As many of you will know, Polish is one of the most spoken languages in Britain at the present time. In Scotland, after the indigenous languages, English, Scots and Gaelic, it represents a community of over 50 thousand and in terms of the number of speakers is surpassed only by Urdu (see graph from 2011 census).Besides Urdu Christians in Scotland, I am delighted that there are now a number of Polish believers in evangelical churches, as well as at least one fellowship group at a church and even a Polish church.
For the benefit of my Polish brethren, here is a timeline of some events in the history of Poland since the Reformation. (I will update this as I find more information.)
1499 Birth of Jan Łaski, the Polish reformer (depicted here at an audience with King Edward of England).
1530s Mennonite Christians from the Netherlands move to Gdansk area (Vistula delta).
1549 Menno Simmons visits Mennonite Christians
1569 Dirk Philips founded the first Mennonite Church in Danzig. Soon there would be 1000 Mennonite Christians in Gdansk.
1556 Jan Łaski recalled to Poland, where he became secretary to King Sigismund II and was a leader in the Reformed church.
1560 Death of Jan Łaski
1563 Bible translated into Polish (Brest Bible)
1563 Polish Reformed Church (Ecclesia Major) loses non-Trinitarians, who break away to form Ecclesia Minor
1570 Consensus Sandomiensis unites Lutheran, Reformed and Czech Brethren in Poland around the Confession of Sandomir (Konfesja Sandomierska), a Polish rendering of the Second Helvetic Confession. The map to the right shows the spread of different Christian confessions in 1570.
1573 Warsaw Confederation, guaranteeing the right for Polish nobles to be Protestant or Roman Catholic
1588 Change of leadership in Mennonite church; Quirin Vermeulen deposed; church splits into Frisian and Flemish factions, reflecting divisions in Dutch church.
1595 Reformed–Lutheran Union in Poland fell apart.
1598 Dutch language Bible published by Polish Mennonites
1632 Gdansk Bible translated. This was the translation used by Polish Protestants up until the Warsaw Bible in 1975.
1638 Frisian faction of Mennonites in Poland purchase a building for church meetings and poor house.
1648 Flemish faction of Mennonites in Poland purchase a building for church meetings and poor house.
1656 Provisions of Warsaw Confederation annulled, ending toleration for Protestants
1658 Polish brethren, including the Vistula delta Mennonites are expelled from Poland
1668 Conversion from Roman Catholicism punishable by death
1671 Mennonite confession of faith by Georg Hansen
1717 Protestant nobility were stripped of all their political rights, public worship banned.
1724 Execution of Protestants, including two Protestant mayors.
1768 Flemish Mennonites complete German catechism
1764 Under enlightened king Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–95), the Reformed quickly began to rebuild themselves from ruins.
1768 Political rights of Protestants reinstated
1786 Mennonite Christians start to emigrate from Poland to Russia
1808 Flemish and Frisian Mennonites in Poland reunited.
Some links to internet resources in Polish:
https://omniglot.com/babel/polish.htm
https://baptysci.pl/kosciol/historia
http://www.kech.pl/historia/
https://przeglad.olkuski.pl/narodziny-rozkwit-i-upadek-reformacji-w-polsce/
My thanks go to Krzysztof Rutkowski of Legatio for his help, updating this page and providing internet resources.
1549 Menno Simmons visits Mennonite Christians
1569 Dirk Philips founded the first Mennonite Church in Danzig. Soon there would be 1000 Mennonite Christians in Gdansk.
1556 Jan Łaski recalled to Poland, where he became secretary to King Sigismund II and was a leader in the Reformed church.
1560 Death of Jan Łaski
1563 Bible translated into Polish (Brest Bible)
1563 Polish Reformed Church (Ecclesia Major) loses non-Trinitarians, who break away to form Ecclesia Minor
1570 Consensus Sandomiensis unites Lutheran, Reformed and Czech Brethren in Poland around the Confession of Sandomir (Konfesja Sandomierska), a Polish rendering of the Second Helvetic Confession. The map to the right shows the spread of different Christian confessions in 1570.1573 Warsaw Confederation, guaranteeing the right for Polish nobles to be Protestant or Roman Catholic
1588 Change of leadership in Mennonite church; Quirin Vermeulen deposed; church splits into Frisian and Flemish factions, reflecting divisions in Dutch church.
1595 Reformed–Lutheran Union in Poland fell apart.
1598 Dutch language Bible published by Polish Mennonites
1632 Gdansk Bible translated. This was the translation used by Polish Protestants up until the Warsaw Bible in 1975.
1638 Frisian faction of Mennonites in Poland purchase a building for church meetings and poor house.
1648 Flemish faction of Mennonites in Poland purchase a building for church meetings and poor house.
1656 Provisions of Warsaw Confederation annulled, ending toleration for Protestants
1658 Polish brethren, including the Vistula delta Mennonites are expelled from Poland
1668 Conversion from Roman Catholicism punishable by death
1671 Mennonite confession of faith by Georg Hansen
1717 Protestant nobility were stripped of all their political rights, public worship banned.
1724 Execution of Protestants, including two Protestant mayors.
1768 Flemish Mennonites complete German catechism
1764 Under enlightened king Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–95), the Reformed quickly began to rebuild themselves from ruins.
1768 Political rights of Protestants reinstated
1786 Mennonite Christians start to emigrate from Poland to Russia
1808 Flemish and Frisian Mennonites in Poland reunited.
Some links to internet resources in Polish:
https://omniglot.com/babel/polish.htm
https://baptysci.pl/kosciol/historia
http://www.kech.pl/historia/
https://przeglad.olkuski.pl/narodziny-rozkwit-i-upadek-reformacji-w-polsce/
My thanks go to Krzysztof Rutkowski of Legatio for his help, updating this page and providing internet resources.
