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Ukrainian Orthodoxy |
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Orthodoxie ukrainienne |
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Saints of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Dr. Alexander Roman (email)
Royal Saints of Kiyvan Rus’-Ukraine
Early Missionary Outreach Across Asia
A great grand-son of the Grand Prince of Kyiv, St Rostislav, was St Theodore of Smolensk and Yaroslavl and his two sons, St David and St Constantine. St Theodore was also the best friend of the son of St Alexander Nevsky, Aleksy. Widowed at an early age and removed from his princely seat at Smolensk, Theodore was on a diplomatic mission on behalf of Kyivan Rus’ to the Khan. There he found such favour with the Khan that he gave him his daughter in marriage to Theodore and ordered that she receive Orthodoxy! Theodore’s sons, David and Constantine, were born of this marriage. For Theodore’s sake, the Khan honoured the Orthodox Church and Faith. This opened the first avenues of Kyivan missionary outreach into the Far East. By 1330, there are references to Orthodox Churches and Kyivan missionaries in China and Mongolia. St Andrei of Smolensk who died in Pereyaslavl-Zalesski is another Ukrainian princely Saint of the same family.
A direct descendant of St Theodore through his father, Dmitri Basilovich Zaozersky, was Saint Joasaph Kaminsky, the Wonder-worker of Volohod. "Andrew" in the world, Joasaph became a monk at the Kubensk Monastery of Spaso-Kaminske and became a Recluse/Hermit there. In the final year of his life, he only ate once a week. His feast is the day of his repose, 10 September (1453 AD).
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