TY - JOUR
TI - Letter presumed to be from the Bishop of Krakow “under Russian captivity” to the Polish Senate and Government
AU - Krowicki, Stanisław Ludwik
TI - Letter presumed to be from the Bishop of Krakow “under Russian captivity” to the Polish Senate and Government
AB - This article concerns a letter presumed to be from a senator in the pre-Partition Commonwealth of Poland, the Bishop of Krakow, Kajetan Ignacy Sołtyk (1715–1788), addressed to his fellow senators and members of the Polish government. The real author of the letter is unknown, but its contents indicate that he felt strongly about the struggles of the Bar confederates in the years 1768–1772 against Russian aggression in Poland and Lithuania. Therefore, he was most likely one of them. Their resistance was certainly fuelled by the unyielding endurance under Russian captivity of Bishop Sołtyk and his companions, as outlined in the letter presented. It also entered the depths of history to find important figures from Poland and Lithuania, such as: Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów, the Primate of Poland Jakub Uchański, Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, the Radziwiłłs, Prince Jeremi Michał Wiśniowiecki and John III Sobieski, and even ancient Roman heroes. Handwritten copies of the “Letter from the Bishop of Kraków” were kept at manor houses, serving to educate and inspire future generations in Poland and Lithuania to join military units to fight Russia. 
VL - 2017
IS - XXIII
PY - 2021
SN - 1233-2135
C1 - 2720-0833
SP - 161
EP - 179
DO - 10.4467/12332135KRA.17.006.14660
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/krakowski-rocznik-archiwalny/article/rzekomy-list-ksiecia-biskupa-krakowskiego-kajetana-ignacego-soltyka-z-niewoli-moskiewskiej-do-senatu-i-polskiego-rzadu
KW - Bishop Kajetan Ignacy Sołtyk
KW - the Dukes of Siewierz
KW - the Bar Confederation
KW - legacy (personal archive)
KW - Baron Michał Mateusz Lewartowski