Stanislaus Hosius and the Proposed National Church of Poland

Abstract

The role Bishop Stanislaus Hosius played in the debate over the creation of a national church in Poland-Lithuania during the reign of Zygmunt August has not been adequately studied. This dissertation addresses this lacuna. Using Hosius’s letters and theological works, as well as the letters of the papal nuncios, it is possible to describe Hosius’s role. It is clear that in 1555, at the urging of the sejm, King Zygmunt August agreed to call a national council to debate the creation of a national church. Hosius undertook a concerted campaign through his letters and theological writings to convince the king to abandon this project. By cooperating with other bishops in Poland-Lithuania, apostolic nuncio Aloysius Lippomano, courtiers, and Queen Catherine Habsburg, Hosius succeeded in changing the king’s mind. Hosius played a critical role in the debate over a national church. Without him, the history of Christianity in Poland-Lithuania would have been very different.