Athanasius of Brest-Litovsk (died September 5, 1648) is a saint and

hieromartyr In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Analogously, a monk who is a priest is known as a hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, � ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

and the

Polish Orthodox Church The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( pl, Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny), commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in full communion. Th ...

. He was killed by Catholics for opposition to the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest (; ; ; ) was the 1595–96 decision of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church eparchies (dioceses) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to break relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to enter into communion with, and place i ...

. Athanasius is commemorated on September 5. Athanasius Filipovich was born to a petty Lithuanian nobleman in Brest-Litovsk, then part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

. As a well-educated man in modern and ancient languages, the writings of the Church Fathers, and the works of Western philosophers and theologians, Athanasius worked for several years as a private tutor. In 1627 he entered the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius. He later moved to other monasteries and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest. In 1637, he transferred to the Monastery of Kupyatitsk near Minsk. He was sent to collect donations for the restoration of the church. The journey was accompanied by visions, miraculous signs, and physical dangers. In 1640, Athanasius became

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

of the Monastery of St

Simeon Stylites Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܕܐܣܛܘܢܐ ', Koine Greek ', ar, سمعان العمودي ' (c. 390 – 2 September 459) was a Syrian Christian ascetic, who achieved notability by living 37 years on a smal ...

in Brest-Litovsk. From then on, he advocated against Roman

proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...

and the

. In 1643, he spoke before the

Polish sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

(parliament) in favor of Orthodoxy and against the Union. He was proclaimed insane, arrested, and stripped of his monastic titles. Athanasius was then sent to

Peter Mogila Metropolitan Petru Movilă ( ro, Petru Movilă, uk, Петро Симеонович Могила, translit=Petro Symeonovych Mohyla, russian: Пётр Симеонович Могила, translit=Pëtr Simeonovich Mogila, pl, Piotr Mohyła; ...

Metropolitan of Kiev Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...

, who sent him back to Brest-Litovsk. That did not stop his protests and Athanasius was arrested again in 1644, but was released a year later. The Khmelnytsky Uprising among the Ukrainian Cossacks started in 1648. Athanasius was accused of ties with the rebels. He was arrested, tortured, and executed. His remains were found on July 20, 1649 – the day is sometimes commemorated as an alternative feast day.

References

* {{authority control Year of birth unknown 1648 deaths People from Brest, Belarus People from Brest Litovsk Voivodeship Lithuanian saints Eastern Orthodox saints from Belarus Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 17th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs 17th-century Christian saints 17th-century Eastern Orthodox priests 17th-century Belarusian people