Regulacje państwowe z 1858 roku dotyczące nakładania pokuty kościelnej na obszarze Królestwa Polskiego
State regulations of 1858 on the imposition of ecclesiastical penance in the Kingdom of Poland

Summary/Abstract: When introducing ecclesiastical penance with the Code of Major and Corrective Penalties from 1848, the legislator of the Kingdom of Poland did not specify the procedure for establishing such penance in specific situations. As a result of the diversity of practices in this area, the Government Commission of Justice referred a rescript to the Government Commission of Internal and Clerical Affairs, which was competent in matters of religion, to regulate this issue. This resulted in the 1858 drafting of directions for clerical authorities on the principles and forms for executing ecclesiastical penance. These instructions were incorporated into the national legal order by a decree of the state authorities. The aim of this research is to discuss these regulations and assess their impact on church institutions and individuals sentenced to ecclesiastical penance under penal laws. The analysis of the document leads to the conclusion that the guidelines for imposing ecclesiastical penance were overly general and did not adequately safeguard the defendants’ rights with regard to freedom of thought and religion. They also failed to guarantee the legal protection of the freedom of Christian churches in the collective dimension. They became an instrument for the increasing subordination of ecclesiastical institutions and Christians, primarily Catholics, to the religious policy of the Tsar.

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