Jakub Uchanski
Encyclopedia
Interrex (Poland)
The institution of interrex existed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose ruling classes liked to view their Republic or Commonwealth as an heir to Roman republican traditions...
from 1572 to 1573 and from 1574 to 1575.
He began his service at the royal court
Royal court
Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...
as a secretary and administrator of the lands of Queen of Poland Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. In 1518, she became the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.She was the third child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife...
. With her support he received the position of the ecclesiastical Crown Referendary, and several canonies. He became the bishop of Chełm in 1551, bishop of Wrocław in 1561 (chosen in 1557), and archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland in 1562.
He was a close advisor to the king Zygmunt II August, and supported many of his plans, including the one to divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
Katarzyna Habsburżanka. He threw his weight behind the pro-reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
camp, and was actively involved with the plans that brought the transformation of the Polish-Lithuanian union
Polish-Lithuanian Union
The term Polish–Lithuanian Union sometimes called as United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that lasted for prolonged periods of time and led to the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian...
into a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. He represented king Zygmunt II August in the negotiations with Lithuanian magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s in Vilna, and he took part in the Lithuanian Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
in Bielsk Podlaski
Bielsk Podlaski
-Roads and Highways:Bielsk Podlaski is at the intersection of two National Road and a Voivodeship Road:* National Road 19 - Kuźnica Białystoka Border Crossing - Kuźnica - Białystok - Bielsk Podlaski - Siemiatycze - Międzyrzec Podlaski - Kock - Lubartów - Lublin - Kraśnik - Janów Lubelski - Nisko...
of 1564.
He looked favorably on the idea of creating a Polish national church
National church
National church is a concept of a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism....
, though he stopped short at breaking away from Rome. He also supported dialogue with Protestants, advocating religious tolerance. For his liberal religious views he was scorned in Vatican and was briefly excommunicated in 1558 by pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh303.html, who suspected him of 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...
. Uchański was even summoned before the inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
; however, he refused the summons to Rome and the conflict was solved via diplomacy. Uchański, while supportive of the Protestants and tolerance, never abandoned Catholic faith and during the dynasty change the 1570s insisted on the election of the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
. Even though his stance towards Protestants was quite liberal, he was a political opponent of Calvinist Marshal of the Crown, Jan Firlej
Jan Firlej
Jan Firlej was a Polish nobleman , and Calvinist activist.Jan became Great Marshal of the Crown in 1563 and starost of Kraków in 1572. He agreed with the candidature of Henryk Walezy for the Polish throne only on the condition that Henryk signing the Henrican articles...
, especially during the political crises of the 1570s, when Uchański tried to exclude the lesser nobles (members of the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
) from the decision making processes and rely solely on the Senate of Poland
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
(Firlej also wanted to elect a Protestant king to the Polish throne).
After the death of Zygmunt II August, last of the Jagiellon dynasty
Jagiellon dynasty
The Jagiellonian dynasty was a royal dynasty originating from the Lithuanian House of Gediminas dynasty that reigned in Central European countries between the 14th and 16th century...
, he became the interrex
Interrex (Poland)
The institution of interrex existed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose ruling classes liked to view their Republic or Commonwealth as an heir to Roman republican traditions...
until in the royal elections Henryk III Walezy
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
was elected as the first king of the new Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. After Henryk's sudden return to France, Uchański once again took the position of the interrex, until Anna Jagiellonka became the queen of Poland. In 1575 he joined the pro-Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
camp and together with some other Polish senators
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
he proclaimed Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
to be the king of Poland, however due to opposition from many other Polish nobles (szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
) Maximilian lost, and Stefan Batory
Stefan Batory
Stephen Báthory was a Hungarian noble Prince of Transylvania , then King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . He was a member of the Somlyó branch of the noble Hungarian Báthory family...
was eventually to become the king of Poland.
He was also a translator and a protector of many liberal thinkers of the Polish renaissance, including Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski
Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski
Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski was a Polish Renaissance scholar, humanist and theologian, called "the father of Polish democracy." His book De Republica emendanda was widely read and praised across most of Renaissance Europe.-Life:Modrzewski was born in Wolbórz Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (ca....
and Jakub Wujek
Jakub Wujek
Jakub Wujek son of Maciej Wujek; a Polish Jesuit, religious writer, Doctor of Theology, Vice-Chancellor of the Vilnius Academy and translator of the Bible into Polish.-Life:...
.
Since his consecrator is unknown and some of the bishops alive today traced (erroneously as it could be shown later) their episcopal lineage
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...
back to him, the person of Jakub Uchański was very important for the history of the Catholic Church. This so called Uchański lineage includes many members of the Polish episcopate and 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...
.
In 2007, it became clear that Uchanski was never part of this succession line. Its roots can be traced back to bishop Claudio Rangoni, who was bishop of Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
between 1592 and 1621. He worked as Apostolic Nuncio to Poland from 1598 to 1607. Claudio Rangoni belongs to the Rebiba lineage, so the part of Uchański-lineage up of Claudio Rangoni is a branch of the Rebiba lineage.