The king, while Catholic, was very tolerant and did not support the more aggressive policies of the Counter-Reformation. When he took power, the Senate of Poland had 6 Protestant members; at the time of his death, it had 11. Despite his support for religious tolerance, he did fail, however, to resolve the conflict stemming from the Union of Brest split. Despite his support for the Protestants, he did not stop the growing tide of intolerance, either in Poland or abroad, as shown by the fate of the Racovian Academy, or an international disagreement between the faiths. Neither did he get involved with the disagreement about the Orthodox Cossacks, a group that he respected and counted on in his plans.