www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Inclusion of Saint Joseph in the "Synaxis of the Theotokos"

The day after the Nativity of Our Lord is the Synaxis of the Theotokos. I am interested to know why it was never initially called the "Synaxis of the Theotokos and St. Joseph". Icons of the feast that I have seen do not depict St. Joseph.
It is my understanding that the inclusion of St. Joseph is a recent development done by the various Byzantine Catholic Churches(1.e., Ruthenian, Melkite, etc). I know that the Ruthenian liturgical calender published by the Ruthenian Metropolia of the USA does list the feast as "The Synaxis of the Mother of God and St. Joseph."

My questions are:

1) Was St. Joseph initially commemorated with the Theotokos on the Day after the Nativity or is this a relatively recent development?

2) Are there Orthodox Churches that include St. Joseph in the Synaxis, or is this only found among the Byzantine Catholic Churches?

3) Considering the important role that St. Joseph had during the infancy and childhood of Our Lord, shouldn't the synaxis after Christmas officially be called, "The Synaxis of the Mother of God and St. Joseph" ?

Thank you for any information you may provide.

Your reference to the Byzantine Ruthenian calendar confused me at first until I turned it over and noted that St. Joseph is listed under December 26. I find this confusing since the texts that I have for the Divine Liturgy do not reference St. Joseph. I don't think "adding" him to the day is necessary or desirable since his memory is already liturgical celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas.

I'm sorry I can't add anything concerning the historical development of the feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God. Though I do have confidence that some member of this board can enlighten us both.

Dear Griego and Larry,

The inclusion of St Joseph for the Feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God is a recent and Latinized innovation - our Basilian Fathers insist on it.

Some prayerbooks even call it the "Feast of the Holy Family " a quite slavish imitation of the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Family.

St Joseph is commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity - along with King David and St James - a kind of "extended family" commemoration.

St Joseph doesn't belong on this feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God and he has no connection with the liturgical sense of that feast whatever.

Our Latinized members want to have us resemble the West in as many ways as possible and they decry the fact that, apart from the Sunday following the Nativity, there is no feastday for St Joseph, as the West has on March 19th (adopted by the Melkites, however, as the Feast of the "Dormition of St Joseph.")

There is an Akathist to St Joseph the Betrothed and he also figures in the Nativity Feast, that of the Circumcision/Naming of Jesus and on the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple.

But the East has another tradition regarding St Joseph.

Following the deutero-canonical tradition of the New Testament, St Joseph was elderly and a widower with four sons, two of which became Jesus' Disciples, I believe. St Joseph's brother, St Cleopas, met the Resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus.

The liturgical focus during the Nativity season is on the Incarnation of Christ Himself by His Mother and the Holy Spirit. St Joseph is only a Guardian of Mother and Son.

St John the Baptist is the primary Saint of the Eastern Church, after the Mother of God and the Angels - the West has tended to emphasize the primacy of Joseph and has called his cult of veneration "Proto-dulia."

The Synaxis is a Feast calling together the assembly of believers to celebrate the "Secondary Persons" involved with the primary Feast.

And so the Mother of God has Her Synaxis following the Nativity and St John the Baptist has his Synaxis following the Theophany and St Simeon and St Anna have their Synaxis following the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord.

St Joseph has no bearing on the Incarnation of our Lord - and for that reason it is liturgically nonsensical to include him in the Synaxis of the Theotokos feast.

Alex

Dear Alex,

My friend, I must say that I strongly disagree with you on several of your statements.
As a person who is devoted to Saint Joseph, I am compelled to respond. The following responses are my own personal statements, and are not meant to push a particular interpretation of Saint Joseph on you or anyone else who may read this.

>>The inclusion of St Joseph for the Feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God is a recent and Latinized innovation - our Basilian Fathers insist on it.<<

I do not agree that the inclusion of Saint Joseph to the "Synaxis of the Mother of God" should necessarily be termed a "latinization". Could it not be viewed as a long overdue recognition of the importance of Saint Joseph's role in the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ?

I did a Web search and found at least three ROCOR sites that list St.Joseph's feast as December 26th. St. John of Kronstadt Press - a ROCOR site- sells an Akathist to Saint Joseph for use on Dec. 26th. ROCOR definitely would not be a religious group one would accuse of "latinizations".

