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Nasza Przeszłość

Vol. 128 (2017): Nasza Przeszłość

Articles

Cult of authenticity and return to Slavic roots. Project of sculptural decoration of the cathedral of Christ the King in Katowice and the myth of Cyril and Methodius

  • Jerzy Gorzelnik
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52204/np.2017.128.203-217  [Google Scholar]
Published: 2017-12-30

Abstract

The construction of the Cathedral of Christ the King designed by Zygmunt Gawlik began in 1927 in Katowice, the capitol of the diocese established two years previously. Simultaneously, Xawery Dunikowski, in co-operation with the architect, began work on the concept of sculptural decoration of the facade. The effects – in the form of a plaster model – were presented in 1931. The central part of the main elevation was to be occupied by the statues of saints Cyril and Methodius flanked by groups of Silesian people and knights. In the project, finally not accomplished, the figures of Cyril and Methodius were most prominent despite the fact that they were not the patrons of the church or the diocese. The reasons for this solution should be sought in the meanings of the myth of Cyril and Methodius, interpreted both in the Upper Silesian context as well as a broader one, connected with the unionist congresses in Moravian Welehrad as well as aspirations to re-establish the unity between Rome and the Christian East. The Slavic Apostles symbolised the respect for the “authentic” culture of the people and appeared in this role in the narrations of Slavic nationalisms based on German pressure. Such was the significance of their presence in the writings of Polish national activist in Cieszyn Silesia, Paweł Stalmach as well as in the stained-glass window designed by Włodzim-ierz Tetmajer, commissioned by Rev. Aleksander Skowroński for the church in Ligota Bialska in the Prussian Upper Silesia in 1908. The above mentioned significance was present in the project of the sculptural decoration of the cathedral in Katowice. The circumstances of the construction point to the fact that the equally important cause for exposing the statues of Cyril and Methodius was the papal policy, which considered the Republic of Poland to be the background of the eastern mission, whose strategic aim was to terminate the schism. In this context, Cyril and Methodius symbolised the unity of the Church under the rule of the Bishop of Rome. The clergy of Upper Silesia owned the establishment of their diocese to Pius XI. The manifestation of the ties with Rome was not only the “Roman” form of the cathedral but also its patron – it was Pius XI who instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925. (...)

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