St. Joseph (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;' but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. 'It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,' but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery. 'Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,' but I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can't make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one. 'You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'* But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you. 'You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor,* and hate your enemy.*' But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.

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	St. Joseph (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

I was wanting to know why it appears to me that Joseph, the husband of the Theotokos and the step-father of our Lord is not as honored, especially during the Nativity season as he is in Catholicism.

Are there any prayers to him? I have deep respect for him and what he did for Mary in the face of great adversity. I also acknowledge that I'm not familiar with what is available concerning him in Orthodox prayer and hymnography.

Are there any icons of him that I can find? Any help or information concerning this would be deeply appreciated.

By the way, the western Saint, Saint Teresa of Avila, has a beautiful testimony in her autobiography encouraging others to "go to Joseph."

ANSWER:

Indeed, the Orthodox Church honors Saint Joseph, especially during the Nativity Season. In fact, the feast of Saint Joseph always falls on the Sunday after Christmas, and there are a variety of hymns called for at all services on that weekend which refer to him as well as the other ancestors of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In the Orthodox Church, Saint Joseph bears the title "the Betrothed," as he was the one who was betrothed to the Virgin Mary. So inimately connected to the Nativity is Joseph that he is found in every icon of the Nativity, referred to numerous times throughout the Nativity cycle of services, etc.

He is also referred to in many of the hymns for the Feast of the Circumcision (1 January), and especially on the Great Feast of the Meeting, or Presentation, of Our Lord in the Temple (2 February). There is even an Akathist Hymn to Saint Joseph. And, by coincidence, my own parish in Wheaton, IL, is dedicated to Saint Joseph the Betrothed!

What must be kept in mind is that the Roman Catholic devotions to Saint Joseph are of much, much more recent origins -- in fact, the feast of "Saint Joseph the Worker," widely celebrated in Roman Catholic circles on 1 May, was only added to the Roman calendar in the early 20th century! The emphasis on Saint Joseph being a carpenter is of little importance for Orthodox; rather, he is revered for being the betrothed of the Virgin Mary and the human guardian of the Christ child. While Orthodox Christians do not deny that he had been a carpenter, his worldly occupation is completely secondary to his role as the betrothed.

Published in January 2011.

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