Expulsion of the socinains from Poland

The enactment alluded to in the body of this work was the decree of banishment, passed against the Polish Socinians, in the reign of John Cassimir. This monarch, at his inauguration, took the following oath, by which he bound himself to defend the religious liberties of Dissenters, and neither oppress, nor permit others to oppress and persecute them, on account of their religion.

"Ego Johannes Cassimirus Electus Polonite Hex, &c. Spondeo ac sancte juro Deo omnipotenti ad hicc Sancta Jesu Christi Evangelia: quod omnia jura, libertates, privilegia publica et privata, tum pacta conventa per oratores meos cum Ordinibus Regni, et Magni Ducatus Lituanise juncta manu tenebo, observabo, custodiam, et adimplebo in omnibus conditionibus, articulis et punctis in eisdem expressis. Pacem quoque et tranquillitatem inter dissidentes de religione Christiana tuebor, et manu tenebo, nee ullo modo Tel jurisdictione nostra, vel officiorum nostrorum et statuum quorumvis auctoritate quenquam affici opprimique causa religionis permittam, nee ipse afficiam, nee opprimam. Et si (quod absit) in aliquibus juramentum violavero, nullum raihi incolsc Regni, omniumque dominiorum uniuscujusque gentis obedientiam prsestare debebunt, imo ipso facto eos ab omni fide et obedientia Regi debita liberos facio, absolutionemque nullam ab hoc meo juvamento i quoquo petam, ncque ultro oblatam suscipiam. Sic me Deus adjuvet, et Sancta Christi Evangelia."

But this weak and bigoted monarch had not been long seated upon the throne, before he was led, by an insane fanaticism, which was fostered and cherished by the influence of the Jesuits, to violate his oath, and prove himself a perjured traitor to the cause, which he had so solemnly sworn to defend. His election took place on the 22nd of November, 1648. Before that time, he had led the life of an Ecclesiastic, and had not only been admitted as a member of the order of Jesuits, but advanced to the dignity of a Cardinal. The Romanists, therefore, expected to find in him a zealous advocate of Catholic ascendancy; and the Jesuits, a warm stickler for the privileges of their order. Nor did he, in the smallest particular, disappoint or frustrate these expectations; but took the earliest possible opportunity of ridding himself of the obligation of his coronation oath. In the hope of recovering Ms throne, after being for a time deprived of it by Charles Oustavus, King of Sweden, he solemnly committed himself to the protection of the Holy Virgin; and at the same time made a vow, that he would redress the grievances of the peasantry, and convert unbelievers. "The first part of this vow," says Count Krasinski, "was not even attempted, the monarch's too limited authority being unequal to the task of doing any thing against the interests of the land-owners, to whom the clergy also belonged. The fulfilment of the vow was therefore restricted to the reduction of the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church. The number of Protestants was still considerable; several influential families of the country, and particularly that of the Radziwills, belonged to them; and they were supported by the interest of foreign princes of their creed, and at that time allied with Poland. Such were the King of Denmark and the Elector of Brandenburg. It was impossible, therefore, to harass them with any general and legal measure of persecution, although the project was entertained by some bigoted Romanists. At the diet of 1658, there was for some time a doubt whether the royal vow should be fulfilled by the expulsion of Jews or Socinians. But as too many interests would have been hurt by the expulsion of a numerous population in whose hands the chief commercial interests of the country were placed, the Socinians were designated the fit objects of the fulfilment of the royal vow; and the Jesuit Karwat, who enjoyed a great influence, instigated the diet of 1658, to shew by deeds, as he termed it, its gratitude to God. The Socinian nuncio, Tobias Szwanski, tried to dissolve the diet by his veto before it had enacted a law against his sect; but this right, which had been put in practice for the first time a few years before (1652), and by the scrupulous observation of which many most salutary measures had been overthrown, was disregarded when employed for the defence of religious liberty. The diet enacted a law, by which it was forbidden, under the severest penalties, to profess or propagate Socinianism in the Polish dominions; and all those who did so, or in any way favoured that profession, were threatened with the immediate punishment of death. There was granted, however, to those who should persevere in that sect, a term of three years for the sale of their property and the recovery of their dues. Perfect security was promised to them during that term, but the exercise of their religion was prohibited, and they were not allowed to take any part in the affairs of the country. This enactment was not based on political considerations, neither did it impute to the Socinians any act of treason, but it was entirely founded on theological grounds, and chiefly on the fact that they did not admit the pre-eternity of Jesus Christ,— a rather odd reason in a country where Jews were tolerated, and Mahometans admitted to all the rights of other citizens. The decree was, moreover, founded on entirely false premises; for it condemned the Socinians by the law against heretics, enacted under the reign of Vladislaw Jaguellon, which in the first place was virtually abrogated by a subsequent enactment, establishing the full liberty of religious exercises; and in the second place, it was absurd to employ a law passed against Hussites, who never impugned the dogma of the Trinity, for the punishment of those who denied it; whilst Protestants, whose tenets were the same as those of the Hussites, were not included in its application." •

The Decree of 1658 was as follows.

