In 1721, at Lavra Caves Monastery, he was consecrated bishop of Pereyaslavl in preparation for his leadership of the Orthodox mission to China. However, as a bishop he was not permitted entry to China and was therefore appointed to the see of Irkutsk in 1727. While in Irkutsk, he learned Mongolian and preached to the local people, converting many of them. He died in 1731 and was buried beneath the altar of the Tikhvin church, one of the five churches at the Ascension Monastery in the town of Irkutsk.
