Editing Meletius Smotrytsky (section)

==Archbishop of Hierapolis==

Smotrytsky could not remain archbishop of Polotsk, as the cathedral was already planted the Uniate Church. Josyf Velamyn Rutsky even suggested granting him the title of Bishop of Halych. Finally, on June 5, 1631, [[Pope Urban VIII]] gave him the title of (titular) [[Archdiocese of Hierapolis in Phrygia|Archbishop of Hierapolis]]. Thus, the former Orthodox archbishop of Polotsk had dignity in the Catholic Church, which did not give any real powers. The reason for such a decision was that the pope could have a negative assessment of Smotrytsky's attitudes at council in Kiev, where he pleaded not guilty to his conversion. Still in 1631 Smotrytsky wrote to Rome that he would like to be bishop of a Diocese of actually running in Ruthenia. At the same time he refused to travel as a missionary to Athos, where, he said, his work would not have prospects of success. Uniate clergy in letters to Rome consistently asserted that Smotrytsky eagerly engaged in the life of the Church. A multitude of these letters suggest, however, that for the rest of his life he remained under close supervision of the Uniate hierarchy. Smotrytsky still received letters from the brotherhood of Vilnius and from some Orthodox monks. In his letters, he appealed to the Orthodox to accept the union, as long as they were still society composed not only of peasants. In this way, they would retain certain rights and privileges. In the last four years of his life Smotrytsky did no theological work and never took the public to speak on matters connected with the Church. On February 16, 1630 Smotrytsky addressed to [[Pope Urban VIII]], another letter in which he presented a new plan for the evolution of the Commonwealth, in which he suggested the use of force to spread the union by uniting the efforts of the Church, the State and the Catholic magnates. Smotrytsky's ever-increasing intolerance resulted from his conviction that only by adopt the union Ruthenians would become a political nation, respected on par with Poles and Lithuanians and preserving their autonomy. He was also convinced that attachment to the [[Ruthenian Uniate Church|Ruthenian Catholic Church]] could bring a moral renewal of the Orthodox Church, as the former enjoyed the greatest freedom and had the best educated clergy. Meletius Smotrytsky died on December 27, 1633. His last confessor, Jesuit Wojciech Kortycki, dedicated to his memory eulogy he delivered then print. Metropolitan Joseph Welamin Rutski claimed Smotrycki was poisoned by the Orthodox deacon, which hired a scribe. He was buried in the monastery in Derman, which remained his residence from 1627.