Blessed Josaphat Kocylovskyj
Blessed Josaphat Kocylovskyj (Ukrainian: Yosafat Kotsylovskyi; born March 3, 1876 AD in Pakoszówka, Galicia; died November 17, 1947 AD in the Chapaivka prison camp near Kyiv, Ukraine) was the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop of Przemyśl, a monk of the Order of Saint Basil the Great, who died as a martyr under the Soviet persecution of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. His feast day is observed with the Ukrainian martyrs.
As Bishop of Przemyśl, Josaphat Kotsylovskyi refused to abandon communion with Rome when the Soviet authorities sought to force the Ukrainian Greek Catholics into the Russian Orthodox Church. He was arrested, deported, and imprisoned, and died of the sufferings inflicted upon him. He was beatified in 2001.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Josaphat Kocylovskyj
| Blessed Josaphat Kocylovskyj | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | June 27 |
| Profession | Bishop of Przemyśl; monk of the Order of Saint Basil the Great |
| Rel. Affiliation | Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; Catholic Church; Order of Saint Basil the Great; Ukrainian martyrs of the 20th century |
| Patronage | Persecuted Christians; the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; the eparchy of Przemyśl |
| Attributes | Eastern episcopal vestments; palm of martyrdom; prison chains |
| Birthplace | Pakoszówka, Galicia (Poland) |
| Death Place | Chapaivka prison camp, near Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; died in a Soviet prison camp during the persecution of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; Bishop of Przemyśl who refused to break communion with Rome |
| Primary Shrine | Ukraine |
Biography
Yosafat Kotsylovskyi was born on March 3, 1876, at Pakoszówka in Galicia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He studied for the priesthood and pursued further studies in Rome, and after ordination he taught in the seminary. He entered the Order of Saint Basil the Great, the principal monastic order of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
In 1917 he was ordained Bishop of Przemyśl, one of the chief eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and he governed it for three decades through the upheavals of two world wars.
After the Second World War, the Soviet regime, having annexed the western Ukrainian lands, set out to destroy the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and to force its members into the Russian Orthodox Church under state control. Bishop Kotsylovskyi firmly refused to break communion with the Holy See. He was arrested by the Soviet authorities, deported from Poland to the Soviet Union, and imprisoned.
Subjected to harsh treatment in captivity, he died in the prison camp of Chapaivka near Kyiv on November 17, 1947, a martyr for the unity of the Church and his fidelity to Rome.
Josaphat Kocylovskyj was beatified on June 27, 2001, by Pope John Paul II at Lviv, among the martyrs and confessors of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. His feast is kept with the Ukrainian martyrs.
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Feast day
June 27
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