Jakub Uchański
|
His Excellency Jakub Uchański |
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|---|---|
| Archbishop of Gniezno, Bishop of Chełm, Bishop of Wrocław, Primate of Poland | |
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| Diocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1502 Uchanie, Kingdom of Poland |
| Died | 1581 Łowicz, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Buried | Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St. Nicholas in Łowicz |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Coat of arms |  |
Jakub Uchański (1502–81), of Radwan coat of arms, was an archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland from 1562 to 1581, interrex from 1572 to 1573 and from 1574 to 1575.
He began his service at the royal court as a secretary and administrator of the lands of Queen of Poland Bona Sforza. With her support he received the position of the ecclesiastical Crown Referendary, and several canonies. He became the bishop of Chełm in 1551, bishop of Wrocław in 1561 (chosen in 1557), and archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland in 1562.
He was a close advisor to king Zygmunt II August, and supported many of his plans, including the one to divorce Catherine of Austria. He threw his weight behind the pro-reform camp, and was actively involved in bringing about the transformation of the Polish–Lithuanian union into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He represented king Zygmunt II August in negotiations with Lithuanian magnates in Vilna, and he took part in the Lithuanian Sejm in Bielsk Podlaski of 1564.
He looked favorably on the idea of creating a Polish national church, though he stopped short at breaking away from Rome. He also supported dialogue with Protestants, advocating religious tolerance. For his liberal religious views he was scorned in Vatican and was briefly excommunicated in 1558 by pope Paul IV[1], who suspected him of heresy. Uchański was even summoned before the inquisition; however, he refused the summons to Rome and the conflict was solved via diplomacy. Uchański, while supportive of the Protestants and tolerance, never abandoned Catholic faith and during the dynasty change the 1570s insisted on the election of the Catholic Monarchs. Even though his stance towards Protestants was quite liberal, he was a political opponent of Calvinist Marshal of the Crown, Jan Firlej, especially during the political crises of the 1570s, when Uchański tried to exclude the lesser nobles (members of the Sejm) from the decision making processes and rely solely on the Senate of Poland (Firlej also wanted to elect a Protestant king to the Polish throne).
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