Decree of Archbishop Paweł Tarło regarding the sermons of the cathedral preacher in Lwów during Lent

PAWEŁ TARŁO of Szczekarzewice, by the grace of God and the Apostolic See, Archbishop of the holy metropolitan Church of Lwów. To all and each one who shall see, read, or hear this letter – greetings in the Lord. Since the matters concerning the Christian splendor and visible benefit must certainly be surrounded with care and the greatest diligence, we, exercising truly primary care over the holy things in this famous principality of Rus', strive with even greater effort to develop and apply all our work, care, and vigilance for the adornment of holiness, the increase of divine worship, and the strengthening and support of the holy Catholic faith. And this, without doubt, can draw its strongest foundations, most durable columns, and most certain and powerful supports from nowhere else but from the fact that the apostolic office of teaching, spreading the faith among the people, and nailing the Christian religion – as they say – to the hearts of all and implanting them [in the hearts] of the lost, is established in the Church of Christ in a proper and worthy order. And when the measure, which in all things is called the highest virtue, is reintroduced into the temple of God, so that no less regard is had for the proper way of distributing the time of holy sermons than for the care of appointing and establishing a man fulfilling the apostolic office in the Church of God; while diligently considering and watching that the minds of the lost be examined by listening and learning from the Preacher with an external desire to hear the word of God. We deem it necessary to fully moderate the zeal of the Teachers towards those who, whether they have departed from the custom of their ancestors in these absurd times, or receive holy speeches sluggishly and yawning; delaying the saturation of the ungrateful people with the food of the word of God towards sleep and restraining the abundant giving of it to the indifferent, truly carefully watching that through the negligence of the listeners such precious food of the soul does not become cheap through mere contempt and does not breed satiety in those whose mind is stained with the thorns of greed, the sand of merits, the mud of lust, the rocks of pride and stubbornness, for a mind neglected in these things is not capable of receiving the evangelical speech, which strikes the drum of the ears in vain if it does not fall deep into the secrets of the heart. And as we indicated at the beginning, considering that in such matters one must hold to and persist in reason and measure. Since that most heavy and difficultly established office of preaching the Most Holy word in our metropolitan Church of Lwów commanded indeed that the cathedral Preacher deliver sermons to the people throughout the whole year and on all weekdays, and especially daily throughout the whole of Lent, which was imposed quite without regard for human nature and health, and this loss had to happen with the weakening attendance of souls, which we ourselves noticed not without the heaviest pain of heart. Therefore, so that the apostolic preacher, who is to have an endowment in our metropolitan Church of Lwów, might possess a wider and freer field for teaching, thanks to which – although with rarer holy sermons to the people, yet better prepared and therefore most effective – the seed of the word of God could be more easily sown in the field of the mind and the soil of the heart; that [former] resolution on daily preaching during the time of Lent, expressed and announced in that document, as they say, of the foundation, by the former consent of the Chapter by Bernard Wilczek, Archbishop of Lwów, our predecessor, in the year of our Lord 1507, on the first Monday of the month of February, strengthened by the will of Kraków, by the reason and advice of the venerable Chapter of the metropolitan Church of Lwów, co-canons of the same city, gathered in full at the chapter, we decided to cancel, invalidate, and completely abolish, as we also hereby cancel, invalidate, and abolish from the above-mentioned ordinance, releasing the current Preacher and his successors from such a burdensome duty. In place of this burden – giving a new, milder, sweeter, and calmer way and order of re-rooting the word of God in corrupted human minds and more easily drawing them to listen – we permit and ordain that the current Preacher and his successors have the care of preaching to the people only for two days in each week of the holy Lent, [leaving freedom regarding going] to other churches, temples, and monasteries, so that on other days, as is the custom, the preacher, besides those two days, may choose for himself various other [places] in the week. Adding nonetheless the duty of preaching in the same Lent on individual holy days, both in the morning and after dinner. As for the remaining three hundred days, in case of an obstacle due to poor health, he will be able to entrust [this service] to a suitable person and have it performed by him; and his successors will be able to do the same. All other provisions of this office, abundantly and clearly described in the foundation document, which are in the archive of the Church of Lwów, we preserve in their force. We wish, moreover, changing from them the matter of sermons during Lent by the preacher and [limiting] the time of sermons only to two days in each week of Lent, that this provision remains intact, introducing it by our ordinary authority. In witness whereof, the mutual seal, ours and the Chapter's, has been affixed. Done in Lwów at the General Chapter of our metropolitan Church of Lwów, on the Tuesday next after the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, in the Year of our Lord 1562, in the presence of the venerable gentlemen: Adam Dziwulski, Klemens Łopateński, pastor of Lwów, Stanisław Arct, bachelor, Jakub Kłobucki, and master Jan Philippiades, canons and chapter, Tomasz [...], Erazm Staneczka, Szymon [...], and Jan Faliszek, and many others called for this purpose. Mikołaj Janeczki, [notary] of the curia and chancellery of the same, wrote with his own hand. [Below a plica with cuts for parchment strips for seals, seals missing] [On the reverse:] [Chancellery / archival note:] From the Most Reverend Lord, a decree limiting to [...] weekday sermons per week, so that the words of God do not [...] / Paul: 8. vol: 6. / Truly about this preacher [...] / [...] / For the Preacher / For the Preacher

PAVLVS THARLO De Szczekarzowicze, Dei et Apostolicae Sedis gratia Sanctae Ecclesiae Metropolitanae Leopoliensis Archiepiscopus. Universis et singulis literas presentes inspecturis, visuris, lecturis, pariter et audituris, Salutem in Domino. Quandoquidem omnium sane materiam rerum Christianam splendorem, conspicabile commodum respicientium, cura et sollicitudine quam maxime adfici debere, id multo certe impensius ad veri Primariam sacrorum curam in hoc inclyto Russiae ducatu sustinentes, perducere egresemus, ut ornandis sacris, cultui divino augendo, fidei sanctae Catholicae firmandae ac fulciendae, omnem operam, studium, vigilantiamque nostram explicaremus, atque adhiberemus. Quod proculdubio haud aliunde validiores bases, solidiores columnas, firmioraque ac fortiora adminicula habere potest, quam si Apostolici docendi munus, fidei in populo propagandae religionis Christianae omnium cordibus clavo (ut aiunt Trabali) adfigendae, amissique eorum inserendae, iusto decentique ordine in Ecclesia Christi extruatur. Modusque qui in re omni, virtus optima dicitur, in aede divina reinvestitur, ut non minor sacris concionibus tempora dispensandi ratio, quam viri munere Apostolico fungentis in Ecclesia Dei ordinandi, atque constituendi cura haberetur, illud praeterea sedulo dispiciendo, atque animadvertendo esse, ut auditorii et doctrinae Ecclesiastes, hominum perditorum animi, externo divini eloquii audiendi, affectu explorarentur: quibus vel a maiorum consuetudine, hac stulta tempestate degeneratum est, languide et oscitanter, Sacros sermones amplectentibus, Doctorum quoque sedulitatem moderanda omnino censemus. Ingrato populo divini verbi alimentis obdormire exhiberi, atque depromi solutis alienantium subducentes, diligenter profecto