By the end of the 16th century, Włodawa passed into the hands of Andrzej Leszczyński and from that time belonged to the Leszczyński family for next generations. As Leszczyński was a Calvinist, Włodawa soon became an important center of Protestantism. In 1624 a Calvinist church and a school were built here. Between 1633 and 1648, the minister of the Calvinist congregation in Włodawa was Polish historian and poet Andrzej Węgierski. In 1634 a Calvinist synod was held in Włodawa, which was attended by delegates from the entire Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Protestants from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia also settled in Włodawa at that time.