George of Polentz was bishop of Samland and Pomesania

Pomesania

Pomesanians were one of the Prussian clans. They lived in Pomesania , a historical region in modern northern Poland, located between the Nogat and Vistula Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River to the east. It is located around the modern towns of Elbląg and Malbork...

 and a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

. He was the first Lutheran bishop.

Polentz was a member of an old Saxon noble family. He studied law in Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 and was private secretary to the papal Curia, then stood as a soldier in the service of Emperor Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

. Under Margrave Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, he came to Königsberg

Königsberg

Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

. Polentz was confirmed as Bishop of Samland

Bishopric of Samland

The Bishopric of Samland was a bishopric in Samland in medieval Prussia. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, until 1523 the episcopal residence was in Fischhausen. The bishopric became Lutheran in the 16th century during...

 by the Curia

Curia

A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...

 in 1519.

Johann Briesmann taught him Hebrew and the teachings of Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

. Polentz was regent of Prussia during the absence of Duke Albert from 1522 to 1525. He worked together with the lawyer Erhard of Queis

Erhard of Queis

Erhard of Queis was Bishop of Pomesania. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Reformation in Prussia.- Life :Details of Queis's youth are not available....

, the Bishop of Pomesania. Already in 1523 Polentz converted to Lutheranism

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

. He gave his first Lutheran sermon at Christmas 1523 in Königsberg.

Already on 18 January 1524 Polentz ordered to only use native languages at baptisms. He forbade the widespread pagan worship of Perkūnas

Perkunas

Perkūnas was the common Baltic god of thunder, one of the most important deities in the Baltic pantheon. In both Lithuanian and Latvian mythology, he is documented as the god of thunder, rain, mountains, oak trees and the sky.-Etymology:...

, symbolised by the goat buck

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

, in the same year, repeated in 1540. When Albert gave his approval, bishop Polentz launched the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 in Prussia. After Albrecht 1525 transformed the Teutonic State of Prussia into the secular Duchy of Prussia, Polentz invited a large number of Protestant clergy into the country, such as the reformer Ambrosius Feierabend, who had been exiled from Elbing in 1539. The Prussian estates

Prussian estates

The Prussian estates were representative bodies of Prussia, first created by the Monastic state of Teutonic Prussia in the 14th century but later becoming a devolved legislature for Royal Prussia within the Kingdom of Poland...

 established the Lutheran Church in Prussia by the Church Order

Church Order (Lutheran)

The Church Order or Church Ordinance means the general ecclesiastical constitution of a State.The early Evangelical Church attached less importance to ecclesiastical ritual than the pre-Reformation Church had done...

decided on 10 December 1525.

Polentz implemented the Prussian Church Order. The Church Order provided for visitations of the parishioners and pastors, first carried out by Polentz in 1538. Georg of Polentz married in 1525 and after the death of this first wife, again in 1527.