St. Josaphat Kuntsevych
1580 – 1623
Patron of Christian unity, Ukraine
Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (about 1580–1623) was born into an Orthodox family in what is now Ukraine. As a young man working as a merchant's apprentice, he was drawn to the Union of Brest of 1596, by which a large part of the Orthodox Church in the region entered into communion with Rome while keeping its own Byzantine liturgy and traditions.