18. But God does not permit his people to be tried by excessive affliction
and at length, after the peace of Andrussovia in 1667, he bade more peaceful
days dawn for this people after so many trials and perils. The peace thus
obtained resulted daily in greater blessings for our holy religion. In fact
Christian faith and Christian morals so flourished that in the two eparchies
which in 1596 had unhappily remained separated from unity opinion every day
grew more favorable to a return to the Catholic fold. Thus it happily came
about that in 1691 the eparchy of Przemysl, and in 1700 that of Lvov were
united to the Apostolic See, and so, that almost the whole of the Ruthenian
people then inhabiting Poland were in enjoyment of Catholic unity. All
prospered more from day to day, to the great gain of Christianity, and so in
1720 the metropolitan and the rest of the bishops of the Ruthenian Church met
in council at Zamosc to provide to the best of their ability by common counsel
for the growing needs of the faithful; from the decrees of this council -
confirmed by our predecessor Benedict XIII in the Apostolic Constitution
Apostolatus officium of 19th July 1724 - no small benefit resulted to the
Ruthenian community.
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