Racovian Academy
Encyclopedia
The Racovian Academy was a school of the Socinian Polish Brethren
operating in Raków, Kielce County, Poland
1602-1638, and publisher of the Racovian Catechism
in 1605.
The arian settlement of Raków, Kielce County was founded in 1569 by Jan Sienieński. The academy was found in 1602 by Jakub Sienieński
. The zenith of the academy were the years 1616-1630. At this period existed also the Calvinist Academy at Pińczów; the Sarmatian Athens. At that time it numbered more than 1,000 students, including many foreigners. At this point it is estimated that one-in-ten or one-in-five Polish intellectuals were Arians.
The end of the Academy in 1638 was occasioned by the pretext of the alleged destruction of a roadside cross, by several students of the Academy, while on tour accompanied by a teacher Paludiusa Solomon. Jakub Zadzik
, bishop of Krakow, Sandomierz governor Jerzy Ossoliński
and the Papal Nuncio Honorato Visconti forced the closure of the Academy and the destruction of all buildings by sentence of the Sejm
in April 1638. Most of the teaching staff and students went into exile in Transylvania
or the Netherlands.
Rectors:
Teaching staff, in alphabetical order:
Notable students at the academy, who became writers in the exile:
The Racovian Academy served as a centre for the propagation of Socinian belief in both western and eastern Europe, in particular the Arian mission to the University of Altdorf
near Nuremberg
(1615), Dutch Remonstrants
, Unitarians in Transylvania
, even Muscovite sympathizers with Judaism.
The publications of the Academy till 1639, and of those of the teachers of the Academy in exile after 1640, are known to have influenced many English Unitarians such as Bartholomew Legatt (1575?-1612), Edward Wightman
(1566-1612) and Gilbert Clerke
(1626–c.1697) as well as Isaac Newton
(1643–1727), and Voltaire
(1694–1778),
Polish Brethren
The Polish Brethren were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658...
operating in Raków, Kielce County, Poland
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...
1602-1638, and publisher of the Racovian Catechism
Racovian Catechism
The Racovian Catechism is a nontrinitarian statement of faith from the 16th century. The title Racovian comes from the publishers, the Polish Brethren, who had founded a sizeable town in Raków, Kielce County, where the Racovian Academy and printing press was founded by Jakub Sienieński in...
in 1605.
The arian settlement of Raków, Kielce County was founded in 1569 by Jan Sienieński. The academy was found in 1602 by Jakub Sienieński
Jakub Sienieński
Jakub Sienieński was a Polish nobleman, representative in the Sejm, who in 1602 founded the Racovian Academy.His father Jan Sienieński founded the town of Raków, Kielce County in 1569...
. The zenith of the academy were the years 1616-1630. At this period existed also the Calvinist Academy at Pińczów; the Sarmatian Athens. At that time it numbered more than 1,000 students, including many foreigners. At this point it is estimated that one-in-ten or one-in-five Polish intellectuals were Arians.
The end of the Academy in 1638 was occasioned by the pretext of the alleged destruction of a roadside cross, by several students of the Academy, while on tour accompanied by a teacher Paludiusa Solomon. Jakub Zadzik
Jakub Zadzik
Jakub Zadzik was a Polish Great Crown Secretary from 1613 to 1627, bishop of Chełmno from 1624, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1627, Great Crown Chancellor from 1628 to 1635, bishop of Kraków from 1635, diplomat, szlachcic, magnate in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
, bishop of Krakow, Sandomierz governor Jerzy Ossoliński
Jerzy Ossolinski
Prince Jerzy Ossoliński was a Polish szlachcic, Crown Court Treasurer from 1632, voivode of Sandomierz from 1636, Reichsfürst since 1634, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1639, Great Crown Chancellor from 1643, starost of Bydgoszcz , Lubomel , Puck and Bolim , magnate, politician and diplomat...
and the Papal Nuncio Honorato Visconti forced the closure of the Academy and the destruction of all buildings by sentence 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 ....
in April 1638. Most of the teaching staff and students went into exile in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
or the Netherlands.
Staff of the Academy
- Jakub SienieńskiJakub SienieńskiJakub Sienieński was a Polish nobleman, representative in the Sejm, who in 1602 founded the Racovian Academy.His father Jan Sienieński founded the town of Raków, Kielce County in 1569...
(d. 1639) - founder and administrator.
Rectors:
- Krzysztof Brockajus - rector 1602-1610
- Paweł Krokier - rector 1610-1616
- Johannes CrelliusJohannes CrelliusJohannes Crellius was a Polish and German theologian.-Life:...
, German - rector 1616-1621 - Marcin RuarMarcin RuarMarcin Ruar , pseudonym Aretius Crispinus) was a Socinian writer, advocate of religious tolerance, and rector of the Racovian Academy from 1620 to 1622....
, German (Martin Ruarius) - rector 1621-1622 - Joachim StegmannJoachim StegmannJoachim Stegmann Sr. was a German Socinian theologian, Bible translator, mathematician and rector of the Racovian Academy....
Sr., German, - rector 1627?-1630? - Wawrzyniec Stegmann - rector 1634-1638
Teaching staff, in alphabetical order:
- Giovanni Battista de Cetis, Italian.
- Adam Gosławski (1577-1642)
- Jan Licinius, linguist
- Andrzej LubienieckiAndrzej LubienieckiAndrzej Lubieniecki was a Polish historian and priest, member of the Polish Brethren.His major work was the Poloneutichia albo Polskiego Królestwa Szczęście....
Sr. (1521-1623) - Stanisław Lubieniecki Sr. (c.1558-1633)
- Krzysztof Morsztyn Jr.Krzysztof Morsztyn Jr.Krzysztof Morsztyn Jr. was a Polish educator.He was son of Krzysztof Morsztyn Sr. the founder of the Polish Brethren community in Filipow in 1585, and brother in law of Fausto Sozzini who had married his sister Elżbieta in 1586. His son was Seweryn Morsztyn .-References:...
