George of Polentz (born: ; died: 1550 in

Balga Balga (russian: замок Бальга; german: Burg Balga; lt, Balga; pl, Balga) was a medieval castle of the Teutonic Knights in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The castle ruins are located on the shore of the Vistula Lagoon, north of Mamonovo ...

) was bishop of Samland and

Pomesania Pomesanians were a Prussian clan. They lived in Pomesania ( pl, Pomezania; lt, Pamedė; german: Pomesanien), a historical region in modern northern Poland, located between the Nogat and Vistula Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River to the e ...

and a lawyer. He was the first

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

bishop and also a

Protestant reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

. Polentz was a member of an old Saxon noble family. He studied law in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and was private secretary to the papal Curia, then stood as a soldier in the service of Emperor Maximilian I. Under Margrave Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the Grand Master of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, he came to

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

. Polentz was confirmed as Bishop of Samland by the

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

in 1519. Johann Briesmann taught him Hebrew and the teachings of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

. Polentz was regent of Prussia during the absence of Duke Albert from 1522 to 1525. He worked together with the lawyer

Erhard of Queis Erhard of Queis (, in Storkow, Brandenburg – 10 September 1529, in Preußisch Holland) was Bishop of Pomesania. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Reformation in Prussia. Life Details of Queis's youth are not available. He enroll ...

, the Bishop of Pomesania. Already in 1523 Polentz converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

.Albertas Juška, ''Mažosios Lietuvos Bažnyčia XVI-XX amžiuje'', Klaipėda: 1997, pp. 742-771, here after the German translatio
''Die Kirche in Klein Litauen''
(section: 2. Reformatorische Anfänge; ) on
''Lietuvos Evangelikų Liuteronų Bažnyčia''
retrieved 28 August 2011. He gave his first Lutheran sermon at Christmas 1523 in Königsberg. Already on 18 January 1524 Polentz ordered to only use native languages at baptisms. He forbade the widespread pagan worship of

Perkūnas Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...

, symbolised by the goat buck, in the same year, repeated in 1540. When Albert gave his approval, bishop Polentz launched the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in Prussia. After Albrecht 1525 transformed the

Teutonic State of Prussia The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Centr ...

into the secular

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

, Polentz invited a large number of Protestant clergy into the country, such as the reformer Ambrosius Feierabend, who had been exiled from Elbing in 1539. The

Prussian estates The Prussian estates (german: Preußischer Landtag, pl, Stany pruskie) were representative bodies of Prussia, first created by the Monastic state of Teutonic Prussia in the 14th century (around the 1370s)Daniel Stone, ''A History of Central Europe ...

established the Lutheran Church in Prussia by the

Church Order Church order is the systematically organized set of rules drawn up by a qualified body of a local church. P. Coertzen. ''Church and Order''. Belgium: Peeters. From the point of view of civil law, the ''church order'' can be described as the inter ...

decided on 10 December 1525. Polentz implemented the Prussian Church Order. The Church Order provided for visitations of the parishioners and pastors, first carried out by Polentz in 1538. Georg of Polentz married in 1525 and after the death of this first wife, again in 1527.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:George of Polentz 1470s births 1550 deaths Saxon nobility 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Prussia Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism 16th-century Lutheran bishops in Prussia Year of birth uncertain University of Bologna alumni Lutheran bishops of Pomesania Lutheran bishops of Samland