My pastor- whose parish has a well deserved reputation for being completely free of "latinizations" in church architecture and in the celebration of the liturgical services-- once gave a wonderful homily on St. Joseph on the Sunday after Nativity. He stated that the East would benefit greatly from re-discovering the importance of Saint Joseph.

At the following link, you will find interest in Saint Joseph by Orthodox Christians: www.orthodoxchristianity.net/newboard/index.php?board=12;action=display;threadid=18 6 [orthodoxchristianity.net]

>>Some prayerbooks even call it the "Feast of the Holy Family " a quite slavish imitation of the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Family.<<

Yes, my parish library has a book on the sermons of the late Major Archbishop Myroslav Lubachivsky, and one of the sermons he wrote was for the "Feast of the Holy Family".

>>St Joseph is commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity - along with King David and St James - a kind of "extended family" commemoration.<<

While I celebrate with joy the feast of Saint Joseph on the Sunday after Nativity, I personally believe that his primary feast should be as part of the "Synaxis of the Mother of God".
As husband of the Theotokos and the foster-father of the Savior, Saint Joseph was an indispensible part of Their lives. I do not see how he could be seen as an "extended family" member.

>>St Joseph doesn't belong on this feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God and he has no connection with the liturgical sense of that feast whatever.<<

Yet, the Gospel for the Synaxis of the Mother of God - the account of the flight into Egypt- prominently features Saint Joseph. It is to Joseph that the angel appears to tell him that he must take the Mother and Child to Egypt. It is also Saint Joseph's decision to go to Nazareth, thus fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus will be called a "Nazorean".

>>Our Latinized members want to have us resemble the West in as many ways as possible and they decry the fact that, apart from the Sunday following the Nativity, there is no feastday for St Joseph, as the West has on March 19th (adopted by the Melkites, however, as the Feast of the "Dormition of St Joseph.")
There is an Akathist to St Joseph the Betrothed and he also figures in the Nativity Feast, that of the Circumcision/Naming of Jesus and on the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple.<<

Yes. An akathist to Saint Joseph - as used by Ukrainian Catholics-can be found in the above link as well.
Yes, Saint Joseph does figure in the above events, including the Finding of the Child in the Temple, all the more reinforcing his role as the earthly father of Our Lord, and why he should be included in the Synaxis of the Mother of God.

>>But the East has another tradition regarding St Joseph.
Following the deutero-canonical tradition of the New Testament, St Joseph was elderly and a widower with four sons, two of which became Jesus' Disciples, I believe. St Joseph's brother, St Cleopas, met the Resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus.<<

Yes, the Eastern tradition of Saint Joseph is based on several apocryphal books, such as the "Protoevangelium of James" and the "History of Joseph the Carpenter"
In short, Joseph was married for forty years to a woman named Melcha or Escha , having four sons-including James"the brother of the Lord", and two daughters. A year after his wife's death he is betrothed to Mary. At 90 years old, he is betrothed to a 13 year old Mary!!!!! That seems quite a stretch even for biblical times; I am not aware of Old Testaments couples with such a large age gap.
James is very young at the time of Joseph's betrothal to Mary and is raised by the Theotokos. He also accompanies Mary and Joseph to Egypt.
Joseph passes away in Nazareth at the age of 111.

I have trouble accepting the deutero-canonical tradition of Saint Joseph, because it raises questions in light of events found in Scripture such as the following:.

1) When the angel tells Joseph to flee to Egypt, the angel only mentions taking the Mother and Child. There is no mention of other family members- James- going to Egypt with them.

2) While there is mention of the "brothers and sisters" during Jesus' public ministry in the Gospels, they are noticeably absent at the Crucifixion, when Our Lord entrusts His Mother to Saint John the Apostle. The tradition has been that Our Lady stayed with John until Her dormition.

The apocryphal books were not accepted by all the Fathers of the Church. Several of the books that depict the infancy of Jesus tell of many miracles He performed, which conflict with the canonical tradition that Our Lord did not perform any miracles until the wedding feast at Cana. Is it not possible then that the apocryphal texts contain misinformation about Joseph?

>>The liturgical focus during the Nativity season is on the Incarnation of Christ Himself by His Mother and the Holy Spirit. St Joseph is only a Guardian of Mother and Son.<<

Saint Joseph was not only a Guardian. He was an extraordinarily holy man to have the Theotokos as his Spouse and to have the Son of God as his supposed Son. He was with Them 24/7; he certainly must have had a profound spiritually intimate relationship with the Mother of God and Christ. He was not just the guardian of Christ, but his earthly father as well. At the Finding in the Temple, the Theotokos refers to Joseph, when speaking to Jesus, as "your father".

