In Vitebsk (in present-day Belarus), Josaphat (John) Kuntsevych was martyred on this very day. He was born into a separated Orthodox family but later entered into communion with the Ruthenian Church united with Rome. He took religious vows and became the very first novice of the first Basilian monastery in union with Rome, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius.
Ordained a priest, he went on to serve as hegumen (superior), then archimandrite, later coadjutor of the Archbishop of Polotsk, and eventually his successor. Josaphat worked tirelessly to bring about and strengthen unity between Christians.
In 1623, he was brutally killed by a mob stirred up by Orthodox agitators. He was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Before the reform of the liturgical calendar, his feast was kept on November 14. Today, the memory of Saint Josaphat carries a deep ecumenical meaning for the Christian world.
