Legal regulation of religious issues in the first polish constitutions (XVI-XIX centuries)
Authors: Patlachuk V. 
Published: February 2023

The relevance of the topic of the study is due to the fact that the relationship between the Church and the state in the Republic of Poland have ancient historical traditions, since, since the XVI century, in this country, there was a significant number of constitutional acts in this country in which considerable attention was paid to religious issues. In the articles of Henry Valua, these issues were reflected in paragraph 2, according to which the ruler had to solve any disputes of different confessions of peacefully. This approach, according to the authors of the document, allowed to avoid various kinds of shocks, confrontations that can create in the country to the Confederation and lead to a civil war. The presence of such an item guaranteed a religious peace that the king promised to preserve forever and not to allow any shocks for reasons or disagreement in religious issues. In the Constitution of 1791, articles devoted to religions were placed in the first place that was proof of the commitment of the Polish nation to the Catholic religion and the desire to adhere to the faith of parents. In Chapter 7, «King and Executive Authority» indicated that each of the rulers, having descended to the throne, is oath to God and the nation to preserve the Constitution. At the same time, in the text of the document it was noted that the Royal Council had to consist of a primate of Poland as the heads of the Polish clergy, which was simultaneously the head of the educational commission. The Constitution of 1807 included a section in which religious issues were regulated: firstly, this is the recognition of the Catholic Roman religion by the state; Secondly, the regulation of all religious liturgies that are free and public. In the Duchy of Warsaw, all confessional affairs, including administrative supervision, belonged to the Minister of Internal Affairs, which in accordance with Art. 11 of the Constitution of 1807, in fact, was Minister for Religious Issues. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815 contained the provision that the Roman Catholic religion, which professes the majority of the population will be the subject of special attention from the Russian authorities. It was noted that the rights to freedom of religion of other denominations can not be violated, as well as representatives of all religions enjoy equal civil and political rights. The organic statute of 1832 guaranteed freedom of religion for any religious denomination and the departure of worship is open and without interference. It was also noted that the clergy of all religions are under the patronage of the Government and must comply with established laws. Despite the fact that the number of actual material devoted to religious issues in relation to the total volume of all considered constitutional acts is insignificant, since Catholicism in this country at all times acted as one of the system-forming factors of the origin and development of Polish statehood.

Key words: Kingdom of Poland, Grand Duchy of Warsaw, constitution, religious question, Articles by Heinrich Valois, number of signs, Organic Statute.