As Napoleon’s popularity turned into a veritable cult in the Duchy of Warsaw, the clergy not only went along with the tide but also eagerly helped in the creation of the Napoleonic legend. Two factors determined the attitude of the Polish clergy towards Napoleon Bonaparte. The first comprised the hopes and anxieties connected with the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw, the other had to do with the relations between France and the Papal State. The restoration of Poland’s statehood in the Duchy resulted in a wave of Sunday sermons and occasional speeches glorifying the French Emperor. The preachers usually fell back on the Biblical deliverance symbolism from the Pentateuch, the Book of Job, the Psalms, Isaiah, and the minor prophets. Of the books of the New Testament their favourite text was the Revelation. In their orations Napoleon was presented as a messiah sent by God to restore freedom to the Poles. His act of redress was compared to that of Cyrus, who had the liturgical vessels from the Temple returned to the Israelites. Napoleon was also identified with David, Moses, and Aaron, or alternately with the Angel of Death who was to grind to dust the enemies of Poland. In their enthusiasm for the Emperor some preachers likened him to Jesus resurrecting Lazarus or to God creating Adam. The trope of deification is also present in Napoleon’s stylization in the likeness of the Lord of Hosts leading the Israelites to victory. Just as God cursed and condemned the Philistines to destruction so did Napoleon wrought punishment on the Protestant Prussians for their sacrilegious treatment of religion and places of worship. From 1812 onwards the tone of the sermons began to grow less favourable to Napoleon. Their critical attitude was underlined by comparisons of Bonaparte to Abimelech, the slayer of his brothers. In the post-1815 era the clergy in the Russian-ruled Kingdom of Poland tended to see Napoleon as a political leader who, deluded by boundless pride, aspired to the role of God’s annointed. His conquests were now attributed to his insatiable thirst for power; his fall proved that, like Nebuchadnezzar, he was but a colossus with feet of clay. Napoleon was also compared to Sennacherib, the Assyrian emperor who beguiled the Israelites by promises of peace and prosperity, but when they accepted his overlordship, he forced them to pay enormous tributes. For all those critical tones many clergymen could not shake off their fascination with Napoleon. In so far as they were ready to believe he had had a messianic role, they insisted that he had failed to carry it out in accordance with God’s plans.