(1580-1623) John (Ivan) Kuntsevych was born and trained as a merchant’s apprentice in Lithuania (modern-day Ukraine), became a monk of the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil, and was given the religious name, Josaphat. He was ordained a priest in the Byzantine Rite. He became an Archbishop in Polotsk (modern-day Belarus), strove to reunite the traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy with the authority of the Catholic Church, and was nicknamed “the Soul-Snatcher” by Eastern Orthodox and Calvinist opponents. Josaphat was martyred by an anti-Catholic mob.
The first tradition of the various 12-step fellowships states, “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon [the fellowship’s] unity.” We succeed in our common quest of a common goal by doing it together, even though we have different ideas, backgrounds, and understandings. What does the phrase “unity, not uniformity” mean to you in recovery?
“You make ambushes for me everywhere, in the streets, on the bridges, on the highways, and in the marketplace. I am here among you as a shepherd, and you ought to know that I would be happy to give my life for you. I am ready to die for the holy union, for the supremacy of Saint Peter, and of his successor the Supreme Pontiff” (Saint Josaphat).
Reflection by Brad Farmer