Orthodox · 9th century
Venerable Joseph the Hymnographer
Commemorated: April 17 (April 4, Old Style)
Life
Joseph was born in Sicily to a pious family and became a monk in Thessalonica, where he was ordained priest. With Gregory of Decapolis he went to Constantinople to strengthen the faithful under Emperor Leo V, an Iconoclast. Sent to Rome to seek support, he was seized on the way and held in prison on Crete for six years, until Leo was killed in 820.
According to his Life, St Nicholas appeared and freed him from his chains. Back in Constantinople, he founded a monastery and began writing hymns and canons, honouring the Mother of God, St Nicholas, the Apostle Bartholomew and many others, which earned him the name Hymnographer. Exiled to Cherson under Emperor Theophilus, he returned when icon veneration was restored, served as keeper of the sacred vessels of the Great Church and died in 883.
Places
- Place of birth: Syracuse
- Place of death: Constantinople
Retold briefly in our own words from: the Lives of the Saints by St Dimitry of Rostov (1902–1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.