Law Action for the Right of Patronage of the Lvov Cathedral in the Years 1761-1765

Abstract

The article entitled Law action for the right of patronage of the Lvov Cathedral in the years 1761-1765 presents the situation of the particular Church after the Council of Trent (1745-1763), whose aim it was, through its own resolutions, to revive religious life in particular local Churches. A reform of the Lvov archdiocese of the Latin rite in the spirit of the Trent resolutions was zealously undertaken by an outstanding − for those times − archbishop and metropolitan, Wacław Hieronim Sierakowski (1760-1780). He faced lack of understanding, which resulted in instituting an action against him in the Council Congregation and then in the Apostolic Signature.

The present article shows the history of the action resulting from breach of the law of patronage in the Lvov Cathedral. It consists of an introduction showing the person of the steward of the archdiocese and defines the institution of patronage, describing the archbishop's work on the reform, the patrons' response and the beginning of the action that was settled out of court. In the next part there is a description of resumption of the action, the patrons' reasons, the witnesses' testimonies, and the collected documents; and it ends with the conclusion containing the decision about the dispute. The municipal authorities acted as the prosecutor, as they had the right of patronage. The action lasted four years and it concluded with acquittal of the Latin Archbishop who received a special letter from Pope Clement XIII (1758-1769) at the beginning of 1765. In the acquitting decree the Pope admitted that the Archbishop was right, and in another letter he wrote: Vade et que in corde habes fac, Dominus enim tecum est.