Evangelical Reformed Parish in Warsaw (, ''Parafia Ewangelicko-Reformowana w Warszawie'') is a
Polish Reformed church in
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 ...
at Aleja Solidarności 76a.
Assumption parish
The parish was registered in
Leszno
Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021.
Leszno is a former residential cit ...
in 1776, when a decree from 1525, banning dissenters settling in
Mazovia
Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...
, was withdrawn. A year later, the first Reform church (now the headquarters of the
Warsaw Chamber Opera
The Warsaw Chamber Opera (, WOK) is a Polish opera company founded in 1961 by Stefan Sutkowski, its managing and artistic director from its inception until his retirement in 2012.
On 15 October 1986, the Warsaw Chamber Opera moved into its own t ...
) and the rectory was built and designed by
Szymon Bogumił Zug
Szymon Bogumił Zug (20 February 1733 – 11 August 1807), born Simon Gottlieb Zug, and also known as Zugk, was a renowned Polish- German classicist architect and designer of gardens. Born in Merseburg in Saxony, he spent most of his life in t ...
.
On October 30, 1866, the construction began of a new church in the
Gothic style
Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...
, designed by architect Adolf Loewe. Construction lasted 14 years and on October 24, 1880, the church was dedicated. A high tower with a shawl helmet is modelled on the tower of
The Cathedral of Our Lady in
Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
. Among the elements that draw attention are the oak pulpit made and designed by
Konstanty Wojciechowski (pl).
In 1881 the parish founded in the Działyński Palace included a hospital, an elementary school, a home for orphans, and a nursing home.
1918-1939
After regaining independence, parish life began to evolve rapidly. This resulted in a Youth Association, a Mission Inner Circle and a Ladies Auxiliary and they conducted Sunday school classes. Trips outside the city were organised as well as camps for children in property donated to the church.
In this time there were two parish magazines. Between 1924 and 1928 ''"Żagiew Chrystusowa”'' (The Torch of Christ), and from 1926 to 1939 ''"Jednota”'' ("Unity").
The occupation
In 1940 the buildings of the parish including the church, Działyński Palace, the hospital and several other buildings in the so-called "Evangelical enclave" near the
Warsaw ghetto area were destroyed during the
defence of Warsaw in September 1939. Parishioners and clergy helped save Jews from the ghetto, which is commemorated by one of the monuments on the boundaries of the ghetto, located behind the parish.
During the occupation, many parishioners were killed, and several priests murdered. Evangelicals also took part in the
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
.
After the war
The first church services were held in the Methodist chapel in
Savior Square
Saviour Square (Polish language, Polish: ''Plac Zbawiciela'') is an Town square, urban square and roundabout in Downtown, Warsaw, Poland. It is formed by the intersection of Marszałkowska Street, Warsaw, Marszałkowska Street, Mokotowska Street, ...
. Renovations started on the church on Aleja Solidarności. It served Warsaw's
Lutherans
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
, whose
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
burned down in 1939. In 1958, the parish rectory was restored (the original Zug designed church), where its headquarters were, and in 1957 the editors reactivated the "Unity" magazine. The
Polish Ecumenical Council Polish Ecumenical Council () founded in 1946 to promote interchurch cooperation among the minority Christian denominations in Poland. There are seven member churches: the Baptist Church, Lutheran Church, Methodist Church, Reformed Church, Mariavite ...
was based there from 1960 to 1974.
The parish cemetery
The cemetery was established in 1792 and is located in the
Wola
Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...
district. Many historic gravestones are in need of renovation, so money is collected by the Social Committee for the Protection of Monuments at the Evangelical Reformed Cemetery.
Today
The current pastor is Michał Jabłoński.
A parish administrator is elected for three years by the College Church. Among its members is the pastor who is elected for a ten-year term. The college and pastor of the church chooses the General Assembly. It teaches religion to children and adolescents: at Sunday school, during lessons before confirmation, and during the two-year course youth participate in after confirmation. The parish ministry also caters to foreign nationals of Chinese and Vietnamese nationalities.
The parish operates the Chamber Choir of the Reformed Evangelical Church in Warsaw, which since 1991, has held concerts at the church and at churches of other denominations, and taken part in competitions abroad (including in the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, and Switzerland).
They also have the Concerto Polacco orchestra and the Sine Nomine choir, performing classical musical works.
Clergy from the parish in Warsaw
27 priests have worked there, including:
* Władysław Semadeni (1865–1930)
* Stefan Skierski (1873–1948)
* Edward Wende (1874–1949)
* Kazimierz Ostachiewicz (1883–1952)
* Wladyslaw Paschalis (1892–1996)
* Roman Mazierski (1899-1959)
* Emil Jelinek (1905–1979)
* Jan Niewieczerzał (1914–1981)
* Zdzisław Tranda (born 1925)
* Zdzisław Grzybek (1926–1996)
* Bogdan Tranda (1929–1996)
* Jerzy Stahl (1939–1997)
* Miroslaw Danys (born 1945)
* Lech Tranda (1956–2012)
* Piet van Veldhuisen (born 1959)
* Tadeusz Jelinek (born 1966)
* Michał Jabłoński (born 1967)
External links
Evangelical Reformed Parish in Warsaw (in Polish)
{{Authority control
Churches in Warsaw
Muranów (City Information System area)