Saint of the Day : November 12
John Kuncevyc was born at Vladimir in Volhynia about the year 1580.
His Catholic father came from a good family and sent John to school in
Vladimir. He was then made an apprentice to a merchant in Vilna. During
this time he made the acquaintance of two Jesuits and Peter Arcudius,
rector of the Oriental college at Vilna. They encouraged John in his
studies of Church Slavonic and Byzantine Liturgy.
John's employer didn't like his preoccupation with religion, but he
was such a good worker that the merchant offered him a partnership in
the business and marriage to one of his daughters. John refused his
offer and taking the name Josaphat, he became a monk at the Holy Trinity
Monastery in Vilna in 1604. His friend Joseph Rutsky had been ordered
against his wishes to join the Byzantine rite by Pope Clement VIII.
Josaphat convinced Joseph to join him in the monastery and together
these young monks worked to bring about union and reform in the
Ruthenian monastic observance.
Josaphat was ordained to the priesthood in 1609. His reputation for
living a very holy life and being an excellent preacher soon became
known. In 1614 he succeeded his friend Joseph as abbot of Vilna.
Josaphat worked to bring about reform also in the monastery at the Caves
of Kiev which had became very lax. He had no success in bringing them
to a belief in union, but he did bring about a changed attitude and
greater good-will.
In 1617 he was made bishop of Vitebsk with right of succession to the
archbishopric of Polotsk. He found his diocese in a shambles with
churches in ruins, decadent clergy and monks and much chaos. While at
Vitebsk he was able to win a large part of the Orthodox of Lithuania to
the idea of Union. By 1620 order had been restored and the people
seriously looked at their Christian life. However a new hierarchy was
established in the Orthodox Church of Lithuania and they mounted a more
effective opposition to Josaphat's efforts.
Due to betrayal, false accusations and violence, Josaphat's efforts
were seriously opposed among the Catholic as well as Byzantine people.
Because he maintained the right of the Byzantine clergy to equal rights
with the Roman clergy he did not get the support of many of the Latin
Bishops. In spite of death threats and confrontations with angry mobs he
continued to work for unity.
Josaphat was attacked by an angry mob and after pleading that his
servants remain unharmed he was murdered and his body dumped in the
Dnieper River. His remains were recovered and buried at Biala in
Podlesie. He was canonized in 1867.
Today his body rests in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, where
every year on his feastday Byzantine Catholics, especially Ukranian
Catholic, celebrate the Divine Liturgy (Mass) at his tomb. Josaphat is a
great example to us today. When confronted with anger, hostility and
rejection he remained steadfast in his struggle to attain equality,
unity and peace.