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Iosif MnogoboleznenuyA monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, revered in the Russian Church as a saint
Date of Birth: .
Country:  Dive |
Content:
- The Life of Reverend Joseph the Multi-Ailing
- A Life of Suffering and Devotion
- A Model of Christian Endeavor
- Eternal Rest in the Distant Caves
- Contested Relics
- Troparion
The Life of Reverend Joseph the Multi-Ailing
IntroductionReverend Joseph, a monk of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, is revered in the Russian Church as a saint. His memory is commemorated on April 4th and August 28th (in the Assembly of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Pechersk, reposing in the Distant Caves (of Reverend Theodosius)) according to the Julian calendar.
A Life of Suffering and Devotion
According to his hagiography, Joseph endured various ailments for many years, earning him the epithet "multi-ailing." He vowed to God that if he were healed, he would serve the brethren of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery for the rest of his life. Upon his recovery, he was tonsured into monasticism at the monastery, where he zealously pursued his spiritual path until his death, practicing fasting, prayer, and obedience.
A Model of Christian Endeavor
In modern Orthodox literature, the life of Reverend Joseph is often cited as an example of a Christian attitude towards illness. As Father Sergiy Filimonov, a doctor of medical sciences and head of the Society of Orthodox Physicians of St. Petersburg, noted:
"We should remember the monks of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra—the multi-ailing Joseph and Pimen. Only shortly before their deaths did God grant them health. But they endured their ailments not in vain: through their physical weakness, they found salvation, atoning for sins known only to the Lord, and they themselves received the grace from God to heal others."
Eternal Rest in the Distant Caves
The relics of Reverend Joseph are located in the Distant Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. In the 18th-century Old Believer literary work "The Life of Andrey Denisov," it is noted that the relics of Reverend Joseph had remained intact, with "the incorruptible, holy, and prayerful hands of the venerable Pechersk Fathers Joseph the Multi-Ailing and Ilya Muromets." The author suggests that these hands were folded in the two-fingered sign of the cross, as recognized by the Old Believers.
Contested Relics
Metropolitan Makariy (Bulgakov) in his "History of the Russian Church" presents a different interpretation of Reverend Joseph's relics, citing them as evidence in favor of the three-fingered sign of the cross:
"The right hands of the venerable Ilya Muromets and Joseph the Multi-Ailing have the first three fingers joined, albeit unevenly, while the last two—the ring finger and little finger—are bent towards the palm."
Troparion
Troparion, Tone 8:By the flow of your tears, you cultivated the barren desert, and from the depths of sighs, you bore a hundredfold fruit in toil. You became a lamp to the universe, shining with miracles, Joseph, our father, entreat Christ our God to grant salvation to our souls.