providentes. Ne auditorum negligentia, tam pretiosus animi cibus, contemptui ipso vilescat, illisque fastidium pariat, quibus a spinis avariciae, ab arena meritorum, a limo libidinis, a petris superbiae ac pertinatiae inquinatus animus, signiden his rebus omissa mens, non est capax sermonis Evangelici, qui frustra pulsat tympanum aurium, nisi alte subsidat in cordis penetralia. Atque prout initio protulimus rationem et modum in rebus eiusmodi sequendum amplectendumque esse existimantes. Quod verbi Sacrosancti in Ecclesia nostra Metropolitana Leopoliensi proferendi munus gravissimum sane et ad proferendum difficili ordinatione constitutum sit, quippe Ecclesiasia toto veriente anno, diebusque feriis omnibus ad populum concionante, et iam toto singulis quadragesimae diebus praedicanti. Nulla prorsus naturae et valetudinis humanae ratione esset impositus atque minutio elanguescente animorum frequentia, quod ipsi non sine gravissimo animi dolore agnovimus. Ut ampliorem liberioremque discendi campum concionatori Apostolico in Ecclesia nostra Metropolitana Leopoliensi fundarent habituro, quo etsi rarioribus sacris ad populum concionibus, eruditionibus tamen et ob id efficacissimis, semen divini sermonis facilius possit in animi segetem pectorisq[ue] arvum inseri, [huiusmodi?] singulis diebus per quadragesimae tempus praedicandi constitutionem in hisce Capituli olim consensu Bernardini Wilczek Archiepiscopi Leopoliensis praedecessoris nostri, certa praedicatione, ut vocant fundatione desuper edita atque expressam, sub Anno Domini 1507 die Lunae prima Mensis Februarii Cracoviensi voluntate munita, ac ratione consilio Venerabilis Capituli Ecclesiae Metropolitanae Leopoliensis Concanonicorum eiusdem Civitatis, omnibus Capitulariter congregatis, abrogandam antiquandam, tollendamque penitus decrevimus, prout abrogamus, antiquamus et tollimus antepositae ordinationi per praesentem Ecclesiastae moderno eiusque successoribus, tam gravissimae obligationis gratia facientes. Loco cuius oneris, levius suavisque ac placidus corruptis hominum animis verbi Dei rursus instillandi, eos ad audiendum facilius alliciendi, modum et rationem novam, singulis per sacram Quadragesimae tempus Hebdomadibus duos dies tantum per modernum Ecclesiasten eiusque successores, cura ad populum concionis habenda, indulgemus et constituimus, ad alias Ecclesias, ac templa, et monasteria, ut aliis diebus, ut consuetum est, praedicator praeter hos dies duos varios alios praedicator sibi elegerit in Septimana. Adiecto nihilominus, in eadem quadragesima singulis sacris diebus, mane et a prandio officio praedicandi. Quod ac illud ad dies trecentos alios relatum dies adversa implicans valetudine per idoneam personam constituere, atque exequi poterit; ac eis successoribus poterunt. Reliquas omnes eius muneris sanctiones in literis fundationis abunde et luculenter descriptas, quae in Archivo Ecclesiae Leopoliensis habentur, in suo robore reservantes. Volumus ex eis praeterea concionari per Quadragesimae tempus praedicatore mutantes, et in arelino(?) duobus tantum diebus per singulas quadragesimae hebdomadas cantionandi, tempus, hoc ideo manere decrevimus, vivente nostra ordinaria redigentes. Nostrum ambobus Sigillum vestrum, et Capituli est subappensum, testimonio. Actum Leopoli in Generali Capitulo Ecclesiae nostrae Metropolitanae Leopoliensis, feria tertia post Festum Sanctissimae Trinitatis proxima, Anno Domini 1562. Venerabilibus ac Dominis Adamo Dziwulsky, Clemente Lopathensky pastore Leopoliensi, Stanislao Arct Baccalaureo, Jacobo Clobiczky ac Magistro Joanne Philippiade Canonicis et Capitulo, Thomasz Dmo Erasmo Staneczkasz, Simone actin Mexo ac Joanne Faliszko et aliis pluribus ad hoc vocatis praesentibus. Nicolaus Janeczki Curiae et Chancellariae eorundem manu propria scripsit. [Poniżej plica z nacięciami na paski pergaminowe po pieczęciach, pieczęci brak] [Verso:] [Nota kancelaryjna / archiwalia:] A D[omi]no R[everen]d[o] D[ecre]tum reducta ad p[er] diem sephmanas n[...] concio quotidianas ne veles [...] divini nec sermones [...] / Paul: 8. vol: 6. / Sane hoc praedicatore [...] / [...] / Pro Concionatore / Pro Concionatore