Joasaph (Khotuntsevich)

Born in Little Russia . He graduated from the Kiev-Mohyla Academy and was tonsured a monk .

Since 1739, in the rank of hierodeacon , and then in the rank of hieromonk, he was a preacher at the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy .

Since 1741 - an examiner of the Krutitsky diocese .

In 1742, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed head of a spiritual mission that went to Kamchatka ^[1] .

He arrived in Okhotsk in June 1744. Here he baptized many Tungus and in the summer of 1746 he was already in Kamchatka, where along with the mission he was entrusted with the task of feeding the feral local garrison. Conflict with the Cossacks was inevitable, but even the main instigator of the rebellion said about him: "Archimandrite was kind to us."

Joashaph was one of the most prominent missionaries of the eighteenth century ; its influence on the newly baptized was much deeper than in other missions, even in the Volga region . According to his calculations, the population of Kamchatka was then 11 thousand 500 people. He personally christened about 4 thousand 500 foreigners. The missionary works of Archimandrite Joasaph left a good memory of him in Kamchatka.

Thanks to the care of Father Joasaph, several churches were built on the peninsula; until that time there were only three. Then three schools were founded: in Bolsheretsk , Verkhnekamchatsk and Nizhnekamchatsk .

Archimandrite Joasaph remained in Kamchatka until January 1, 1750, and left it, as he was called to St. Petersburg to be ordained bishop of Irkutsk . But consecration did not take place, according to some sources, according to his illness, according to others - because of his refusal.

Since February 18, 1754 - rector of the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and archimandrite of the Zaikonospassky monastery .

May 12, 1757 moved to the Moscow Vysokopetrovsky monastery .

May 24, 1758 he was consecrated bishop of Kexholm and Ladoga , vicar of the Novgorod diocese .

He died on April 29, 1759. Buried in the St. George Monastery .

• Joasaph (Khotuntsevich) // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Joasaph (Khotuntsevsky or Khotuntsevich) // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
• Joasaph Khotuntsevsky (inaccessible link)