to Polish and was adopted by the Lithuanian and Lesser Poland Brethren. In a posthumous tribute to John a Lasco, the Czech Brethren, the two Calvinist and Lutheran churches in Poland agreed in 1570 to the Confession of Sandomir (Konfesja Sandomierska), which was an irenic translation of the Second Helvetic Confession and in theory formed one, united, Protestant church. The strength of the Polish Protestants was shown when in 1573 a law was passed foreboding any persecution based on religion, an act unprecedented in Europe of that time. The Protestants formed also over 65% members of the Lower and just about a half of the Upper Houses of Parliament. The Calvinists opened schools in Pińczów, Leszno, Kraków, Vilnius, Kėdainiai and Słuck, printed the first complete Bible in Polish, commissioned by Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł in 1563 in Brest-Litovsk. Though grouping mainly nobles and aristocrats, it managed to have some following among the peasantry as well. In some regions the number of Reformed parishes completely outnumbered the Roman Catholic ones, though in proportion the movement probably never exceeded 20% of the total population and 45% of nobility. At the same time the movement was rising in strength, there were signs of Catholic revival. Jesuits were invited to Poland by the clergy in 1565, and these friars soon advocated more stringent methods of combating ‘heresy’. Religious riots followed, which managed to expel Protestants from the main cities of Poland (Kraków, Poznań, Lublin) with the important exception of Wilno. The Unitarian split seriously weakened the church, and in 1595, the Calvinist–Lutheran Union fell apart. The new staunchly Catholic king, Sigismund III Vasa, refused to promote any Protestants and from the beginning of the 17th century the church found itself in a serious defensive, with all three Brethren losing churches and followers. The brief respite they got during the reign of king Wladyslaw IV Vasa (1632–48) was followed by civil wars, wars with Sweden, Russia and Turkey which ravaged the country for latter half of the century. By then, only a handful of faithful remained in all three Brethren, with the Lithuanian one now leading the other three. Nearly all the aristocrats converted to Catholicism, and the last Protestant in the Senate (a Lutheran) died in 1668. The rise of intolerance began in 1658, when Unitarians were expelled from the country, and 1668 conversion from Catholic Christianity was punishable by death. Finally, in 1717