Review note:

Priest Zbigniew Rostkowski, The History of the Roman Catholic Parish in Narew, Jedność Publishing House, Kielce [2024], pp. 1199

Abstract

In 2024, the monumental work of Father Zbigniew Rostkowski devoted to the history of the Roman Catholic parish in Narew – a small town in the Podlasie region, situated on the perhaps better-known river of the same name (in its upper course) – was published by Wydawnictwo Jedność in Kielce. Today, Narew is a village (it lost its municipal rights in 1934) and the seat of the local commune authorities. The rich history of this locality and its surroundings, reaching back to the late Middle Ages, undoubtedly deserves the attention of scholars. For this reason, the publication of the aforementioned work should be received with great satisfaction, all the more so because it is a book (or rather a tome) that is excellent in every respect. Based on the title, one might assume that it covers only a certain portion of the town’s history and that of the neighbouring villages. However, since the history of the parish is so closely intertwined with the life of the local community – life which simply could not be omitted – what we ultimately receive is a panorama presenting the past of the entire land of Narew.