Henryk Józef Muszyński (born 20 March 1933 in

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna (; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian and ; former ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 23,327 inhabitants as of June 2023. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship si ...

Kashubia Kashubia or Cassubia ( or ; ; or ) is an ethnocultural region in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region of northern Poland. It is inhabited by the Kashubian people, and many in the region have historically spoken the Kashubian langua ...

) is the Primate Emeritus of Poland and former

archbishop of Gniezno This is a list of archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno, Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primate (bishop), primates of Poland since 1418.Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, having been appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

when the Polish hierarchy was reorganized in March 1992. He had previously been

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Włocławek Włocławek (; or ''Alt Lesle'', Yiddish: וולאָצלאַוועק, romanized: ''Vlatzlavek'') is a city in the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship in central Poland along the Vistula River, bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park ...

since 1987.

Life

He is known for his

Biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

, especially concerning the Qumran manuscripts. He has been described as "an advocate of open and tolerant Catholicism". Together with Danuta Hubner and

Tadeusz Pieronek Tadeusz Pieronek (; 24 October 1934 – 27 December 2018) was a Polish Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop-emeritus, Catholic academic and professor of theology and civil law. Pieronek was a leading member of the Stefan Batory Foundation (a George S ...

, Muszyński coauthored a reflection on the integration of Polish Christianity into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. This reflection persuaded many Polish rectors to become proponents of Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004. Prymasowie

Historically, the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

served simultaneously as the

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. But when the reorganization of the Polish Church's ecclesiastical structure severed the See from

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 ...

, an exception was made to continue the long-standing tradition until the retirement of the

Archbishop of Warsaw The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of Warsaw. On 30 June 1818, the see was elevated to the rank of an archdiocese. Also included are the auxiliary bishops. Bishops of Warsaw: * Józef Miaskowski, 1798–1804 * Ignacy Raczyń ...

, who had previously been Archbishop of both cities. On 1 November 2006 Pope

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

sent a letter to

Józef Glemp Józef Glemp (18 December 192923 January 2013) was a Polish Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was List of bishops and archbishops of Warsaw, Archbishop of Warsaw from 1981 to 2006, and was elevated to the cardinalate ...

confirming that Cardinal Glemp would be the Primate of Poland until 18 December 2009, his 80th birthday. According to controversial records saved in

Instytut Pamięci Narodowej The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...

, since 1985 to 1989 Henryk Muszyński was registered as secret collaborator of communist

Służba Bezpieczeństwa The Security Service (; ), in full Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and commonly known as SB, was a secret police force established in the Polish People's Republic in 1956 as a successor to the Ministry of Public Security (P ...

, however he did not agree to this and not even know about that fact, and that his superiors where informed about all talks with communist authorities. Muszyński expressed regret that he could not refuse such talks. Archbishop Muszynski has sought to constantly improve relations with

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s and

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. In 1999, he received the

Buber-Rosenzweig-Medal The Buber-Rosenzweig-Medaille is an annual prize awarded since 1968 by the Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit (DKR; German Coordinating Council of Societies for Christian-Jewish Cooperation) to in ...

for his contributions to Christian–Jewish understanding. He was praised by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

for doing this in 2005.

References

External links

Virtual tour Gniezno Cathedral

List of Primates of Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muszynski, Henryk 1933 births Living people Archbishops of Gniezno Bishops of Kujawy and Włocławek Kashubians Kashubian clergy People from Kościerzyna Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Life

See also

References

External links