Archbishop of Lithuania, blessed since 1643, saint since 1867 (feast day 12 November), the first Unitarian saint.
His father, a Ruthenian merchant, was called Kunczyc. After taking a high ecclesiastical position, Juozapat "subjugated" the surname to Kuntsevich. He studied at the local Orthodox school and in 1596 came to Vilnius to learn the merchant's trade. In 1604 he entered the Vilnius St. He entered the Holy Trinity Basilian Monastery in Vilnius. In 1609 he was ordained a hierodeacon and appointed a novice tutor, and from 1614 he was made archimandrite of the monastery. In 1617 he was appointed igumen of the monastery of Bytene near Slanim. From 1617 he was coadjutor bishop of the Unitarians in Polotsk. He and Metropolitan V. Rutski convened a chapter of the Basilian monasteries at the Ruta Manor near Naugarduk, united the Basilian monasteries of Vilnius, Bytene, Žirovice, Minsk and Naugarduk, reorganised the Basilian Order and founded the Order of St. Basil the Great - the Order of St. Basil the Great, the Order of St. John the Baptist. The Basilians established the Order of the Most Holy Trinity with its centre in Vilnius. From 1618 Archbishop of Polotsk. He zealously promoted the union of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, which was opposed by the Orthodox. Murdered by the rebellious inhabitants of Vitebsk who opposed the union. His remains were preserved in the Unitarian Cathedral in Polotsk, later hidden in various places, and in 1949 transferred to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
