Mariavite Church

The Mariavite Church is an independent Christian church that emerged from the Catholic Church of Poland at the turn of the 20th century. Initially, it was an internal movement leading to a reform of the Polish clergy. After a conflict with Polish bishops, it became a separate and independent denomination. Currently the Mariavite denomination has around 28,000 members in Poland and 5,000 in France. Since 2007 Michał Maria Ludwik Jabłoński has been the Prime Bishop of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church, which has the majority of members.

Since division in the 1930s, there are also the groups: the Catholic Church of the Mariavites and the Mariavite Old Catholic Church – Province of North America.

The Mariavite Church is one of few religious movements that developed in Poland or among Polish communities abroad after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The other example is the Polish National Catholic Church, which was founded in the United States. The reasons behind the founding of these two churches are quite different. The Mariavite movement was an internal Polish movement for spiritual reform of the clergy and Catholic communities in Poland, which at the time was divided under the rule of three countries (see: partitions of Poland). Although in its early years the Mariavite Church had no connection with Protestantism, some commentators see minor commonalities with that branch of Christianity. These are discussed more fully below.

The Polish National Church of the United States grew out of the 19th-century struggle of Polish immigrants for equal treatment in the Catholic Church in the U.S. of that era. The clergy and hierarchy were dominated by the descendants of earlier Irish and German immigrants. The Irish particularly dominated the Catholic Church, schools, seminaries and hierarchy, in many cities.

History

Situation of the Catholic Church in Poland under Russian Empire

The history of the Mariavite movement dates back to the second half of the 19th century. In 1887 Feliksa Kozłowska established the religious order for women according to the Rule of Saint Clare. Later to be called the Order of the Mariavite Sisters, at the time it was one among many Roman Catholic religious communities. Kozłowska had been in another Roman Catholic order since 1883, one established by the Capuchin friar, Blessed (Father) Honorat Koźmiński. According to the laws of the Russian Empire, which upheld the Russian Orthodox Church as the established church, all of these religious organizations were illegal. In this part of Poland, divided among three neighbouring countries, the situation of the Catholic Church was the worst.

After the January Uprising in 1863, tsarist authorities forbade the establishment of Polish-national organisations, including religious ones. Many cloisters were dissolved. The Catholic clergy in the Russian-dominated area, in contrast to the priests in regions occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Prussia, were not well educated. The only theological academy was in Saint Petersburg. The priests were often criticized for their inappropriate behaviour and exploitation of the peasants. The Mariavite movement emerged in this difficult situation.

Revelation of Feliksa Kozłowska – 1893–1903

In 1893 Kozłowska, also known by her convent name "Maria Franciszka", had her first vision and was said to found the new religious movement of "Mariavitism" on 2 Aug 1893. It developed into a separate denomination. The name "Mariavite" comes from Latin words: Mariae vitam (imitans), "(following/imitating) the life of Mary." Several visions of Kozłowska between 1893 and 1918 were gathered in 1922 in the volume entitled Dzieło Wielkiego Miłosierdzia (The Work of Great Mercy), which is the most important religious source for the Mariavites beside the Bible. In her revelation, Kozłowska received an order to fight with the moral decline of the world, especially with the sins of the clergy.

In her first vision, she was told to organize the order of the priests-Mariavites. The aim of this order was to promote the renewal of the spiritual life of the clergy. The most important purpose was to spread the perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the cult of the Perpetual Help of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In their everyday life, the clergy returned to the Franciscan tradition of an ascetic life: fasting, modesty and simplicity in clothes and life. They recommended frequent confession and communion for the people. Notably, early adherents represented the elite of Polish clergy of that time – they were young priests who had finished theology studies at the Saint Petersburg Clerical Academy; they were often professors and lecturers at the seminary schools, and held positions as seminary Rectors or as chancery officials.

Attempt to legalize the movement – 1903–1906

For Kozłowska and the Mariavite priests, the newly established movement was to be a means for an internal reform of the Church in Poland. The initial purpose was not to create a different denomination. Until 1903 the movement was not officially recognised by the Roman Catholic authorities in divided and occupied Poland. It was in that year that the provincials of the Mariavite order presented the texts of the revelations and the history of the movement to the bishops of the dioceses of Płock (where Feliksa Kozłowska lived), Warsaw and Lublin. While the bishops of Warsaw and Lublin refused to accept the documents, the bishop of Płock did accept them and started the canonical process for recognition.

