Joachim of Korsun (russian: Иоаким Корсунянин) was the first 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 ...

(). His surname suggests he probably came from the Byzantine town of Cherson (Korsun) on the Crimean Peninsula and, according to the chronicles, arrived in Kievan Rus’ around the time of the

Christianization of Kievan Rus' Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

in 988. Upon his arrival in Novgorod, he cast the idol of the god Perun into the

Volkhov River The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and form ...

and built the Peryn Monastery on the site where it once stood. He also built the first, wooden, Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, “with 12 tops,” on the site of a pagan cemetery. He also built the Church of Joachim and Anne, named for his patron saints, which stood near the present site of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom. He was buried there on his death in 1030, but his remains were transferred into the current cathedral in 1598. Very little is known of his episcopate; although the (''Joachim Chronicle''), a no longer extant source cited in the history of Vasilyev Tatishchev, was traditionally attributed to Joachim of Korsun. This is now considered to be highly questionable, as is the historical reliability of Tatishchev's work: it is more likely a seventeenth-century compilation and is now often attributed to Patriarch Joachim of Moscow (d. 1690). Upon his death in 1030, Joachim's disciple, Efrem, administered the

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

for five years (1030–1035) until the arrival of

Luka Zhidiata Luka Zhidiata (russian: Лука́ Жидя́та) was the second bishop of Novgorod the Great (1035–1060) and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. He replaced Efrem who administered the eparchy since the death of Joachim of Korsun without be ...

. Joachim of Korsun is venerated as a saint by 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 ...

. His feast days are February 10 (the feast of the Novgorodian Saints, in which 10 other bishops and archbishops and others are commemorated) and June 19.P. I. Tikhomirov, ''Kafedra Novgorodskikh sviatitelei'',(Novgorod, 1891), vol. 1, pp.9-18.

References

{{reflist Archbishops and Metropolitans of Novgorod 10th-century Rus' people 11th-century Rus' people 1030 deaths Eastern Orthodox saints 11th-century bishops in Kievan Rus' 10th-century Byzantine bishops 11th-century Byzantine bishops Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople