The life of St Athanasius of Brest-Litovsk
There he gave the rest of his life to defending the Orthodox believers of his city against the pressure to join the Union of Brest with Rome.
He traveled more than once to plead their case before the Polish king and parliament, and was imprisoned three times over the years for his outspoken opposition to the Union. When an uprising among the Cossacks broke out in 1648, Athanasius was falsely accused of aiding the rebels, and when no evidence could be found against him, he was instead condemned for his continued denunciation of the Union. He was taken into the forest outside Brest, tortured, and shot, dying in September of that year. His body was hidden for months before it was recovered by his brother monks and given honorable burial, and his relics have since been venerated as incorrupt.
