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Noble
Joseph, taking down Thy most pure body from the Tree, Wrapped it in
clean linen
with sweet spices, And he laid it in a new tomb.
Saint
Joseph of Arimathea, who
in
former times was accounted worthy
to bury the immaculate body of our True
God Jesus Christ
and who, after the Lord's glorious ascension into heaven,
preached the
Holy Gospel in many divers
lands.
Of St. Joseph's early years
little is known except that he was the son of
wealthy and noble
parents of the Old Covenant. This
pious family lived
in the city
of Ramah or
Arimathea.
As a youth Joseph was taught the sacred scriptures and knew well
of
those things foretold by the Holy
Prophets of what should come to pass when the Saviour and Redeemer would
come into the world.
As the God-loving Joseph grew, he pondered on
the prophecies, inspired by the Holy
Spirit. He considered the prophecy
of
the Holy Isaiah : The Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a
son and
shall call His
name
Immanuel. (Is.7:14).
And the prophecy of Micah, But
you Bethlehem house of Ephratha,
are little among the
thousands of Judah,
yet from you shall come forth to me
Him who is to be ruler
in Israel, and
His
going forth is
from the beginning, from the days
of eternity. (Mic.5:2).
As years
passed, Joseph grew in knowledge and love of God and in goodness and
righteousness. (Luke 23:50).
He had the position of an honourable and
respected member of the Jewish Privy
Council. It was then that
He Who is from eternity came unto the
people of Israel
performing miracles, teaching, and proclaiming
the New Covenant between Himself and those who would follow Him. As the Gospel of our Lord came unto the
people of Israel, Joseph wondered, Could this
Jesus of Nazareth be the One foretold, the Redeemer of Israel? And as Joseph beheld Christ and His
disciples and the
multitudes of followers, he recalled the
words of Isaiah, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of
the shadow of
death, upon them hath the
light shined. For unto us a
child is born into us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his
shoulder and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty
God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Is.9:2-5).
It was then that. Joseph became a disciple
of the Lord, but in secret for fear of the Jews. (John 19:38). But soon, He through Whom all things
were created, was betrayed and of His own
Will gave Himself up for the life of the world, And they crucified Him,
and parted His garments, casting lots....And it was about the
sixth hour
and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened,
and the veil of the Temple was rent
in the midst. And when Jesus had
cried with a loud voice. He said,
Father, unto Thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said
thus, He
gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:44-46).
St.
Epiphanius says: “When even was come, there came a
rich man of Arimathea named Joseph,
and went boldly unto Pilate and begged from
him the body
of Jesus. A mortal went in before
a mortal, asking to receive God; the God of mortals he begs; clay
stands before
clay so as to receive the Fashioner of all!
Grass asks to receive from grass the Heavenly Fire; the
miserable drop
seeks to receive from a drop the whole Abyss!
Who ever saw, who ever heard such a thing?
A man grants
to a man
the Creator of men; a lawless man
undertakes to surrender the Definition of he Law of lawless men; a
judge
deprived of judgment permits the burial of the Judge of judges Who has
been
judged to death.
When even was come,
he says, there came a
rich
man named Joseph. Truly was this
man rich who carried away the entire compound hypostasis of the Lord. Verily was he rich, because he received the
twofold
nature of Christ from Pilate. He was
rich indeed, because he was accounted
worthy to carry
off the priceless Pearl. Truly
was he rich, for he bore away the
Pouch overflowing with
the treasure of
Divinity.
And how would that man not be rich who acquired the Life and
salvation
of the world? How should Joseph not be
rich, who received a gift Him that sustains and rules all things? When even
was come for the Sun of Righteousness
had then set
into Hades. Wherefore There came
a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea,
who was a
secret disciple for fear of the Jews. And
there came also Nicodemus, which at first
came to Jesus by
night.
0 hidden mystery of
mysteries! Two secret
disciples
came to conceal Jesus in a tomb, thus
teaching by His concealment the mystery concealed in
Hades of the God concealed in the flesh. Each
one
of these men surpassed the other in
their affection for Christ. For
Nicodemus proved
his
magnanimity by the myrrh and aloes,
and Joseph proved worthy
of praise by his daring and boldness before Pilate.
