Kształtowanie przestrzeni i krajobrazu sakralnego diecezji bydgoskiej

Creation of the Bydgoszcz Diocese

Summary: The Bydgoszcz Diocese was established on March 25th, 2004 on the basis of the Apostles' Constitution by John Paul II. The Diocese of Świdnica and the Archdiocese of Łódź were established at about the same time. The new Bydgoszcz Diocese was created out of areas previously included in dioceses of Gniezno, Pelplin, Koszalin and Kołobrzeg. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the most important events connected with the creation of the diocese. Taking into consideration the fact that the Bydgoszcz Diocese was created out of adjacent parts of the dioceses mentioned above, the new diocese had to be administratively connected into one entity. Bydgoszcz Diocese now occupies 4,631 km2 and is located in two voivodeships (provinces): Kuyavian - Pomeranian (2,916 km2) and Greater Poland (1,715 km2). At the end of 2008, the Bydgoszcz Diocese had 5,761,000 members, 71.4% of whom lived in cities. The city of Bydgoszcz was established as the capital of the diocese and the Church of St. Martin and St. Nicolas became its cathedral. At the time it was established, the Bydgoszcz Diocese was divided into 15 deaneries covering 145 parishes, of which 135 were diocesan parishes and the other 10 parishes were run by monasteries. A unique feature of the newly-created Bydgoszcz Diocese was its significant share of rural parishes making up 57% of the total number of parishes. Research has shown that the administrative changes in the region were designed to make religious services more available to worshippers. As a result, the number of parishes and deaneries increased in the Bydgoszcz region. This was accomplished via the creation of new parishes and the construction of new churches. Research has shown that the largest percentage of churches in the diocese (28%) were built between 1970 and 1990. Most of the churches in the diocese are 20th century buildings and do not represent any discernible architectural style. Churches built in the 19th century and the early 20th century are also quite common. Their styles range from neo-Gothic, neo-Roman, neo-Baroque, neo-Renaissance to eclectic. The most common church names are those of hagiographic origin, those connected with St. Mary, Christological names, and finally less common Trinitarian names. The final part of the paper describes the most important events connected with the history of six sanctuaries located in the diocese, which play a significant role in the Catholic Church by serving as religious pilgrimage destinations.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 2011, z. 22, s. 177-196.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1425-1922

Pełny tekst (2.9 MB)