Abstract

Piotr Skarga is one of the most prominent Polish writers of the 16th century. Today he is mostly regarded as a polemicist, heavily engaged in political matters. However, during his lifetime, he was considered as a religious writer. Lives of the Saints held a significant importance among his work, as well as his sermons. In these writings there are a lot of references to the angels, although it does not make him an angelologist. His remarks on the angels are in accordance with the Catholic doctrine and decrees of the Council of Trent. Skarga’s favorite motives were: hierarchical structure of existence, angelic hierarchy, the court of God, the angelic army, singing of the angels, the Guardian Angel and the angelic cult. Although Skarga was very vigilant not to write anything that would not be in accordance with the Catholic teachings, he was using religious motives to reflect upon the politics, for example he regarded divine monarchy as a model for earthly monarchy.