The Orthodox Confraternities of Central and Eastern Europe from the 16Th to the 18Th Century

Home , Culture of Poland

Chapter 13 At the Crossroads of Cultures: The Orthodox Confraternities of Central and Eastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th Century

Dominika Burdzy

1 Introduction

The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which in 1569 became the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth, stood at the crossroads of two great civilisations: Western (Latin) and Eastern (Byzantine). The line that divided the Slavs into Catholic (Latin) and Orthodox (Greco-Russian), as well as Europe into its West- ern and Eastern spheres, cut exactly across the territories of the Polish state. As a result, Poland was under the influence of Western Europe, yet remained in close contact with neighbouring Eastern European countries.1 For many years, these different cultures and religions combined with active trade relations to strengthen and enrich the native culture of Poland with both western and eastern elements. Poland was thus an exceptional area where the paths of the con- tinent’s civilisations crossed, intertwined, and separated.2 This combination of cultures is evident in the wealth of confraternities active in the region. This article will survey the origins, characteristics, and activities of Ortho- dox confraternities in Poland. Like their Catholic counterparts, Orthodox confraternities gathered the faithful from different social strata, but, as we will see, they were not large-scale organisations and brought together only the most active parts of society. They are also peculiar to Poland and seem not to have developed in other countries with Orthodox populations. One reason for this may well be found in the tolerant religious policy of Polish kings and the pen- etration of Protestant and Catholic patterns of religious renewal into these

1 In order to simplify the matter for the reader, I will sometimes refer to the Crown of the King- dom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as Poland. 2 Aleksander W. Mikołajczak, “Między Latinitas i Cyrillianitas—na rozdrożu europejskiej tożsamości” [“Between Latinitas and Cyrillianitas—at the Crossroads of European Identi- ty”], in Kultura wobec kręgów tożsamości [The Culture to the Circles of Identity], (eds.) Teresa Kostyrko, Tadeusz Zgółka, (Poznan: 2000), 203–214; Jan Stradomski, Spory o “wiarę grecką” w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej [Disputes Over the “Greek Faith” in the Former Rzeczpospolita], (Krakow: 2003), 11.

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areas. The split in the Orthodox Church that led to the appearance of the Uni- ate Church (1596) intensified the development of Orthodox confraternities and involved them in political activity. As a result, Orthodox confraternities contributed significantly to the development of education and printing, as well as to the establishment of the first Orthodox university in Ukraine, the Mo- hyla Academy in Kiev. Orthodox confraternities regulated themselves in line with their own statutes, which were democratic in nature, as all members were treated equally regardless of differences in wealth and position. They admin- istered their own property and contributed to charitable works in the community, such as managing hospitals. They also undertook initiatives aimed at reforming the Orthodox Church from the bottom up and motivating the faithful. In those dioceses that joined the union with the Catholic Church, no Orthodox confraternities were abolished but continued to function as Uniate confraternities—though now limited to strictly religious and social activities, very much as their Catholic counterparts were.

2 The Orthodox Community in Poland

The incorporation of Red Ruthenia and its indigenous Orthodox population, remnants of the great Byzantine Empire, into the Polish state in 1349 led to a complete transformation in the ethno-religious structure of the country, but also to the peaceful coexistence of the two great branches of Christianity with- in one state.3 The number of Orthodox faithful increased even more when the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united as a dual state under a single monarch (1385). In the second half of the 14th century, Orthodox Ruthenians constituted 80% of the population of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania while the ruling Lithuanians accounted for only 20%. Over time, the privileged position of the Catholic Church in the Polish-Lithuanian state led to a decline of Orthodox culture and religion, which lost their domi- nant position and the Orthodox community became a tolerated minority.4 Polish rulers, in particular King Casimir the Great, the last of the Piast dy- nasty, and the Jagiellonian rulers that followed him, were aware of the fact that only by supporting the Orthodox faithful would they safeguard their power in the multi-religion state. In return for royal support, the Orthodox population

3 Ruthenia (Rus) and the Ruthenians should not be confused with Russia and the Russians. 4 Juliusz Bardach, O Rzeczpospolitą Obojga Narodów. Dzieje związku Polski z Litwą do schyłku xviii w. [For the Commonwealth of Both Nations. History of Poland’s Union with Lithuania Until the end of the Eighteenth Century], (Warsaw: 1998), 4–5.