Abstract

Te article presents the so-called primate question during the Second Polish Republic in light of the long tradition of the rank of a primate in Poland. It focuses on the role of the Primate of Poland in the period of the Partitions and his signifcance for the preservation of national identity. In the reborn Polish state, there were two Primates, namely the „Primate of Poland” in Gniezno (appointed by the Council of Constance) and the „Primate of the Kingdom of Poland” in Warsaw as of 1818 (appointed by Pope Pius VII). Te article does not argue with the opinions expressed on this subject during the Second Polish Republic, as the concept is too complex for an unbiased assessment. Still, attention was paid to the position of the Holy See on this issue, which on 5 February 1925 issued a decree abolishing the Primate’s jurisdiction in Poland but confrmed the title of the „Primate of Poland” for Gniezno to Cardinal Edmund Dalbor and the title of the „Primate of the Kingdom of Poland” for Warsaw to Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski. Te text discusses an important issue of the role of Primate August Hlond in the organisation of religious life in Poland in the interwar
period and the conciliatory resolution of disputes related to the „primate question”.