Stanisław Konarski przed Świętym Oficjum, 1769–1771
Stanisław Konarski before the Holy Office (1769–1771)

Introduction. Edition of the trial records. Commentary

Author(s): Paweł Zając
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History, History of Church(es), Modern Age, Theology and Religion, 18th Century, History of Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: Stanislas Konarski; Enlighted Catholicism; Catholic Enlightenment; deism; index of forbidden books; Holy Office; nunciature; Angelo Maria Durini
Summary/Abstract: Fr. Stanisław Konarski (1700–1773), Piarist, was one of the most outstanding figures in Polish intellectual life in the 18th century. His last book O religii poczciwych ludzi [On the Religion of Honest Men] (1769) was read with great interest for over two hundred years – first by its contemporary readers, then by historians of ideas and researchers of the Polish Enlightenment. In both cases, the book did not cease to attract attention due to the atmosphere of the scandal, which at the end of the Konarski’s life had reached wide circles – from the Warsaw nunciature to the Congregation of the Holy Office in Rome. The basic facts related to the trial, which took place in the Roman curia, were known to Polish historiography, but thus far only superficially. Hitherto unknown documents from the archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (former Holy Office) allow for the accurate reconstruction of the turbulent history of a book which in fact risked being including in the Index of Forbidden Books, even though it was written in defence of Christianity against 18th-century deism.

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