On Thursday, during the second day of the 82nd meeting of the Sejm, the deputies decided to establish patrons for 2020. The honored were: St. John Paul II, Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski and Roman Ingarden. 2020 will also be the year of the Battle of Warsaw on its 100th anniversary.
The Chamber honored the memory of John Paul II. The resolution establishing the year 2020 as the Year of St. John Paul II pointed out that he holds a special place in the history of Poland and Europe, and that his firm insistence on our homeland's right to freedom among the nations of Europe, his practical defense of our nation's rights made the Holy Father the most important of the fathers of Poland's independence. The text reminds that during the first pilgrimage of John Paul II to Poland in 1979, a process began that resulted in the formation of "Solidarity", the liberation of the nation from the rule of communism and the restoration of European unity. "The Sejm of the Republic of Poland expresses its gratitude and pays homage to the Great Pope Saint John Paul II, who, reaching back to the sources of Christianity, taught us openness, forbearance, but also courage in defending Christian values, on which Poland and Europe are based. May the teaching and the great legacy that St. John Paul II left us be a constant inspiration for our nation to build a free and just Poland" - the document says. On May 18, 2020, we will celebrate the centenary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla, our great compatriot meritorious in the struggle to liberate Poland from the yoke of communism. "The Pope's life mission was to fight for the dignity and respect of every human being, which he repeatedly expressed in his encyclicals. Called "the pilgrim pope," he made 104 pastoral trips to every corner of the world. In his homilies he openly criticized the capitalist exploitation of man by man and appealed for peace and brotherhood," the text of the resolution reads.
The Sejm established 2020 as the Year of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski, an outstanding leader in the history of the Polish arms, who held a number of the most important offices of the First Republic: royal secretary, field hetman of the Crown, castellan of Lvov, voivode of Kiev, and finally great hetman of the Crown and great chancellor of the Crown. "Stanislaw Żółkiewski took part in all wars fought by the Republic of Poland in the second half of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. First he fought alongside the experienced commander and chancellor Jan Zamoyski, participated in expeditions against the Habsburgs and Moscow, to Moldavia and Wallachia, later he was victorious, commanding on his own in many campaigns against Russia, Sweden, the Cossacks, Turkey and the Tatars," - we read.
The House passed a resolution establishing 2020 as the Year of the Battle of Warsaw, the decisive clash of the Polish-Bolshevik war. "The heroic Polish Army, led by Marshal Józef Piłsudski and supported, among others, by the Chief of General Staff - General Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski, defended the independence of Poland. The victory also thwarted plans to expand the Bolshevik Revolution to Western Europe" - emphasized in the text of the document. It also recalled the words of Polish President Prof. Lech Kaczyński, who said on the eve of the Polish Army Day in 2009: "In those August days not only the fate of our country, but also of the entire continent was decided. It was a moment of great national test, which Poles survived victoriously. The heroes, the real creators of victory, were the soldiers of the Polish Army, who went into battle for everything. Finally, the solidarity and self-sacrifice of the whole society, which in that dramatic moment abandoned disputes and divisions. The great and wonderful lesson of 15 August 1920 should always be current and instructive for us.
Roman Ingarden, one of the most eminent Polish philosophers, who left behind an impressive body of work: books, articles, translations, and an archive of manuscripts, also became the 2020 Patron. They covered a wide range of topics. From the philosophy of literature, through aesthetics, theory of cognition, to ontology. The year 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Roman Ingarden's death. "His intellectual uncompromisingness deserves special emphasis. During the German occupation he wrote his flagship work 'Spór o istnienie świata'. In 1950, for his critical attitude to Marxism, he was deprived of the right to lecture at his alma mater, the Jagiellonian University, and to publish works on phenomenology. He used this time to produce, among other things, an exemplary translation of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Although a rationalist himself, he corresponded for years with Edith Stein, and his students included Karol Wojtyla and Józef Tischner," the document says.
The Sejm also passed a resolution commemorating the 160th anniversary of Teodor Axentowicz's birth. Teodor Axentowicz's rich artistic output includes works on historical themes, portraits, genre scenes, still life and landscapes. He also created graphics, designed mosaics, posters and stained glass windows. He supported his great artistic talent with studies in Munich and Paris, where he participated in the life of Polish emigrants. For his achievements, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1923, the medal of the Tenth Anniversary of Polonia Restituta in 1929 and the Commander's Cross with Star and Large Ribbon of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1936. The Sejm of the Republic of Poland states that Teodor Axentowicz rendered good service to the Homeland and pays tribute to him on the 160th anniversary of his birth," the resolution says.
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