What did the Church Union of Brest 1596 mean for Rus/Ukraine and its neighbours?

[Zbyszek]

Originally posted by Prawda

"Some historians, like Prof., Bobrzynski and others, consider the establishment of the Uniate Church prejudicial to the interests of the Polish State. Because this Church became united with the prevailing Church, the Polish government did nothing to encourage the establishment of Roman Catholic churches in Ukraine and, as a consequence, thousands of the descendants of Polish settlers became Ruthenized. Rome hoping to conquer, eventually, Russia by means of the Uniate Church was similarly quiescent in its activities in that region."

[/B]

Prawda found quite an interesting text about the Union of Brest.
I would like to comment a little on the above opinion. Prof. BobrzyЯski was a XIXth century conservative Polish historian living in Galicia. I have to add he was very generally critical about the Polish presence in Ukraine. His views are interesting and they contradict the well established stereotypic opinions about the "Polish version of history".
The opinion quoted above seems probably quite exotic for the many of Russian historians and Russian posters like The Last Word who view the Union of Brest as a treacherous action aimed at eradicating the Orthodox faith.
To me, the very fact of negotiations instead of war was an achievement. Why not to see this Union as a reasonable compromise between the spiritual principles and everyday practice?
It so happened that a large part of the Orthodox hierarchy was persuaded by the Rome envoys without any visible military pressure.
Both negotiating sides did not take into account that they inadvertently equipped Muscovy with a powerful weapon of the effective excuse about defending "the only true and acceptable faith". The new hierarchs of the Uniate Church were in a very difficult position when it comes to their flock. The old prejudice against "the Latin oppressors" came to the surface again.
The Tsar consequently employed the hard principle cuius regio eius religio himself but he demanded that Rzeczpospolita be a haven of tolerance.
In this respect, I have to say that the Union failed. It would be better to look for ensuring the autonomy of the Kiev Orthodox religious center from the Moscow one. However, I have no reason to question the cautious and reform-minded policy of the Roman Catholic Church in this region at that time.
The Polish lords were not a serious part of this process because they were blinded by the greed and lured by the prospects of the development of their properties. One very old term, difficult to translate, depicts this approach so well: dziecina, lacina, pierzyna. Maybe Halina will try to explain it.