Josaphat Kuntsevych was a monk and archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who has been declared a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church.
Background
Josaphat Kuntsevych was born in Volodymyr-Volynskyi in the region of Volhynia in Ukraine, then part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580 or 1584.
He died at Vitebsk in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Belarus), 12 November 1623, killed by an Orthodox mob.
Career
In 1609, after private study under the Jesuit priest, the Blessed Peter Faber, Josaphat was ordained a priest by a Catholic bishop. He subsequently became the hegumen (prior) of several monasteries. On November 12, 1617, he was consecrated as the bishop of the Eparchy of Vitebsk (possibly a titular see created for him), and coadjutor for the Archeparchy of Polotsk. He succeeded as archeparch in March 1618.
Kuntsevych faced a daunting task of bringing the local populace to accept union with Rome. He faced stiff opposition from the monks, who feared the Latinization of the liturgy of the Church. As archeparch, he restored the churches: he issued a catechism to the clergy, with instructions that it should be learned by heart; composed rules for the priestly life, entrusting to the deacons the task of superintending their observance; assembled synods in various towns in the dioceses, and firmly opposed the Polish Imperial Chancellor Sapieha who wished to make too many concessions to the Eastern Orthodox. Throughout all his strivings and all his occupations, he continued his religious devotion as a monk, and never abated his desire for self-mortification. Through all this he was successful in winning over a large portion of the people.
Kuntsevych's activity provoked a strong reaction. A rival hierarchy was set up by the Orthodox Church, with the monk Meletius Smotrytsky being appointed the Orthodox Archeparch of Polotsk. Smotrytsky publicly claimed that Josaphat was preparing a total Latinization of the Church and its rituals. The inhabitants of Mogilev revolted against Kuntsevych in October 1618 and chased him out of the city. Kuntsevych then complained to King Sigismund who brutally suppressed the Orthodox revolt—all leaders of the revolt were executed, including Bohdan Sobol, the father of Spiridon Sobol, while all Orthodox churches were taken away and given to the Greek-Catholics.
The suppression caused Kuntsevych to be even more fiercely resisted by the Orthodox. During November 1623, despite warnings, he went to Vitebsk. There, on November 12th, the Orthodox sent to his residence a priest who stood in the courtyard of his house shouting insults at him. Archbishop Josaphat had the priest taken away and confined to his house. In response, the town bell was rung, which summoned a mob. The mob attacked the archbishop's residence, and in the course of the attack an axe-stroke and a bullet ended his life. His body was tossed into the river. It was recovered and honored—eventually transported to Rome and given the honor of burial within St. Peter's Basilica.
While he is revered by the Catholic Church as a saint, he is looked upon by the Eastern Orthodox Church as a brutal, tyrannical murderer, who was overcome by a mob of those whom he helped to oppress.