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Katarzyna Weiglowa (Wajglowa) (German: Katherine Weigel; given erroneously in a Polish source of 17c. as Vogel, and known in many English sources as Catherine Vogel) (circa 1460 – April 19, 1539), was a Polish woman who was burned at the stake for apostasy. She converted from
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
to
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
or to Judaizing
nontrinitarianism Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ...
, Janusz Tazbir, ''Reformacja w Polsce'', Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 1993, p. 15 and was executed in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
after she refused to call
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
the Son of God. She is regarded by Unitarians and
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...
(among others) as a
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
. She was born Katarzyna Zalasowska, a daughter of Stanisław Zalasowski and widow of Melchior Weigel, merchant and councilman of Kraków.


Accusation of apostasy

In the ''
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'' she appears under a variant spelling of her maiden name as Catherine Zelazowska."ZELAZOWSKA, CATHERINE"
''
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'', referring to *Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., ix. 454, Heinrich Graetz; *Sternberg, Gesch. der Juden in Polen, p. 56.
Little is known about her life before 1529–1530 when she appeared several times before an episcopal court in Kraków, and refused to abjure "mistakes of the Jewish faith". Catherine probably started professing
nontrinitarianism Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ...
under the influence of writings by Martin Borrhaus, published in 1527. ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' suggested that she followed the example of a daughter of a Mikołaj II Radziwiłł and embraced
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. She tried to promote her views during the Sejm debates in 1538–1539. At the age of 70, Catherine was imprisoned in Kraków under the charge of confessing "
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...
" by the order of Piotr Gamrat,
bishop of Kraków A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, who had accused her before Queen Bona.


Execution

She admitted professing the unity of God, and rejecting the notion of "
Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...
". She spent 10 years in prison, before she was burnt alive at the stake on the Little Market place in Kraków at the age of 80. According to written testimonies, even on the stake she refused to abjure her faith which she confessed loudly until the end. Because of her Nontrinitarian views Catherine was not defended by Polish
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
s. However, after her death believers from different branches of
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
have often referred to her as a victim of religious persecutions and a martyr.Janusz Tazbir, ''op.cit.'' pp. 86–87


Aftermath

The burning of Catherine was a surprising incident in Poland, which, in the 16th century, ranked among the countries with the highest degree of
religious tolerance Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...
. After her death her fate faded into obscurity in Poland. The Sejm in 1539 did not take a stance on her execution, and mentions of her have been preserved mainly in Protestant polemical writings and in Judeophobic literature from the 17th century.Janusz Tazbir, ''op.cit.'' p. 87


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiglowa, Katarzyna Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism 1539 deaths 16th-century Polish Jews Jewish martyrs Executed Polish people Executed Polish women People executed by Poland by burning People executed by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth People executed for blasphemy People executed for heresy Polish Roman Catholics Polish Unitarians Year of birth unknown 16th-century Polish women 16th-century executions by Poland Jewish women