Martyr Athanasius of Brest was a Byelorussian born around 1597, into the pious, Christian, Philippovitch family. He received a thorough education, and as documented in his extant diaries, was learned in theological and historical literature.
As a young man, St. Athanasius was for a time a tutor in the homes of Polish gentry. In 1627, he was tonsured by Abbot Joseph in the Vilna Monastery of the Holy Spirit. In 1632, Monk Athanasius was ordained a Hieromonk and assigned to be the abbot of the Dubov monastery near Pinsk. Endowed with a special blessing from the Mother of God, St. Athanasius selflessly defended Orthodoxy in the Russian lands seized by the Kingdom of Poland. From 1638 to 1648 St. Athanasius carried the obedience of abbot of the St. Symeon monastery in Brest. The venerable one suffered many insults from the uniates, was illegally punished by the government, and thrice endured incarceration. The authorities had the saint taken to Kiev to stand before trial before the spiritual court, but he was acquitted, and returned to his monastery. For ten years, living among those ill-disposed to him, Venerable St. Athanasius carried on an unceasing battle in defense of the Holy Orthodox Faith, to which he bore witness by his suffering.
Attempts to break the saint’s spiritual will and aspirations proved fruitless. The Venerable Martyr was again put on trial, was judged by the unia, and was condemned to death. St. Athanasius was martyred on the night of September 4th-5th, 1648. His relics were discovered on July 20, 1679.