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When did things went wrong for Poland and what went wrong? [21]
One should probably say, that the first wrong move was the turn away from Svetovid.
Let us take this as the end of one era. We all entered era of Christianity.
Negative effect was that Church had its bureaucracy. That later divided Church and used it for the interests of certain circles, outside of Slavic world, in all options, Catholic, Orthodox or later Protestant. Good thing is that we Slavs adopted national Churches within Orthodoxy, but that was prevented in Catholicism. As another good thing, we Serbs on Balkan managed to preserve devotion to Svetovid and SLAVA custom in Christianized forms. In my belief, this will prove vital for Slavic civilization in new era that yet to come, in new architecture of the world after this current turmoil, in the sense that we have something our own preserved in direct continuity with our ancient culture.
Mieszko I committed a great mistake by allowing himself to be baptized by Vatican agents
Mieszko didn`t made mistake. Truthfully enough, it was impossible to him to avoid Catholicism considering all cultural impact Balkan Serbs and later Serbian Empire had on Poland and Commonwealth. Plus there was the influence from the west of Europe and Rome itself. At the moment when majority of Poles adopted Catholicism, most of the Balkan Serbs was Catholic. Just think of Jadwiga, the child of Polish Piasts and Serbian Nemanjic magnates, two richest and most powerful houses at that exact moment of history in Europe.
Close relations continued on Balkan-Baltic (Serbia-Poland) line even when Serbian Nemanjic, back then already Imperial house resisted to dictate of the papacy and turned to Orthodoxy. All point to the fact that Polish and Serbian magnates had their own interests to mutually prosper, no matter divisions within Christianity generated by the Vatican and Constantinople. Not surprisingly if we know that ancient Baltic-Balkan amber trade route wealth flow involved our ancestors and noble houses and warlords prior to Piasts and Nemanjcs.
The second grave mistake, was to orient their diplomatic policy towards Western countries instead of Serbia.
Again, not a mistake considering Ottoman invasion onto Balkan Serbian lands. What else Poland could do? If Poland tried to follow Serbs into Orthodoxy and form its national Church, which would suit Poland`s independence, Poland would be destroyed by the who knows how much crusades called by the Rome. Same thing would destroy Balkan Serbs even if Ottomans didn`t invade.
Anyway, Poles did their best to support resistance of Balkan Serbs against Ottomans but all was futile, while these attempts weakened Poland even more. Let us just rem,ind ourselves that King Wladislaw Warnenchyk was killed on Balkan, that Zawisa Czarny did fighting Turks in Serbia.
Finally, when Balkan Serbs lost their state under the Ottoman yoke and pressure from the Vatican, what Poland could do then follow the dictate from the west of Europe and Rome.
