Antipope John XXIII’s bull discovered in Brzezie near Opatów

Abstract

The article analyzes the interesting relic discovered in the village of Brzezie near Opatów, that is a half of the lead impression of a papal bull. Such artifacts are usually kept in archives; in Poland only about 10 papal bulls have been found with the use of archeological methods, always near churches, and Brzezie is the only place where a bull was found despite the fact that there has never been a church there. Sigillographic analysis has allowed identifying the bull as Antipope John XXIII’s one. He was deposed during the Council of Constance in 1415, but he issued a number of documents concerning Polish lands and the Church of Poland including the Sandomierz and Opatów Church institutions and clergy that are discussed in the article. The authors (a sillographer, an archaeologist, and a mediaevalist) also point to the conditions under which the bull might find itself in Brzezie. In the article profiles are presented of three clergymen who had close relations with that place, or with the Lipńskis’ estate that does not exist today, on the area of which the bull was found. The clergymen were: the Dean of the Opatów Chapter Rafał of Brzezie (his name occurs in the years 1412-1438), the Canon of many Chapters, the royal secretary and diplomat Aleksander Brzeski (died 1650) and the Rector of the Virgin Mary Church in Opatów Karol Targowski (died 1942).