Jordan (bishop of Poland)

Jordan (died in 982 or 984) was the first Bishop of Poland from 968 with his see, most probably, in Poznań. A foreigner, he is considered a saint in the Reformed Catholic Church in Poland.

Epitaph of Jordan in Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in Poznań

Most evidence shows that he was a missionary bishop subordinate directly to the Pope. He arrived in the territory of Lechina (the future Poland), probably from Italy or the Rhineland, in 966 with Doubravka of Bohemia to baptise Mieszko I of Poland. After the death of Jordan until 992, the see was either vacant or filled by a bishop of unknown name (more likely the first). From 992 the see was filled by Unger.

Early life

On the basis of his name alone one may conclude that he came from one of the Romance language-speaking countries (Italy, France or Lorraine).[1][2] Jan Długosz considered him a Roman of the Orsini family; however, he provides no historical support for this. The hypothesis, rejected by Wladyslaw Abraham,[3] about his origin in the Bishopric of Lüttich in the Holy Roman Empire (now Liège in Belgium). Another hypothesis assumes that he could have been an Italian associated with the Patriarchate of Aquileia, which extended its jurisdiction over the Slav peoples in the north-western Balkans. Regardless of nationality, it is likely he had a relationship with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg, which was subject to Bohemia.[4][5]

Episcopal work

A reconstruction of Jordan's activities is largely based on guesswork. Some historians believe he was originally a priest accompanying Dobrawa in 966 to Mieszko I, or that he was an auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Regensburg, which was at that time subject to the Kingdom of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), (this is disputed by some[6]) or a monk sent to the Polish mission directly by the emperor.[7][8]

Dating

Polish and Czech annals offer the year 968 as the date of his ordination;[9] some historians (in accordance with Thietmar of Merseburg) believe, however, that it should be moved about a year or two back, which seems to link him directly with the baptism of lives.[10] If we accept his transfer from Magdeburg, in December 968 Jordan was present at the enthronement of the first metropolitan Adalbert of Magdeburg.

Location

Some have questioned if his base was Poznan at all, either suggesting Gniezno or that he did not have any permanent establishment, but only traveled with the duke's court around the country.[11] About his work as a Polish bishop, we have only a generic relation by Thietmar of Merseburg of his "tireless efforts [which] induced them in word and deed to the cultivation of the Lord's vineyard."

Jordan died approx. 982-984 [a]. His immediate successor was probably Unger though there may have been an unnamed bishop.

References
  1. Władysław Abraham: Organizacja kościoła w Polsce do połowy XII w. (Lwów 1890) p34
  2. Jerzy Strzelczyk: Mieszko I, Poznań 1992 p139
  3. Władysław Abraham: Organizacja kościoła w Polsce do połowy XII w. (Lwów 1890) p34-35
  4. Gerard Labuda, Mieszko I, Wrocław 2009 p97.
  5. Jerzy Strzelczyk: Mieszko I, Poznań 1992 p131
  6. Paul Fridolin Kehr, Das Erzbistum Magdeburg und die erste Organisation der Christlichen Kirche in Polen, (in Abhandlungen der Königlich preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1920)
  7. Stanisław Trawkowski: Początki Kościoła w Polsce za panowania Mieszka I, (w:) Civitas Schinesghe. Mieszko I i początki państwa polskiego. Poznań – Gniezno 2004, s. 49-70
  8. Władysław Abraham: Organizacja kościoła w Polsce do połowy XII w. (Lwów, 1890) p33.
  9. Władysław Abraham: Organizacja kościoła w Polsce do połowy XII w. (Lwów, 1890) p31.
  10. Władysław Abraham: Organizacja kościoła w Polsce do połowy XII w. (Lwów, 1890) p31-33.
  11. Stanisław Trawkowski: Początki Kościoła w Polsce za panowania Mieszka I, in:Civitas Schinesghe. Mieszko I i początki państwa polskiego. (Poznań – Gniezno, 2004) p63-63.
  • Thompson, James Westfall. Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.
  • Wielkopolski Słownik Biograficzny. Warszawa-Poznań, 1983. ISBN 83-01-02722-3



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