Bishops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth


Bishops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were one of the highest ranking officials who could sit in the Senate of Poland. They sat first in the Senate, before the secular officials. Only Roman Catholic bishops sat in the Senate.

Competences

The most important official among the bishops was the Primate — the Archbishop of Gniezno. From 1572, the first time that Poland had been without a king, the Archbishop of Gniezno served as interrex — interim head of state until a new king could be elected. He represented the country and prepared elections for a new king.
In addition, the Archbishop of Gniezno had the power to call a new Senate session, if he deemed it important to do so, even in the absence of the King. He could also invoke the "de non praestanda obedientia" article, giving the country the right to legally depose the King. From among other senators, he chose his own court marshal. That person acted as the Archbishop's messenger during Senate meetings, giving signs that conveyed how the Archbishop wished his allies to vote. The Archbishop of Gniezno had two deputies — the bishops of Wrocław and Poznań.

List

Note: the below lists are organized in the order of importance according to list by Feliks Koneczny. Offices which were added afterwards are listed below, and may not be in order of sitting.
  1. Archbishop of Gniezno, primate of Poland. Seat: Gniezno.
  2. Archbishop of Lwów . Seat: Lwów.
  3. Bishop of Kraków. Seat: Kraków.
  4. Bishop of Kujawy. Seat: Włocławek.
  5. Bishop of Vilnius. Seat: Vilnius. Note: Bishop of Wilno and Bishop of Poznań exchanged seats each other Sejm.
  6. Bishop of Poznań. Seat: Poznań.
  7. Bishop of Płock Seat: Płock. Note: Bishop of Płock and Bishop of Warmia exchanged seats each other Sejm.
  8. Bishop of Warmia Seat: Lidzbark Warmiński.
  9. Bishop of Łuck Seat: Łuck.
  10. Bishop of Przemyśl Seat: Przemyśl.
  11. Bishop of Samogitia Seat: Varniai.
  12. Bishop of Chełmno Seat: Chełmno.
  13. Bishop of Chełm Seat: Chełm.
  14. Bishop of Kiev Seat: Kiev.
  15. Bishop of Inflanty Seat: Dyneburg.
  16. Bishop of Smoleńsk Seat: Smoleńsk.
Other:
  1. Bishop of Kamieniec Seat: Kamieniec Podolski. Note: post created in 1612, sat before the bishop of Smoleńsk.
  2. Bishop of Wrocław Seat: Wrocław. Note: not a senatorial office possibly because bishop of Wrocław was a subordinate of archbishop of Gniezno
  3. Bishop of Wenden Seat: Wenden. Note: office existed only from 1598 to 1620s. Episcopal see relocated to Dyneburg after the Swedish conquest of Wenden.