Venerable Amphilochius of Pochayiv

Amphilochius of Pochayiv (Ukrainian: Амфілохій Почаївський) was a 20th-century Ukrainian Orthodox saint from Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. Amphilochius of Pochaiv was born Yakov Varnavovich Golovatyuk on 27 November 1894 in the village of Mala Ilovytsia (Mala Ilowica in Polish), in Kremenets Raion of Ternopil Oblast in western Ukraine, at that time part of Austria-Hungary. The village of Mala Ilovytsia is located in the Ilovetska valley, which is 7 km (4 mi) wide, and is surrounded by the Kremenets mountains. It is the northernmost village of Ternopil Oblast, off the main roads and surrounded by forested areas. Yakov was one of 10 children. His father, Varnava, was an able craftsman, making shoe lasts and sleighs, and had a reputation as a skilled bone setter. Yakov often assisted his father in caring for people who came for help. In 1912 he was drafted into the army of the Tsar. During the First World War he served in Lutsk and then in Tomsk, where he was a medical attendant at the hospital. Later he was posted to the front as a field medic. He was captured as a prisoner of war by the Austrians, and sent to the Alps, where for three years he worked for a farmer. Eventually he managed to flee. Having returned home, he intended to marry but his experiences during the war, drew him to religious life and the Pochaiv monastery. Yakiv went to the Uspens’ka (Dormition) Lavra in Pochaiv in 1925. He constructed sleighs and wheels, and sang in the choir, always in the spirit of humility and obedience. On 8 July 1932 he was tonsured a monk through postryh (clipping of hair ceremony) and took the name Joseph (Yosyp in Ukrainian). On 27 September 1936, he was ordained a hieromonk. Amphilochius spent much time praying in front of the miraculous icons of Pochaiv. He was appointed the caretaker of the God's Mother's Foot. God's Mother's Foot is a rock footprint left after apparition of Virgin Mary in Pochaiv around 1240.