For he, casting off all fear, went in unto
Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Now
when he went in he acted very shrewdly so as to obtain his longed-for
aim. Wherefore, he did not employ
high-sounding
and pompous words lest Pilate be moved to wrath and he fail in his
request. Nor did he say to him,
‘Give me the body of Jesus, Who
but a short time ago darkened the sun,
split the rocks asunder, shook
the earth, opened the sepulchres, and
rent the veil of the
temple!’ Nothing of the kind said he to Pilate.
But
what, then? A
certain pitiful plea, in every wise
lowly. 'O judge, I have come to make of
thee a trifling request.
Give me a dead man for burial, nay, the body
of Him that was by thee condemned, Jesus
of Nazareth, Jesus the
poor, Jesus the homeless, Jesus the
crucified, the naked, the common, Jesus the carpenter's
son, Jesus the bound, the shelterless, the
Stranger, Who in a strange land is unknown,
Jesus the contemptible, Who for
all was suspended
on the Cross. Give me this
Stranger, for what profit to thee is the body of this Stranger? Give me this Stranger, for from afar He came
to this place to save a stranger, to a dark region He descended to draw
up a
stranger. Give me this stranger, for He alone
is a Stranger.
Give me this Stranger, Whose country we know not, the strangers. Give me this Stranger, Whose Father we know
not, the strangers. Give me this
Stranger, Whose place and birth and ways we know not, the strangers. Give me this Stranger Who lived in a strange
land a strange life and existence. Give
me this Nazarite Stranger, whose
generation and
disposition we know not, the strangers. Give
me this voluntary Stranger, Who had not
where to lay His head. Give me this Stranger, Who as a homeless
Stranger
in a strange land was born in a
manger. Give me this Stranger, Who from
the very manger fled Herod as a stranger.
Give me this Stranger, Who from His very swaddling bands was a
stranger in
Egypt, Who has no city, no village, no house, no abode, no kindred, for
this
Stranger is found
in foreign lands with His
Mother. Give me, O prince,
this
naked man on the Cross that I may cover
Him that covered my
nature's nakedness. Give
me Him that is both a dead man and God
that I may shroud Him that has hidden
mine iniquities.
Give
me, O prince,
this dead man Who buried my sin in Jordan. I
entreat
thee for a
dead man Who suffered injustice from
all. Who by a friend was sold. Who
by a
disciple was betrayed. Who by
brethren was persecuted. Who by a
slave was smitten. For a dead man I
intercede. Who was condemned
by
them that He freed from slavery.
Who by them was given vinegar to drink.
Who by them that He healed was wounded. Who
by His own disciples was forsaken. Who of
His own Mother was bereaved. For a dead
man, O prince, I beseech, that
homeless One Who was suspended on the Cross, for He has no father near
Him upon
the earth, no friend, no disciple, no kindred, no burier.
Nay, He is alone, the
Only-begotten of the Unique, God in the world, and none else
save He.'
When these
things Joseph spake to
Pilate
on this wise,
Pilate commanded that the all-holy body
of Jesus be given him. And he went to
the place called Golgotha and took God in the flesh down from the Cross
and
laid Him on the earth, naked God in the flesh,
Him that was not merely a man.
Lo, He is beheld
lying low, Who drew all men on high. And
He for a brief time is bereft of breath,
Who is the Life and Breath of
all. He is seen
bereft of eyes, Who created the
many-eyed beings. He lies prostrate, Who is the resurrection of all.
And God is slain in the flesh, Who raised up
the dead. The thunder
of God the Word is now silent for an
instant and He is borne in the arms of men,
Who holds the earth in His
hand. Dost
thou
really, O Joseph, know Whom thou
was given when thou didst ask and receive?
Dost thou truly know Whom thou didst carry when thou earnest to
the
Cross and didst bring
down Jesus? If in truth
thou knowest Whom
thou didst carry, thou art now verily become rich. And how is it that thou givest burial to this
most awesome body of God? Praiseworthy
is thine ardour, but even more
praiseworthy the disposition of thy soul.
