MARIANS IN 1670-1788 46 the Rule of Life, composed by Fr. Stanislaus for the future Marians, and established specific norms specified in directives and defined by statutes that they were to commit to under oath. The bishop’s regulations were extremely strict. They required strict fasting on Wednesday and Friday, strict silence on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, public flogging daily, and a prohibition on leaving the enclosure.78 The rule established by the bishop for the emerging congregation emphasized rigorous penance and required the hermits to perform continuous retreats. Their reaction was predictable. Unaccustomed to the strict penitential discipline, “They were astounded and did not accept the laws. Rather, they left the hermitage.”79 Only Krajewski remained, but he rebelled, did not follow the prescribed rules, “behaved as he felt like,” and accused Fr. Papczyński before the bishop of being too strict. At the end of 1675, during the night, breaking all rules and commitments, he fled quietly from the Korabiew hermitage.80 The strict instructions imposed by the bishop-visitor were not entirely in line with Fr. Papczyński’s apostolic plans and his vision of the Society of the Immaculate, which, as he declared, he had clearly outlined in his soul. His original intention was to organize the hermits’ life according to his religious life concept. However, after the visitation, he had to start with the imposed rule, focused on eremitical and contemplative life, excluding active apostolate. Therefore, Fr. Stanislaus had to adjust his statutes, recommendations, and Rule of Life (in Latin, Norma Vitae) to the Bishop Święcicki’s visitation directives. Nevertheless, being a person of deep faith, he trusted that God would send the best solution at the right time, even if he had to suffer and atone for much. He certainly did not want to become a hermit because, as explained by Stefan Sydry, if that were the case, with perfect contact with the Camaldolese hermitage in Bielany, he would not have to seek undisciplined hermits in the Korabiew Forest.81 While the documents issued by Bishops Święcicki and Wierzbowski referred to the institute founded by Fr. Stanislaus using terms like “Marian hermit companions” or “the hermitage of the 78 Ibid. Minutes of inspection on Oct. 24, 1673. 79 S. Papczyński, The Foundation of the House of Recollections, 21, in: Selected Writings, p. 911. 80 Positio, Papczyński, p. 371, footnote 7. 81 S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, pp. 90-91.
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