Barlaam and Josaphat

Saint Josaphat of India
Fragment of an icon: St. Athanasius of Athonite, Barlaam of India, Joasaph of India. End of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. From the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Novgorod
Prince
Born	India
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Catholic Church
Feast	26 August (Greek Orthodox Church) 19 November (Orthodox Church in Slavic tradition) 27 November (Catholic Church)

Saint Barlaam of India
Barlaam and Joasaph, a 1680 Russian engraving
Hieromonk
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Catholic Church
Feast	26 August (Greek Orthodox Church) 19 November (Orthodox Church in Slavic tradition) 27 November (Catholic Church)

Barlaam and Josaphat, also known as Bilawhar and Budhasaf, are Christian saints. Their life story was based on the life of the Gautama Buddha,^[1] who historically lived several centuries before Jesus. Their story tells of the conversion of Josaphat to Christianity. According to the legend, an Indian king persecuted the Christian Church in his realm. After astrologers predicted that his own son would some day become a Christian, the king imprisoned the young prince Josaphat, who nevertheless met the hermit Saint Barlaam and converted to Christianity. After much tribulation the young prince's father accepted the Christian faith, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into seclusion with his old teacher Barlaam.^[2]