John Jagiellon, Bishop of Poznań
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John of the Lithuanian Dukes (''Jan Ochstat de Thelnicz'', lt, Jonas iš Lietuvos kunigaikščių, pl, Jan z Książąt Litewskich; 8 January 1499 – 18 March 1538) was Bishop of Vilnius (1519–36) and of Bishop of Poznań (1536–38). He was the bishop when Protestantism was making the first inroads into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and took the first steps in combating it. John was an illegitimate son of
Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
,
King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...
and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his mistress Katarzyna Telniczanka.


Early life

John was born in 1499, well before Sigismund's first marriage to
Barbara Zápolya Barbara Zápolya ( hu, Szapolyai Borbála, 1495–1515) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the first wife of King Sigismund I the Old from 1512 to 1515. Marriage to Barbara represented an alliance between Sigismund and the ...
in 1512. In July 1510, John's father received papal dispensation to remove ''defectus natalium'', recognize him as a legitimate son, and ennoble him. John was granted the title "of the Lithuanian Dukes" around 1514 and used a version of the
Lithuanian coat of arms The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...
. John became canon in Kraków in 1510 and in Poznań in 1516. John was a student at
Kraków Academy The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
and University of Bologna. In 1519, at the age of 21, John was nominated Bishop of Vilnius by his father. Long-term canon of Vilnius John Filipowicz was nominated to become Bishop of Kiev. Pope Leo X confirmed the nomination even though John was not yet ordained as priest (it happened only in 1531) and the Third Council of the Lateran required bishops to be at least 30 years of age. John was accompanied by his mother, who interfered in diocesan affairs. John and his mother faced a lot of opposition in Vilnius; he was even physically attacked and injured by Stanisław, son of Grand Chancellor
Mikołaj II Radziwiłł Mikołaj II Radziwiłł ( lt, Mikalojus Radvila) (1470–1521), nicknamed Amor Poloniae, was a magnate and statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He obtained the title of prince from Emperor Maximilian I. He was a son of Mikalojus Radvilaiti ...
. That prompted the pope to place John under the tutelage of
Bishops 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 ...
and Lutsk.


Bishop of Vilnius

Despite the difficulties, John issued a new statute of Vilnius
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
in 1520, called the first known diocesan synod in 1520 or 1521, and, with pope's permission, created two new prelates of the cathedral chapter (in charge of scholastics and choir) in 1522. John also received papal legate
Zacharias Ferrerius Zacharias Ferreri or Ferrari (1479–1524) was an Italian monk and papal legate, Latin poet and ecclesiastical writer. Biography Ferreri was born in Vicenza to a noble family. As a student in Padua, he became a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of ...
sent to investigate canonization of
Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...
after a miracle attributed to him during the
Siege of Polotsk The siege of Polotsk was laid in 1518 by forces of the Grand Duchy of Moscow on Polotsk during the Fourth Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1512–1522). The Lithuanians defended the city. According to a legend, Prince Casimir Jagiellon appeared bef ...
(1518). John paid attention to education. In 1522, he revised the curriculum of the Cathedral School of Vilnius to include
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
,
dialectics Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...
, classical literature, arithmetic, music. In 1526 or 1527, John called the second diocesan synod which debated three major topics: improper behavior by priests, proper procedures of church services, and establishment of schools. The results of the proceedings were published in Kraków in 1528. The synod decided that each parish church should have a school that would instruct children in both Polish and Lithuanian languages. The synod also forbade hiring German teachers or traveling priests as they could be influenced by Lutheranism. His father Sigismund I the Old gifted John with Šiauliai in 1524,
Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, a ...
in 1525, and Kremenets in 1529. That was enough to make him a very wealthy
magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
– the
military census of 1528 The census of 1528 was the first census carried out in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was not a true census since it had limited scope: it only sought to count peasant households ( lt, dūmas) for military purposes. The Grand Duchy used a consc ...
placed him the ninth wealthiest. He funded repairs and reconstruction of Vilnius Cathedral and its belfry (architect Adam Annus). In June 1530, a large fire devastated Vilnius Cathedral. The repairs were slow and Italian architects Bernardino Zanobi de Gianotis and Giovanni Cini were hired only in July 1534. John sponsored construction of a new church in Šiauliai in 1526. He established new parishes and built churches in
Joniškis Joniškis (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Juonėškis'') is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis i ...
(named so after himself), Gervyaty, and Zarasai. In total, during his tenure as Bishop of Vilnius, more than 30 new churches were built in the diocese. On 18 October 1529, John crowned his half-brother Sigismund II Augustus as Grand Duke of Lithuania. In June 1535, John was appointed overseer of
Vilnius Mint The Vilnius Mint ( lt, Vilniaus monetų kalykla) was the main Mint (facility), mint of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which produced coins in Vilnius from 1387 to 1666 (with breaks). Many of the coins minted in the Vilnius Mint had privy marks of t ...
when it temporarily reopened during the Muscovite–Lithuanian War. In March 1536, Queen
Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...
, who disliked John, managed to get John removed from Vilnius to the
Diocese of Poznań In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
. He died there just two years later but, according to his last will, he was buried in Vilnius Cathedral. A new chapel, known as the Chapel of Bishops or Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, was built according to his last will around 1548. His tomb monument of Pińczów limestone was ordered by his brother Sigismund Augustus in 1556. It was designed by
Giovanni Maria Mosca Giovanni Maria Mosca or Giovanni Padovano (1495/99 – after 1573) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and medallist, active between 1515 and 1573, initially in the Veneto and after 1529 in Poland, where his first name was rendered Jan. Life ...
also known as Padovano, but did not survive.


References

, - {{authority control 1499 births 1538 deaths Jagiellonian dynasty Bishops of Vilnius Bishops of Poznań Illegitimate children of Polish monarchs Burials at Vilnius Cathedral Sons of kings