Jan Paweł Woronicz

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Jan Paweł Woronicz

Jan Paweł Woronicz (German Johann Paul Woronicz [vɔ'rɔnitʃ]; * probably on June 28, 1757 in Tajkury or Brodów near Ostróg in Volhynia ; † December 7, 1829 in Vienna ) was a Catholic clergyman in the Kingdom of Poland, Jesuit, preacher , Bishop, poet and politician.

Life

Childhood and family

The place and exact date of his birth are not known because the documents about it did not survive the turmoil of the time. Tajkury, where his father's castle is located, is generally accepted as the place of birth. In addition to June 28, 1757, the sources also give July 6, 1757 as his date of birth, which, however, should be his date of baptism.

Jan Woronicz was a son of the noble Peter Woronicz from his marriage to Magdalena geb. Jackowska from the Kmita house, one of the oldest families in Poland . Jan attended the Jesuit school in Ostróg. His poetic talent showed himself early on in impromptu verse for various occasions. He wrote his first idylls . The Jesuits also introduced him to the spiritual calling.

Education

While still in Ostróg, he joined the Jesuit order on September 5, 1770, where he completed a two-year novitiate and then a year-long study of rhetoric. However, since the order was dissolved in 1773, he continued his priestly training later (1783–84) in the traditional way at the Holy Cross Seminary in Warsaw . This was led by the Order of Missionaries (Latin: Congregatio Missionis), who had accepted him after his order was dissolved. Woronicz was ordained a deacon on May 20, 1784 and a priest on June 5, 1784. He then studied law at the Academy in Vilnius . There he acquired the title "Doctor of Both Rights", d. H. Doctor of secular and ecclesiastical law.

Offices and activity

In Poland-Lithuania

In 1777 he worked as an elementary teacher at the same school he had attended as a student. After the dissolution of the order, he came to the Missionaries' Monastery in Warsaw for almost four years. During this time he was often used as a pastor in the dioceses of Chełm and Kiev . On these business trips he met influential people, which promoted his career. From 1781 he stayed in Warsaw and Osieck with Pastor Jędrzej Reptowski (Pastor in Osieck, Canon in Posen ). So he learned u. a. know the Bishop of Poznan and Warsaw Antoni Okęcki and Bishop Matthias Garnysz, who was Bishop of Chełm and Vice-Chancellor of the Crown. The first got him three months before his ordination (on June 5, 1784) the infulfilled provosty of Liwa, while with the second he got into the immediate vicinity of the King of Poland Stanislaus August Poniatowski . He became aware of Woronicz at the latest when he worked in the Commission for Religious Affairs during the four-year Sejm (1788–1792) and published witty political pamphlets. He also wrote speeches for Bishops Kasper Cieciszowski and Matthias Garnysz. In 1784 Woronicz was appointed cathedral chapter of Kiev . In 1791 the new Bishop of Chelm had appointed him auditor of his curia . In 1794 he became canon there. During the Kościuszko uprising he worked in the "Regulatory Commission of the Duchy of Masovia ". On March 12, 1795, he became cathedral chapter in Warsaw and in November 1797 in Wroclaw .

In the Duchy of Warsaw

In 1800 JP Woronicz joined as a founding member of the " Society of Friends of Science " (Polish: Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk ). But in the same year he temporarily withdrew from the church hierarchy and active political life in order to settle as a pastor in Kazimierz Dolny . There he got in touch with the magnate family Czartoryski , who resided in nearby Puławy . At that time he wrote his most famous poem "The Sybille", which he dedicated to Princess Izabela Czartoryska . This is where "The Diet of Wislica" was created.

The Napoleonic era had torn him out of his self-chosen exile in Kazimierz, where he worked through his grief over the decline and division of Poland in his own way. In 1803 he was transferred to the parish in Powsin (near Warsaw ) in order not to be in the middle of the capital city, but to keep his hand on the pulse. He officially held this pastoral office until 1815. There he had the rectory decorated with frescoes and pictures and a large orchard full of national symbols and a grotto. Here he wrote his "Hymn to God" in 1805. In 1810 he initiated the establishment of a school and the social center. During the Duchy of Warsaw , he was a member of the War and Administration Chamber (Polish: Izba Wojenno-Administracyjna ) in 1806 and a member of the Council of State (Polish: Rada Stanu ) since 1808 . In 1810 he became a member of the "Section for Internal Affairs and Religious Cults". In 1812 he joined the General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Konfederacja Generalna Królestwa Polskiego ), which unsuccessfully demanded the formal restoration of the Kingdom of Poland on its former territories now controlled by Napoleonic armies. After the withdrawal of Napoleon and in view of the occupation of the Grand Duchy by Russia , the General Confederation was officially dissolved on April 30, 1813. After the death of the Minister of War (and de facto head of state) Prince Poniatowski in the Battle of Leipzig and Napoleon's banishment, the dreams of Poland's resurrection were broken, but not forgotten.

In Congress Poland

As a result of the Congress of Vienna , a so-called Kingdom of Poland (so-called Kongresówka ) was created, which consisted of a large part of the areas of the Napoleonic satellite state Duchy of Warsaw (except for the Grand Duchy of Poznan and the Republic of Krakow ) and was added to Russia . Congress Poland was largely autonomous internally, but was in personal union with Russia. As an enlightened monarch and avowed Pan-Slavist, Tsar Alexander I valued like-minded clergymen. So Woronicz was appointed by him in 1815 Bishop of Cracow and Senator of the Kingdom of Poland. After twelve years in Krakow , where he made a name for himself as a patron of the arts, he became Archbishop of Warsaw , Metropolitan and Primate of the Kingdom of Poland in 1827 . In 1828 he became a member of the "Parliamentary Tribunal" (Polish: Sąd Sejmowy ), which should try enemies of the state. As a primate of Poland, he led the coronation ceremony of Tsar Nicholas I on May 24, 1829 as King of Poland at the Royal Castle in Warsaw . The emperor , however, put the crown on himself.

