Why did St. Josaphat and Rutsky unite the monasteries into one Order?
In 1595-96, the Ukrainian Church had re-affirmed their union with the Holy Roman Apostolic See. We call this The Union of Brest. The Pope and other hierarchs knew that the Ukrainian Church could only be strong and united if the monasteries were spiritually strong and healthy. Since most of them were decadent, the Pope personally selected Joseph Rutsky to work towards this reform. He found a spiritual friend in Josaphat Kuncevych, with whom he worked together to restore monastic spirituality and discipline.
