Dr Paweł Milcarek Paweł Milcarek (born on 25 August 1966 in Warsaw) – Polish philosopher and author, founder of Christianitas quarterly and its editor-in-chief, first between 1999-2008, and next since 2012; between 1992 and 2009 he lectured at the Chair of the History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (UKSW), and between 2008 and 2009, he was the director and the editor-in-chief of the Polish Radio Channel II.
He is the graduate of Tadeusz Reytan VI General Secondary School. In 1981, he joined “the Black Scout Troop 1” and remained its member throughout his university studies. He contributed to the efforts to restore the traditional ideals of the Polish scouting movement (he edited, among all, the independent youth paper Harcownik [Scout champion], distributed among members of the independent scouting movement).
Between 1982 and 1984, he cooperated with the clandestine Catholic Workers’ Periodical Ojczyzna [Homeland] and distributed samizdat literature. Between 1986 and 1990, he edited the clandestine periodical Nowe Horyzonty [New Horizons] which echoed the ideas of the national political camp, and namely the writings of Jędrzej Giertych. 24 issues of the periodical were published in total. In 1998, at the University of Warsaw, he co-founded, together with Rafał Matyja and Robert Kostro, the conservative association branded “Academic League”. Between 1998 and 1990, he was involved in the revival of the catholic Polish Academic Union (suspended after the declaration of the martial law).
In 1989, he received the scholarship from the History and Literary Society in Paris. In 1991, he graduated from the Faculty of History, University of Warsaw, upon the submission of the MA dissertation “Polish History by Feliks Koneczny (tutor: Tomasz Wituch). Between 1992-1996 he was the member of a small team of consultants to the Supreme Editorial Board of the New Universal Encyclopedia by PWN publishing house. In 1994, at the Academy of Catholic Theology (ATK) he defended the doctoral thesis in the field of philosophy, under the title “Philosophical theory of the human body in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas” (tutor: Mieczysław Gogacz). Between 1994 and 2001, he was the member of the Editorial Board of Edukacja Filozoficzna [Philosophical Education] journal. In 1996 he was awarded the scolarship of the Foundation for Polish Science.
Since 1995 he has been actively involved in the efforts to restore access to the Traditional Latin Mass in the Catholic Church. He was the Polish representative at the Centre International d’Etudes Liturgiques – an association established to initiate and promote studies on the classic Roman rite. In 1999 he co-founded Christianitas periodical and in 2008 he became its editor-in-chief. In 2001, he took part in closed Liturgy Days at the Benedictine Monastery in Fontgombault (France) which hosted cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Between 22 December 2008 and 29 December 2009 he hold the position of the director and editor-in-chief of the Polish Radio Channel II.
He has published articles in Rzeczpospolita, Niedziela and Ozon weeklies and has written a blog in Salon24.pl portal. He systematically produces columns for Przewodnik Katolicki weekly. Between 1997 and 2001 he was the member of the Polish Radio Editorial Board, upon the recommendation of the Polish National Broadcasting Council (KRRiTV).
He co-authored (with Grzegorz Kucharczyk and Marek Paweł Robak) a series of history textbooks for lower secondary school students, entitled “Przez tysiąclecia i wieki” [Through Millennia and Centuries], published by Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne Publishing House, in 2002-2004.
In 2005, he bacame the member of the Honorary Support Committee of Lech Kaczyński in presidential elections. Between 2005 and 2007 he acted as the advisor to the Speaker of Polish Sejm, Marek Jurek.
In 2008, he published the monograph on medieval philosophy, entitled Od istoty do istnienia. Tworzenie się metafizyki egzystencjalnej wewnątrz łacińskiej tradycji filozofii chrześcijańskiej [From Essence to Being. The Development of Existential Metaphysics inside the Latin Tradition of Christian Philosophy] in which he outlined the development stages of the original formula in Latin scholars’ philosophical thought, of the 9-13th centuries, in particular in the works of Paris Masters (among all Thomas Aquinas, Albert Magnus and William of Auvergne): they go beyond the simple reception of the heritage of Antiquity and the accomplishments of Arab philosophy towards a more in-depth reflection on the theory of being (they develop the doctrine of transcendentals and discuss the difference between essence and being). In 2010, he published “The History of the Mass” – a practical guidebook to the history of the Holy Mass.
Married and father of six, he lives in Brwinów near Warsaw.