"Quamvis sectam Arianam, vel ut eam nonnulli vocant, Anabaptisticam in Dominiis nostris existere, et propagari Lex semper abnuebat; quoniam tamen fatali quodam Reipublicse casu, nominata Secta non a longis temporibus in dominiis nostris tam Regni quam Magni Ducatûs Litunniae dilatari coepit, quae Filio Dei praeaeternitatem adimit; reassumentes et in suo vigore relinquentes contra illos statutum Uladislaï Jagellonis, antecessoris nostri de Haereticis, consensu omnium ordinum constituimus; Quod, si quis ejusmodi inventus fuerit qui sectam hanc Arianam in ditionibus nostris tem Regni quam Magni Ducatus Lituanias, et provinciis eis annexis ausit, attentetve confiteri, propagare, aut praedicare, vel illam et assertores illius protegere et fovere, fueritque super hoc legitime convictus talis quilibet superius nominato statute subjacere debeat, et sine ullâ dilatione per Capitaneos nostros et officia ipsorum capite plecti, sub privatione Capitaneatûs. Fautoribus vero illorum tanquam pro poenâ perduellionis, forum in Tribunali inter causas conservatas mixti fori assignamus ad instantiam cujusvis, sicuti et CapitaneLs eorumque officiis: in Magni autem Ducatûs Lituaniae tribunali ex quovis registro. Volentes tamen clementiam nostram exhibere, si quis talis inventus fuerit, qui hanc sectam suam abnegare nolit, ei annos tres ad divendenda bona sua concedimus, salvâ interim bonorum et domorum securitate, atque debitorum repetitione. Quo tempore nihilominus nulla exercitia sects e suse supra nominate; peragere tenetur, nee ad ulla munia publica immiscere sese poterit, sub poenis superius expressis."

The term of three years, allowed to the Socinians for arranging their affairs, being afterwards thought too great an indulgence, the following Decree was issued by the Diet of 1659, limiting the time of preparation for departure to two years; and peremptorily ordering all, who did not conform to the Roman Catholic religion, to quit the country by the 10th of July, 1660.

"Quoniam Comitiis anni proxime praeteriti 1658, Secta Ariana seu Anabaptistica consensu ordinum a nobis ex ditionibus Regni, eique annexis est proscripta, tresque anni istius sects e hominibus ad divendenda bona fuerunt assignati, nunc vigore prsescntis Constitutionis Comitialis, duos annos a tempore comitiorum proxime prastcritorutu ad divenditionem illis concedimus, ita ut terminus exilii ipsorum praxise incidat in decimum diem Julii mensis Anno proxime Instanti 1660. Quod tamen nocere nequaquam debet iis, qui ad Sanctam Catholicam Romanam Ecclesiam convertsi fuerint."

• Hist. Sketch of the Reformation in Poland, Vol. II. Chap. xv. pp. 395-398.

The time for preparation being thus unexpectedly contracted from three to two years, the Socinians were under the necessity, in many cases, of disposing of their property at a great sacrifice; and as they were not permitted to hold their usual assemblies for religious worship, or to perform any act implying their continued existence as a religious body, the suffering and indignities to which they were exposed became absolutely intolerable. Some of them endeavoured to escape persecution by concealing themselves; and others had friends among the Nobles, who threw over them the shield of their protection. But even these expedients for avoiding persecution were prohibited; and that all might be involved in one common fate, a third Decree was issued in the month of May, 1661, under the pretext of performing an act of gratitude to the God of armies, for the mercies which he had vouchsafed to the nation during the past year, in having enabled them to achieve such signal victories over their enemies, and from a desire, as was alleged, of still further conciliating the divine favour. By this last Decree, of which the following is a copy, and which evinced a refinement of cruelty rarely to be met with, even in the annals of religious persecution, the utmost rigour of the law was ordered to be enforced against all belonging to the proscribed sect, who should remain any longer in the kingdom of Poland, or the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

"Regratificantes Deo exercituum accepta beneficia anni praeteriti, quae nobis per tam insignes de hostibus victorias contulit, et volentes hanc Divinam beneficentiam hâc nostrâ gratitudine ulterùs placare, cùm hostes prseajternitatis filii ejus è Dominiis nostris proscripserimus; sicuti id jam proxime prseteritis Comitiis constitutione anni 1658, cujus hic est titulus: Secta Ariana sen Anabaptistica,et constitutione anni 1659, fecimus: Ita et nunc ne haec Secta Ariana ullo qui excogitari queat moclo, obtecta in ditionibus nostris Regni Poloniae, et Magni Ducatûs Lituaniae remaneat, sed potiùs ut ad exequutionem deducantur legos praedictae, ab omnibus Officiis ac Judiciis requirimus. In Magno autem Ducatu Lituania; talibus actionibus inter causas Compositi Judicii in Tribunali forum assignamus."

The sequel of this melancholy history is thus related by the pen of Count Krasinski. "Nothing remained for them but to leave the country before the expiration of the appointed term, a measure which was accompanied with great hardship, notwithstanding the attempt of several eminent Noblemen to alleviate their sufferings, who, although professed Romanists, were connected by ties of blood and friendship with many Socinians. They dispersed into different parts of Europe, where they expected to find a safe asylum from religious persecution. A great number went to Transylvania and Hungary; but a party of these unfortunate emigrants, composed of three hundred and eighty individuals, was attacked on their way to the last-named country by a band of robbers, sent on purpose, as it is supposed, and completely stripped of their remaining property. They were hospitably received by the Hungarian Noblemen, Stephen Tekely and Francis Raday, who endeavoured with great humanity to allay their misery. Those who arrived in Transylvania found a consolation in the sympathies of their fellow-sectarians, and a safe home where they could live, and freely exercise their religion. The Queen of Poland also permitted many of them to settle in the Silesian principalities of Oppeln and Ratibor, which belonged to her, and some Princes of Silesia did the same. Being dispersed in several parts of that country, they did not form any congregation, and either gradually left it, or became converts to Protestantism. A considerable number of them established a congregation at Manheim, under the protection of the Palatine of the Rhine, which lasted from 1663 to 1666. They soon, however, became suspected of propagating their doctrines, which, considering their known zeal in that respect, was most probably the case, and were obliged to disperse. They withdrew, for the most part, into Holland, where they could enjoy full liberty of religious exercise, and where there were several Socinians, who, together with those of England and Germany, gave considerable sums for the support of their Brethren banished from Poland. We have no information concerning their fortunes in that country, or whether they had a large congregation there. We are, however, inclined to think that such was the case, as they were able to publish, in 1680, at Amsterdam, a New Testament in the Polish language.

"A number of Socinians retired to Prussia, where they met with a hospitable reception from their countryman, Prince Boguslav Radziwill, who was Governor of that province for the Elector of Brandenburg, with whom he was nearly related. They were, however, for some time exposed to several vexations, until the Elector of Brandenburg, on the representation of Samuel Przypkowski, one of their most eminent authors, granted them full religious liberty, which they continued to enjoy, despite the opposition made by the states of Prussia in 1670 and 1679. They formed two settlements, called Rutow and Andreaswalde, near the frontier of Poland. In 1779, the inhabitants of these places received an authorization from King Frederic the Second to build a Church, but their congregations, which never had been considerable, gradually decreased; and according to official information which we have received on that subject, that of Andreaswalde, which had subsisted till 1803, was dissolved that year, and there remain no longer any vestiges of them. There were in Prussia, in 1838, only two gentlemen, the last surviving members of the sect—a Morsztyn and a Schlichtyng, both very old men, and the representatives of names distinguished in the literary and political annals of Poland. The rest of the Socinians had become Protestants, as had the families of the abovementioned individuals." ••

The Count adds, by way of note, the following acknowledgment of the assistance rendered by the Government of Prussia, in tracing the history of those Polish exiles, who sought an asylum in that country. "We seize this opportunity for expressing our sense of obligation to his excellency Baron Bulow, Prussian Ambassador at the Court of Great Britain, to whom we applied in order to get official information on the subject in question, and who complied with our request in the most handsome manner. We immediately wrote to the ministry of religious affairs and public instruction at Berlin, and obtained by its intervention the information which we have given in the text."•••

John Cassimir, having redeemed that part of his pledge which related to the extirpation of the Socinians, abdicated the crown in the year 1664, and again assuming the ecclesiastical character, retired to France, where he became Abbot of St. Germain de Prez. He died at Nevers in 1672. His body was sent to Warsaw for interment, but his heart was deposited, as a precious relic of so worthy a son of the Church, in his own abbey, where the monks erected a monument to his memory.

• Hist. Sketch de la Réforme in Poland, vol. II. Chap. xv. pp. 395-398.

•• Pp. 400—403.

••• Vol.II. p.403

No. XV. (Vol. I. p. 149; Vol. III. pp. 27. 229.)