(c.1570?-1642), son of Krzysztof Morsztyn Sr.Krzysztof Morsztyn Sr.Krzysztof Morsztyn Sr. was founder of the Polish Brethren community in Filipów in 1585.He was father of:* Krzysztof Morsztyn Jr. who taught at the Racovian Academy....
(1522-1600) - Hieronim MoskorzowskiHieronim MoskorzowskiHieronim Moskorzowski Moskorzów c.1560-1625), administrator of the Racovian Academy, and writer of the Polish Brethren.He came from a noble family, received a comprehensive education, and became involved with the movement of the Polish Brethren. He prepared the Polish and Latin text of the 1605...
(1560-1625) - Racovian CatechismRacovian CatechismThe Racovian Catechism is a nontrinitarian statement of faith from the 16th century. The title Racovian comes from the publishers, the Polish Brethren, who had founded a sizeable town in Raków, Kielce County, where the Racovian Academy and printing press was founded by Jakub Sienieński in...
, 1605 - Salomon Paludius
- Piotr Stoiński Jr.Piotr Stoiński Jr.Piotr Stoiński Jr. was a Polish Socinian Unitarian writer.Piotr was the son of Pierre Statorius the French Unitarian grammarian who emigrated to Poland wrote the first grammar of Polish...
(1565-1605), son of Pierre StatoriusPierre StatoriusPierre Statorius was a French grammarian and theologian, who settled among the Polish Brethren, becoming rector of a the Calvinist Academy in Pińczów at the invitation of Francesco Lismanino....
(known in Poland as Piotr Stoiński Sr. 1530-1591) - Valentinus SmalciusValentinus SmalciusValentinus Smalcius was a German Socinian theologian. He is known for his German translation of the Racovian Catechism, and Racovian New Testament translated from Greek into Polish...
, German (born Valentin Schmalz) (1572-1622) - The Raków New Testament 1606 - Jonasz SzlichtyngJonasz SzlichtyngJonasz Szlichtyng was a Polish nobleman, theologian of the Socinian Polish Brethren and father of Krzysztof Szlichtyng....
(1592-1661) - Johannes VölkelJohannes VölkelJohannes Völkel was a German Socinian writer.Völkel was probably born around 1565-1570, and probably converted during his studies at the University of Wittenberg, just as Valentin Schmalz had been converted while at the University of Strassburg, in any case he had joined the Polish Brethren by...
, German (?-1618) - Andrzej WiszowatyAndrzej WiszowatyAndrzej Wiszowaty Sr. was a Socinian theologian who worked with Joachim Stegmann on the Racovian Catechism of 1605, and taught at the Racovian Academy of the Polish Brethren....
(1608-1678) - Andrzej WojdowskiAndrzej WojdowskiAndrzej Wojdowski was a Polish Unitarian scholar.In 1598 he and Krzysztof Ostorodt were sent as Socinian missionaries to the Netherlands, where in Leiden they stirred up a great controversy by their success in converting the University's students to Unitarianism. Among their converts was Ernst...
(1565-1622)
Notable students at the academy, who became writers in the exile:
- Christopher CrelliusKrzysztof Crell-SpinowskiKrzysztof Crell-Spinowski was an Arian theologian, pastor of the church of the Polish Brethren....
(1622-1680), son of Johannes CrelliusJohannes CrelliusJohannes Crellius was a Polish and German theologian.-Life:...
and father of Samuel CrelliusSamuel CrelliusSamuel Crell-Spinowski was an Arian philosopher and theologian, pastor of the church of the Polish Brethren....
and Dr. Christopher Crell of London. - Andrzej Lubieniecki the younger (1590-1667), historian.
- Stanisław Lubieniecki the younger (1623-1675), astronomer, nephew of Andrzej Lubieniecki.
Influence
- See also main articles on Polish BrethrenPolish BrethrenThe Polish Brethren were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658...
and SocinianismSocinianismSocinianism is a system of Christian doctrine named for Fausto Sozzini , which was developed among the Polish Brethren in the Minor Reformed Church of Poland during the 15th and 16th centuries and embraced also by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania during the same period...
The Racovian Academy served as a centre for the propagation of Socinian belief in both western and eastern Europe, in particular the Arian mission to the University of Altdorf
University of Altdorf
The University of Altdorf was a university in Altdorf bei Nürnberg, a small town outside Nuremberg. It was founded in the late 16th century, received university privileges in 1622 and was closed in 1809 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria....
near Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
(1615), Dutch Remonstrants
Remonstrants
The Remonstrants are the Dutch Protestants who, after the death of Jacobus Arminius, maintained the views associated with his name. In 1610 they presented to the States of Holland and Friesland a remonstrance in five articles formulating their points of disagreement from Calvinism.-History:The five...
, Unitarians in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, even Muscovite sympathizers with Judaism.
The publications of the Academy till 1639, and of those of the teachers of the Academy in exile after 1640, are known to have influenced many English Unitarians such as Bartholomew Legatt (1575?-1612), Edward Wightman
Edward Wightman
Edward Wightman was an English radical Anabaptist, executed at Lichfield for his activities promoting himself as the divine Paraclete and Savior of the world...
(1566-1612) and Gilbert Clerke
Gilbert Clerke
Gilbert Clerke was an English mathematician, natural philosopher and Socinian theological writer.-Life:Born at Uppingham, Rutland, in 1626, he was a son of John Clerke, master of the school there. In 1641 he was admitted to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and there he proceeded M.A., being...
(1626–c.1697) as well as Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
(1643–1727), and Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
(1694–1778),