Początki parafii i najstarszy kościół w mieście Olsztynku (Olsztynie)
THE ORIGINS OF THE PARISH AND THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE TOWN OF OLSZTYNEK (OLSZTYN)

Summary/Abstract: The article covers the circumstances of how a parish in the town of Olsztynek (now Olsztyn) in the Kraków Land was established and the construction of a church in that town. The area for the new parish was located in the Diocese of Kraków, but belonged to the monastic parish of Mstów, whose church was under the authority of the Archbishops of Gniezno. The new parish was created through its separation from the area of the Mstów parish. Efforts to establish the parish were personally undertaken by Jan Ocieski, vicechancellor of the Kingdom of Poland and from 1551 starost of Olsztyn. One of the reasons behind his decision was to accelerate the formation of the township. The changes were carried out with the approval of King Sigismund Augustus. All arrangements for the parish establishment probably took place at the Parliament of Piotrków in February 1552, in the presence of all the relevant decisionmakers. Formally, the parish was created by the document of the Archbishop of Gniezno Mikołaj Dzierzgowski in 1552. Three royal villages adjacent to the town were annexed to it. The establishment of the Olsztyn parish shows the effect of a compromise. In exchange for the exclusion a part of from the parish of Mstów, the monks were granted patronage of the church in place of the king, who owned the town. The right of nomination of parish priest was restricted to one of the brothers of the convent. Consequently, the established institution was in fact a branch parish of the Mstów monastery. Despite formally approving the erection, the Archbishop of Gniezno did not claim sovereignty over the new parish. The Metropolitans of Gniezno respected the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Kraków over the Olsztyn parish area. It is impossible to determine when the oldest church in Olsztynek was built. The permission for its erection was included in the town’s incorporation document of 1488. There is no reason to believe that it was built before the formal parish establishment. Tradition attributes this foundation to Chancellor Jan Ocieski. His name is probably referred in the temple’s invocation. The construction of the Olsztynek church probably began after 26 February 1552. The original church was destroyed before 1598.

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