May is a month generous with holidays and events. Today, Family Day is added to them. Let's reflect on what family means to each of us?
The main reason for starting a new family is love. Love is the fuel for life and the continuation of the lineage. How to understand that it is truly love? The wisest book gives us an interpretation: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7).
Read also: The Bible for the poor, or What you didn't know about the Boim Chapel
In the Holy Scriptures, there is an instruction for people to be fruitful and multiply. To be fruitful means to give birth to two children, and to multiply means three or more. And here an interesting Lviv family comes to mind, which dates back to the 16th century and originates from Silesia – the family of Lviv patricians Scholz-Wolfowicz.
Perhaps because they politely followed the instructions of the Holy Scripture – they were fruitful and multiplied – the Lord generously blessed them with finances and power. Or maybe it was the other way around. They were perhaps the wealthiest in Lviv and had 24 children – 12 boys and 12 girls. All the children were born to one woman – Wolf's wife Beata.
Let's not forget that this was the heart of the Middle Ages: epidemics, lack of doctors, poor sanitation, absence of vaccines and antibiotics. At that time, being born was easier than surviving, but the Scholz-Wolfowicz family both were born in abundance and all survived, successfully entering into marriages with equally successful Lvivians. Thus, the union of just one man and one woman gave rise to a vast dynasty – it was they who became relatives of almost half of Lviv.
Contemporaries joked that it was a union of a wolf and a hare – for that was how their surnames were translated from German. Wolf was not only a father of many children but also a merchant and an assessor. Four times he became the Lviv Vogt. From 1544 to 1568, he was a city councilor, and he was also elected burgomaster of Lviv four times. In modern terms – the mayor.
Read also: How Lviv survived epidemics 500 years ago and how a typhus vaccine was invented here
Wealthy, influential, with many children. It's difficult for a medieval, and ultimately even a modern neighbor, to endure such a set of gifts. Perhaps that is why rumors spread about Wolf and his wife, and the family was accused of abuse of office.
Read about the house where the large patrician family lived, located on Rynok Square, here. Also, the famous family can be seen on the bas-relief of the Latin Cathedral's facade titled 'The Scholz-Wolfowicz Family at Prayer.' However, only half of the family is depicted there – six boys and six girls. Additionally, this lineage is remembered by a lion on Kopernyka Street – near the Church of St. Lazarus. It holds the coat of arms of the Scholz-Wolfowicz family in its paws.
Photo: Ukraina Incognita
Photo: Photographs of old Lviv
It comes to mind that nothing is impossible for the Lord, He can bless a family so generously and so abundantly: 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human heart has conceived – the things God has prepared for those who love him!'
Therefore, all who are still without a family, do not waste time and ask, because 'Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith' (Matthew 17:20; 21:21-22).
The author's column reflects the subjective position of the author. The editorial office of 'Tvoe Misto' does not always share the thoughts expressed in columns and is ready to provide those who disagree with an opportunity for a reasoned response.
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