Luka Zhidiata was the second bishop of Novgorod the Great (1035–1060). He replaced Efrem, who was not consecrated bishop, but who administered the eparchy from the death of Ioakim Korsunianin

Ioakim Korsunianin

Ioakim Korsunianin was the first bishop of Novgorod the Great . As his surname suggests, he probably came from the Byzantine town of Cherson on the Crimean Peninsula and was sent to Kievan Rus' about 989...

 until Luka's appointment.

Little is know of Luka. He was the first Russian-born bishop of the Russian church; all previous ones had been Greek. His surname may indicate a Jewish background, although this is disputed by some scholars. The original Cathedral of Holy Wisdom

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:...

 burned down during his episcopate and was replaced by the current stone structure, possibly the oldeset building still in use in Russia, which Luka consecrated on September 14, 1052.

Luka opposed the Kievan Grand Princes' appointments of Hilarion

Hilarion of Kiev

Hilarion or Ilarion was the first non-Greek Metropolitan of Kiev. While there is not much verifiable information regarding Ilarion's biography, there are several aspects of his life which have come to be generally accepted....

and Efrem as metropolitans of Kiev, not simply to oppose Kiev, but because it was the prerogative of the Patriarch of Constantinople to name the Kievan metropolitan. For this he was confined in the Kiev Caves Monastery where he died on October 15, 1060. His remains were returned to Novgorod, where he was buried in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, the first person to be buried there.