The Protestants, too, became now very active, preaching their doctrines openly, and holding services on the estates and in the villages of the szlachta. Their forces were strengthened by the arrival in Poland in the summer of 1548 of the Bohemian Brethren. They had been expelled from Bohemia and were on the way to East Prussia, where they were offered the hospitality of Duke Albert. On their arrival in Posen, they were cordially received by the Starosta-General of Great Poland, Andrew Górka, castellan of Posen. During their stay in Posen they preached publicly, and found many followers.[120] Ordered by the king, at the request of Bishop Idźbieński of Posen, to move on, they left; but their brief stay prepared the ground for future work, and established connections which enabled them to return later on.[121] Scarcely had the bishop of Posen freed the city of the Bohemian Brethren, when he had a new case of heresy to deal with. The prebendary of St. John’s, Andrew Prażmowski, began to preach Calvinistic doctrines from the pulpit of his church. The bishop drove Prażmowski out of his diocese. However, this did not stop Prażmowski’s activity as a Calvinistic preacher. Finding refuge in Radziejów, Kuyavia, and protected there by the powerful magnate, Raphael Leszczyński, voyvoda of Brzezść and starosta of Radziejów, he prepared there the ground for the spread of Calvinism, and laid the foundation for the establishment of the Calvinistic Church in this voyvodship.[122] The same thing was happening in Little Poland, where Lismanini, though now under the ban of the bishop of Cracow, was nevertheless very active, spreading Calvinistic doctrines. Catholic priests one after another began now to leave the Church of Rome, to preach the Reformation doctrines, and to reorganize their churches and the form of worship by doing away with the mass and with pictures and by introducing the cup at communion.[123] Moreover, the aristocracy openly encouraged the spread of Protestantism in their possessions. Calvinistic churches sprang up at Alexandrowice of the Karmińskis, at Chrzęcice of the Filipowskis, at Pińczów of the Oleśnickis, and at Secynin of the Szafraniec family.[124] Karmiński and Filipowski had been members of the secret circle in Cracow, meeting for purposes of discussion of the new ideas. At the Diet of Piotrków, 1547-1548, the szlachta had in the very first article demanded the preaching of the pure word of God without any human or Roman admixtures. All this, however, had been done rather quietly as yet. But now at the very first Diet, called by the new king to meet in Piotrków again in 1548, questions of religious reform were brought boldly to the front. The szlachta demanded freedom to speak of God freely in every place, which thing the clergy forbade. But when the issue was raised in the Senate, the king replied that to speak of God was the prerogative of the clergy, and that he would follow them.[125]