Henryk Ryszard Tomaszewski

, Henryk Ryszard Tomaszewski, Mieczysław Czajko, Edward Czajko, and Kazimierz Krystoń He was born on 1 November 1948 in Olsztyn. He graduated from the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw, earning his master's degree in 1974. Under the supervision of Rev. Prof. , he wrote his doctoral dissertation titled Christian Groups of the Evangelical-Baptist Type in Poland from 1858 to 1939 and defended it in 1981. Later, he authored an unpublished work, Evangelical-Baptist Communities After 1939. He was the only Doctor of Theology in the United Evangelical Church. He served as United Evangelical Church Council Secretary for two terms until 1987. At the 1st Synod of the Church of Christ, he was elected Church Council Secretary He is also engaged in business activities == Archives ==

Due to the nature of his scholarly work, he spent considerable time in archives. From 1990 to 1991, he reviewed the resources of the Central Archive of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (these documents were later transferred to the , though Tomaszewski claims not all were handed over). From 1990 to 1993, he examined documents from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He also utilized the archives of the Central Archives of Modern Records, the Institute of National Remembrance, and others. He also donated original documents of the United Churches of Christ from 1928 to 1953, received from . == Scholarly work ==

He focused on the histories of the Baptist Christian Church of the Republic of Poland, the United Evangelical Church, and the Church of Christ. He typically referred to evangelical churches as "free churches" and adopted the definition proposed by Mieczysław Kwiecień. He argued that the primary distinction between evangelical and historical churches lies in the creation of a new form of piety and lifestyle. There are minor dogmatic differences between them, mainly regarding the understanding of believer's baptism, the Eucharist, and baptism in the Holy Spirit. These churches emphasize faith in Christ above all, rather than developing new dogmas. == Evaluations and criticism ==

reviewed his book Kościół Chrystusowy w Polsce w latach 1921–1953 (The Church of Christ in Poland in the Years 1921–1953, 1992), noting that it was based on extensive source material, typically from state archives of former religious and political authorities, describing this as an "extraordinary strength of the historical work". In 2009, Tomaszewski published Zjednoczony Kościół Ewangeliczny 1947–1987 (United Evangelical Church 1947–1987). praised it as a valuable resource for novice historians studying evangelical issues in the Polish People's Republic and those interested in the topic. However, he noted that Tomaszewski portrayed the Office for Religious Affairs as consistently obstructing the United Evangelical Church's operations, even placing Tadeusz Dusik – positively regarded by others – among problematic directors. He also depicted Szymon Biliński as nearly responsible for the arrests of United Evangelical Church activists in 1950. Tomaszewski listed 10 agents whose reports the Ministry of Public Security used for the 1950 arrests, though three were recruited after the arrests, and two provided no material. reviewed his 2008 book Baptyści w Polsce w latach 1918–1958 (Baptists in Poland in the Years 1918–1958), commending its "wealth of sources" but criticizing its over-reliance on state archives and underuse of Baptist Church archives. He noted scant information on congregational activities, which he considered the essence of the church, while it focused heavily on the Supreme Church Council and its relations with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education pre-war and the Office for Religious Affairs post-war. Seweryn also criticized the extensive discussion of tangential issues (e.g., clergy repression in the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia, and Office interference with the Christian Ecumenical Council) and noted that chapter summaries were mere restatements lacking synthesis or deep conclusions. considered him one of the most effective authors on religious minorities from 1945 to 1989, but faulted him for superficial archival research and ignoring existing literature. He deemed Tomaszewski's view – that religious authorities were uninterested in dogmatic or organizational matters – far removed from the realities of confessional policy, though he valued him for "other merits". == Selected publications ==