The leaders of the movement were interviewed and the documents were sent to the Holy See. One month later a delegation of Mariavites went to Rome to ask the pope to recognise the order. They had to wait for the end of the conclave, during which a new pope would be elected. During this time, they chose the Minister Generalis (Minister General) of the order – Jan Maria Michał Kowalski, who was then the most important person of the movement. They presented their case to the newly elected Pope Pius X. In June 1904 another delegation traveled to Rome to express to the Roman Curia the importance of their order's mission.

The final decision was taken by the Holy Office of the Roman Inquisition (now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) in August, one month after the second Mariavite audience. The decision, announced in December 1904, was unfavorable to the Mariavites' cause. The Vatican ruled that the revelations of Feliksa Kozłowska were "hallucinations." The Vatican ordered that the movement be dissolved and forbade any further contact between the priests and Kozłowska. Following the decision, the Mariavite community sent another two delegations to the Vatican. The first, including the Mariavite priest Skolimowski, asked the pope to allow them to gather monthly for their spiritual exercises; the second, a delegation of the "Mariavite people" (i.e., people from parishes where the Mariavites served), described the positive value of the Mariavites' work, especially amongst those living in poverty.

In time the Mariavites decided to disregard the recommendations of the Holy See. Kozłowska cut herself off from contact with the other nuns and priests of the community and accepted the decision of the Vatican. In February 1906 the group informed the Vatican that it was separating from the jurisdiction of the Polish bishops, but it asked its case to be adjudicated by Rome. During this time, the bishop of Płock called the Mariavites heretics, which led to instances of anti-Mariavite persecution. Many clerical members of the movement were suspended from their positions.

In their last letter to Archbishop of Warsaw, in March 1906, the Mariavites asked for the reversal of the decisions that had been made against them. The final answer came from the Vatican: in April 1906, Pope Pius X issued the encyclical Tribus Circiter (Around three years ago) which sustained the decision of the Holy Office about Sister Feliksa Kozłowska and the Mariavite community. In December 1906, the Church excommunicated Kozłowska and Jan Maria Michael Kowalski, as well as all those who chose to follow them.

The Mariavite Church – first period (1906–1921)

The main Mariavite House of Worship, Temple of Mercy and Charity in Płock, Poland.

The Russian authorities recognized the Mariavite movement as a "tolerated sect" in November 1906. Six years later, the Mariavites were officially recognised as a separate and independent church. In 1906 there were about 50–60,000 Mariavites in 16 parishes. Five years later, historical sources mention the number of 160,000 believers. This increase in the group's numbers may be due to the decision of the bishops to send Mariavites into the villages, rather than retaining them as professors, rectors, or chancery officials in urban centers.

The organization of the Mariavite community somewhat resembles Protestant communities, where each member has a right to speak about problems. Mariavites were not only active on religious grounds, but they operated many cultural, educational and social activities. They were soon organizing schools, kindergartens, libraries, kitchens for the poor, shops, printing houses, poorhouses, orphanages and factories. Quickly their parishes built many new churches, causing suspicion in the Catholic Church.

In 1911 they finished their main church in Płock called the Sanctuary of Mercy and Charity. They bought also 5 km² of land near Płock which they named Felicjanów after Kozłowska. Since 1906, they practiced the liturgy in the vernacular, or Polish, rather than in Latin. Separated from the Catholic Church, they desired reintegration into the historic apostolic succession and their own legitimate bishop.

They contacted the Old Catholic Church in Utrecht through the efforts of General Kireev. In 1909 the first Mariavite bishop was consecrated to the episcopate in Utrecht, by the Utrecht Union Old Catholic Archbishop Gerardus Gul. In 1919 they officially changed the group's name to the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites.

The death of Feliksa Kowalska in 1921 closed the first era of the Mariavite movement, when the internal reformation movement changed into the development of a new denomination. This period was the most successful time for the Mariavites. They developed many activities for the believers. Gradually the number of the adherents decreased; in 1921 there were officially 43,000 Mariavites. Nevertheless, they created numerous social institutions, built facilities, founded magazines and published books having to do with the movement.

