-- December 16th (1611): Iwan Tyszkiewicz was executed in the great marketplace of Warsaw as a religious rebel. Tyszkiewicz, a prominent citizen, had become an ardent follower of Socinian doctrines and abandoned Roman Catholicism for a Unitarian sect known as the Polish Brethren or Minor Reformed Church, and had become a spirited advocate for his new faith -- much to the dismay of his Catholic compatriots. Instructed to perform an oath by the Trinity or on the crucifix, he refused to yield, and was condemned to execution by a Polish-Lithuanian court. The judgment was appealed all the way to the royal court, but the prosecutor insisted on the ultimate penalty. The sovereign concurred, and the jurors under his sway concurred with the verdict. The execution took place on December 16th at the great marketplace. Tyszkiewiczs tongue was first removed by the executioner as punishment for speaking blasphemy against God. The ex-Catholic was then burned alive for blasphemous heresy.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 22:25:16 +0000
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