The Holy New Martyr Ignatius (Bazyluk) of Jabłeczna
Life
Ignatius (Bazyluk) was a monk of the Saint Onuphrios Monastery at Jabłeczna who was killed during the German occupation of Poland in the Second World War. Born sometime in the 1860s and baptized Jacob, he entered monastic life at the monastery, where he received the name Ignatius at his tonsure.
By the time of the war he was one of the oldest members of the community, charged with ringing the bells for the church services. He died on the night of 9–10 August 1942, when occupying soldiers set fire to the monastery; he was beaten to death after running to the bell tower to sound the alarm. He was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Poland in 2003 and is commemorated on August 9.
Timeline 5 moments
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c. 1860sBirth and baptismBorn sometime in the 1860s and given the name Jacob at his baptism. The sources record little of his early life.
Between the World WarsMonastic life at JabłecznaEntered the Saint Onuphrios Monastery at Jabłeczna in the period between the First and Second World Wars, receiving the monastic name Ignatius at his tonsure. As one of the oldest monks, he held the obedience of ringing the bells for the church services.
September 1939Occupation of the monasteryFollowing the German invasion of Poland, the monastery buildings were occupied by German soldiers, who confiscated the community's food supplies and livestock.
9–10 August 1942MartyrdomOn the night of 9–10 August 1942 the guards set fire to the monastery. Ignatius ran to the bell tower and began ringing the bell to warn the surrounding residents of the danger, and was attacked and beaten to death by some of the soldiers.
2003GlorificationGlorified by the Orthodox Church of Poland; numbered among the martyrs of the Chełm and Podlasie region. His glorification is also commemorated on March 20.
Contributions & Legacy
2 contributions
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Monastery of Saint Onuphrios at Jabłeczna
The community Ignatius belonged to is the Saint Onuphrios Monastery at Jabłeczna, in the Chełm Land of eastern Poland, near the Bug River. The monastery is documented from the early sixteenth century and belongs to the Polish Orthodox Church, holding the status of a stauropegion.
Ignatius served there as bell-ringer, a role he was still fulfilling at the time of the wartime attack. The in-repo record lists the saint's region as Ukraine, reflecting the eastern-Slavic Orthodox character of this borderland; the sources place the monastery itself at Jabłeczna, in Poland.
The 1942 attack
After the German invasion of 1939, Jabłeczna fell within the territory of the General Government, and the monastery was occupied and stripped of its supplies; the monks did not abandon it. On the night of 9–10 August 1942 the occupying guards set fire to the buildings, destroying the inner section along with furnishings, the library, and the archives.
Accounts relate that Ignatius ran to the bell tower to ring the alarm and was killed in the assault. By tradition the soldiers forced the monks to dig graves and shot them in the courtyard, leaving no survivors. He was buried in the monastery cemetery, and his relics were later transferred.
