The Sandomierz Agreement (or Sandomierz Consensus; lat. ''Consensus Sendomiriensis'') was an agreement reached in 1570 in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

between a number of

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 ...

groups in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. It was intended to unite different creeds of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, such as the Calvinists, the

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 ...

, and the Bohemian Brethren, and to face

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

as a united front. The Polish Brethren did not participate in the talks that resulted in the agreement, signed on April 14, 1570. Signatories of the consensus agreed to respect each other's

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

s and

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

s. Furthermore, united

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

s were planned. The idea of a

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

bill was raised, in which Protestants were to be treated on equal terms with Catholics. By the mid-1550s, the Protestant Reformation was accepted by several members of the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

. They, however, were deeply divided, which made it impossible to create a national Protestant church of Poland. Facing counter-reformation, Jan Laski came with the idea of a united front, but it turned out to be a failure, when in the 1560s, the radical movement of the Polish Brethren emerged, dividing the Calvinists. Due to efforts of Laski and Feliks Krzyzak, the agreement between the Calvinists and the Bohemian Brethren was signed in 1555 in Kozminek. Due to several dogmatic differences the agreement formally existed only for ten years. In 1565, at a

in Gostyn,

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

, the idea of unification of Protestant churches in the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

was raised once again. The synod turned out to be another failure, and another meeting of the Protestant nobility took place in early April 1570 in Sandomierz. The Polish Brethren did not participate in it, so after lengthy discussion, Protestant activists decided to expel the Brethren from their community. Each creed retained its ceremonies, and all participants pledged to cooperate with each other, and to invite each other to synods. In the province of Lesser Poland, Feliks Krzyzak emerged as a leader of Protestant communities. In Greater Poland, this task was taken over by Erazm Gliczner, while leaders of the local Bohemian Brethren were Jakub Ostrorog and Rafal Leszczynski. In the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, the Protestants were led by Szymon Zaciusz. The expansion of both Bohemian and Polish Brethren was stopped after 1577, and in the late 16th century, the Roman Catholic church managed to weaken the influence of the Calvinists in the

. In the first half of the 17th century, the number of Calvinist prayer houses in Lesser Poland was reduced from 260 to 155. The only Protestant creed that retained its position was Lutheran Church, which was very strong among German-speaking residents of Royal Prussia.

Sources

Ugoda sandomierska wzmocniła pozycję protestantów wobec katolicyzmu

External links

(in Polish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandomierz Agreement Agreement Sandomierz Protestantism in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Protestant Reformation