Tuesday, April 14, 2026

It is the 14th of April 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

It’s a red-letter day for Poland- today is the day on which they celebrate the baptism of King Miesko in the 900s- and Poland's entering “Christendom”- we discussed this recently as the origins of the delightfully named “Dyngus Day” celebrated especially by Poles in the Midwest.

 

But it was also a significant day, over 500 years later, when a feat was accomplished- almost unheard of in Reformation Europe. It was on this, the 14th of April in 1570, that representatives of the Lutheran church, the Reformed church, and the Bohemian Brethren jointly signed the Consensus of Sandomierz- one of the only confessions to be signed by different churches of the Reformation- and, at least for a season, the clearest sign of a possible united Reformation.

 

The Reformation became, unfortunately and famously, sectarian. One of the great arguments against the movement was that it introduced schism and uncertainty. You could disagree with the Pope (well, that depends), but at least you knew who was in charge. The “Sola Scriptura” or “Scripture Alone” people have long had an authority problem, and this has led to multiple “authorities” often confessions of faith that made as much a point in disagreeing with the Catholics as they did with one another. But Poland was almost different.

 

When it comes to the “Polish Reformation,” the name to know is John A Lasco- or Jan Laski- he was a Polish noble who became a priest and then adopted the Reformation. He would be key in Eastern Europe as well as in England- Thomas Cranmer invited him over to help establish the Church of England as Protestant under King Edward.

 

But in A Lasco’s absence from his motherland, two concurrent things developed- the growth of the Jesuit and counter-Reformation as well as the development of a peculiar kind of anti-Trinitarianism. There’s something about Eastern Europe and the more radical reformations and the growth of anti-Trinitarianism. Why is this?

 

One form of “Sola Scriptura” or “Scripture alone” became not only dependent on “just scripture” for developing doctrine but increasingly disconnected from the early church councils and creeds. And so we have denying the Trinity as a marker not of a kind of “liberalism” but as a kind of Fundamentalism. These are the “Polish Brethren” or the “Socinians” after Fausto Socinus, an Italian popular in Poland. Wherever it came from, it alarmed the other protestants such that they sought union against both the right (catholics) and the left (the radicals).

 

There had been an influx of Polish students heading to Wittenberg in the 1550s and 60s- this also coincided with the rise of Philip Melanchthon and his particularly ecumenical approach (this would give rise to the charges of unionism and the rise of the so-called “Gnesio” or “true” faction of Lutherans).

 

The Bohemian Brethren (with their ties back to Jan Hus) and the Reformed knew that this consensus would have to address the Lord’s Supper in a way agreeable to Lutherans. Remember: the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper- and how Christ is present, was for many a direct reflection of their Christology. The consensus taught that Christ was “substantially” present and that the body and blood of the Lord are represented, distributed, and exhibited. For a brief season the Protestant Poles did what none other could- unite a broad coalition of Reformers through a theological agreement.

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Many Lutherans took the opportunity to disparage Melanchthon and his ilk, who approved of this. These are the first decades after Luther’s death, and so there is fear and trembling over which direction the Lutheran church would take.

 

The Bohemian Brethren made concessions towards the Lutherans, and in doing so, some believed that the church would lose its distinctiveness. It seems one reading of the consensus, and its ultimate failure, is to see unity as, on some level, less attractive than division. The Jesuits would end up uniting many Poles against both the Protestant West and the Orthodox Church to their East in Russia. The unified Polish reformation- once so tantalizing close- began with the signing of the Consensus of Sandomierz on this day in 1570.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and another great Eastertide reading from 1 Corinthians 15:

19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 14th of April 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wonders why Wienerschnitzel wants us to shine up their sausages- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who can’t leave the polish/polish problem… we need a diacritical mark for one of them. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.