Polish Mission

The Polish Mission was a church unit that comprised Congress Poland from 1912 to about 1920.

Territory and Statistics¹

Period: 1912- c. 1920

Territory: Congress Poland

Population:

Membership: 110

Churches: 3

Origin of Seventh-day Adventist Work in the Territory

Adventist work in Poland began in the late 19th century. It became part of the Russian Mission in 1890, the North Russian Mission in 1901, and the West Russian Mission in 1908. For the origin of Adventist work in Poland, see the articles on Poland and the Russian Mission.

Organizational History

At the Russian Union meeting at Riga in April 1912, Congress Poland was separated from the territory of the West Russian Mission and the Polish Mission was organized.² This was the first Polish church unit.

At the European Division Council at Budapest beginning on October 30, 1913, it was decided to divide the Russian Union into the East and West Russian Unions. The changes took effect on January 1, 1914.³ The Polish Mission became part of the West Russian Union.⁴

Due to World War I and the Russian Civil War, there were no reports from Russia in Zions-Wächter after the first quarter of 1914 or in the SDA Yearbook from 1918 to 1921. When reports appeared again, Polish lands had been organized into the Polish Union Mission, with Warsaw Mission covering Poland itself.⁵ After the war the borders of Poland had shifted significantly, and the Warsaw Mission could be seen as a new church unit.

List of Presidents

H. Schmitz (1913); D. Isaak (1914); A. Langholf (1915); T. Will (1916-1917); church unit not listed (1918-1920).

Sources

Annual Statistical Report. Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1914.

“Berichte der Russischen Union vom 1. April bis 30. Juni 1912.” Zions-Wächter, August 5, 1912, 306-311.

Conradi, Ludwig R. “New Developments in Eastern Europe.” ARH, July 4, 1912, 11-12.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Notes

1. For period and territory, see the present article, for membership and churches, see Annual Statistical Report (Washington, DC: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1914), 8.↩

2. Ludwig R. Conradi, “New Developments in Eastern Europe,” ARH, July 4, 1912, 11-12; “Polish Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1913), 110, 112.

   For some reason, the Polish Mission does not appear in the Zions-Wächter quarterly reports. They do report the Vistula Conference, which, while stated to comprise “the Provinces of West Prussia and Posen” (not Congress Poland) in the SDA Yearbook, has a city list in Poland according to Zions-Wächter: Łódź, Pabianice, and Warsaw. “Vistula Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1912), 109; “Berichte der Russischen Union vom 1. April bis 30. Juni 1912,” Zions-Wächter, August 5, 1912, 308.↩

3. Ludwig R. Conradi, “European Division Council in Budapest,” ARH, December 18, 1913, 12.↩

4. “Polish Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1914), 112.↩

5. The SDA Yearbook gives the anachronistic description “Congresspoland.” “Warsaw Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 100.↩