Archbishop Kowalski (1921–1935)

After the death of Kozłowska, the head of the Mariavite Church became Bishop Kowalski (later he called himself the Archbishop). He had been the closest associate of Kozłowska, staying under her strong influence until her death. The respect for "Mateczka" passed on to Kowalski; quickly he became the only authority of the Mariavites. He initiated several changes within the church to make it more distinct from Roman Catholicism. His innovations were called far-reaching theological and dogmatical Modernism.

The Mariavites' homepage summarizes Kowalski's reforms and radical innovations: [1]:

• "The possibility for a priest of being married (1922–1924);
• The communion under the two species (1922);
• The priesthood of women (introduced in 1929, abolished among Old Catholic-Mariavites in January 1935, retained in the Catholic Mariavite Church);
• The Protestant concept of the priesthood of the people of God (1930);
• Immediate Communion of just-born baptized infants (1930);
• The removal of the ecclesiastical titles (1930); *The suppression of the prerogatives of the clergy (1930);
• The simplification of the liturgical ceremonies and the rules of Lent (1931–1933); and
• The reduction of the eucharistic fast."

These innovations were very controversial, not only to the Roman Catholics, but also to many of the Mariavites. The introduction of marriages between priests and nuns (1924) and the priesthood of women (1929) were disputed the most. Kowalski's changes disrupted the connection with the Old Catholics, who were firmly opposed to the ordination of women. In the 1920s and 1930s, Kowalski was searching for an ecumenical dialogue with other churches. He proposed union with the Polish National Catholic Church, then worked to deepen contacts with Eastern Orthodox churches and other Eastern-tradition churches. In the early 1930s, he sent letters to Roman Catholic bishops with proposals of reconciliation. None of these attempts succeeded.

The opposition against "the dictatorship" of Archbishop Kowalski arose in the Mariavite Church in the 1930s. In October 1934, the bishops and priests demanded changes to the teachings and rules of administration in the Church, but Kowalski refused to make any changes. In January 1935 the General Chapter of the Mariavite Priests (Synod) decided to remove Kowalski from his position. With his supporters, the Archbishop refused to accept the decision of the General Chapter. The Church divided, as if to fulfill Kozłowska's prophecy that the Mariavite Church was to experience a schism as Christianity had earlier. During this time, nearly 30 percent of believers left the Mariavite Church and converted back to Roman Catholicism.

After the division in 1935

Archbishop Kowalski withdrew from Płock to Felicjanów with his followers. This village is the headquarters of the Catholic Church of the Mariavites, which has about 3,000 believers. The denomination confirmed all the decisions of Archbishop Kowalski and introduced the public cult of Feliksa Kozłowska, the Mateczka, the Spouse of Christ and new Redemptrix of the world. Its doctrine is removed from the Roman Catholic doctrine which the foundress originally espoused. The church is insular and does not participate in the ecumenical movement. Archbishop Kowalski died during World War II in the concentration camp at Dachau. His successor was his wife, Bishop Izabela Wiłucka. From 1946-2005, the head of the Church was Bishop Józef Maria Rafael Wojciechowski. He was succeeded in 2005 by Bishopess Maria Beatrycze Szulgowicz.

Bishop Feldman led an opposition that attracted the majority of Mariavite believers. They decided to reverse most of the innovations which Kowalski had introduced, and to return to the original ideas and rules from before the death of Kozłowska. This branch of the Mariavite Church, called the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites, is the larger one; it has around 25,000 believers in Poland and 5,000 in France (mostly Paris). A major problem shared by both churches is the lack of clergy, as most of the priests are aged and young people have not entered the seminary in sufficient number to replace them. The Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites started many activities in the post-war ecumenical movement. Together with other churches, it has established the Polish Ecumenical Council. It renewed its contacts with other Old Catholic churches.

