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Stanisław Szczepanowski or Stanislaus of Szczepanów (July 26, 1030 – April 11?, 1079) was a bishop of Kraków known mostly for having been slain by King Boleslaus the Bold. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus.
Life
Rozsiekanie_Swietego_Stanislawa.jpg
There is little credible information about the life of Stanislaus. The earliest sources are chronicles of the Anonymous Gaul and Wincenty Kadłubek, as well as two vitae written by Wincenty of Kielce. All of these sources are strongly biased and contain much legendary and hagiographic matter.
According to tradition, he was born at Szczepanów, a village near the town of Bochnia in southern Poland, as the only son of noble and pious Wielisław and Bogna. He was educated in a cathedral school in Gniezno (then Poland's capital city), and later, according to different sources, in Paris or Ličge. On his comeback to Poland he was ordained priest by Lambert Suła, the bishop of Kraków. After the bishop's death in 1072, he was elected his successor but accepted the office only on explicit command of Pope Alexander II. Stanislaus was one of the earliest native Polish bishops. He also became a ducal advisor and had some influence on Polish politics.
His major accomplishments include bringing Roman legates to Poland and re-establishment of a metropolitan see in Gniezno. The latter was a precondition for Duke Boleslaus's coronation as king, which took place in 1076. Stanislaus then encouraged the king to establish Benedictine monasteries in the country in order to help the process of Christianization.
His first conflict with the king was a legal dispute over land ownership. The bishop purchased for the diocese a piece of land situated on the banks of the Vistula near Lublin from a certain Piotr, but the estate was claimed back by Piotr's family after his death. The king's ruling was in favor of the claimants, but – according to a legend – Stanislaus resurrected Piotr so that he could confirm that he had sold the land to the bishop. According to Augustin Calmet, an 18th century biblical scholar, Stanislaus asked the king if he could have three days to produce his witness Piotr. The king and the court were said to have laughed at his absurd request but the king allowed Stanislaus three days. Stanislaus spent three days in constant prayer and on the third day, dressed in his full bishop's insignia, he went with a procession to the cemetery where Piotr had been buried three years before. He is said to have had Piotr's grave dug up until his remains were discovered. Then it is said that Stanislaus in front of a multitude of witnesses commanded Piotr to rise and he did. Piotr was then dressed in a cloak and brought to tetsify in Stanislaus's favor before the king. Dumbfounded the court said nothing as Piotr repremanded his three sons and testified that Stanislaus had indeed paid for the land. Unable to give any other verdict, the king is said to have dropped the suit against the bishop. Stanislaus asked Piotr if he would like to remain alive and he is said to have declined, and so he was laid to rest once again in his grave and buried.
A more severe – and historically more credible – conflict with the monarch came after a prolonged war in Ruthenia when weary warriors deserted to come back home, alarmed by the information about their administrators taking over their propoerty and their wives. According to Kadłubek, the king punished his soldiers' unfaithful wifes very cruelly and Bishop Stanislaus is supposed to have criticized him for that. Jan Długosz however, wrote that the bishop criticized his monarch for sexual immorality. Whatever the cause of the conflict, the bishop finally excommunicated the king. The excommunication helped the king's political opponents, so he accused Stanislaus of treason and had him killed.
The legend says that Boleslaus sent his men to execute Stanislaus without trial, but when they did not dare to hurt the bishop, the king decided to kill the traitor himself. He is said to have slain Stanislaus while he was celebrating a mass in the Church on the Rock outside the walls of Kraków. The bishop's body was then, supposedly, chopped into pieces and thrown into a pool of water outside the church. According to the legend, the bishop's members miraculously reintegrated while the pool was guarded by four eagles.
The exact date of Stanislaus's death is uncertain. According to different sources it happened either on April 11 or May 8, 1079.
The murder caused outrage in the country and led to dethronement of the king who had to seek refuge in Hungary while he was succeeded by his brother, Ladislaus Herman. The question, whether Stanislaus should be regarded as a traitor or as a hero, remains one of classical unresolved disputes in Polish historiography. The story of Stanislaus has an interesting parallel in the almost contemporary murder of Thomas Becket in 1170, by the followers of English king Henry II.
Veneration as a saint
| Saint Stanislaus | |
|---|---|
| Bishop and Martyr | |
| Born | July 26, 1030, Szczepanów, Poland |
| Died | April 11(?), 1079, Kraków, Poland |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | September 17, 1253, Assisi, Italy |
| Major shrine | Wawel Cathedral, Kraków |
| Feast | April 11 or May 7 (May 8 in Poland) |
| Attributes | Episcopal insignia, sword |
| Patronage | Poland, Kraków, moral order |
Cults of Saint Stanislaus as a martyr began immediately after his death. In 1088 his relics were translated (i.e. moved) into the Wawel cathedral in Kraków. In early 13th century Bishop Iwo Odrowąż began preparations to Stanislaus's canonization and ordered Wincenty of Kielce to write the martyr's vita. Finally, Stanislaus was canonized by Pope Innocent IV on September 17, 1253 in Assisi. Pope Clement VIII set the saint's commemoration day on May 7 for the whole Church, though in Kraków it is observed on May 8, the alleged anniversary of the bishop's death. The first feast of Saint Stanislaus in Kraków took place on May 8, 1254, and was attended by numerous Polish bishops and princes.
As the first native Polish saint, Stanislaus is a patron of Poland and Kraków, as well as some Polish dioceses. He shares the patronage of Poland with Saint Adalbert of Prague and Our Lady the Queen of Poland. His veneration had a great patriotic significance. In the times of feudal fragmentation it was believed that Poland would one day reunite just like the members of Saint Stanislaus's body joined together. The Wawel cathedral, which hosts the saint's relics, has become one of the major national shrines. Almost all kings from Wladislaus the Short on were crowned while kneeling in front of Stanislaus's sarcophagus which stands in the middle of the church. In the 17th century, King Wladislaus IV Vasa founded an ornate silver coffin to hold the relics. It was destroyed by Swedish troops during the Deluge but a new one was put in its place ca. 1670.
Every year on May 8, a procession, led by the bishop of Kraków, goes from the Wawel to the Church on the Rock. Once a local event, the procession was popularized in the 20th century by Polish Primate Stefan Wyszyński and Bishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła. The latter, as Pope John Paul II, called Saint Stanislaus the patron saint of moral order.
Roman Catholic churches belonging to Polish communities outside Poland are often dedicated to Saint Stanislaus.
In iconography, Saint Stanislaus is usually depicted as a bishop with a sword (the tool of his martyrdom) in his hand, sometimes with Piotr rising from the dead at his feet.