Michał Belina-Czechowski

Michał Belina Czechowski (September 25, 1818 – February 26, 1876) was a Polish Seventh-day Adventist. On an individual level, he was the first Adventist missionary to Europe, although this was initially unknown by the Seventh-day Adventist church at the time, and J. N. Andrews was the first official Seventh-day Adventist missionary.

Michael Czechowski was born in Poland and raised in the Roman Catholic Church, becoming a priest. He entered the Stopnica Monastery, but soon became disillusioned with the church, believing many of his fellow clergy to be corrupt. He was also in danger because he was involved with the Polish nationalism movement. He travelled to Rome, where in October 1844 he met with Pope Gregory XVI, hoping to strengthen his faith; however, the meeting further convinced him that the Catholic Church was corrupt. Czechowski left the Catholic priesthood in September 1850. He married the same year in Solothurn, Switzerland with Maria Virginia Delavouet; after which he worked as a bookbinder in Brussels.

In London he became acquainted with the Baptists, who helped him secure passage to the United States. In 1852, he became an evangelist for the Baptists, and began working among the French Canadians of New York State.

He discovered the Adventists in 1856, and at a camp meeting in Findlay, Ohio in 1857 joined the Adventist church. After conversion, Czechowski continued to work among the French Canadians in Quebec and New England, this time as an Adventist minister together with Daniel T. Bourdeau. In 1860, he moved to New York City, where he established a church in Brooklyn and worked among the French, Poles, Italians, Germans, and Swedish Americans. He published a book in 1862 about his experiences in Europe, entitled Thrilling and Instructive Developments.

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