In the Maronite Church and other churches of the Syriac, one of the Sundays prior to the feast of the Nativity is titled the "Sunday of the Annunciation to Joseph". He is liturgically commemorated because he does play a role in the Incarnation of the Lord.

>>St John the Baptist is the primary Saint of the Eastern Church, after the Mother of God and the Angels - the West has tended to emphasize the primacy of Joseph and has called his cult of veneration "Proto-dulia."<<

In the Western "Litany of Saints", Saint John the Baptist is listed before Saint Joseph. A lot of Western art depicts Saint Joseph as an elderly man as well. Devotion to Saint Joseph is a relatively recent development due in large part to the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila, who benefited tremendously from her own personal devotion to Saint Joseph.

>>The Synaxis is a Feast calling together the assembly of believers to celebrate the "Secondary Persons" involved with the primary Feast.
And so the Mother of God has Her Synaxis following the Nativity and St John the Baptist has his Synaxis following the Theophany and St Simeon and St Anna have their Synaxis following the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord.
St Joseph has no bearing on the Incarnation of our Lord - and for that reason it is liturgically nonsensical to include him in the Synaxis of the Theotokos feast.<<

Saint Joseph was a "secondary person" involved in the life of Christ. The Gospel of Matthew readings for the Sunday before Nativity, Eve of the Nativity, the Synaxis, and the Sunday after Nativity all mention Joseph. In fact the Gospel reading for the Synaxis and the feast of Saint Joseph on the Sunday after Nativity are the same. While he is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospel of Luke reading used for the feast of the Nativity, it is impossible to believe that he was not present.

It is to Joseph who is entrusted with the naming of Jesus, thus signifying the earthly authority he has over Christ. Is that not being involved in the Incarnation of Our Lord?

It surprises me to see that the prophetess Anna-who is only briefly mentioned in Scripture- is included in the synaxis the day after the "Encounter with Simeon", and yet St. Joseph, who is mentioned more times is excluded from the "Synaxis of the Mother of God".

I agree with my pastor that the East could benefit greatly fron re-discovering the role of Saint Joseph. Who knows, maybe a future Orthodox saint will emphasize devotion to Joseph.

Again, these are my own personal statements. Please feel free to disagree.

God bless you,

griego

Brothers Griego & Alex,

Both of your posts were good, looking forward to more, Griego's post I find most interesting. Alex don't forget to keep "focused" on your primary objective.

Wish I could use them darn gremlins, but my pop up blocker erases my post.

Pokoj,
jakob

I recently attended an iconography workshop in Pittsburgh sponsored by the Byzantine Catholic Dept. of Religious Ed, which had both Bishop Nicholas Samra (Melkite) and Fr. Thomas Hopko (Orthodox) as speakers. Both firmly asserted that Byzantine iconography forbids the depiction of a "holy family" (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) and also forbids a depiction of Joseph holding Jesus (as the Mother of God would be depicted). It was something I had never thought about, but it was certainly quite clear in both their talks that this was not permissible. This certainly must speak to the proper place of St. Joseph the Betrothed in Byzantine/Orthodox thought.

Priest Thomas Soroka

Dear Griego,

Thank you for such a comprehensive and exhaustive post!

I am myself very devoted to St Joseph, but I am also, at the same very committed to ensuring that veneration of him follows the liturgical traditions of the East, rather than those of the West - which are nonetheless perfectly valid.

If there are ROCOR sites that list a commemoration of St Joseph on December 26 - that does not mean that they are correct from a strictly Byzantine liturgical perspective.

Nor does the fact that there is a different liturgical and theological perspective on St Joseph mean that anything is taken away from him etc.

Yes, St John the Baptist is listed first in the RC Litany of All Saints.

And, yes, RC theology and Josephology gives St Joseph the veneration of "Protodulia" and one Josephology book I have from Montreal presents the case that St Joseph is higher than the Baptist and first after the Mother of God and the Angels.

Local traditions in the West honour St Joseph's "Admirable Heart" and even his "Immaculate Conception and Assumption into Heaven."

Josephology is a late development in the West, promoting devotion to him as "Foster-Father."

The East has regarded him from Apostolic times ONLY as Guardian of the Mother of God and the Lord Jesus.

