Chrzest Polski
The Baptism of Poland

Summary/Abstract: This paper is a historical reflection concerning the origins of the statehood of Poland. The author refers to number of scientific studies and shows the meaning of baptism for the unity of the State ofMieszko I. It can be said that in the history there is no pre-Christian Poland, because it is this religionwhich became the bond of national identity of Polish people. In his study the author pointed out politicalsensitivity of the first sovereign of Poland. However, the decision to adopt the Christian religionwas probably not motivated by political calculations but was the result of the personal conversion ofthe prince of the Western Polans. This statement seems to be rooted not only in the written sources butalso in the non-verbal national tradition, expressed – for example – in some eminent artistic works. Theauthor emphasizes that Christian Poland from the very beginning was distinguished from its neighboursby three essential elements: catholicity, republicanism and latinism. Those elements ensured thatChristian universalism became one of the main characteristics of Poland. In the last part of the studythe author focuses on mutual relations between the Church and Polish statehood and on the role whichthe Catholic faith played in the maintenance of the Polish national identity.

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