Description
Book SynopsisCalvinism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1548–1648 offers an in-depth history of the Reformed Churches in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in their first hundred years. Kazimierz Bem analyses church polity, liturgy, the practices of Calvinist church discipline and piety, and the reasons for conversion to and from Calvinism in all strata of the society. Drawing on extensive research in primary sources, Bem challenges the dominant narrative of Protestant decline after 1570 and argues for a continued flourishing of Calvinism in the Commonwealth until the 1630s.
Trade Review"This handsome volume is a pleasure to handle (---) The attractive presentation is enhanced by the clarity of the work’s structure. (---) [Bem's] unconcealed sympathies and convictions have not hindered him from writing the first modern historical synthesis in any language of Calvinism, broadly understood, in the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It can be recommended to all scholars and advanced students interested in the history of the Reformation in Europe." - prof. Wioletta Pawlikowska Butterwick, Journal of Ecclesiastical History "This is the first scholarly monograph of the Reformed Churches in Poland-Lithuania in the period of the Reformation’s growth down through the beginning of its decline. (...) It is also a merit of the book to have drawn our attention to the manifold roles women played in Reformed congregations of the Commonwealth." - prof. Waldemar Kowalski, Religious Studies Review
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Name and Place Conventions Timeline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Maps and Illustrations PART 1 The Commonwealth in the Age of the Reformation 1 Introduction 2 The Land of Many Sects 2.1 The People and Their Religions 2.2 The Territories and Their Governance 2.3 The Reformation in Poland and Lithuania before 1548 PART 2 The Reformed Churches 3 Church Polity 3.1 The Early Years: 1548–1595 3.2 Growing Together: 1595–1630s 3.3 The 1634 Wlodawa General Convocation and Its Aftermath 4 The Liturgy 4.1 The Early Years 1550–1595 4.2 Krainski’s Forma of 1599 and the 1601 Agenda in Lesser Poland 4.3 Liturgical Developments in the Greater Poland Brethren Churches 4.4 Reformed Liturgy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1550–1621 4.5 Toward a Unified Reformed Liturgy in Poland and Lithuania 5 Church Discipline 5.1 Theological Background of Reformed Church Discipline before 1634 5.2 The Practice of Reformed Church Discipline before 1634 5.3 Reformed Church Discipline after the 1634 Wlodawa Convocation 6 The Ministry 7 Patterns of Piety PART 3 The Reformed Faithful 8 The Nobles Convert 9 A Few Sheep Are Better than a Herd of Pigs 10 Calvinists in Royal Towns 11 Calvinist Fishing in Lutheran Waters 12 “Most Fanatical Champions of Their Perfidious Dogmas”— Women and Calvinism in the Commonwealth 13 The Ambiguity of Numbers 14 Conclusion Bibliography Index