The East's emphasis is there to underscore the Divinity of Christ, God the Word Incarnate Whose Mother is the Virgin Mary but Whose Father is God.

Yes, some Fathers did not accept various texts of the deuterocanonical books.

But the book on St Joseph the Carpenter was universally received and its contents are reflected in the liturgical traditions of the Byzantine Church in particular.

St Joseph was ALWAYS considered by the East as an elderly widower who had four sons by his previous marriage. He was asked by Sts Joachim and Anna to be the Guardian of the Virgin Mary when she was 15. That Joseph fulfilled specific tasks under the Jewish Law as husband is to have been expected.

The West, in more recent centuries, portrayed Joseph as a model for fathers, a young, virile man etc. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not our tradition. If anything, the West bases "Josephology" on much "it would seem proper that" reflections. That's fine, within any devotional context, but we have our own ancient tradition in this respect - traditions meant to, once again, underline the fact that Christ's Father was/is God.

And remember that in ancient day aspersions were cast on the Mother of God with respect to her perpetual virginity in conceiving and giving birth to Christ - aspersions that are alluded to in the main Akathist to the Mother of God.

There was no way that the Church was going to promote veneration of the "Holy Family" in such an environment especially!

Christmas/Nativity is a celebration of the Incarnation of OLGS Jesus Christ. St Joseph simply had NO part in that Mystery. His was a different role altogether which is why he is not commemorated on the Synaxis day following December 25. John the Baptist is commemorated as an integral member of the event of the Baptism in the Jordan and Sts. Simeon and Anna are commemorated for their secondary but important role in the Meeting of our Lord which we of the Old Calender celebrate tomorrow and their feast day on Sunday.

If our Church wishes to establish other feast days to honour St Joseph - that is fine too.

St Joseph figures highly in the icon of the Nativity and is mentioned in the liturgical services for December 25th. He also figures prominently on the Feasts of the Circumcision and the Meeting of the Lord on February 2/15. Although he was entrusted with Naming the Child Jesus, the Name he gave was what an Angel communicated to him should be, rather than his own or a relative's. The same is true of John the Baptist.

We already honour him on the Sunday after the Nativity and he is certainly worthy to have his own Service and Akathist - which can be said or sung at any time of the year. The fact is that he was a relative of the Mother of God and therefore of Christ, along with David the King and Forefather of God and James the Brother of God. They were all related to each other by blood and ancestral descent!

But we venerate St Joseph within the context of our liturgical and traditional perspective which is as valid, if not more ancient, than yours.

The "Holy Family" feast on December 26th and the celebration of St Joseph's Day on March 19, although accepted by the Melkites, are inappropriate celebrations for the Eastern liturgical cycle and traditional theology of the role of St Joseph in salvation history.

I personally believe that St Joseph was sanctified by the Holy Spirit at his conception and that God took him, body and soul, to heaven after his death. I invoke him as a special patron of happiness at home and as the Guardian of my family.

I believe the same about the other Guardian of the Mother of God, St John the Theologian.

Alex

Brothers Griego and Alex,

I have found a Mass and Holy Day dedicated to St. Joseph on March 19 in my St Paul Missal dated 1953-54 however it disappears in other missals dated 1956,57 & 58 and later ones.

Titled St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"After the Blessed Virgin,St. Joseph is our most powerful intercessor before God. St. Joseph faithfully served Jesus and Mary for almost thirty years. No sacrifice was too great for him. Now Jesus shows him gratitude by granting our requests through St. Joseph's intercession".

This is submitted for sake of the discussion thread only.

Peace in Christ,
james

Fr. Thomas,

I have read that before about Icons of Joseph not holding our Lord but, I have one of mine on loan to our"Chapel" in was made by a local Greek Orthodox Monastery. In it St. Joseph is holding our Lord.

Nicky's Baba

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory to Him Forever!

Alex,

Is there any written proof that St. Joseph and St. John the Theologian were assumed body and soul into heaven and were sanctified by the Holy Spirit at their conception?

While reading the history of St. Joseph the Carpenter today, I ran across the following quote, "And we said: O our Lord, our God and Saviour, who are those four whom Thou hast said Antichrist will cut off from the reproach they bring upon him? The Lord answered: They are Enoch, Elias, Schila, and Tabitha." Who is Schila & Tabitha? Is Tabitha the same Tabitha that St. Peter healed in Acts? Will Schila & Tabitha come back and preach like the two witnesses (Enoch and Elias)? Thanks and blessings.

