www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West St.Joseph

Is it me? or is it only the west ( Roman rite ) who show him great veneration? I fail to see a lot of mentioning of St.Joseph in our eastern rite or even any icons of him at all.

There's a study of devotion to St. Joseph (east and west) here [osjoseph.org]. It might be more prevelant in the Latin Church today, but the current state of great devotion to St. Joseph is a relatively recent occurance. There was a lot of increase in this devotion over the past few centuries and in the 20th century, e.g. putting St. Joseph in the Divine Praises and the in the Roman Canon and creating the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

The rise in devotion to St Joseph in the 20th century Roman Church was to give emphasis to him as a worker. The May 1st St Joseph the worker was made as a direct alternative to the Communist May Day celebrations. It was also during this time the pope made him patron of the universal Church.

The veneration of St Joseph as it has developed in East and West is fascinating as well as distinct in its quality.

The West sees St Joseph more in terms of a virile younger man who was a virgin, like the Virgin Mary. The emphasis in devotion to him is also on the veneration of the Holy Family.

Local Latin developments in its devotion to St Joseph includes the veneration of the "Admirable Heart of St Joseph," and also the private opinion of certain Spanish theologians that St Joseph was immaculately conceived and assumed bodily into heaven as the Mother of God was.

The East doesn't see St Joseph as a virgin, but as having had six children by his first wife (the "brothers and sisters" of the Lord Jesus that Evangelicals have expended so much ink writing about to show that this "proves" the Mother of God had other children than Christ). Traditional iconography of the East doesn't depict Joseph holding the Christ Child (as does St Symeon the God-Receiver). Joseph is the elderly Guardian of the Mother of God and Her Child whose true Father is God.

However, during the period of the Kyivan Baroque, St Yuri Konissky, Archbishop of Mohiliv or Mogilev, for example, promoted the Western-style devotion to St Joseph and even built a Church in his honour.

Alex

Two of the very earliest Melkite parishes in the US are those of St Joseph in Lawrence, MA and Scranton, PA. There are also Melkite parishes under his patronage in Akron, OH and Lansing, MI, and a mission in Seattle, WA.

Many years,

Neil

Dear Brother Neil,

Yes, the Melkites and the Syriac Churches have always had a greater veneration for St Joseph than the Byzantine Churches. I understand that the ancient, individual Feast of St Joseph in the Syriac world is July 21 (?).

Cheers,

Alex

I did a quick search last night, after posting the above - but the forum was quirky and I couldn't post the results. In the US, the only Eastern or Oriental Catholic jurisdictions without any parishes under the patronage of St Joseph are the Armenian and Romanian eparchies.

There are parishes or missions under his patronage in various of the eparchies of the Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Syriac, Maronite, and Chaldean Catholics. As a matter of fact, the new Syriac cathedral is under his patronage.

Many years,

Neil

In the Melkite Church, we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph on the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ.

Well, there is a Ruthenian Byzantine Church named St. Joseph (in fact, I'm going there for a festival and DL tomorrow), so it at least has mention in the East by having a parish named for him. Although I haven't seen anything in the Ruthenian, nor Ukrainian Catholic Liturgical calendar with a feast day for him. Weird.

Sunday After the Nativity of Our Lord

The Commemoration of the Holy and Righteous Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the Brother of Our Lord

Aren't they commemorated on December 26?

Ah yes, they are. In the West it's known as the Feast of the Holy Family. One would think that the Byzantine Calendar should have followed suit with this.

I find this to be true. One interesting observation about this idea. When I was young "the late 1960s" the Polish had a carol at Christmas that had a line saying, "See Joseph so old" but once the liturgical reforms of Vatican II came out all the new books had the line rewritten to be "See Joseph so holy". Many in the Polish community still resist this wording change because the good sisters who taught us always said Mary was to poor for a dowry and only a widower who needs help to raise a family would take such a girl as a bride.

Well, there were some that taught Joseph to be a carpenter by trade, and actually built the manger in which Baby Jesus was laid in.

I frequently ask his intercession and help ... Just as he took care of and shepherded Jesus whose Father is in Heaven, I ask him to help me care for and shepherd my two sons, whose father is in heaven.