Teodor Kazimierz Czartoryski

Teodor Kazimierz Czartoryski (1704 – 1 March 1768 in Dolsk) was a bishop of Poznań and a member of the magnate family of Czartoryski in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. While he took good care of his ecclesiastical estates, he was much less involved in politics than his more famous brothers from the familia, August Aleksander Czartoryski and Michał Fryderyk Czartoryski. Biography Czartoryski was chosen by his family to be a priest from the early childhood, receiving the title of canon when he was 13 years old. He studied in the jesuit Collegium Romanum in Rome and received the Holy Orders in 1727. Starting that year, the influence of familia resulted in him receiving a series of prosperous prebendaries, as well as becoming one of the ecclesiastical judges in the Crown Tribunal. In 1729 Czartoryski returned to Rome, and with the support of France, the Czartoryski's familia secured his nomination for the bishop of Poznań (from 1732). However familia plans to secure the cardinal nomination for Teodor failed due to the pro-French faction defeat at the beginning of the War of the Polish Succession in the aftermath of the 1733 royal Polish election. The Poznań bishopry was denied to familia (and Teodor) until 1639, and even that grudgingly approved by the king of Poland, Augustus III, after the death of member of familia, primate of Poland, Teodor Andrzej Potocki. Czartoryski, as a bishop, became one of the senators of Poland. His first speech at Sejm (Polish parliament) outlined the political plan of familia, proposing the reforms meant to prop the failing political system of the Commonwealth (Golden Freedoms). Specifically, he argued for modernising and enlarging the army, raising the taxes and support of the cities. However, Teodor was never fond of politics, taking part in Sejm deliberations only when he deemed it really necessary. In 1764 he caused a scandal, when bishop of Wilno, Ignacy Jakub Massalski was giving a speech defending hetman Jan Klemens Branicki, Teodor has fallen asleep and fallen on bishop Massalski, causing widespread amusement.