially after the re- form of 1743. Even.- convent had its elementary school, but tiiey also founded more advanced schools, particularly for students of divinity. Their schools were attended for the most part by the children of the wealthy. In the middle of the eighteenth centurj* it had as many as two hundred convents In the Polish dominions. After the fall of Poland these convents were suppressed in Russia; only eleven of them sur- \-ived in Galieia. The Basihan nuns were established in Eastern Poland. They were suppressed at the same time as the Basilian monks. At present only two con- vents are in existence in Galieia.
The Benedictines began their activity in Poland during the period of the reorganization of Cluny. They were the first missionaries of Poland; whence they came it is impossible to determine, no historical records of the earliest Benedictines in Poland having come down to us. The first historically authenticated houses of the order date from the reign of Boleslaw I Chrobr\' (eleventh centurv-). This ruler, desiring to free the Church in Poland from German influence, in- troduced Benedictines from Italy. The order soon exercised an incalculable influence upon the education of the Poles, as well as strengthening the position taken by the Polish Church within its ovm organiza- tion. With the twelfth centun.-, however, their bene- ficent influence began to decline. Their manifold acti\-ities ceased in the schools, and became confined to the immediate interests of the convents themselves. Among the causes of their decay were the enormous material wealth of the order, the consequent excesses of the lay abbots, and the discord between abbots and subordinates within the order. .\ contributing cause was the arbitrary exemption of abbeys from the super- vision of the abbots-general of Tyniez. Five of the largest abbeys became absolutely independent of one another, both in finance and in internal organization. Prosperity brought tepidity and relaxation of monas- tic discipline. The Benedictines allowed themselves to be outstripped in the social work of the Church by the other religious orders that had been introduced into Poland. Several attempts at reform, undertaken at the beginning of the eighteenth centun,', did not achieve the desired result. The Partition of Poland
