Lew Sapieha's 1622 letters criticize forced union methods

The post presents excerpts from correspondence written by Lew Sapieha, the Roman Catholic Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, to Josaphat Kuntsevych on March 12, 1622. Sapieha supported the Union of Brest but condemned the coercive methods used to impose it upon Orthodox Christians. In the letters, Sapieha writes that the union has brought unrest, discord, and ruin rather than joy, and that it has caused grief and bloodshed.

He accuses Kuntsevych of closing churches in Vitebsk and Polotsk, leaving people without divine worship and sacraments, and of abusing authority through ambition and lawsuits. Sapieha states that while it is sinful to reject those who flee to the Catholic Church, it is wicked to compel anyone into union by force.