One more time on the Brest church union: canonical arguments of uniate polemicists of the first half of the 17th century

Extensive scientific research is devoted to the topic of the Brest Church Union and its particular aspects. However, the issue of what canonical arguments were proposed by supporters of the union to justify the need for it has not been specifically studied yet. An attempt is made to fill this gap in historiography, drawing on the analysis of Uniate polemical works of the first half of the 17th century. They were written by Bishop Ipatiy (Potey), Joseph Velyamin Rutsky, Joachim Morokhovsky, Lev Krevza and others. The study resulted in the conclusion that to support their position the Uniate polemicists referred to the decisions of Local and Ecumenical Councils (including the Ecumenical Councils in Lyon in 1274 and in Florence in 1439), they sought to prove the noncanonical nature of the Brest Orthodox Council of 1596, and the episcopal consecrations performed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophan in 1620, and they also sought to give convincing arguments defending the truth of the Catholic doctrine of the supremacy of the Popes in the Christian world. The canonical argumentation of the Uniates has its specific logic, but at the same time is vulnerable to criticism. The article was prepared on the basis of a report at the VIIth Barsov Readings (12.08.2023, St. Petersburg).