Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno (German: Bistum Kulm/Culm; Polish: Diecezja chełmińska) was a Roman Catholic diocese in Chełmno Land (Culm land), founded in medieval Prussia in 1243 and disbanded in 1992.

History

• It was founded in 1243 by the papal legate William of Modena in the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights, along with the three other bishoprics Ermland (Warmia), Samland (in Sambia) and Pomesania. Initially Culm was a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Riga and had its seat in Chełmża (Culmsee), where the cathedral chapter was domiciled till 1824.
• From 1257 to 1782 the episcopal seat was the castle in Lubawa.
• From 1782 to 1824 the episcopal seat was in Culmsee.
• Since 1466 Chełmno diocese was part of Polish Royal Prussia.
• After 1525 Chełmno incorporated southern parts of the Pomesanian diocesan area (with Łasin and Nowe Miasto), which happened to be in the Chełmno Voivodeship. Whereas western Pomesanian diocesan area in the Malbork Voivodeship was administered by Chełmno, but officially maintaining its naming.
• After Riga's dissolution in 1566 the bishops of Chełmno attended the councils of the Ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan of Gniezno. This practice was recognised by the Holy See by the Bull De salute animarum in 1821, when Chełmno became de jure a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Gniezno. Chełmno diocese was enlarged on that occasion (Górzno, Krajna and Działdowo).
• Since 1772 Culm diocese was part of the Kingdom of Prussia and became a part of Germany in 1871. In 1824 the see had moved to Pelplin.
• In 1920 Chełmno became part of the Second Polish Republic.
• Pope Pius XI decided to separate 18 parishes in the territory the Free City of Danzig west of the Vistula from the diocese and to establish an Apostolic Administrator of the Free City of Danzig on 24 April 1922, which was directly subordinated to the Pope.
• On 1 May 1923 the Holy See disentangled from the Diocese of Chełmno the deaneries in Bütow (Bytów), Lauenburg in Pomerania (Lębork) as well as those included in the Posen-West Prussia Border March, and transferred them to the new Apostolic Administration of Tütz, later transformed into the Prelature of Schneidemühl.
• In 1925 a concordat between Poland and the Holy See was signed and the Apostolic Administrator was now supposed to be subordinated to the Nuncio of Warsaw, which caused protests among the local populace. Thus, the Pope established the sui iuris Diocese of Danzig on 30 December 1925 and appointed Edward O'Rourke as the first Bishop on 2 January 1926. The deanery of Pomesania in that eastern part of West Prussia which remained with Germany after the 1920 East and West Prussian plebiscites was transferred to the Ermland diocese in 1925.
• As part of the reorganisation of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of Poland in 1972, also accounting for changes of political border in 1945, the diocese of Gdansk was enlarged on the expenses of Chelmno diocese, whereas the latter gained parishes previously part of the Berlin diocese and the Prelature of Schneidemühl
• As part of the reorganisation of the Catholic Church in the Third Polish Republic, the extant Diocese of Chełmno was split in 1992 by Pope John Paul II into the Diocese of Pelplin and the Diocese of Toruń

List of Bishops of Kulm/Chełmno

• 1245–1263: Heidenreich von Kulm Ordo fratrum Praedicatorum, Dominican Order (O.P.)
• 1264–1274: Friedrich von Hausen Ordo Teutonicus, Teutonic Order (O.T.)
• 1275–1291: Werner von Kulm OT
• 1291/92–1301: Heinrich Schenk OT
• 1303–1311: Hermann von Kulm OT
• 1311–1316/19: Eberhard von Kulm OT
• 1319–1323: Nikolaus Afri OP
• 1323–1349: Otto von Kulm OT
• 1349–1359: Jakob von Kulm OT
• 1359–1363: Johann Schadland OP
• 1363–1381/85: Wikbold Dobilstein OT
• 1385–1390: Reinhard von Sayn
• 1390: Martin von Lynow OT
• 1390–1398: Nikolaus Schippenbeil OT
• 1398–1402: Jan Kropidło
• 1402–1416: Arnold Stapel OT
• 1416–1457: Johann Marienau
• 1457–1479: Wincenty Kiełbasa
• 1480–1495: Stephan von Niborka
• 1496–1507: Nikolaus Krapitz
• 1508–1530: Jan Konopacki
• 1530–1538: Johannes Dantiscus
• 1538–1549: Tiedemann Giese
• 1549–1551: Stanislaus Hosius
• 1551–1562: Jan Lubodziecki
• 1562–1571: Stanisław Żelisławski SOC
• 1574–1595: Piotr Kostka
• 1595–1600: Piotr Tylicki
• 1600–1610: Wawrzyniec Gembicki
• 1611–1613: Maciej Konopacki
• 1614–1624: Jan Kucborski
• 1624–1635: Jakob Zadzik
• 1635–1639: Jan Lipski
• 1639–1646: Kasper Działyński
• 1646–1652: Andrzej Leszczyński
• 1653–1655: Jan Gembicki
• 1658–1661: Adam Koss
• 1662–1674: Andrzej Olszewski
• 1676–1681: Jan Małachowski
• 1681–1693: Kasimir Johann z Bnina Opaliński
• 1693–1694: Kasimir Szczuka
• 1699–1712: Theodor Andrzej Potocki
• 1719–1721: Johann Kasimir Alten-Bokum
• 1723–1730: Felix Ignaz Kretkowski
• 1731–1733: Tomasz Franciszek Czapski SOC
• 1736–1739: Adam Stanislaus Grabowski
• 1739–1746: Andrzej Stanisław Załuski
• 1747–1758: Wojciech Stanisław Leski SOC
• 1759–1785: Andrzej Ignacy z Broniewic Baier
• 1785–1795: Karl von Hohenzollern-Hechingen
• 1795–1814: Franciszek Ksawery z Wrbna Rydzyński
• 1824–1832: Ignaz Vinzenz Stanislaus Matthy
• 1834–1856: Anastazy Sedlag
• 1857–1886: Johannes von der Marwitz
• 1886–1898: Leon Redner
• 1899–1926: Augustin Rosentreter
• 1926–1944: Stanisław Wojciech Okoniewski
• 1946–1972: Kazimierz Józef Kowalski
• 1973–1980: Bernard Czapliński
• 1981–1992: Marian Przykucki

External links

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy