Adam Stanisław Grabowski (; 3 September 1698, Wielki Buczek, near

Debrzno Debrzno (historically: ''Frydląd Pomorski''; , ''Fréląd'', or ''Frëdląd''; ) is a town in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,983. History The first mention of the village dates back to the 1 ...

– 15 December 1766, Lidzbark Warmiński), of the ''Zbiświcz'' coat-of-arms, was Bishop of Chełmno 1736–39, Bishop of Kujawy 1739–41, Prince-Bishop of Warmia 1741–66.

Life

Grabowski was the son of Schlochau assessor (

Człuchów Człuchów (, ''Człochòwo'', or ''Człëchòwò''; ) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 13,350 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Location ...

'' iudex terrestris'' district judge) Andreas Theodor Grabowski and his wife Barbara Sofia von Kleist. He attended

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

schools in Conitz (now

Chojnice Chojnice (; or ; or ) is a town in northern Poland with 38,789 inhabitants, as of June 2023, near the Tuchola Forest. It is the capital of the Chojnice County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Founded in , Chojnice is a former royal city of Poland ...

) and Thorn (

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

), then studied law in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. For a time he was a court scribe ''(pisarz sądowy)'' in Skarszewy, then was secretary to Crown Deputy Chancellor Andrzej Lipski and became an official in the Crown Chancellery. In 1730 Grabowski took

holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

and, as a trusted associate of Chancellor Jan Aleksander (?) Lipski, quickly accumulated lucrative

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s. He received canonicates in Lwów and Włocławek, a

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

in Chełmno, and presbyteries in Jaworowo, Skaryszew, and Tujce. In 1733 he became the

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

. During the 1733–34

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

, Grabowski backed August III, later taking part in his

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

. In 1734 he worked to win the Royal Prussia ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'' (nobility) for August III, then was the king's envoy to Rome, where he obtained

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...

's support for August III's

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. As a reward for his mission to Rome, in 1736 Grabowski was appointed Bishop of Chełmno. In 1737 he returned to Poland. In 1739 he was transferred to the more lucrative Kujawy Bishopric. He participated actively in the 1738 and 1740 ''

sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

''s (parliaments). On 14 April 1741 he was preconized Bishop of Warmia. Grabowski allied himself with the

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; ) is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family of Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia (political party), Familia. The family, whic ...

'' Familia'' and carried out in Royal Prussia the court's policy of blocking the general sejmiks. In 1743–44 he was president of the Radom Treasury Tribunal. In a speech before the

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

in 1744, he conditioned an expansion of the army on improvement in the national economy. He participated in the

s of 1746 and 1748. In 1749 he was royal commissioner in Danzig (

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

), where he resolved disputes between the Council and the burgher opposition. From 1746 he headed a commission that oversaw the reconstruction of a sluice dividing the

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

into the Nogat and Leniwka Rivers. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, Grabowski gave financial assistance to King August III and sought to protect Warmia from armies marching across her territory. In the face of mounting conflict between the

s and the royal court, he declared in favor of the King and gradually withdrew from politics, maintaining his neutrality in a dispute between "Prussian patriots" and Pomeranian Governor ''(Wojewoda)'' Paweł Mostowski. During the 1763–64

, he recognized

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

as king. In 1765 he sold his

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

palace for a national mint. At King Stanisław August's request, not long before his death in 1766 he accepted

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Polish Enlightenment, Enlightenment ...

as his coadjutor with right of succession. During his reign over Warmia, Grabowski was the first to use the metropolitan's

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

and cross, granted in

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

of 24 September 1742. Bishop Grabowski was a good husbandman and patron of the arts. At a 1748 conference of cities, he brought about a revision of 1718

tax rates A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax c ...

