www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology HOLY FAMILY

Christ is among us!
Could anyone on the list point me in the direction of resources (on the web
or elsewhere) that would shed light on the nature and extent of devotion to
the Holy Family among Eastern Christians (Catholics, Orthodox and others)?
My surfing has thus far confirmed that there are two Ukrainian Catholic
churches in the US and one in the UK that bear this title, as well, I
believe, as a Coptic parish in Toronto. I am also aware of at least one
Byzantine Ruthenian parish (Seattle) that has a large icon of the Holy Family
prominently displayed. The Ukrainians seem to have been influenced, at least
in part, by the experience of many of their three parishes' founders as
"skytaltsy" (exiles) after WW II. The Byzantine pastor explained the
icon as a reflection of popular devotion and a response to the many assaults
on the family in today's society. Inquiry of various scholarly types
indicates that devotion to the Holy Family does not seem to have found
liturgical expression among the Byzantines - no special feast, as such -
therefor no tropar/kondak, etc.; no specially composed akafist or moleben;
and no popular devotions that have not been borrowed from the Romans. I have
found no evidence of the devotion among the Orthodox thus far.
I would like to locate:
a) the names/addresses/etc. of any other Eastern Christian communities around
the world dedicated to the Holy Family.
b) confirmation of the nature and extent of any liturgical celebration of
the Holy Family in any of the Eastern Churches, and an indication of where
copies of the text(s) might be obtained.
c) confirmation of the nature and extent of any popular devotion to the Holy
Family among Eastern Christians, anywhere in the world, and a recommendation
on where to obtain copies of materials that may have been prepared for that
purpose.
d) name/address/etc. of any Eastern Christian religious
order/congregation/community, and of any 'pious society' dedicated to the
Holy Family.
I will await the anticipated avalanche of responses with gratitude and
enthusiasm.
in Christ,
Tim

Dear Tim,

I would have to search for some internet addresses for you.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church declared the day after Christmas Day in its calendar to be the Feast of the Holy Family - the Lord Jesus, the Most Holy Mother of God and St Joseph the Betrothed.

The services I have for this feast are in Ukrainian (those Ukrainians - haven't they learned English yet? )

Apart from Icons of the Holy Family, I know of no other Eastern Catholic Church that has this Feast.

The Melkites observe March 19th as St Joseph's Day or the "Dormition of St Joseph."

The Eastern Church does not have the devotion to St Joseph that the West has.

St John the Baptist is the first Saint in our Church following the Mother of God and the Angels.

Part of the reason why St Joseph takes a "back seat" is to underscore that Christ has no earthly father which is also why, according to deuterocanonical tradition, St Joseph is portrayed in the East as an elderly man etc.

Alex

Dear Tim,

A curious footnote, is that the London Cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is titled the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile. This devotion, was popular there because of the recollection that the Holy Family also sojourned outside of their own land.

However, I think it is futile to look for anything resembling a devotion to the Holy Family in the Eastern Churches. Dare I use the word "Latinization" to refer to it, where it exists? It is clearly a borrowing from the west, of a devotion unknown in the east.

In fact, I have seen icons painted painted by western hands in an eastern style, of the Holy Family. These, with the Lord, the Mother of God, and Holy Joseph. These strike most easterners as somewhat shocking.

Elias

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Orthodox Catholic:

"Part of the reason why St Joseph takes a "back seat" is to underscore that Christ has no earthly father which is also why, according to deuterocanonical tradition, St Joseph is portrayed in the East as an elderly man etc."


Personally, I have to agree with Saint Teresa of Avila who had a problem with depictions of Saint Joseph as an elderly man. She always promoted Saint Joseph as being a younger man, as well as being a virgin and not widowed.
Would God entrust His Son and His teenage Mother to the care of an elderly man, especially during the difficult trip to Egypt? I read a Russian Orthodox biography on Saint Joseph that had him being 80 years old when he married the Holy Theotokos! That does not make sense.
I agree with Saint Teresa that Saint Joseph had to be a relatively young man(30's maybe) in order to properly care for the needs of a teenage Mother and newborn Child.

Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Theotokos and Guardian of the Reedemer, pray for us!

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
GLORY TO HIM FOREVER!

Hi Tim!

You may want to check this site: www.ucns-holyfamily.org [ucns-holyfamily.org]

The site for Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Shrine in Washington, DC.

Hope this helps....

mark

Dear Griego,

I myself am always inspired by the image of a strong, virile St Joseph as guardian of the Mother of God and of the Child Jesus.

The problem is, of course, that apart from the deuterocanonical tradition we just don't know enough about St Joseph and he doesn't seem to figure prominently at all in the scriptures, again to underscore that Christ's Father was not a human one.

I see nothing wrong with the Latin Church development of devotion to St Joseph, "Josephology" and the reflections on his role.

In Spain, theologians there have developed devotion to the "Immaculate Conception" of St Joseph, his "Bodily Assumption" and devotion to the "Heart of Joseph."

The Ukrainian Catholic Church, Latinizations or not, has developed a strong devotion to St Joseph and the Holy Family, as has the Melkite Church.

Who was it who referred to St Joseph as "The man whom God called 'Father'?"

God bless,

Alex

There are some interesting Coptic icons of the Holy Family listed here:

http://www.theotokos.org/CopticIcons/IconGallery.htm

Click on the "Christ in Egypt" button.

Sorry I am not sure of any special prayers or services in the Coptic Church.

(I have some info on a Roman rite organization if you are interested. It is the oldest in North America founded by Bl. Francios de Laval, first Bishop of Quebec.)

My thanks to all who have replied, even for the intriguing digression on the likely age and virility of Joseph. (Which raises the question as to how much of what is now seen as 'Westernized' popular devotion to the Holy Family may have its roots in non-canonical gospel narratives that actually originated in the East.)

A word of further explanation about my search: I am looking into this because I am preparing a series of articles for the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine (whose web site was kindly mentioned by someone). The objective of the series is to offer as much of an authentic Eastern approach to the devotion as is possible. After all, the Shrine is not about to change its name after its cornerstone was blessed by the Holy Father himself.

I have checked out the Coptic sites and have received a wealth of information, including some lovely icons that I hope to include in one of the articles. I am stil looking for Coptic liturgical texts in English, however.

And I would welcome any personal contacts that Canadian readers may be able to offer at the Coptic Catholic parish in Toronto (named after the Holy Family). I have an address, but so far have not gotten any response.

I gather that the Ukrainian feast day on December 26 is only observed in parishes that follow the Basilian typikon. I have not found it in the offical prayer books published here or in Ukraine. Nonetheless, I would be happy to get the text of the changeable parts of the Divine Liturgy for that day as used in Basilian parishes (along with the changeable parts for other liturgical offices if they exist) - in Ukrainian, English or Church Slavonic.

I will be in London next month and hope to have a chance to speak again with Bishop Michael and the pastor of the Cathedral parish on this subject. My earlier conversations with them led me to believe that the reason for picking the name for the Cathedral was the experience of so many of its founders as "skytaltsy" (exiles).

Information that does not lend itself to posting on this site can be mailed to me (T. F. Stock) at:

3830 Ninth Street North
#901-E
Arlington, VA 22203-1991

Tim:

Although the Ukrainian Church has developed, to an extent, an observance of the Holy Family on the day after Christmas (called the Synaxis of the Mother of God), yet to be mentioned here, is the more complete liturgical commemoration of the family of Christ as observed in every Byzantine typikon on the "Sunday After Christmas", called also, the "Commemoration of the Holy and Just Joseph, David the King and James, Relative of Our Lord".

On this day, are commemorated all the relatives of Jesus, in particular, those mentioned above. There are texts available for this day in most all liturgical books, including English, Slavonic and Ukrainian.

The tropar for this Sunday states:

(Tone 2) O Joseph, announce to God's ancestor, David, the good news of these wonders: you have seen a virgin giving birth; you have glorified the child with shepherds; you have worshipped him with wisemen; you were warned by an angel. Ask Christ God to save our souls.

And the kondak:

(Tone 3) Today David, beloved of God, is filled with joy; Joseph and James offer praise, for they rejoice at having received the crown of relationship with Christ. They sing to him who was born on earth in a manner beyond description and they cry out: O Merciful One, save those who honor you.

The other liturgical texts from vespers and matins, can also shed light on the liturgical commemoration of the family of Jesus. In my opinion, this is the day on which the Holy Family is traditionally remembered in all churches that follow the Byzantine typikon.

I hope this helps.

Fr. Joe

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Orthodox Catholic:

I see nothing wrong with the Latin Church development of devotion to St Joseph, "Josephology" and the reflections on his role.

In Spain, theologians there have developed devotion to the "Immaculate Conception" of St Joseph, his "Bodily Assumption" and devotion to the "Heart of Joseph."

Dear Alex,

Yes, there is a tradition that Saint Joseph was sanctified by the Holy Spirit in the womb, just like Saint John the Baptist. It certainly would make sense for the "Guardian of the Redeemer" and the "Spouse of the Theotokos" to have received such a grace by Our Lord.

As for the "Bodily Assumption" of Saint Joseph, I had not heard about that tradition, although on page 238 of the book, "Father Paul of Moll", by Edward van Speybrouck, there is this statement:

"In an ecstacy, a Saint has seen the body of Saint Joseph preserved intact in a tomb, the site of which is yet unknown. The more the glorious spouse of the most Blessed Virgin is honored, the sooner will the finding of his body take place, which will be a day of great joy for the Church."

Again, it is entirely possible that the man who was the closest to Our Lord and Our Lady on earth could have his body perfectly incorrupt somewhere in the Holy Land. Now, there is a side chapel in the Church of the Dormition in Jerusalem that tradition says is the tomb of Saint Joseph. You may see a picture of the tomb at: www.christusrex.org/www1/jcm/JC-virgin-a3.jpg [christusrex.org] .
There are those who are of the opinion that this is not in fact the tomb of Saint Joseph, but the tomb of Crusaders.

As for the "Holy Heart", the 101 Foundation sells images of the "Holy Heart of Joseph". You may see it at: www.101foundation.com/itemdtl.phtml?orderid=2760a64c9e7742ba7276206c7d2ea636&idnu m=557 [101foundation.com]

In the Latin Church, Wednesday is the day dedicated to Saint Joseph, and there is a devotion of receiving Holy Communion on the first nine Wednesdays for the grace of a happy death.
Of course, this devotion is based on the first nine Fridays devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the first five Saturday devotions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

God bless you,
griego

[ 08-20-2002: Message edited by: griego catolico ]

Gesu`, Giuseppe e Maria, vi dono il cuore e l'anima mia!
Gesu` Giuseppe e Maria, assistemi nell'ultima mia agonia!
Gesu`, Giuseppe e Maria, spiri in pace con voi l'anima mia!

Jesus, Joseph and Mary, I give you my heart and soul!
Jesus, Joseph and Mary, assist me in my final agony!
Jesus, Joseph and Mary, may my soul rise in peace with you!

My nonna recited this prayer each night. Of course, the rhyme is missing in English.
vito

Dear Griego,

The First Nine Wednesdays? I have not heard that before! I shall have to do that Novena!

The East surrounds St Nicholas and John the Baptist with similar devotion and I think it is time for the East to have a look at the great role model that St Joseph truly is for the Family.

Devotion to the Tomb of St Joseph doesn't necessarily contradict the devotion of those who believe he was taken bodily to heaven.

The East venerates the Tomb of St John the Theologian, but there are no relics of him as he is believed to have been assumed into heaven bodily.

The Akathist to St John the Theologian mentions the strange phenomena of dust whirling near his Tomb on his feast day.

Thank you for those sites, I shall have an interesting morning indeed!!

Dear Vito,

Those are beautiful ejaculatory prayers that were taught to me by an old Ukrainian Catholic priest who went to seminary with my grandfather.

I still say them as I leave home for work each morning.

Alex