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Unitarianism in Poland the Corn Poppy

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Unitarianism in Poland the Corn Poppy The Garden of Unitarian*Universalism Unit 4: Poland Unitarianism in Poland The Corn Poppy The Garden of Unitarian*Universalism (12/2005) by Melinda Sayavedra and Marilyn Walker may not be published or used in any sort of profit-making manner. It is solely for the use of individuals and congregations to learn about international Unitarians and Universalists. Copies of the material may be made for educational use or for use in worship. The entire curriculum may be viewed and downloaded by going to http://www.icuu.net/resources/curriculum.html This project is funded in part by the Fund for Unitarian Universalism. Every effort has been made to properly acknowledge and reference sources and to trace owners of copyrighted material. We regret any omission and will, upon written notice, make the necessary correction(s) in subsequent editions. * The asterisk used in this curriculum in Unitarian*Universalism stands for “and/or” to include Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian Universalist groups that are part of our international movement. The flower shape of the asterisk helps remind us that we are part of an ever-changing garden. Poland p. 2 Unitarianism in Poland: The Corn Poppy Table of Contents for Unit 4 Preparing for this Unit p. 3 Session 1: History and Context Preparing for Session 1 p. 4 Facilitating Session 1 p. 4 Handout: Blowing in the Wind: Seeds of Unitarianism in Poland p. 5-8 (with pre- and post-reading activities) Session 2: Beliefs and Practices Preparing for Session 2 p. 9 Facilitating Session 2 p. 9-10 Handout: A Truth-Seeking Tradition p. 11-12 (with pre- and post-reading activities) Session 3: Small Group Worship Preparing for Session 3 p. 13 Facilitating Session 3 p. 13 Handout: Small Group Worship - Poland p. 14 Harvesting: Additional Activities p. 15 The Tool Shed: References and Resources p. 16 Please note that if you are accessing The Garden of Unitarian*Universalism from the Internet, the Small Group Worship Order of Service is a separate document and must be downloaded separately, http://www.icuu.net/resources/curriculum.html. Poland p. 3 Unitarianism in Poland: Preparing for this Unit This unit is divided into three sessions. Session 1 covers the history and context of Unitarianism in Poland. Session 2 covers the beliefs and practices of Polish Unitarians. Session 3 is a Small Group Worship service in a covenant group format in honor of Polish Unitarians. Facilitators should look over the entire unit to be prepared and comfortable with the material and the flow of the unit, and to decide which session(s) or parts of a session to cover, which activities to do, and how long to spend on each part. For each session, facilitators should make copies of the readings and accompanying questions and hand them out in advance of the meeting time, or ask group members to access the material online at http://www.icuu.net/resources/curriculum.html. This gives participants time to read and reflect on the material before sharing with the group. The group or facilitator may choose one or more activities from the list of activities under Harvesting (p. 15) to do after discussing the readings. These activities have been designed to honor other ways of learning, to create informal ways to make connections with one another and to add variety to the group meetings. Some groups may prefer to cover more than one session at a group meeting, depending on the time frame, how the class is set up (whether it is a weekly class, a workshop or a retreat), and the interests of the group. Some groups may prefer not to do the additional activities and just do the readings and accompanying questions for reflection and discussion. We have tried to allow for flexibility. Poland p.4 History and Context Unitarianism in Poland I. HISTORY AND CONTEXT Preparing for Session 1 ___ Make copies and hand out in advance the article, Blowing in the Wind: Seeds of Unitarianism in Poland (p. 5-8) and accompanying pre- and post-reading questions, or have members read the material online at http://www.icuu.net/resources/curriculum.html. ___ Make copies and hand out The Tool Shed: References and Resources (p. 16) in advance. ___ Choose, or have the group chose, in advance, an Additional Activity from Harvesting (p. 15) to do after your discussion. Prepare materials needed for the chosen activity. ___ Invite members to bring items from Poland to display. ___ Arrive early to set up your room. ___ Set up a chalice. Have matches handy. ___ Bring a map or globe on which you can locate Poland. ___ Display a Corn poppy/Shirley poppy (or other type of poppy) and/or a photo of poppies. ___ Have Polish folk music or music by a Polish composer such as Frédéric Chopin playing in the background. ___ Make copies of handouts for the next session you plan to cover. ___ Look over the instructions for facilitating the session to be prepared and comfortable with the material and the flow of the session. Facilitating Session 1 1. Welcome participants and invite those with items to display to put them out on a table, perhaps next to the chalice. 2. Chalice lighting: Marvelous Truth, confront us at every turn, in every guise. – Denise Levertov 3. Check-In/Announcements: Give everyone in the room an opportunity to tell their names and a high or low point of their week. Make announcements about today’s session and upcoming sessions as needed. Choose an additional activity from Harvesting (p. 15) for next time, if appropriate. Distribute handouts for the next session you plan to cover. 4. Locate Poland on a map or globe. 5. Allow members to quickly and silently reread the articles and look over their notes. 6. Ask members to share their understanding of the concept of the Trinity (Tilling, p. 5). 7. Ask members to share three statements they would include in a personal statement of religious beliefs and conduct (Hoeing, p. 8). 8. Ask members to share other ideas and questions they had from the article. 9. When discussion has wound down, extinguish the chalice: May our hearts be nourished with true friendship and our souls fed with truth. - Anonymous 10. Gather for your Additional Activity from Harvesting (p. 15): cooking, illustrating your theology, reading and preparing a drama based on the life of a famous Polish Unitarian, listening to the travel experiences of others – whatever you and your group have chosen to do. Poland p.5 History and Context The Corn Poppy: Unitarianism in Poland Handout: Blowing in the Wind: the Seeds of Unitarianism in Poland Tilling What is your understanding of the concept of the Trinity? Planting Now read the article on the history and context of Unitarianism in Poland. We also strongly recommend Charles Howe’s book For Faith and Freedom: A Short History of Unitarianism in Europe for more details. (See references, p. 16). Blowing in the Wind: the Seeds of Unitarianism in Poland Bright red corn poppies grow wild all over Poland and, in fact, all over central and western Europe. Their seeds, carried by the wind, germinate, grow and blossom in all types of soil – good and poor. The same can be said of the seeds of freedom, reason and tolerance in matters of faith that blew into Poland and from there, spread throughout Europe. The first such recorded “seed” landed on Polish soil in 1546 in the capitol of Kraków. There, a group of Catholic Humanist theologians met in private homes to discuss ways to reform the Catholic Church. At one meeting, a non-Catholic guest from Holland, curious about the idea of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost asked, “Have you here three gods?” The evening was spent discussing the question. The seed of free inquiry began to germinate in the mind of Francisco Lismanino, a prominent leader of the Catholic Church, who after that evening, left Catholicism “to help lead the liberal anti-trinitarian wing of the Polish Reformation from which Socinianism was to emerge” (Howe, 1997). A decade later in 1556, a man by the name of Peter Gonesius from Lithuania, stated his anti- trinitarian views at a joint assembly of Polish Calvinists and Bohemian Brethren using scripture to support his views. Although members of the assembly were upset by Gonesius, and he was not accepted into the Bohemian Brethren as he had hoped, seven of the sixteen ministers and several of the laypeople present were influenced by his reasoned arguments and later became anti- trinitarian. Gonesius returned to Lithuania and was made pastor of a liberal Reformed congregation. Seeds were spreading and germinating. Unitarian historian Charles Howe describes the political, social and religious situation in Poland as “extremely complex during these times,” but one that was “favorable to the propagation of unorthodox religious views” (Howe, 1997). It was in this climate in 1558 that several well-known Italian anti-trinitarians including Laelius Socinus arrived in Poland. Socinus was a questioning, thinking man deeply concerned with “formulating a sound, personal theology for himself” and he had a profound impact on what was to become Unitarianism in Poland (Howe, 1997). He built a belief system that gave equal weight to reason and scripture. After his Poland p.6 History and Context death, his nephew, Faustus Socinus, took possession of his books and manuscripts. These writings influenced Faustus who later became the acknowledged leader of the anti-trinitarian movement in Poland. So it is that Laelius Socinus is considered the father of Polish Socinianism from which Unitarianism developed (although they identified themselves as “the brethren in Poland and Lithuania who have rejected the Trinity,” later the Minor Reform Church of Poland, still later the Polish Brethren).
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