Lumen 2018

S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 32 chowa and John Casimir’s vows. The war ended with a peace treaty signed in Oliwa in 1660. At the time of those tragic struggles with the outside enemies, Poland was also tormented by internal unrest. In 1667, Prince Lubomirski organized the nobility into a confederacy against the king. In the next year, during a session of the Polish parliament [Diet – Sejm ], King John Casimir predicted the downfall of Poland, abdicated the throne, and left for France. During the reign of Korybut Wisniowiecki, new wars with Turkey broke out in 1672 and 1673 and a victorious battle at Chocim took place. John III Sobieski became the next king of Poland. His reign was the time of the Turkish invasion of Austria and the great victory of the Polish and Austrian armies over the Turks at Vienna in 1683. 4 The last years of Fr. Papczynski’s life were the times of August II the Saxon’s reign, when Poland was entangled in the Great Northern War. The Swedish armies occupied Poland for several years, criss- crossing the entire country, which irrevocably drew Poland nearer to the complete loss of her national independence. 5 It was not only Poland’s political situation but also its social con- dition that gradually led to the inevitable downfall of the country. A republic of two nations — the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, united by a treaty in the 16 th century and re- maining under one rule, was, in fact, multinational. It was divided into three provinces: Malopolska, Wielkopolska, and Lithuania. These, in turn, were divided into palatinates and, further, into dis- tricts. The higher offices were occupied by the magnates and all the palatines were members of the Senate. The king was the chief ruler. He had the main legislative, judicial, and military authority. He did not answer to anyone for his actions, but he had to respect the priv- ileges that he had granted. The king’s power was limited by the Sen- ate. The Sejm [Diet] consisted of three chambers: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. The seats in the House of Commons were occupied by the representatives of the nobility elected during the provincial noble dietines [ sejmiki ]. 6