The long historical path to the establishment of the archbishopric and metropolitan see of Kraków
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15633/tes.12207Keywords:
Diocese of Kraków, Archbishop Aron, archidiocese of Kraków, Church history, metropolisAbstract
This presentation concisely presents the long path leading the Kraków Diocese, established in 1000, to the rank of archdiocese and metropolitan see of an ecclesiastical province. Christianity in the Lesser Poland region took root at least in the 9th and 10th centuries, and its maturity predestined this see for this role. In the Old Polish period, that is, until the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, there were plans to elevate the Kraków Diocese to a higher rank within the structure of the Catholic Church. These were sustained by the tradition of the title of Archbishop Aron (d. 1059). This was further complemented by Kraków’s role as the capital of Polish lands during the period of feudal fragmentation, and especially as the capital of a vast state until the capital was moved to Warsaw in 1596. However, the collapse of the state at the end of the 18th century caused Kraków to lose its diocesan status, and only after 1918, with Poland regaining its lost independence, could earlier plans for raising Kraków to the rank of metropolis be resumed, which occurred in 1925.
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