Luka Zhidiata (russian: Лука́ Жидя́та) was the second bishop of

Novgorod the Great Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

(1035–1060) and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. He replaced Efrem who administered the eparchy since the death of Joachim of Korsun without being consecrated as a bishop. Little is known of Luka. He was the first Rus-born bishop of the Rus church; all previous ones had been Greek. The original Cathedral of Holy Wisdom burned down during his episcopate and was replaced by the current stone structure, possibly the oldest building still in use in Russia, which Luka consecrated on 14 September 1052. Luka opposed the Kyivan Grand Princes' appointments of

Hilarion Hilarion the Great (291–371) was an anchorite who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). While St Anthony is considered to have established Christian monasticism in the Egyptian d ...

and Efrem as metropolitans of Kiev, not simply to oppose Kiev, but because it was the prerogative of the Patriarch of Constantinople to name the Kievan metropolitan. He suffered slander at the hands of his slave, Dudik, and was recalled to Kiev and held there for three years. When the slander was uncovered, the slave’s nose and both hands were cut off. Luka died along the Kopys River (in modern Belarus) during his return journey to Novgorod, on October 15, 1059 or 1060, and was buried in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom. Some historians say that Luka got his nickname (Zhidiata) due to his Jewish ancestry while others argue that it is a derivative of the name Georgy or Zhidoslav.

References

1060 deaths Archbishops and Metropolitans of Novgorod Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 11th-century bishops in Kievan Rus' 11th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Burials at the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod 11th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub