Patrocinia of the Arch-deaconry of Wrocław according to visitation protocols from the years 1579-1580

Abstract

This article is devoted to the problematics of patrocinia of churches in the archdeaconry of Wrocław known thanks to canonical visitations from 1579-1580, carried out in accordance with the ordinances of the Council of Trent in 1547 by the archdeacon of Wrocław, Teodor Lindanus. Before proceeding with the execution of the ordinance and the visitation of the diocese, an instruction was prepared, where very strong emphasis was placed on the issue of the invocation that a given object of Catholic religious worship had. This was of great importance in the face of the development of the Reformation and the rejection of the existing sacred rite, including the cult of saints. Hence, examining the origin and meaning of church invocations, one could see the features characteristic of the religiousness of the faithful of the Church in Silesia, having their roots in the Middle Ages. Among the 36 objects visited, as many as 46 different invocations were listed, which, combined into various dedicatory variants, indicated 153 examples of saints, divine mysteries and truths of faith.The analysis of individual invocations, and searches in earlier sources, allowed to indicate the continuity of the cult, as well as its evolution emphasised by the appear-ance of other titles for the same objects. Data on patrocinia in 26 cases is the first information about the invocation for the individual churches mentioned. On the basis of the research carried out, it can be assumed that the archdeacon of Wrocław was characterised by an openness to many trends, and manifestations of the religious culture of Europe and the Church at the time.