Piotr z Goniadza
Encyclopedia
Piotr of Goniądz was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 political and religious writer, thinker and one of the spiritual leaders of the Polish Brethren
Polish Brethren
The Polish Brethren were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658...

.

Life

Little is known of his early life. He was born to a peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

 family some time between 1525 and 1530 in the town of Goniądz
Goniadz
Goniądz is a town in Poland, located at the Biebrza river, in Mońki county in Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. 80% of the town was destroyed in World War II...

. According to Symon Budny
Symon Budny
Symon Budny was a Belarusian and Polish humanist, educator, hebraist, Bible translator, Church reformator, philosopher, sociologist and historian.-Christology:...

 his true name was Giezek, though throughout his life he used a variety of names and pseudonyms, including Gonesius, Gonedzius, Conyza and Koniński. He was sent by his parents to a monastery and became a priest. Supported by the bishop of Wilno Paweł Holszański, Piotr was sent to Italy, where he graduated from the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

. There he received a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and became one of the professors. However, following his lecture of the anonymous work by Miguel Serveto
Michael Servetus
Michael Servetus was a Spanish theologian, physician, cartographer, and humanist. He was the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation...

 and similar works by an Italian professor Matteo Gribaldi
Matteo Gribaldi
Matteo Gribaldi Mofa was an Italian legal scholar who became an Arian and defender of Michael Servetus....

, Piotr of Goniądz converted to Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 and returned to Poland.

One of the pioneers of anabaptism in Poland, he was active as one of the notable members of the Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 community formed around Mikołaj Radziwiłł. It was him to contact the anabaptists exiled from the German states
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 who settled in large numbers in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 and attracted many of them to settle in Poland. He was also heavily influenced by the views of Bohemian Hussite
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...

s, who supported modesty, life in poverty and disregard for mundane life. For his support of unitarianism
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....

 and anti-trinitarianism at the Protestant council of Secemin
Secemin
Secemin is a village in Włoszczowa County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Secemin. It lies approximately south-west of Włoszczowa and west of the regional capital Kielce.The village has a population of 1,600.-References:...

 (January 22, 1556), he was officially excommunicated at the council of Pińczów
Pinczów
Pińczów is a town in Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 .-History:...

 in April of that year. He was also banished from Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland is one of the historical regions of Poland, with its capital in the city of Kraków. It forms the southeastern corner of the country, and should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only a small, southern part of Lesser Poland...

. However, he found several supporters of his ideas, mostly from among the lesser szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

 of Podlaskie and the lands of Grand Duchy
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

. Probably in 1558 he found a mighty benefactor and patron in person of Jan Kiszka
Jan Kiszka
Jan Kiszka was a politician, magnate, patron, and benefactor of Polish brethren in the 16th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Kiszka served as Carver of Lithuania from 1569, Royal Deputy Cupbearer of Lithuania and Elder of Samogitia from 1579, castellan of Vilnius from 1588, voivode of Brest...

, one of the most powerful magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...

s of his time. Invited to Węgrów
Wegrów
Węgrów is a town in eastern Poland with 12,561 inhabitants . Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Węgrów County.First mentioned in historical records in 1414, it received its citycharter in 1441...

, Piotr became the head of the local Protestant commune and one of the most notable leaders of the Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 community in Poland.

The radical political, ethical and religious beliefs of Piotr of Goniądz gained him much popularity among the Protestant clergy and lesser gentry, though also created many conflicts, especially with the magnates. Piotr supported egalitarianism, pacifism and disregard for mundane life. The members of his community, often regarded as a sect within the Calvinist church, were forbidden to hold any public office, serve in the army or even carry arms. Piotr also strongly opposed serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...

, which led to constant conflicts even with his patron.

Schism between Ecclesia Major and Ecclesia Minor

In 1565 the schism within the Polish Calvinist church became a fact and Gonesius became a leader along with Marcin Czechowic
Marcin Czechowic
Martin Czechowic was a Polish Socinian minister, theologian and writer.-Life:...

 and others of the so-called Ecclesia Minor
Polish Brethren
The Polish Brethren were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658...

, while the majority of Polish Protestants, the Ecclesia Major, remained faithful to the much less radical beliefs of John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

.

He died in Węgrów
Wegrów
Węgrów is a town in eastern Poland with 12,561 inhabitants . Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Węgrów County.First mentioned in historical records in 1414, it received its citycharter in 1441...

 on October 15, 1573, during a plague
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...

.

Works

The most notable of his works, the De filio Dei homine Christo Iesu (translated as On the Son of God, though literal translation would be On the Son of God, a Human Jesus Christ), did not survive to our times.

Other of his notable works were published in 1570 in Kiszka's printing house in Węgrów. Among them was Doktrina pura et clara de praecepuis Christianae religionis articulus, which survived in a single copy currently held in Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

O ponurzaniu chrystiańskim (On Christian Baptism)
O trzech (On Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...

).
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