Ioakim Korsunianin
Encyclopedia
Ioakim Korsunianin was the first bishop of Novgorod the Great (r. ca. 989-1030). As his surname suggests, he probably came from the Byzantine town of Cherson (Korsun) on the Crimean Peninsula and was sent to Kievan Rus' about 989 (sources differ on the precise year of his arrival in Kiev or later in Novgorod). Upon his arrival in Novgorod, he cast the idol of the god Perun into the Volkhov River and built the Perunskii Monastery on the site where it once stood. He also built the first, wooden, Cathedral of Holy Wisdom
on the site of a pagan cemetery (although this was not discovered until archaeological excavations in the 20th century). He also built the Church of Joachim and Anne, named for his patron saints, which stood near the present site of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom. He was buried there on his death in 1030, but his remains were transferred into the current cathedral in 1598.
Very little is known of his episcopate; although the Ioakimovskaia Letopis (Ioachim Chronicle
) is traditionally attributed to him, this is now considered to be highly questionable. It is more likely a seventeenth century compilation and is now often attributed to Patriarch Ioakim of Moscow (d. 1690) rather than Ioakim Korsunianin. Upon his death in 1030, his disciple, Efrem, administered the eparchy for five years (1030-1035) until the arrival of Luka Zhidiata
.
Ioakim is venerated as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. His feast days are February 10 (the feast of the Novgorodian Saints, in which 10 other bishops and archbishops and others are commemorated) and June 19.
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
The Cathedral of St. Sophia in the Kremlin in Veliky Novgorod is the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Novgorod and the mother church of the Novgorodian Eparchy.-History:...
on the site of a pagan cemetery (although this was not discovered until archaeological excavations in the 20th century). He also built the Church of Joachim and Anne, named for his patron saints, which stood near the present site of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom. He was buried there on his death in 1030, but his remains were transferred into the current cathedral in 1598.
Very little is known of his episcopate; although the Ioakimovskaia Letopis (Ioachim Chronicle
Ioachim Chronicle
The Ioachim Chronicle , also spelled Joachim or Ioakim) is a chronicle discovered by the Russian historian Vasily Tatishchev in the 18th century...
) is traditionally attributed to him, this is now considered to be highly questionable. It is more likely a seventeenth century compilation and is now often attributed to Patriarch Ioakim of Moscow (d. 1690) rather than Ioakim Korsunianin. Upon his death in 1030, his disciple, Efrem, administered the eparchy for five years (1030-1035) until the arrival of Luka Zhidiata
Luka Zhidiata
Luka Zhidiata was the second bishop of Novgorod the Great . He replaced Efrem, who was not consecrated bishop, but who administered the eparchy from the death of Ioakim Korsunianin until Luka's appointment....
.
Ioakim is venerated as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. His feast days are February 10 (the feast of the Novgorodian Saints, in which 10 other bishops and archbishops and others are commemorated) and June 19.