"They will suffer – they will learn": the difficult path to the education of Orthodox inhabitants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the first half of the 17th century

The subject of this article is the education of Orthodox inhabitants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the first half of the 17th century, which is considered an important tool for preserving cultural identity in the context of religious conflicts triggered by the Union of Brest in 1596. The emphasis is placed on how systematic violence and persecution by Catholics and Uniates affected the educational initiatives conducted by Orthodox brotherhoods. The article addresses the following issues: the organization of Orthodox education, the reflection of the educational problem in religious polemics, and the challenges faced by students in Orthodox schools. The brotherhood schools faced a complex dual task: they had to compete not only with Jesuit colleges but also to fight for the preservation of their own faith as such. The confrontation between Orthodox and Catholic educational systems is highlighted, as well as the consequences of systematic attacks on brotherhood schools organized by Catholics and Uniates. The research is based on textual analysis of complaints from the clergy and the gentry, writings of polemical literature, and the complaints of townspeople, employing historical-comparative, historical-typological, and historical-systems methods. The scientific novelty lies in addressing the little-studied topic of religious violence related to Orthodox education in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including archival materials from complaints, which provides a unique opportunity to explore the opinions of not only the elite but also the masses on the subject. As a result of the study, the author concluded that the clergy, gentry, and common townspeople perceived violence against students of Orthodox schools differently. For the latter, attacks on schools were another brutal act of violence, while for the former two, it represented a threat not only to personal safety but also to the future of Orthodox doctrine. The author's special contribution to the study of the topic lies in the attempt to see how education and faith became closely interconnected in the context of interdenominational conflict by examining the integration of emotional and rational arguments in the complaints of various social strata. It is emphasized that education during this period not only performed the function of transmitting knowledge but also became an important instrument of social discipline.