St. Jonah, Bishop of Velikopermsky, was the fifth bishop of Perm. After the death of the great enlightener of the Perm Region, St. Stephen, Bishop Isaac became his successor, who spent most of his time in Moscow and was briefly at the Perm department.
The apostolic labors of St. Stephen were continued by Saints Gerasim (+ 1441) and Pitirim (+ 1455), both of whom suffered martyrdom while fulfilling their archpastoral duty.
Shortly after the assassination of St. Pitirim by a detachment of Prince Asyka of Vogul, Metropolitan Jonah of Moscow and All Russia (+ 1461) ordained a pious monk named after him to the episcopate. In 1455, Bishop Jonah arrived in Ust-Vym, the main village of the Zyryans converted to Christianity, where in 1383 St. Stephen established a pulpit at the church he built in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Accepting a place stained with the blood of his two predecessors, St. Jonah certainly understood the difficulties he would face on his archpastoral path. The time of civil strife was already passing, and Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark promised the saint protection and patronage back in Moscow. The strong Moscow army sent by him in 1458-1459 established relative calm in the Permian borders, while pacifying the Vyatka freemen who took part in the looting of Zyryan settlements and the murder of St. Pitirim. In the case of raids by semi-savage tribes of Voguls (or Vogulichs) Novgorod and Ustyug were obliged, at the first request of the Perm bishop, to provide him with military assistance.
With such support, St. Jonah was able to direct all his efforts to strengthen the Permian Church. The main task of the saint's life was the further enlightenment of the most stubbornly held beliefs of the small but very militant peoples of Great Perm — the Ostyaks and Voguls. Being neighbors of the already baptized Zyryans, they broke into their settlements, robbing and forcing the inhabitants to abandon the true faith.
Like the primate of Perm, Stephen, St. Jonah met many hardships, dangers and persecutions on his way. He tirelessly fought against the influence of the magi and priests on the simple–minded people who worshipped the pagan idol - the Golden Woman.
In 1462, Bishop Jonah was summoned to a debate on faith, which took place in Uros, the domain of the Permian pagan princes. Having won a convincing victory over the main Perm magi, the saint managed to light up the heart of one of the most influential princes in those places with the light of Christ's truth (according to some sources, the son of the very Asyk, from whose hand St. Pitirim died).
With the help of this prince, named Michael in Holy Baptism, Bishop Jonah began to eradicate pagan idols and idols. During the years 1462-1463, by preaching the word of God, Bishop Jonah finally converted to Christianity the peoples of Great Perm, which, in the words of the chronicler, he "added to the cross."
In the places of idolatrous temples, where people used to flock for sacrifices, the saint built temples and opened schools for the education of children at them. He summoned experienced priests from Ust-Vim who knew local customs and were able to continue the work of educating the newly converted flock. The monks of the Trinity Pechora Desert provided active assistance to the Bishop of Perm. For a long time they performed the duties of parish priests for Christians who lived on the Pechora River. In the main settlement of Perm, Cherdyn, Bishop Jonah founded a monastery in the name of St. John the Theologian, for the construction of which, as well as for the construction of temples, generous donations were made by residents of Ustyug and Novgorod.
In 1468, the Permian lands suffered from a raid by the Kazan Tatars. Saint Jonah, sparing no effort, tried to help the victims.
The successful archpastoral activity of St. Jonah strengthened his authority among the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1459, he was called to Moscow, where he took part in the Council, in particular, in drafting a message to the Lithuanian bishops on remaining faithful to Orthodoxy. The respect and trust that the Perm bishop enjoyed from the namesake Metropolitan of Moscow Jonah is evidenced by the reading of the spiritual testament of the deceased primate to the bishops gathered in Moscow in 1461 by Bishop Jonah.
A few years before his blessed death, sensing its proximity, St. Jonah sought to visit every place, even the most remote place of his diocese, in order to strengthen the converts in the Christian faith with a word of edification, to warn them against the danger of returning to pagan habits and customs.
The holy ministry in the Permian land lasted for fifteen years. On June 6, 1470, he peacefully departed to the Lord.
According to the chronicler, "his holy body was laid on Ust-Vmi, in his bishopric, near the relics of the saints in the church (Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos), on the left side of Gerasim and Pitirim, bishops of Ust-Vim, miracle workers, and all three together rest and work miracles and heal various healings are given with faith to those who come". The common memory of the three saints (except for the memory performed on the day of each death) was established on January 29, 1607 by a Conciliar decree under His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes and Tsar Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky.