The Complaint about Skarga. Celebrating the 400th anniversary of his death

Abstract

The article is dedicated to Jesuit Piotr Skarga, one of the most eminent religious writers at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. His most important works, such as – for example – Lives of the Saints, polemicize with Renaissance culture. Skarga presented his political program in famous Sejm Sermons. It was based on some principles, among which the most important are: to strengthen the king’s power, to abolish the unjust regulations and – above all – to eliminate the religious tolerance. Being the king’s Zygmunt III Waza court preacher, Skarga had a considerable influence on Polish politics. Nowadays, his activity and political views arouse much controversy. The author of the article puts some questions: what is the sense in celebrating the 400th anniversary of Skarga’s death? What can we do with tradition that is completely opposite
to the ideas of our times? Can we demand that the authors of the past observe the political correctness?