The future saint and wonderworker, Innocent (known in the world as Ioann), was born in the late 17th century in what is now part of Ukraine. His father, a priest, came from the Polish Kulczycki family. Ioann studied at home before entering the Kiev Theological Academy. Exceptionally bright, he easily picked up each subject, aided by his knack for hard work. After finishing there, Ioann embraced the monastic way, receiving the name Innocent when he was tonsured.
Academic pursuits took him to Moscow, where he was invited to teach at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Next, he travelled to St. Petersburg, where the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (later a lavra) was just getting started. This learned and devout monk soon caught the eye of Emperor Peter I. At that time, the Russian ruler was considering founding a Russian Orthodox mission in China and was looking for someone to lead it. The choice fell on Hieromonk Innocent. Metropolitan Philotheus of Siberia also supported his candidacy.
Once consecrated, Bishop Innocent of Belsk set off for distant and unfamiliar lands, bringing a small group with him. On reaching Irkutsk after a long and gruelling trip, they carried on past Lake Baikal until they reached Selenginsk on the border. There they waited for permission from the Chinese authorities to enter the country.
Of the Christian confessions in China, the Jesuits held the strongest position at the time, and for them, the presence of a Russian bishop was, of course, not welcome. A small slip in translation gave the Chinese a pretext for refusal. In a letter sent by the Russian envoys, Bishop Innocent was described as “great,” a term in China reserved only for the emperor.
Hoping for a change in the situation, Innocent stayed at the border for more than three years, unable to go any further. Life was hard, with no support sent and calls for help left unanswered. His group got by on donations, fishing, and whatever work they could find, conducting services in Selenginsk’s rundown cathedral. Finally, the bishop and his companions found shelter in Trinity Monastery. To thank their hosts, the bishop and his deacon turned to painting icons.
Naturally, this was a trying time for the bishop. However, this enforced waiting period allowed him to preach to pagan tribes. As a bishop, he could also ordain new clergy.
Not until 1725 did the mission’s standing begin to change. Bishop Innocent was told to take up residence in the Ascension Monastery in Irkutsk. Once he arrived, he found quarters for himself and his companions, along with land to cover basic needs. Word travelled fast that a bishop had settled there, and visitors soon began making their way to the monastery.
That same year, after Peter I's death, Catherine I ascended the throne. She maintained diplomatic ties with China and named Count Raguzinsky as the new envoy. On his route there, the count planned to pass through Irkutsk and bring Bishop Innocent along.
Soon after meeting the bishop, Count Raguzinsky decided Bishop Innocent should head to the border town of Selenginsk and wait until they could move on. Around then, Archimandrite Anthony Platkovsky, who had been abbot of the Irkutsk Monastery in the past and had already joined a mission to China, came back to Irkutsk. By scheming, Archimandrite Anthony persuaded Count Raguzinsky to make him leader of the Russian mission, which left Bishop Innocent no choice but to return to Irkutsk.
Almost immediately, orders arrived from St. Petersburg to establish a new diocese in Irkutsk, with Bishop Innocent as its first bishop.
This role, however, brought the bishop less esteem than it did fresh troubles. With no pay and no suitable home, he found himself struggling. The monastery lay outside the city, joined to Irkutsk by a rough road. His health was poor, and constant trips wore him down. He asked the townspeople if he could live in the city, but at first, no one answered. After some time, a few residents felt sorry for him and offered a small house. A stone chapel stands on that spot now.
Bishop Innocent shepherded the people of Irkutsk for nearly four years. Though often unwell, he lived in a strict way, wore a hair shirt, ate plain food, and kept himself busy with manual labour. He made shoes for the monks, wove fishing nets, and devoted many hours to prayer, which gave him comfort and a sense of purpose.
He never gave up his main work — preaching. Many pagans, mostly Buryats, were baptised into Orthodoxy through his efforts. While in office, workers nearly finished building the stone cathedral in Irkutsk, and a Russian school was opened. In addition, he set the diocese boundaries and managed to arrange a salary for future bishops. Yet he himself never received any wages.
Over time, Bishop Innocent’s ascetic life bore spiritual fruits: the gift of foresight and the ability to work wonders. People flocked to him, seeking spiritual guidance. Yet the weight of age and harsh surroundings took their toll. Confined to bed, he endured a long and painful illness, departing in 1731.
News of his death reached the vice-governor of Irkutsk, a grasping and dishonest official. He seized not only the bishop's possessions but also much of the monastery's property. The brethren did not even have enough wine left to celebrate the Liturgy after the bishop's funeral service. Only after persistent requests did the city administrator provide three hundred roubles for burial expenses. The saint’s body was placed in a simple coffin and laid to rest in the crypt of a modest church dedicated to the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.
After the saint’s repose, his tormentors suffered retribution. Archimandrite Anthony met disgrace at the hands of a non-Christian in Beijing. He was sent back to St. Petersburg, defrocked, and locked in prison. The vice-governor of Irkutsk was later executed for a criminal offence.
Thirty-three years after Bishop Innocent’s burial, the incorruption of his relics was discovered, and subsequently, many more miracles were revealed through the prayers of the faithful. In 1783, a great fire swept through the Ascension Monastery, consuming everything flammable. Yet the old wooden church where the saint’s relics lay remained unharmed. In 1804, his relics were examined and then publicly enshrined for veneration.
During the 1920s, when the new godless authorities rose to power, persecution cast a dark cloud. The abbot of the Ascension Monastery and several Siberian hierarchs were arrested. In 1921, the saint’s relics were subjected to a sacrilegious medical inspection, then removed from the deserted monastery and lost to sight for many years.
In 1990, unidentified relics surfaced in a church storeroom in Yaroslavl. Medical tests confirmed that these incorrupt remains belonged to Bishop Innocent. His relics were returned to Irkutsk, where they now rest in the Znamensky Monastery.
Feast days: 9 December (26 November, Old Style), 22 February (9 February, Old Style), 23 June (10 June, Old Style), 23 October (10 October, Old Style).
Prepared by Julia Goiko
