 When his family died in the 1654 epidemic, he became a monk and served in various monasteries, receiving the religious name Joachim upon his tonsure.In 1664 Joachim was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and became hegumen (abbot) of the Chudov Monastery and in 1672 was consecrated as Metropolitan of Novgorod.He was elected a Patriarch on July 26, 1674, following the death of Patriarch Pitirim.