Joseph Velamin-Rutski (born as ''Ivan Velyaminov''; be, Язэп Руцкі, russian: Иосиф Рутский, uk, Йосиф Рутський, pl, Józef Welamin Rucki) - (1574 – 5 April 1637) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia in the

Ruthenian Uniate Church The Ruthenian Uniate Church (Belarusian: Руская Уніяцкая Царква; Ukrainian: Руська Унійна Церква; la, Ecclesia Ruthena unita; pl, Ruski Kościół Unicki) was a particular church of the Catholic Church i ...

— a ''

sui juris ''Sui iuris'' ( or ) also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both secular law and the Catholic Church's canon law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Can ...

'' Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. He reigned from 1613 to 1637. He worked to build the Greek Catholic Church in the first few decades after the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest (; ; ; ) was the 1595–96 decision of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church eparchies (dioceses) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to break relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church and to enter into communion with, and place ...

of 1596; he also reformed the

Basilian monk Basilian monks are Roman Catholic monks who follow the rule of Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea (330–379). The term 'Basilian' is typically used only in the Catholic Church to distinguish Greek Catholic monks from other forms of monastic l ...

Early life

The family name of Joseph Velyaminov-Rutski (father Feliks Velyaminov from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and mother Bahumila Korsak) lived in

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...

, had Ruthenian origins and was noble and

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. Joseph's father Feliks Velyaminov belonged to

Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

; he escaped Moscovy while the reign of

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iv ...

. Ivan Velyaminov was born in 1574 and, according to a use of noble families, was named after the estate where he was born, Ruta, thus he was named Ivan Velaminov-Rutski. At 17 he moved in Prague where he studied under the Jesuits and converted to the Catholic Church of Latin Rite against the will of his parents. From 1593-1596, Rutski studied philosophy at Wurtzburg. After the death of his father, his mother, who remained a Calvinist, opposed Rutski's desire to enter in religious live, and stopped to support his studies. But Rustki continued his studies in the St. Athanasius Greek College in Rome, where he was authorized by

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

to change from the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...

to the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours ar ...

. Rutski completed his studies in 1603.

Metropolitan of Kiev

Rutski was sent to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

by Pope Clement VIII in 1605. He entered the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in 1607 where he took the monastic name Jazep (Joseph). After was named

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

of the monastery, in 1611 he was appointed as the

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "c ...

of Kiev. He was consecrated as bishop by Metropolitan Hypatius Pociej in June 1611. On Paciej's death in 1613, Rutski became Metropolitan Joseph IV of Kiev. He was assisted by

Josaphat Kuncevyc Josaphat Kuntsevych, OSBM ( – 12 November 1623) was a Basilian monk and archeparch of the Ruthenian Catholic Church who on 12 November 1623 was killed by an angry mob in Vitebsk, in the eastern peripheries of the Polish–Lithuanian ...

, with whom he worked since his time at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Upon becoming metropolitan, Rutski consecrated Jasaphat as coadjutor Archbishop of

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

with the title of Bishop of

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

.Ludvik Nemec, “The Ruthenian Uniate Church in Its Historical Perspective,” ''Church History''; Vol. 37, No. 4 (Dec., 1968), pp. 365-388 In 1617, Metropolitan Rutski united a number of monasteries into the Congregation of the Holy Trinity of the Order of Saint Basil the Great. Following the erection of the parallel metropolis in 1620 — the

Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia The Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected in 1620. The dioceses ( eparchies) included the Eparchy of Kiev itself, along wit ...

— he worked for unity with those bishops who remained loyal to the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

. He died on 5 February 1637 and is buried in Vilnius. His cause for beatification was begun in 1937.

Notelist

References

External links

Yosyf Rutsky
at

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was crea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velamin-Rutski, Jazep 1574 births 1637 deaths People from Grodno Region People from Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795) Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish-Lithuanian monks 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Bishops of the Uniate Church of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Order of Saint Basil the Great Archimandrites Belarusian Eastern Catholics Leaders of the Ruthenian Uniate Church Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius alumni