While administering his diocese the bishop was traditionally obliged to heed the advice of the chapter, ie. a collegium of clergy officiating at the diocesan cathedral church. In the Greek Catholic Church the status and role of the chapter (krylos) was debated at the Uniate Synod of Brześć in 1596. During the negotiations about the terms of the union the bishops suggested reorganizing the kryloses on the model of the Latin chapters and endowing them with a portion of monastic lands to assure their material security. The demise of the Uniate chapters in 17th century seems to have been an unintended consequence of the reform initiated by Metropolitan (Bishop) J.W. Rutski (1613-1637). He insisted that all senior diocesan offices should be filled by educated members of the Basilian Order. An attempt to reactivate cathedral chapters made at the Synod of Zamość in 1720 ran aground because of the failure to provide them with a secure income. By that time the estates which had been owned by the cathedrals had passed into the hands of the Basilians (which had been de facto in charge of them for almost a century) or the local bishops. In the 18th century the Uniate clergy came up with the idea of reconstituting the of the Pope. They hoped that direct papal control would transform the Uniate chapters in the likeness of their Latin couterparts. For the secular clergy the refoundation of the chapters opened the prospect of greater influence on the government of the diocese Moreover, the abandonment of the pro-Basilian bias in filling prestigious canonical posts could be expected to attract more ambitious young noblemen into the ranks of the clergy. In Brześć the initiative to reconstitute the chapter (which had probably existed under Bishop H. Pociej in 1593-1598) was launched by Bishop Adam Antonin Młodowski. In 1769 he set up the prelature of the cathedral parish, a body which resembled a chapter in all but name. When in 1775 Młodowski increased the number of the canons, he followed the selection procedures and distribution of rights and duties that were the norm in Latin chapters. However, the full validation of the Brześć chapter needed an appropriate recognition by the Holy See and the sovereign. Bishop Młodowski began by petitioning the latter and his efforts were crowned with (posthumous) success in the form of a royal writ signed in 1780. The papal approval was not issued until 1795. The Brześć chapter meanwhile did not outlive its founder Bishop Mlodowski's successor made no attempt to keep it going, though formally it did not cease to exist until the death of its last member (holding the original appointment). It was endowed with the proceeds from the estate at Tryszyn, some plots of lands in the village Lebiedziew, donations and bequests, and a special tax paid by the clergy. Another collegiate body functioning at the Uniate Cathedral at Brześć was the consistory court. In the Greek Catholic Church its character and functions stabilized in the 17th and 18th century. It was a judicial and administrative institution, occupying a middle ground between the bishop, the chapter and the deans. The creation of consistory courts was ordered by the Synod of Zamość. The Brześć consistory court held its sessions at Brześć, Tryszyn and Kamieniec Litewski. The consistory court consisted of a principal (oficjal), a clerk in charge of conversions to the Latin rite, a surrogate (defender of the marital tie), and a registrar. The Brześć consistory court heard cases involving the clergy and laity.