Orthodox is derived from the Greek word Orthodoxia, which means the right opinion or adherence to correct or accepted creeds. The Orthodox Church, founded by Jesus Christ and his apostles on Pentecost Sunday of 33 AD, witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit. For decades the Church has been divided between the Latin-speaking West with Rome as its center, and the Greek-speaking East with Constantinople as its seat.
Through the centuries, there were political, cultural and religious differences between and among Christian leaders in the East and the West, which resulted in tensions, hostilities and difficult relationships in both groups.
After the 1054 Great Schism, both Western and Eastern churches considered themselves Orthodox and Catholic. It is the western churches, though, which continued to be uniquely orthodox and Catholic through the years.
Today, Western or Eastern churches refer not to geographical locations but to historical origins and differences in liturgy.
Saint Josaphat Kunseyvc lived to deal with the tensions, misunderstandings and hostilities between Orthodox Christians and the Uniates.
Ordained as Uniates
John Kunseyvc was born of noble parents in 1580 in Vladimir, Ukraine. His father, an Orthodox, is burgess for a wealthy family.
A talented teen, he spent time praying, and learned almost the entire breviary, then studied ecclesiastical law.
In 1595 and 1596 five Orthodox bishops decided to commit millions of Christians under them to the care of Rome in the Synod of Brest Litovsk. They were called Uniates because an agreement was concluded in the city of Brest, which was then part of Poland.
Millions of Orthodox Christians considered the Uniates traitors to their traditions because of their desire to become Romanized.
The rift caused misunderstandings and violence among the Uniates and Orthodox adherents. John saw martyrs died on both sides. Although raised as Orthodox, John joined the Uniate Ruthenian Church. He severed his partnership with a wealthy merchant and his daughter in marriage, and entered the Monastery of Holy Trinity in Vilna.
He became a good friend of Benjamin Rutsky, who joined the Byzantine Rite on the orders of Pope Clement VIII, after converting from Calvanism. Together, they made plans to work together to reunite the people with Rome. But assigned to different places after ordination, plans did not materialize.
John, who took the name Josaphat, was assigned in Kiev. He found out that his superior, Samuel, never accepted unity with Rome. A dissident, he was seeking ways to fight the Roman Catholic Church, so John informed Rome about the problem. The Archbishop of Kiev removed Samuel, and Josaphat was assigned to replace him.
For the supremacy of Saint Peter
Priests during his time did not teach catechism and seldom preached. Josaphat published a new cathechism and exerted indefatigable zeal preaching, hearing confessions in hospitals, churches and even in open fields.
He lived a life of mortification, fasting and abstinence. He slept on the floor and practiced an austere life. How he lived and the synods he conducted proved helpful to reform the clergy.
People admired his examples on how to love God and others. He bowed with deep “reverence, his head almost touching the floor to say: Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a poor sinner.”
An eloquent speaker, Josaphat was able to encourage many Orthodox to join the Uniates.
A dissident group of Schismatics and Ruthenian nobilities were alarmed. They preferred their national rite and feared being Romanized. Anxieties were heightened when a relative of the Greek emperor and the patriarch of Moscow were coverted by Josaphat.
Josaphat would say: “I am ready to die for holy union with Rome and for supremacy of Saint Peter,” when he was reminded of his advocacy.
He was cautioned of a possible danger on a scheduled pastoral visit in Vitebsk, but disregarded the advise. A mob forced their way to his residence and one struck him on the head. Then he was shot, and his body thrown into the river.
His death brought a steady rise of conversion to Catholicism, which included his murderers. After the partition of Poland, the Ruthenians joined the Russian Orthodox church.
Josaphat died on November 12, 1623. He was beatified on May 16, 1643, by Pope Urban VIII, and was canonized on June 29, 1867, by Pope Pius IX in Rome.
In 1923, on the third centenary of his death, Pope Pius XI declared him the Patron of Reunion between Orthodox and Catholics.
During the Second Vatican Council, his body was laid to rest in the altar of Saint Basil in Saint Peter’s Basilica on November 25, 1963.
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Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.