Adam

Dear Adam,

According to the deuterocanonical accounts of St John the Theologian's life, he asked to be placed while yet alive in his tomb and the stone slab was moved to cover him over.

The next day his disciples came and saw that he was totally gone, not even any relics were left!

But on his feast day, it is said a wind develops around his Tomb (which I saw when I was at Ephesus) and this wind wips up particles that seem to come from nowhere. It is a very pleasant experience . . .

And all this is mentioned in the Akathist and other liturgical prayers in honour of St John. His feast day is highly honoured in the Byzantine East not as his "death" or "repose" but his "translation" (ie body and soul) into Heaven.

My own belief on St Joseph in this regard comes from apocryphal western sources owing to my Latinized past - which I keep fighting, mind you, but which seems to come back to overwhelm me at times . . .

As for "written proof" this is the sum of it. A word of caution, if anyone e-mails you and says that they have actual photographs pertaining to this question which they will let you have for a certain price - DON'T BUY THEM!

The Tabitha is truly the Tabitha raised by Peter -these could be additional Saints who will return with St Enoch and St Elias.

The more the merrier, I say!

Alex

Dear Jacomus,

Niech bedzie pochwalony Jezus Christus!

Is that Missal a Latin one?

If so, it is curious why they don't have the Feast for later years.

Alex

Brother Alex,
Two of the missals are latin/english,the last missal is english, St Joseph Continuous Sunday Missal 1957-58, which is about the time I was trying to become a altar boy,but I remember attempting to learn latin,however this was cut short due to my devilish behavior in class.

Maybe Griego can shed some light on why it was discontinued.

Stay focused,
jakob

Dear Alex,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Thank you for your post. Yes, both traditions of Saint Joseph are valid. It was never my intention to say that the Eastern view of Saint Joseph was invalid or wrong in any way.

Yes, the eastern tradition of Saint Joseph's life is more ancient. It was the same in the Western church until Saint Teresa of Avila vigorously advocated that Saint Joseph was a virgin himself and much younger than was the tradition at that time. She was graced with many favors from St. Joseph as a result. Could St. Joseph have been confirming her statements?

Personally, my own devotion did not begin until 1995. I had no devotion to him prior. I prayed to Saint Joseph for a year asking for a tremendous favor for my brother. Wouldn't you know it, Saint Joseph came through in a big way, and as a result my brother is now a medical doctor!! I would love to tell the whole story, but it would take very long. I've even been asked to write it down and have it published in a Catholic publication.
St. Teresa was right when she said that there was nothing that she asked for that she did not receive and she recommended other to experience it themselves. I must admit then my preference for Saint Teresa of Avila's view that Saint Joseph was a much younger man and never married prior to hid betrothal to the Theotokos.

I do also believe that joseph was sanctified in the womb, but I am not sure about his being assumed into heaven, although St. Francis de Sales emphatically preached that he was assumed. As for the "Heart of Joseph", I have seen an image of it, but I believe that is a bit too much. That appears to be a very recent devotion.

Other Western mystics -specifically Mary of Agreda and St. Catherine Emmirich- had visions of the infancy of Jesus in which they saw a young Joseph. According to them, Joseph was in his 30's during the betrothal. Yet, I am also aware that other Roman Catholic saints- like Saint Faustina-had visions of an older Joseph. So, in the West there is not a definitive view of Saint Joseph.

In the eastern tradition, Saint Joseph died and was buried in Nazareth, and yet in the Church of the Tomb of the Theotokos in Jerusalem, there is side chapel that the Orthodox state as the tomb of Joseph, although in reality it appears to be a tomb from Crusader times.

As you know, there is an Eastern and Western tradition when it comes to the lives of the early saints. St. Mary Magdalene is another example of the East and West having two different traditions of her life.

It is one of those matters that will not get answered until we reach our true home in heaven and finally know the complete story.

May Our Lord richly bless you!

griego

Yet, I have seen such icons of Joseph holding the Child Jesus in many Orthodox icon catalogues, from Greek to ROCOR. A Conciliar Press catalogue once advertised a new icon of St. Joseph that depicted him holding a lily branch in one hand and the Child in the other.

In addition, there are icons of the Nativity that depict Saint Joseph right next to the manger, instead of being tempted by the devil.