Today is the feast of St. Josaphat Kuncewicz, "an Eastern Rite bishop . . . held up as a martyr to church unity because he died trying to bring part of the Orthodox church into union with Rome."
"His favourite pious exercise was to make a poklony (i.e. a reverence) in which the head touches the ground)" while saying the Jesus Prayer: Panie Jezu Chryste, Synu Boga, zmi?uj si? nade mn?, grzesznikiem.
"On 12 November 1623, an axe-stroke and a bullet brought Josaphat his martyr's crown.
"His bloody body was dragged to the river and thrown in, along with the body of a dog who had tried to protect him. . . . in 1867 Josaphat became the first saint of the Eastern church to be formally canonized by Rome."
An image of St. Josaphat.
More about the saint from the web site of St. Josaphat Parish in Cheektowaga, New York.