For dost thou not tremble,
bearing in thine arms Him before
Whom the Cherubim tremble? With
what fear dost thou strip that Divine flesh of the
loin
cloth? And
how
dost thou reverently restrain thine eye?
Art thou not fearful when gazing upon and shrouding the
nature
of God's flesh.
He that surpasses nature? Tell
me, O Joseph, dost thou really bury towards
the East a dead man that is the
Dayspring of the
East?
And with thy fingers dost thou close the eyes of
Jesus as befits the dead, nay, of Him that with His immaculate
finger
opened the eyes of the blind? And dost
thou bind the mouth of Him that opened the mouth of the stammerer? Dost thou lay out with thy hands Him that
extended the withered hands? Or dost
thou bind the feet, as befits the dead, of Him that made motionless
feet to
walk? Dost thou place upon a bed Him
that commanded the
paralytic, 'Take up thy bed and walk'? Dost
thou empty out myrrh upon the celestial
Myrrh Who emptied Himself and
sanctified the world? Dost thou
dare to wipe that Divine side of
Jesus bleeding still,
the
side of God Who healed the woman of an issue of blood? Dost thou wash with water
God's body which cleanses all and
bestows purification? But what lamps
dost thou light for the 'true Light which enlighteneth
every man'?
What funeral odes dost thou
chant for Him that is hymned
unceasingly by all
the Heavenly hosts? And dost
thou weep as though He were dead
that wept and raised up Lazarus, the four days
dead? And
dost thou bewail Him that gave joy to all and
banished the sorrow of Eve?
Albeit, I
bless thy hands, O Joseph, which ministered
and clasped the bleeding hands
and feet of Jesus' Divine
body. I bless
thy hands which drew nigh to
God's
bleeding side before Thomas, the
believing disbeliever, the acclaimed
inquisitive. I
bless
thy mouth filled
insatiably and united to the mouth of
Jesus, whence it was filled with the
Holy Spirit. I bless thine eyes which
thou didst press against the eyes of Jesus,
whence they partook
of the true light.
I bless thy countenance which drew nigh to
the countenace of
God. I
bless thy shoulders which bore the Bearer of
all. I bless thy head against which
Jesus, the Head of all,
reclined. I bless thy hands
wherewith
thou didst carry Him that carries
all. I bless Joseph and
Nicodemus, for they replaced the Cherubim by uplifting
and carrying God and, as God's ministers, the
six-winged Seraphim also, for not with
wings but with a winding sheet they
covered and rendered honour to
the Lord. Him that the Seraphim hold in
dread, the Same Joseph and
Nicodeuus carry upon their shoulders and all
the bodiless orders stand in awe. When
Joseph and Nicodemus came, the entire
divine populace
of
angels swiftly gathered. The Cherubim run before them, the Seraphim
hasten with them, the Thrones help them to carry, the Six-winged cover
Him, and
the Many-eyed are struck with dread seeing Jesus in
the flesh bereft of vision; the Powers aid
in shroudiny, the Principalities offer hymns, the orders of Angels
tremble, and all
the
hosts of the
celestial
ranks are stupified.
And marvelling they question and
say one to another, 'What
fearsome thing is this? What this dread?
What this trembling? What manner
of deed? What is
this great, strange
and
incomprehensible spectacle? He
that as
naKed God on
high we cannot see, the Same on earth is
easily seen naked by men!'
Him before
Whom the Cherubim stand with reverent
fear, Joseph and Nicodemus bury fearlessly and looking upon Thee dead,
stripped, and without burial,
in
his grief and tender compassion
he (Joseph) lamented, saying : 'Woe is
me, my sweetest Jesus! When but a
little while ago the sun
saw Thee hanging on the Cross,
it wrapped itself in
darkness : the
earth quaked with fear and the
veil of the temple was rent in twain.
And now I see thee for my sake submitting of Thine own will to
death. How shall I bury Thee, my
God? How shall I wrap Thee in
a winding Sheet? How shall I touch
Thy most pure body with my
hands? What song at
Thy departure shall I sing to
Thee, O coupassionate Saviour? I magnify
Thy sufferings; I sing the praises of Thy burial and Thy Resurrection,
crying :
O Lord, glory to Thee.’
