The relics of the blessed of Josaphat Kotsylovsky

Josaphat Joseph Kotsylovsky () was a

Ukrainian Greek Catholic The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal '' sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

. Kotsylovsky was born 3 March 1876 in the village of Pakoszowka (then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

), of the Lemko Region,
Biographies of twenty five Greek-Catholic Servants of God
' at the website of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

Sianok district, Kotsylovsky was of

Lemko Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and Carpathian Foothills, foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland. Lemkos ...

origin, and Ukrainian national orientation.Paul R. Magocsi, Ivan Ivanovich Pop. ''Encyclopedia of Rusyn history and culture''. University of Toronto Press, 2002. p 252 After graduating from the elementary folk school in

Lesko Lesko (or ''Lisko'' until 1926; ; , alias ''Olesco Lescovium''; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is located in the heartland of the Doły (Pits), and its averag ...

he studied at the

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

and

Sambir Sambir (, ; ; ) is a city in Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the Capital city, administrative center of Sambir Raion (Raion, district) and is located close to the border with Poland. Sambir hosts the administration of Sambir urba ...

gymnasia. From 1896 he studied at the law department of

Lviv University The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

. Soon he interrupted the studio and graduated from the school of artillery in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and of 1900 he was sent to serve in the

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

garrison. After leaving the military service, and with the assistance of the Przemysl

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Kostyantyn Chekhovych, he began the philosophical and theological studies in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and graduated in 1907, later that year on 9 October he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood.Beatification of the Servants of God on June 27, 2001
'' at the website of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

Soon after, he was made

vice-rector A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world, the rector is often the most senior official in a u ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of theology at the Greek-Catholic seminary in

Stanislaviv Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

. On 2 October 1911 he entered the

Order of Saint Basil the Great The Order of Saint Basil the Great (; , abbreviated OSBM), also known as the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, is a Greek Catholic monastic order of pontifical right that works actively among Ukrainian Catholics and other Greek-Catholic churc ...

. On 23 September 1917 Kotsylovsky was ordained bishop in

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

(Poland) by

Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; ; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Galicia and Archbishop of Lviv from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure in office spanned two world wars and six political r ...

. As bishop, he worked to improve the church's educational system and supported

monastic orders Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

. He also took steps to combat the rising

Russophile Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the country, people, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th century, ...

movement by appointing Ukrainian priests and funding

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

journals A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

. On 10 July 1941 he welcomed the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

forces entering

. On 4 July 1943 Kotsylovsky led a Mass in the name of the volunteers entering the 14th SS Division. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

assisted the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

with the liquidation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In September 1945 the Polish security service arrested Kotsylovsky, then released him and arrested him again in 1946.Alan Butler, Paul Burns. ''Butler's lives of the saints''. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. p78 They then handed him over to the Soviet security service. He died on 17 November 1947 in a prison camp near

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 27 June 2001.
Basilian Martyrs and Confessors
'. St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, Winnipeg Canada. The relics of Josaphat Kotsylovsky are kept in the church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in

Stryi Stryi (, ; ) is a city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the left bank of the Stryi (river), Stryi River, approximately south of Lviv in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It serves as the administrative center of Stryi R ...

Testimony of Father Josaphat Kavatsiv

Josaphat Kavatsiv states a second hand account of Bishop Josaphat Kotsylovskyi martyrdom as following: "I came to the Protection Monastery and the hegumena rioresstold me the story. When Bishop Kotsylovskyi was arrested, their Orthodox bishop of Kyiv was arrested at the same time. When they brought a package to Chapaievka, the Orthodox bishop said: 'Uniate Bishop Josaphat Kotsylovskyi is confined in the same camp with me.' And he asked these nuns, if they could, to bring a package to Bishop Josaphat as well. So they brought packages- one for each of the bishops... Once when she brought a package, the bishop said that Kotsylovskyi had died. And he asked her, because the dead were all thrown into one hole, if they could borrow some money or get some money somewhere. He asked her 'to bury him in a separate grave, because this was a holy man.'"

Notes

External links

* Josaphat Kotsylovsky
Kotsylovsky, Yosafat, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotsylovsky Josaphat 1876 births 1947 deaths Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Ukrainian beatified people Lemkos Order of Saint Basil the Great 20th-century Eastern Catholic martyrs Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Clergy from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Pontifical Urban University alumni People who died in the Gulag Ukrainian Gulag detainees Ukrainian people who died in Soviet detention Seminary academics Clergy in World War II Polish people of Rusyn descent People from the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939) People deported from Poland Bishops in Austria-Hungary Bishops of Przemyśl