Relations between Mariavites and Roman Catholics

Since the 1970s the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Mariavite churches have worked at reconciliation. The Polish bishops apologized for the problems that had engendered the beginnings of the Mariavite movement. Also their attitude toward Kozłowska changed, and they affirmed she was a woman of great piety and religiosity. In 1972 the Jesuit priest Stanisław Bajko, the secretary of the Polish Episcopate Commission for Ecumenism, did theological research on the revelations of Kozłowska. He did not find any traces of discordance with Roman Catholic doctrine. The Mariavites were pleased that the Holy See recognised as true the revelation of Faustina Kowalska about the Lord's Grace. They said nota bene took place in Płock, which was for the Mariavites a clear sign that God has repeated this message to the people.

The influence of Kozłowska was seen to be too strong; this is why she was the victim of harsh attacks (called often the incarnation of a devil, as in the satiric article "Where the devil cannot go, there he will send a woman" from 1906). Her activities had begun to be criticized by the bishop of Płock as early as 1897. The strongest point of this accusation was that she was treated by many Mariavites as a living saint. She was treated by Mariavites as a very good and pious person before the condemnation of the pope, but this situation was not unique in Christian history. Archbishop Kowalski used a hagiographical style in calling her "the incarnation of the Holy Spirit on earth" in his writings.

In 1903 the Archbishop of the Warsaw diocese forbade laypeople from observing some otherwise approved devotions of the Roman Catholic rite (e.g. the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the Perpetual Help of Our Lady), which were considered most important by the Mariavite faction. He called their devotion to these "excessive" and unnecessary.

As the movement became more visible, it attracted critics. The newspapers were publishing a number of satiric articles and the cabarets were laughing at the Mariavites in their songs and plays. This led to the more violent acts against the Mariavite churches and chapels. The most difficult year was 1906, when in a few places riots and the murder of Mariavites took place. They were generally connected with the problem of ownership, because in many places Mariavite priests with the majority of believers of the parishes wanted to take over the churches, which in many cases the Mariavite believers had built, while according to the law, they were confiscated and claimed to belong to the Catholic Church.

The Church struggled during the inter-war period after Poland regained its independence. Mariavites were discriminated against, and there were "Mariavite pogroms". In these days the leaders of the Mariavite Church were very often sued in court. Archbishop Kowalski had to appear in front of the tribunal in 20 cases; he was accused for blasphemies against God, the Bible, the Church, and the Sacraments, betrayal of the country (implicit treason), of socialism, communism, theft, frauds, lies, etc. In the most important process, he was blamed for sexual abuses that had taken place in the Płock cloister. In 1931 he was found guilty and finally sent for two years to prison between 1936 and 1938. The press published articles demanding the criminalization of the Mariavite Church.

Because they had been recognized by the Tsarist authorities, the Mariavites were criticized as pro-Russian and pro-socialist, and suggested as collaborators with the occupiers. The very early Mariavites became aware of the problems among the workers, and they directed many social activities based on their interpretation of Christianity. For many Poles, "Polishness" was strongly connected with the Roman Catholic faith. Rejection of the faith was equivalent with rejection of nationality.

The history of relations between the Mariavites and Roman Catholics could be divided into two periods. The first was when the Mariavite Church was emerging and forming its institutional shape. This period was full of mutual distrust, suspicions and insults. The worst time was between 1906 and 1911, shortly after separation of the Mariavites, and between 1923 and 1937, when Polish nationalism was ardent.

The second was the post-World War II period, which was affected by two events: the oppression of all churches under decades of Communist rule in Poland, and the changes introduced by Vatican II. Those circumstances led to the opening of dialogue and closer connections between Christian denominations. The progress in ecumenical reconciliation between the Old Catholic Mariavite Church and Catholic Church in Poland is now underway. (However, the Felicjanów denomination rejects any possibility of the rapprochement with Catholics.)

The papal residence and observatory at Castel Gandalfo has been a site of ecumenical activities. In the 1980s observations at Castel Gandalfo were led by Rev. Konrad Maria Pawel Rudnicki, a Polish astronomer who was also a priest and professor of the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites. The late Pope John Paul II was said to have allowed Rev. Rudnicki to celebrate the Mariavite Mass in his private chapel.

Mariavite Old Catholic Church – Province of North America

The third Mariavite group is the Mariavite Old Catholic Church – Province of North America, presently under the direction of Archbishop Robert R. Zaborowski, based in Wyandotte, Michigan. The Old Catholic Mariavite Church in Europe contends that it has no official presence in North America. The American branch has existed since 1930. The Church in Poland has had no official contacts with it since the death of Bishop Prochniewski. The Province in North America is a strong and viable autonomous body.

The Administrative Center of the Mariavite Old Catholic Church – Province of North America is located at 2803 Tenth Street, Wyandotte, Michigan 48192-4994. E-mail: mariaviteocc@hotmail.com

Structure of the Mariavite Churches (Feldman Group)

Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites

Leaders:

• Jan Maria Michał Kowalski (1907–1935)
• Klemens Maria Filip Feldmann (1935–1942)
• Roman Maria Jakub Próchniewski (1945–1953)
• Wacław Maria Bartłomiej Przysiecki (1953–1957)
• Jan Maria Michał Sitek (1957–1965)
• Wacław Maria Innocenty Gołębiowski (1965–1972)
• Stanisław Maria Tymoteusz Kowalski (1972–1997)
• Ździsław Maria Włodzimierz Jaworski (1997–2007)
• Michał Maria Ludwik Jabłoński (2007– )

Administration:

• three dioceses with 38 parishes:
  • Warsaw-Płock diocese with bishop in Płock
  • Podlasie-Lublin diocese with bishop in Cegłów near Siedlce
  • Silesia-Łódź diocese with bishop in Łódź
  • the French Province since 1988

Official site

Catholic Church of the Mariavites (Felicjanów Group)

Beatrycze Szulgowicz

Main article: Catholic Mariavite Church

Leaders:

• Jan Maria Michał Kowalski (1935–1942 died in Dachau)
• Antonina Maria Izabella Wiłucka-Kowalska (1940–1946)
• Józef Maria Rafael Joseph Eugen Wojciechowski (04.10.1949–2005)*

Konsekrator Maria Paulus Norbert Maas 25.11.1956 Felicjanow

at the same day Rafael consecrated Maria Natanael Colacik Felicjanow

• Beatrycze Szulgowicz (2005– )

Administration:

• two custodies with 16 parishes

French area of jurisdiction Mariavite Church

• Mgr André Le Bec (1992–)

Order of the Mariavite Church in Germany – exterritorial jurisdiction

This jurisdiction is not yet recognized by the contemporary leaders of Płock and Felicjanow in spite of one of its past leader's (Archbishop Maas) efforts to unify all sections into one church again by returning the ashes of church founder Kowalski to Płock – which brought back the church's roots to Płock – and by consecrating bishop Józef Maria Rafael Joseph Eugen Wojciechowski – which brought back the apostolic succession to Felicjanow.

Apostolic succession

• Maria Marc Paulus Fatome (1938–1951)

consecrated by Jan Maria Michaeł Kowalski 4 September 1938 Felicjanow, Poland

• Maria Paulus Norbert Maas (1951–1988)

consecrated by Maria Marc Paulus Fatôme 9 October 1949 Mannheim, Germany

• Norbert Udo Maria Szuwart (1988–

consecrated by Maria Paulus Norbert Maas 31 October 1987 Cologne, Germany

elected as archbishop, coadjutor and successor by Maria Paulus Norbert Maas 8 December 1988

Mariavite Old Catholic Church – Province of North America

• Francis Ignatius Maria Boryszewski (1930–1975)

Consecrated by Jacob Maria Roman Prochniewski 2, February, 1930

• Robert Ronald John Maria Zaborowski (1972 – )

Consecrated by Francis Ignatius Maria Boryszewski 28, January, 1972

Literature

• Peterkiewicz, J. The Third Adam, London: Oxford University Press, 1975. A book which specifically relates to the period following the death of the foundress to the deposition of Kowalski from office in 1935.

• Pruter, Karl and J. Gordon Melton. The Old Catholic Sourcebook, New York: Garland Publishers, 1983.

External links

• Official site of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church (English, German, Polish)
• The French province of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church
• Site of the Mariavite Catholic Church (English, German, Polish)
• Order of the Mariavite Church in Germany – exterritorial jurisdiction – official site
• Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 entry on Poland with a mention of the nascent schism of the Mariavites