Adam Prosper Burzyński OFM, missionary in Egypt at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries

Abstract

One of the interesting figures among the Polish clergy at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries was A. P. Burzyński, whose extensive biography, preserved to this day in manuscript, was written by the author of this article. The published material contains detailed information about the intellectual and spiritual preparation of a monk for priesthood in the Lesser Poland Province of the Reformed Franciscans at the end of the 18th century. The article discusses the political and religious conditions of Christianity in Egypt and Northern Abyssinia in the field of missionary activity of the Reformed Franciscans. The second part of the study is a documented report on the missionary and pastoral activities of A. P. Burzyński and selected political roles he played as apostolic prefect in Egypt, where during his seventeen-year stay he was a builder of bridges between peoples of different countries, religions and cultures.