On 11 November 2017 – on the National Independence Day of Poland, the eight ‘March of Independence’[1] proceeded “under the banners of God” along Warsaw streets. This year, the march praiseworthily marked its place in Polish history. The demonstration was attended by 60 thousands of patriots who have written the name of Poland in their hearts. This greatest national-patriotic manifestation in Europe was held under the slogan “We want God.” The slogan for the March of Independence 2017 comes from an old Polish nationalist song.

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[1] The March of Independence was initiated in 2010 by members of the All-Polish Youth and National Radical Camp (ONR). This patriotic demonstration became an important element of the Polish Independence Day celebrations.

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“God on the Polish banners” is not only reference to the history and tradition of the Polish nation, but also the heritage of the Christian past that paves the way for present and future generations of Poles. The slogan for this year's Independence Day march, “We want God,” is also a response to the current spiritual crisis in Europe. Nearly all the countries of contemporary Europe have Christian roots,[2] but many of them abandoned Christianity.[3] The direct reference to God by the participants of the march, who numerously came from various regions of Poland, bacame, in a sense, God’s torch which on Poland’s National Independence Day lighted up this Christian country on the background of contemporary Europe, living in apostasy.[4]

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[2] The identity of Europe is not exclusively Christian, since both Judaism and Islam have contributed to its formation in the past. The Christian legacy has the lead in the formation of Europe. Christianity retains precedence, but never had played an exclusive role in the formation of the European identity diachronically. The identity of Europe is biblical, that is, monotheistic. The faith in the One and Only God is the core essence of monotheism.  Christianity constitutes a great part of this biblical tradition. The increasingly visible objection of the European Union against the Christian identity of the Old Continent is often, though wrongly, argued that Europe risks becoming a closed ‘Christian league.’

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[3] Among European countries, faith in God is most common in Malta, Romania, Cyprus, Poland and Greece. The Czech Republic, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Estonia and Norway have the lowest proportions of their own citizens who believe in God. The number of Christians has decreased significantly in Germany, Portugal, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom during the last two decades. Believers who declare their faith in some unspecified ‘spiritual power’ or ‘vital force,’ normally not linked to any specific religion, distinctly exceed the number of theists in some countries. This is, for example, the case of Iceland, Latvia and Denmark.

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[4] Apostasy is the abandonment or renunciation of one’s own religion. The term comes from the Greek word ἀποστασία (apostasia) meaning “a defection, departure, revolt or rebellion.”

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The Apostle to the Nations, St. Paul of Tarsus, in his letter addressed to the Romans (58 AD), included a text called by many biblical scholars (Ernst Kühl, Charles H. Dodd, Werner H. Schmidt, et al.) a ‘hymn to honor the salvific love of God’ (Romans 8: 31–39). The Apostle’s words, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31), acquired special significance in the Polish history. Just in 1569, in close temporal proximity to the 600th anniversary of the baptism of Poland, on the initiative of King Sigismund II August[5] was established the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Lat. Res Publica Utriusque Nationis)[6], with the motto in Latin, Si Deus nobiscum quis contra nos – “If God is with us, who can be against us.” The Apostle’s words inscription placed on the Renaissance gate’s portal of the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow is also particularly important today for Poles. Inside the Bartolommeo Berrecci Gate to the Wawel Castle, there are three entrances. The largest of which, central, is decorated with a Latin inscription, SI DEUS NOBISCUM QUIS CONTRA NOS.

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[5] King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania and the last representative of the Jagiellon dynasty.

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[6] The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795), also known as the “Republic of Both Nations” (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów; Lithuanian: Abiejų Tautų Respublika) was a dualistic state, a bi-confederation of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. The Commonwealth was formed in July 1569 by the Union of Lublin, which united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dual Polish-Lithuanian state was one of the largest states in Europe. It covered not only the territories of what is now Poland (except western Poland) and Lithuania, but also the entire territory of Belarus and Latvia, large parts of Ukraine and Estonia, and part of present-day western Russia (Smolensk and Kaliningrad oblasts), and smaller pieces in Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. At its peak in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth occupied an area of about 400,000 square miles (1000,000 square km), with 11 million inhabitants. It was a multiethnic country inhabited by Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, Germans, Jews, and small numbers of Tatars, Armenians, and Scots. Poland and Lithuania were united under one monarch being elected in free election by both countries jointly. The Commonwealth’s political system was the “nobles’ democracy”. The political doctrine of the Commonwealth of Both Nations was: “our state is a republic under the presidency of the King.” The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, as well as the Senate and an elected king. The nobility (szlachta) controlled the legislature (the Sejm – the Polish-Lithuanian parliament) and the Commonwealth’s elected king.

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