Venerable Job of Pochaev

Venerable Job of Pochaev (born Ivan Zhelizo) was born around 1551 in Pokuttya, Galicia, into a devout family. At age 10 he entered the Uhornyky Monastery and was tonsured at 12. Invited by Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky to the Dubno Exaltation of the Cross Monastery, he served as abbot there for about 20 years, opposing the spread of the Uniate church and Protestantism. Seeking solitude, he withdrew to Pochaiv Hill, where he took the great schema. The brotherhood elected him abbot of the Pochaiv Monastery, and under his leadership it became a major spiritual and educational center, establishing a printing press that produced polemical works defending Orthodoxy. In 1628 he took part in the Council of Kiev, which condemned the Union of Brest. He was renowned for strict asceticism, years of enclosure in a cave, and gifts of wonderworking and foresight. He reposed at about 100 years of age on 28 October 1651. His incorrupt relics were uncovered in 1659 and rest to this day in the Pochaiv Dormition Lavra, drawing many pilgrims. He is venerated as a defender of Orthodoxy in the western Rus' lands.