Touching the Ark or Carrying It?: Women and 16th- and 17th-Century Polish-Lithuanian Calvinism

The story of the Reformation in the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania has been told primarily through the actions of men who purged churches, settled ministers, expelled Catholic priests, and defended the freedom of worship at the local and national level. This article challenges that androcentri...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:Regendering the Narrative: Women in the History of Christianity
Main Author: Bem, Kazimierz 1977- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2023
In: Church history and religious culture
Year: 2023, Volume: 103, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 359-381
Further subjects:B women and church discipline
B Lithuanian Calvinism
B women and Reformed worship
B Polish Calvinism
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Summary:The story of the Reformation in the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania has been told primarily through the actions of men who purged churches, settled ministers, expelled Catholic priests, and defended the freedom of worship at the local and national level. This article challenges that androcentric perspective, drawing on synodical acts and surviving church visitations to reexamine the religious praxis of Reformed Churches (Calvinist and Church Brethren) in Lesser Poland, Greater Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It finds that, despite the absence of women in historiography, women were involved in shaping the piety and practices of the Reformed Churches from the beginning. From Katarzyna Ostroróg to Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł women not only participated in the foundation of Protestant churches but also actively challenged patriarchal assumptions.
ISSN:1871-2428
Contains:Enthalten in: Church history and religious culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/18712428-10303008