Michał Jan Piwnicki (1771 – 29 May 1845) was a Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Lutsk-Zytomierz from 1828 to his death in 1845. He previously served as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the same Diocese and titular bishop of Rama from 1827 to 1828.

Biography

Piwnicki was born in 1771 into a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

family; he was baptized on 29 September 1771. After attending secondary school at

Volodymyr Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

, he began attending a Greek Catholic seminary in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, while also attending the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

. Between 15 and 18 November 1795, he was ordained into

minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

, the subdiaconate, the diaconate and to the priesthood by Arseniusz Główniewski. He later served as professor of theology at a

Uniate The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

seminary at Volodymyr between 1795 and 1797. In 1797, under the influence of Kacper Kazimierz Cieciszowski, Piwnicki converted to the

Latin rite Latin Rite may refer to: *The Latin Church, a ''sui iuris'' church of the Catholic Church *The Latin liturgical rites, a family of Christian rites and uses which includes the Roman Rite *The Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritua ...

, and was thus

incardinated Incardination is the formal term in the Catholic Church for a clergyman being under a bishop or other ecclesiastical superior. It is also sometimes used to refer to laity who may transfer to another part of the church. Examples include transfers ...

into the Diocese of Kyiv. On 29 December 1797, he was appointed honorary canon of the

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 ...

of Kyiv by Kacper Kazimierz Cieciszowski. He later served as secretary and chancellor to the bishop at Zytomierz. He was made provost at

Maciejowice Maciejowice is a town in Garwolin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Maciejowice. It lies in northeastern corner of historic Lesser Poland, approximately sout ...

on 29 August 1798, regular canon of the cathedral chapter at Zytomierz on 7 July 1799, and custodian of the cathedral chapter at

Olyka Olyka (, ; ; ) is a city in Lutsk Raion, Volyn Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located east of Lutsk on the Putylivka Rriver. Its population is History The village of Olyka was founded in the early Middle Ages as one of the villages belonging ...

on 26 October 1803. Piwnicki was made supernumerary canon of the cathedral chapter at

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

on 30 November 1804; he was later raised to regular canon on 19 December 1807. On 15 May 1810, he was appointed provost of

Ratne Ratne (; ; ''Ratno'') is a rural settlement in Volyn Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Volhynia. Population: History Ratne is mentioned in old Ruthenian documents at the end of 12th - beginning of 13th centuries. ...

. He received a doctorate in theology and both laws from the University of Vilnius on 22 March 1815, following his dissertation ''De iuridica Ecclesiae potestate''. He was appointed assistant judicial vicar of the consistory at Lutsk on 16 January 1816, and was appointed archdeacon on 7 June of the same year. On 31 May 1825, Piwnicki was appointed

of the Diocese of Lutsk-Zytomierz by

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleo ...

. His appointment was approved by

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

on 3 July 1826, who assigned him to the titular see of Rama; he was consecrated on 6 May 1827 at Lutsk by Franciszek Mackiewicz. In the same year, he was appointed head of the . He was made bishop of Lutsk-Zytomierz on 23 June 1828, after its previous bishop was made archbishop of Mohilev. He died on 29 May 1845 in Zhytomyr and was buried at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Zhytomyr.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*{{Cite book, chapter = Michał Piwnicki, url=https://sbc.org.pl/Content/428645/Sylwetki%20biskup%C3%B3w%20%C5%82uckich.pdf, title=Sylwetki biskupów łuckich, first=Krzysztof, last=Prokop, date=2001, language=pl, pages=174–178 1771 births 1845 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Russian Empire Bishops appointed by Pope Leo XII