Feliksa Kozlowska (May 27, 1862, Wieliczna

Wieliczna, Masovian Voivodeship

Wieliczna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stoczek, within Węgrów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Stoczek, north-west of Węgrów, and north-east of Warsaw.-References:...

 - August 23, 1921, Płock) was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 religious

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 mystic

Mysticism

Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 and visionary who founded what eventually became the Old Catholic Mariavite Church, and, by implication, a dissident group which split from it in 1935, the Catholic Mariavite Church

Catholic Mariavite Church

The Catholic Mariavite Church is a Polish religious organization begun in 1935 by Archbishop Jan Maria Michal Kowalski.Kowalski had been the leader of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church, since the death of its foundress, Felicja Kozłowska , in 1921...

. Both groups had their origin from the Catholic Church, which considered both heretical.

The Mariavites

Already a nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

 and leader of religious vocationals, in 1893 Sister Maria Franciszka began to claim the experience of a series of religious visions, which were to continue intermittently until 1918. The first vision was said to tell her to begin an enhanced battle against the decadent state of the world, beginning with that of the Roman Catholic clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 in Poland. She said that the vision instructed her to form a new clerical order, whose primary goals were to propagate the Adoration of the Holy Sacrament and the Perpetual Help of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was able to recruit some of the elite of the younger Polish clergy, especially those in the part of Poland that was then under the rule of the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. They became known as "Mariavites" as their inspiration for this effort at greater sanctity was said to be inspired by an imitation of the life of Mary. This group continued for ten years, and in 1903 decided to attempt to get official recognition, or at least toleration, from the Vatican. This effort was led by Sister Maria's confidante, Father Jan Maria Michal Kowalski

Jan Kowalski

Jan Maria Michał Kowalski was the first Minister Generalis of the order of the Mariavites. At the time of his selection, he was the most important person in this Christian movement. He was consecrated Bishop in 1909 by the Utrecht Union Old Catholic Archbishop Gerardus Gul...

. Sister Maria herself, not wishing to break with the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 or be seen in any way as fostering heresy

Heresy

Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

, largely stayed out of public view and left the political

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 implications of the movement to others, particularly Father Kowalski.

As part of the effort to get official sanction from the Catholic hierarchy for the Mariavite movement, the group submitted documentation through the offices of the Bishop of Płock (in whose diocese Feliksa Kozlowska lived) to the Vatican. Father Kowalski led a delegation of Mariavites to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 in 1904, and met with Pope Pius X

Pope Pius X

Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...

. Kowalski seems to have been promised a high likelihood of success in his quest. He and his fellow Mariavites were then crushed when, in December 1904, Sister Maria Franciszka's alleged visions were denounced as mere hallucination

Hallucination

A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...

s. In April 1906, Pope Pius X issued the encyclical

Encyclical

An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...

 Tribus circiter

Tribus Circiter

Tribus Circiter is an encyclical of Pope Pius X on the Mariavites or mystic priests, a pseudo-monastic Polish society. It was given at Rome, at St. Peter's, the fifth day of April, 1906, in the third year of his Pontificate...

 which criticized Feliska Kozlowska; and her followers were criticized harshly as well for treating her as a living saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

 and the equal to the Blessed Virgin. The final blow came in December, 1906 when Feliska Kozlowska and also Kowalski were excommunicated

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 by name, and their followers as well. This was the first instance in history of a woman being excommunicated by name as a heretic, as opposed to being excommunicated by virtue of membership in a group deemed to be heretical.

In November, 1906, only a month prior to the final break with Rome, the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 granted the group official toleration in the part of Poland under its control. No doubt, cynical motives were afoot here – a split in the Polish Catholic Church

Polish Catholic Church

The Polish Catholic Church is an Old Catholic denomination in Poland which belongs to the Union of Utrecht. It is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Polish Ecumenical Council. It is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church nor is it in communion with the Pope. In 2009 the...

, the tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

ist officials realized, could help foster a split in Polish nationalist

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

 aspirations as well. In 1909 the Mariavites, in an attempt to remain in the historic apostolic succession

Apostolic Succession

Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...

, began contact with the Old Catholic movement of Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

. In 1912 they were granted full recognition as a legal church in the Russian portion of Poland. They had previously begun work on their own cathedral in Płock which became the Temple of Mercy and Charity

Temple of Mercy and Charity

The Temple of Mercy and Charity is a Mariavite cathedral in Płock in central Poland. It is located near the Vistula River.-Significance:The Temple is the religious center of the Mariavite Church and contains the tomb of its founder Feliksa Kozłowska, as well as a memorial plaque commemorating its...

. At this point they apparently had as many as 50,000 to 60,000 adherents in sixteen parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es, and grew greatly during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, with the movement having perhaps as many as 160,000 adherents around the time of its peak in 1917. In 1918 Sister Maria revealed the contents of her final vision. The name Old Catholic Mariavite Church was officially adopted in 1919, two years prior to Sister Maria's death.

After the war and the setting up of a new government for a reunited Poland, the group began to be openly persecuted, and membership declined, with many Mariavites returning to the Roman church. The pace of this accelerated in 1921, when Feliksa Kozlowska died and was succeeded as the group's leader by Jan Maria Michał Kowalski

Jan Maria Michał Kowalski

Jan Maria Michał Kowalski was the first Minister Generalis of the order of the Mariavites. At the time of his selection, he was the most important person in this Christian movement. He was consecrated Bishop in 1909 by the Utrecht Union Old Catholic Archbishop Gerardus Gul...

. Kowalski published a biography of Feliksa and a compilation of her visions, and tried very much to keep her alive in the minds of followers, and make her authority over her followers his own. The hagiographic

Hagiography

Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...

 nature of this work and its elevation of Sister Maria to a status seeming co-equal with that of the Blessed Virgin Mary (if not the Holy Spirit) seemed to be excessive even to many Mariavites, and helped lead to the weakening and eventual split of the movement. Many of the factual details surrounding the life of Sister Maria are shrouded in myths and legends, some perpetuated by Father Kowalski (who later elevated himself to archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 of the Mariavites).

See also

• Old Catholic Mariavite Church
• Catholic Mariavite Church
  Catholic Mariavite Church
  The Catholic Mariavite Church is a Polish religious organization begun in 1935 by Archbishop Jan Maria Michal Kowalski.Kowalski had been the leader of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church, since the death of its foundress, Felicja Kozłowska , in 1921...
  
  
• List of people who have been considered deities