These royal decrees were called forth not by imaginary fear of a non-existent evil, but by actual and steady growth of the Reformation in Poland. There are a number of episcopal court cases on record of persons arrested and tried for heresy. In 1522 the parish-priest of Bienarów, near Bicz, Voyvodship of Cracow, was arrested for praising and sympathizing with Martin Luther. In 1525 sixteen persons were charged in the city of Cracow with professing Luther’s teachings, breaking fast-day regulations, denying the efficacy of prayers for the dead, the existence of purgatory, and the value of confession. These persons were of the lower social class, artisans, organists, singers, etc. In the face of the severe penalties provided for such offenders by the royal edicts, all the accused naturally denied being guilty of the charges. In 1526 there were two cases of priests charged with heresy. One of these was Bartholomew, rector of the school of Corpus Christi in the suburb of Kazimir; the other Matthew of Ropczyce. The latter was sentenced to confinement in the clerical prison at Lipowiec. There was also a case of a book-dealer, called Michael, who was charged with the importation of heretical books; and one of a Bohemian blacksmith charged with denial of Christ’s presence in the consecrated host. In 1530 another book-dealer by the name of Peter was charged with importing Luther’s Catechism. He defended himself by stating that he possessed only six copies of it. On December 10, 1532, four influential citizens of Cracow were charged with professing Lutheranism. A similar case came up the year following. Book-dealers seem to have been the worst offenders and the hardest to deal with. In 1534 two Cracovian book-dealers, Hieronimus Wietor and Philip Winkler, were charged with selling books containing Lutheran doctrines. At the same time similar books were found to be in the possession of Matthew of Opoczyn, rector of the church at Sieciechów. The most significant case on record, however, was that of James of Iłża, preacher of the Church of St. Stephen, Cracow, “artium magistri et collegiati minoris collegii.” James started to preach Luther’s doctrines openly from the pulpit of his church in 1528. When called to account for it, he denied being guilty, and his case was dismissed. But when he continued preaching the heretical doctrines publicly, he was again haled before the bishop’s court. This time he was ordered to retract the Lutheran errors publicly from his pulpit. Instead of doing that James escaped to Breslau. In consequence of that he was at once adjudged and condemned as a heretic.[79]