The Diocese of Cieszyn is the smallest diocese of the six which constitute the

Polish Lutheran Church The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland ( pl, Kościół Ewangelicko-Augsburski w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Lutheran denomination and the largest Protestant body in Poland with about 61,000 members and ...

. The Bishop's

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

is Cieszyn, but the diocese is headquartered in

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

Location

The Diocese of Cieszyn comprises

Bielsko County __NOTOC__ Bielsko County ( pl, powiat bielski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reform ...

and

Cieszyn County __NOTOC__ Cieszyn County ( pl, powiat cieszyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Czech and Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result o ...

Silesian Voivodship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian V ...

, mostly encompassing the Polish part of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia (only the parish in Biała lies without historical Cieszyn Silesia).

History

Cieszyn Silesia was historically inhabited by a large Lutheran minority since the 16th century. A structure of parishes within Austrian Lutheran Church was established after issuing the Patent of Toleration in 1781. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the fall of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, the

Polish–Czechoslovak War The Poland–Czechoslovakia War, also known mostly in Czech sources as the Seven-day war ( cs, Sedmidenní válka) was a military confrontation between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in early 1919. After a vai ...

, and the division of Cieszyn Silesia in 1920, the parishes that became a part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

joined the Polish Lutheran Church, first as a seniority, then in 1936 formally constituted as a diocese.

List of Bishops

* Paweł Nikodem : 1937~1954 **''Vacant (1954~1957)'' * Adam Wegert : 1957~1980 * Jan Szarek : 1980~1991 * Paweł Anweiler : 1992~2016 * Adrian Korczago : 2016~

List of parishes

22 parishes belong to the Diocese of Cieszyn:

References

External links

Information of The Diocese of Cieszyn
(pol.) Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland Lutheran dioceses in Poland Bielsko County Cieszyn County {{authority control