The Pińczów Academy or Gymnasium was a Calvinist college in Pińczów, Poland from 1550–1565. This coincides with the Calvinist

synods of Pińczów The Synods of Pińczów were a series of 22 Calvinist synods held in the town of Pińczów from 1550-1563. At the time of the Reformation Pińczów belonged to a Calvinist nobleman, Nicholas Oleśnicki, and was one of the centers of Calvinism and ...

1550–1564. Lord Nicholas Oleśnicki inherited the

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 (2005). Pińczów belongs to the historic Polish province of Lesser Poland, a ...

estate in 1546. He was influenced by his wife

Zofia Oleśnicka Zofia Oleśnicka (? in Pieskowa Skała – c.1567) was a Polish Calvinist noblewoman, for many years considered to be the first Polish woman poet for a collection of Protestant hymns published in Cracow in 1556. However more recent scholarship ha ...

, and his father in law, to Calvinism. First

Andreas Osiander Andreas Osiander (; 19 December 1498 – 17 October 1552) was a German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. Career Born at Gunzenhausen, Ansbach, in the region of Franconia, Osiander studied at the University of Ingolstadt before ...

and then the Italian ex-priest

Francesco Stancaro Francesco Stancaro (also Latin: Franciscus Stancarus) (1501 in Mantua – 1574 in Stopnica) was an Italian Catholic priest, theologian, Protestant convert, and Protestant reformer who became professor of Hebrew at the University of Königsberg ...

, two Calvinist professors at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

, preached in Pińczów. Stancaro moved Olesnicki to drive out the monks and convert the monastic church at Pinczow to Calvinist rite November 25, 1550. Then from 1551 founded the Academy.

Teaching staff

The first rector was Grzegorz Orszak of the University of Kraków. In 1556 Calvin sent

Pierre Statorius __NOTOC__ Pierre Statorius, pl, Piotr Stoiński, Piotr Stojeński (Tonneville, Seine-Maritime, 1530 – Pińczów, or Kraków 1591) was a French grammarian and theologian, who settled among the Polish Brethren, becoming rector of a Calvinist Acade ...

to be the new rector, in addition to teaching Latin and Greek. Other teachers included

Francesco Lismanino Francesco Lismanini ( Corfu, ca. 1504 - Königsberg, April 1566) was an Italian Franciscan friar of Greek origin, who converted to Calvinism and also a Protestant reformer. Biography His Greek parents soon moved to Italy and in 1515 the family arr ...

, Georg Schomann and Jean Thenaud.

Alumni

Students included * Justus Rabb (d. 1612) - Jesuit theologian * Aleksy Rodecki (d.1606) - printer in Rakow * Krzysztof Przechadzka - later a teacher at the academy. * Stanisław Cikowski (d.1617) - chamberlain of

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 ...

* Remigiusz Chełmski -

antitrinitarian 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 essen ...

The school was forced to close temporarily 1565. A plan was started in 1578 to reopen as a university, but the acquisition of the town by the Bishop of Kraków led to the end of

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

activity.

Printery

From 1558-1562 Daniel z Łęczycy operated a printing press at Pińczów publishing Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski and others. After printing an antitrinitarian work by Stancaro it was burned on 1 September 1559 but restarted and ran for another 3 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinczow Academy Reformed universities and colleges Education in Poland 16th century in Poland Pińczów County 1550 establishments in Europe Protestantism in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth