The Warsaw Confederation is, in a way, a pioneer resolution. It became an expression of religious tolerance that prevailed in the lands of the Commonwealth. The law was unique on a European scale.

This document was one of the world’s first guarantees of religious freedom. The nobility of the Commonwealth solemnly swore peace among themselves, regardless of their faith. The infidels thus forming themselves under the influence of the state, which was unique in comparison to lower Europe (the peasants’ war fought in the 16th century in the vicinity of Germany – thanks to the religious basis – lowering the lives of over 100,000 people).

The Warsaw Confederation is an extremely important act for the history of Poland and Europe. In 1573, when it was confirmed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that there was talk of religious tolerance, in various parts of the old continent there was more and more space between the denominations of Catholicism and Protestants. There have also been attacks on Jews for years. There has never been a place for culture in Poland. The Warsaw Confederation was an expression of the spirit of tolerance that had always existed on Polish lands. For centuries, the Republic of Poland was a place where people from all over Europe, harassed in their countries, sought refuge because of their faith.

Poland is the mainstay of tolerance

The Commonwealth may be very rare – the longest history of religious tolerance in Europe and probably in the world.

It all started in the 11th century, when the first Jews arrived in Poland. They must have made love here safely, since it was the Piasts who chose a new place to live after they were persecuted in Bohemia.

In Poland, the first study of the situation of Jews was made quite quickly, in August 1264. The document was collected by Prince Bolesław the Pious, and went down in history as the statute of Kalisz. It guaranteed Jews the establishment of their rights of courts and separate courts for cases involving both Jews and Christians. In addition, it provides Jews with personal freedom and security, including freedom of religion, travel, choice of profession and trade, and allows them to freely celebrate their holidays. The Kalisz statute even charges repetition of the topic of Jews picking up rumors (such as the phenomenon of Christian blood during their rituals).

The Statute of Kalisz was later confirmed by other kings. Casimir the Great himself three times – in 1334, 1364 and 1367. This testified not so much to the granting of new rights to the Jews as to the confirmation of these rights. The later statute of Kalisz was approved by Kazimierz Jagiellończyk in 1453 and Sigismund the Old in 1539.

It is true that apart from the disputes over the number of privileges, Casimir the Great imposed a certain quality on the Jews: they cannot provide aid at a percentage other than that set by the ruler (it was 1 fine per week in Greater Poland and half a penny per fine in Lesser Poland; the fine was 48 groszy). In Krakow, you can only operate with a limited number of butchers – this is what the richer inhabitants of the capital wanted, who feared the monopoly of Jews in this branch of trade. It must be admitted, however, that the above prohibitions were used as burdensome, and the Jews were able to get rich and show their “businesses” anyway.

Religious tolerance also applies to other groups. In 1341, Casimir the Great guaranteed freedom and the possibility of free worship to Orthodox believers. In 1356 Casimir approved the same privileges to the Monophysite Armenians.

Poland became the first multi-religious country in Europe. Casimir the Great’s policy in this regard was also Władysław Jagiełło. In Poland, heresies stemming from Catholicism, such as Hussitism, were not recognized, but they did not spread in Poland, although they were patronized by even some influential nobility.

Religious tolerance was established in Poland not only by the Orthodox, Armenians and Jews, but also by the Karaites and the followers of Islam. The latter were primarily Tatars, who lived in large numbers in villages in Lithuania.

In 1525, after Albrecht Hohenzollern paid homage to King Sigismund the Old (Prussian homage), the state of the Teutonic Order ceased to exist. The Polish monarch created a function for its secularization and the function of Ducal Prussia, where Lutheranism was the binding religion. Even the state treasury and the later primate, Bishop Andrzej Krzycki, supported such a policy, arguing that people of different religions had lived side by side in Poland for centuries, and therefore Lutherans should find a place in neighboring Prussia. Tolerance towards Protestants was later extended also to Livonia.

of the Warsaw Confederation

In July 1572, Sigismund August died, the last male descendant of the Jagiellons on the Polish throne. The nobility faced the necessity of choosing a new ruler. For the followers of religions other than Catholicism, mainly Protestants, it was important that the next king, like the previous ones, should recognize the principles of religious tolerance. This was all the more important as many corners of Europe at that time were struggling with strong upheavals caused by religious conflicts (e.g. in August 1572 during the night of St. Bartholomew in Paris to slaughter the Huguenots).

In January 1573, the Convocation Sejm met in Warsaw. It was the first session of this type. It met later, always after the death of the king. He was at the first Sejm convened in the interregnum period, before the election Sejm gathered. It was decided at the Convocation Session pact convent, that is, the rules that pledged to abide by the election of the ruler.

At the convocation sejm after the death of Sigismund Augustus, he established that every nobleman had the right to vote during the election of a new monarchy. The primate was appointed iterreks, while the right to nominate a new candidate then fell to Jan Firlej, who was the marshal of the crown (who was, by the wayCalvinist).

One of the points discussed during the convocation sejm was the issue of equal rights for religion and religious peace in the Republic of Poland. Protestants, but also Catholic church hierarchs, took part in the work on the adoption of this law.

On January 28, 1573, the act of the Warsaw Confederation was signed.

The Warsaw Confederation guaranteed, among others, unconditional and perpetual peace between “distinguished in faith” and not to start fighting under any pretext of religion under any circumstances, and the right of the nobility to impose religion on their subjects was given. Freedom of religion, under the act of the Warsaw Confederation, was granted not only to the nobility, but also to the burghers of royal cities.

The document of the Warsaw Confederation, under which seals were placed by 208 people (today only about 100 are recognized), was the first act of this type in all of Europe. He had an influence on political life in Poland until its fall in 1795. The fact that Poland gained the name of “the state without stakes” was also possible thanks to the signing of the Warsaw Confederation. Thanks to the Warsaw Confederation, the Republic of Poland gained the name of “heretic asylum” in Europe

“Without calculating the value of the calculation of the Warsaw Confederation of January 28, 1573, it was evil compared to the conditions prevailing anywhere in Europe. It set the framework for religious life in the Republic of Poland for over 200 years,” wrote Prof. Norman Davies in God’s Playground. Polish History”.

This proof of our history, the document is today in the Central Archives of Historical Records and is a priceless memento.

Since 2003, the text of the Warsaw Confederation has been on the UNESCO Memory of the World list.

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