and a more equitable distribution of fiscal burdens. At a conference of Warmia estates in Wormditt ( Orneta) on 4 July 1766, he issued ordinances regulating the everyday lives of Warmians in relation to agriculture, trade and crafts. The ordinances had been discussed with the Warmia chapter. In the realm of

cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

and

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

he collaborated with Jan Suchodolec, son of a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Polish Brother who had found refuge at Alt Rosenthal (today Stara Różanka), near Rastenburg (today Kętrzyn) in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. At Grabowski's initiative, the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

at Heilsberg Lidzbark Castle received a

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

decor, and before the castle's eastern wing there appeared a new structure, "Grabowski's palace." Grabowski also founded a church at Franknowo, financed the rebuilding of churches in Lamkowo, Bisztynek and

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, and bestowed main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s upon the Dobre Miasto

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

, St. Nicholas' Church in Elbing ( Elbląg), and Frauenburg Frombork Cathedral. Grabowski also restored the bishops' summer residence at Smolajny. He gave financial support to Stanisław Konarski's initiatives such as the Collegium Nobilium. He maintained close contacts with men of learning such as Jan Daniel Janocki. He passed on to Gottfried Lengnich for printing a 1426 manuscript of Kadłubek's ''Chronicles'' that he had found, and the "Heilsberg manuscript" of Gallus Anonymus. It was thanks to Grabowski that Johann Friedrich Endersch's map of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

(the ''Map of Holy Warmia'') was published. He himself took an interest in the

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

and gathered extensive collections of books, statues, paintings and porcelain. He was a representative of the early Catholic Enlightenment in Poland.Jerzy Dygdała, ''"U początku katolickiego oświecenia w Polsce. Z działalności kościelnej biskupów Andrzeja Stanisława Załuskiego i Adama Stanisława Grabowskiego"'' ("The Beginnings of the Catholic Enlightenment in Poland, and the Church Activities of Bishops

Andrzej Stanisław Załuski Andrzej Stanisław Kostka Załuski (2 December 1695 – 16 December 1758) was a priest (bishop) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In his religious career he held the posts of abbot and later Bishop of Płock (from 1723), bishop of Ł ...

and Adam Stanisław Grabowski"), in ''Między barokiem a oświeceniem. Nowe spojrzenie na czasy saskie'' (Between Baroque and Enlightenment: A New Look at the Saxon Period), Olsztyn, 1998, pp. 181-88. Grabowski was interred at Frauenburg, now Frombork Cathedral.

Notes

References

* Jerzy Dygdała, ''Adam Stanisław Grabowski (1698-1766)'', Olsztyn, 1994. * Jerzy Dygdała, ''"U początku katolickiego oświecenia w Polsce. Z działalności kościelnej biskupów Andrzeja Stanisława Załuskiego i Adama Stanisława Grabowskiego"'' ("The Beginnings of the Catholic Enlightenment in Poland, and the Church Activities of Bishops

and Adam Stanisław Grabowski"), in ''Między barokiem a oświeceniem. Nowe spojrzenie na czasy saskie'' (Between Baroque and Enlightenment: A New Look at the Saxon Period), Olsztyn, 1998, pp. 181–88. * Andrzej Kopiczko, ''Ustrój i organizacja diecezji warmińskiej w latach 1525-1772'' (The Government and Organization of the Warmia

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

in 1525–1772), Olsztyn, 1993. * Tadeusz Oracki, ''Słownik biograficzny Warmii, Prus Książęcych i Ziemi Malborskiej od połowy XV do końca XVIII wieku'' (A Biographical Dictionary of Warmia, Ducal Prussia and the Malbork District from the Mid-15th to the End of the 18th Century), volume 1 (A-K), Olsztyn, 1984.

External links

''Geschichte des Geschlechts von Kleist – Muttrin-Damensche Linie''1755 map of Warmia, Royal Prussia, commissioned of Johann Friedrich Endersch by Prince-Bishop of Warmia Adam Stanisław Grabowski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Adam Stanislaw 1698 births 1766 deaths Bishops of Warmia Prince-bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Bishops of Kujawy and Włocławek Polish people of German descent 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links