The Holy Hieromartyr Joasaph, Abbot of the Snetogorsk Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos at Pskov
Life
Joasaph of Snetogorsk was the igumen, and by tradition the founder, of the monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on Mount Snatna (Snetnaya Gora) near Pskov, in the lands of medieval Rus'. He is remembered for establishing a strict cenobitic discipline for his community, ordered around prayer, abstinence, and work.
He died a martyr's death on 4 March 1299, when German forces fell upon Pskov and set fire to the undefended monasteries lying outside the city walls. Joasaph perished in the burning of his monastery church together with his monks, and is commemorated as a hieromartyr on 4 March.
Timeline 4 moments
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13th centuryAbbot at Snetnaya GoraJoasaph leads the monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos on Mount Snatna near Pskov, establishing a cenobitic rule centered on prayer, abstinence, and labor.
4 March 1299German raid on PskovGerman forces attack Pskov and burn the Snetogorsk and Mirozh monasteries, both situated outside the city walls and without defenses.
4 March 1299MartyrdomJoasaph perishes in the burning of his monastery church together with his monks; Basil, abbot of the Mirozh monastery, suffers the same death in the parallel attack.
1299Defense of the cityUnder the Pskov prince Dovmont-Timothy the defenders repel the invaders, defeating them at the banks of the Pskova River near the church of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
Contributions & Legacy
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Historical Context
The raid that claimed Joasaph's life belongs to the long frontier conflict between Pskov and the German military orders of the eastern Baltic. The Snetogorsk and Mirozh monasteries stood outside the protective walls of Pskov and so were exposed when the attackers reached the city.
Sources associate the defense of Pskov in this episode with the prince Dovmont-Timothy, who is himself venerated as a saint. The chronicle and prologue traditions name presbyters Joseph and Constantine among those who suffered alongside the two abbots, and Joasaph and Basil of Mirozh are commemorated together as hieromartyrs of the Pskov monasteries.
Relics & Shrines
The martyrs were buried with their fellow ascetics in crypts beneath the churches of their monasteries. By tradition the head and a portion of the relics of Joasaph were kept exposed in a special reliquary within the church of the Snetogorsk monastery.
After the attack, Prince Dovmont is said to have built a stone church at the Snetogorsk monastery in place of the one that had burned.
Commemoration
Joasaph is commemorated on 4 March. One modern enumeration of Russian saints records a church-wide canonization in 1987 and notes a commemoration in the third week of Great Lent.