As his old age asserted itself and an older ailment was becoming more and more serious, his doctors sent him to the Bohemian baths for a cure, which he left unhealed to seek advice from the Viennese doctors. Via Regensburg he drove to Vienna, where he died on the night of December 7, 1829. His body was brought to Krakow and buried there in Wawel Cathedral on January 7, 1830. His funeral turned into a major national demonstration.

Create

As a poet standing on the threshold from classicism to romanticism , he wrote idylls, songs and occasional poems and used patriotic-inspired subjects from Polish history in his epics. His work can be regarded as a link between the literature of the Polish aristocratic republic dealing with ancient motifs and the Polish messianism of the 19th century, when Poland disappeared from the maps. As a clergyman and writer, he stands in the tradition of the Jesuits. He was undisputedly the best speaker and preacher since Piotr Skarga (1536–1612) in Poland of his time.

Works (selection)

  • Wiersz na pokoje nowe w zamku krolewskim (1786), German: poem about the new rooms in the royal palace
  • Zjawienie Emilki (1796/97), German: The Appearance of Emilia ( Idyll )
  • Świątynia Sybilli (1801), German: The Sybille (poem)
  • Rozprawy o pieśniach narodowych ... (1803, 1806, 1810), German: Treatises on folk songs
  • Assarmot (1805, elegy )
  • Hymn do Boga (1805), German: Hymn to God
  • Kazanie przy uroczystym poświęceniu orłów i chorągwi ... (1807), German: Sermon for the consecration of eagles and flags ...
  • Przemowa przy spuszczeniu do grobu zwłok księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego ... w Warszawie (1817), German: Address for the funeral of Prince Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw
  • Przemowa przy złożeniu do grobu śmiertelnych zwłoków ... Tadeusza Kościuszki ... (1818), German: Address for the funeral of Tadeusz Kościuszko
  • Pisma ... wierszem i prozą t. 1–5 (1825), German: writings in verse and prose

Awards and honors

  • Tsar Alexander I awarded him the Order of St. Stanislaus 1st Class in 1816.
  • In 1829 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle by Tsar Nicholas I.

After him u. a. named the street in Warsaw-Mokotów, where the Polish state television TVP is based.

Critical appraisal

JP Woronicz's assessment includes his work as a priest, as a poet and as a politician.

As a priest, he is generally recognized as having performed his duties in an exemplary manner, although, according to the custom at the time, he benefited from many titular offices ( benefices ). He was neither power-obsessed nor criticized his morals. His sermons and speeches captivated his listeners and offered them meaning in a difficult time. He made a significant contribution to the fact that Poland, despite the loss of its statehood, was able to maintain its identity and to be able to re-emerge after the First World War . His high expenditure on art was less for empty pomp than for a reminder of national virtues and the glorious history of Poland . Unfortunately, almost none of the works he commissioned have survived. As Bishop of Krakow he set up a public museum in his bishop's palace, which he filled with many national shrines and memorabilia.

As a poet, he met the taste of his contemporaries, but remains time-bound by today's standards. Despite his masterly handling of the Polish language, not all of his works were original. Its language differs considerably from today's Polish, which makes reception difficult. Above all, we miss puns and allusions that were familiar to his contemporaries. Knowledge of national myths as well as the details of history is necessary for the images to develop their power. He often resorts to Christian-religious motifs. In this way he gave the Poles the feeling of being in a kind of alliance with God. God will use Poland for special tasks, but also punish it for misdeeds and sins. The partition of Poland is a punishment for the moral decline of the country and the dissolution of the Jesuit order. Congressional Poland, on the other hand, has the task of civilizing Russia.

Only when one is aware of his convictions can one correctly judge his willingness to cooperate with the tsarist regime. Initially, his policy was not without success: Poland initially enjoyed extensive autonomy and the remains of the national heroes Kościuszko and Poniatowski were officially brought into the country. However, his pan-Slavism, as well as his later political work, was very harshly criticized. He believed that only by living a virtuous life and unconditionally turning to God at the side of a strong Russia could the Polish nation regain its sovereignty and old greatness. But Polish patriotism is defined to this day by the antagonism with Russia, which explains Woronicz's disapproval in reborn Poland between the world wars and after 1989. Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, it was even considered a symbol of Polish-Russian friendship. Since he was associated with such content, it is not surprising that in 1969 the Polish state television TVP was set up in “his street” .

literature

Web links

Commons : Jan Paweł Woronicz  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu ( Vilnius Academy and University of the Society of Jesus ) 1578–1795
  2. ↑ Dziennik Konfederacyi Jeneralnej Królestwa Polskiego , 1812, No. 2, p. 13.
  3. ^ Zbigniew Dunin-Wilczyński, Order Św. Stanisława . Warszawa 2006 p. 219.
  4. ↑ Kawalerowie i statuty Orderu Orła Białego 1705-2008 . 2008, p. 291.
personal data
SURNAME Woronicz, Jan Paweł
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woronicz, Jan Pawel; B. K (a.); I. W; J. W (a); Every z synów ojczyzny; Every z synów oyczyzny; Pawęza Woronicz, Jan Paweł; Woronicz, IP; Woronicz, JP; Woronicz, Jan; Woronicz, Jan Paweł Pawęza; Woronicz, Jean; Woronicz, Johann von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish clergyman, bishop, poet and politician
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: June 28, 1757
PLACE OF BIRTH Tajkury
DATE OF DEATH December 7, 1829
Place of death Vienna