And so
chanting sacred hymns, Saint Joseph buried the holy body of our Saviour. Because of the Passover there was no
time to
prepare a tomb for our Lord,
so Saint Joseph
placed our Lord's body in his own tomb which
was hewn out of stone (Mt.27:60).
The Jews, enraged
by Saint Joseph's action, threw him
into a deep pit and left him to
die. Through the
Grace of God, he was taken up from this
place and brought to Arimathea.
After the
Resurrection, our Lord appeared to him and revealed to him the mystery
of His
Resurrection. It was after Christ's
ascension
that Saint Joseph gave up all fear and boldly confessed his faith in
our Lord. Even though his former friends
and loved ones
opposed him, he could not bear to keep
silent and openly
preached the mystery of the
Resurrection. Finally, he was driven from
his home, but he
was not grieved. Instead, he took this as a sign that he should travel
and enlighten
those who had never heard the Holy Faith.
The Holy Apostle Philip sent him with twelve followers to the
Isles of
Briton.
all the limits of the
Spains, and
the diverse nations of the Gauls, and the haunts of the
Britons--inaccessible
to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ.
Hippolytus (AD 170-236),
considered
to have been one of the most learned Christian historians, identifies
the
seventy whom Jesus sent in the Gospel of Saint Luke, and includes Saint
Aristobulus
listed in Romans 16:10 with Saint Joseph and states that he ended up
becoming a
Shepherd in Britain.
Eusebius, (AD 260-340)
Bishop of
Caesarea and father of ecclesiastical history wrote:
The Apostles passed
beyond the ocean
to the isles called the Britannic Isles.
Saint Hilary of Poitiers
(AD
300-376) also wrote that the Apostles
had built churches and that the Gospel had passed into Britain. The
same is
said by Saint
John
Chrysostom (AD
347-407):
The British Isles which
are beyond
the sea, and which lie in the ocean, have received virtue of the Word.
Churches
are there found and altars erected ... Though thou shouldst go to the
ocean, to
the British Isles, there though shouldst hear all men everywhere
discoursing
matters out of the scriptures, with another voice indeed, but not
another
faith, with a different tongue, but the same judgement.
Travelling
across the perilous marshes of Somerset, the thirteen holy companions
crossed
the water to Glastonbury, coming at last to a hill which tradition
still shows
today, called Weary-All. As was the
custom,
the saint carried a pastoral staff of dry hawthorn. When he stopped to
rest, he
stuck the staff into the ground where it blossomed as a sign of God's
favour. The miraculous staff soon grew
into a great
tree, which continues to blossom to this day during Holy Nativity. In
fact,
official records show that after England adopted the Gregorian Calendar
the
Glastonbury Thorn continued to blossom on the Old Calendar date for
Nativity.
Here at
Weary-All Hill the saint's party was met by a local chieftain,
Arviragus, who,
being impressed by the piety, gentleness, and meekness of Saint Joseph,
donated
twelve 'hides' of land to the group (approximately 160 acres). Here, on the Twelve Hides of Glastonbury, our
holy patron sank the firm roots of Orthodox Christianity, building a
church
which he dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. St.
Joseph and his companions enlightened many
of the Tritons and baptized large numbers of them into the Holy Church.
It was here
that Saint Joseph of Arimathea, gave up his soul into the hands of our
Saviour.
Much later in 183 A.D. another group of missionaries came to the holy
site
where Saint Joseph had reposed, and there occurred many miraculous
deeds and
mysteries of healings. Christians lived
at this site as hermits until the fifth century when our holy father
among the
saints, Patrick of Ireland, visited Glastonbury and formed a monastery
on the
site. Shortly after this St. David of Wales also visited this venerable
place
and began the building of a larger Church on the site. Glastonbury
became a great place of pilgrimage
for the Orthodox people of Britain. Many
other saints came and dwelt on the lands where the Holy Apostolic Faith
was
first preached to the natives of Britain, the lands of Glastonbury,
sanctified
by Saint Joseph.
Glory to
God for all things.