Cloud of Witnesses
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Hieromartyr17th century

Hieromartyr Joseph Metropolitan of Astrakhan

1579 - 1671

Also known as Joseph of Astrakhan

Metropolitan of Astrakhan who shepherded his flock during the troubles of the Razin uprising and was seized and cast to his death from the city tower in 1671.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Joseph, Metropolitan of Astrakhan

Life

Joseph was the first Metropolitan of Astrakhan, a hierarch of the Russian Church in the seventeenth century. Born at Astrakhan in 1579, he entered monastic life and rose to lead the city's church; during the upheaval of the Razin rebellion he was seized by the rebels and cast to his death from the city tower. The Church commemorates him on May 11.

His death came amid the violent uprising that swept the lower Volga, and it was recorded in detail by two priests of the Astrakhan cathedral, Cyril (Kirill) and Peter, who served as eyewitnesses. His relics were honored as a source of miracles, and he was formally glorified by the Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1918.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 2

You shone as a bright star in Astrakhan, where you were born and raised,
and for your faithfulness to God, you suffered a martyric death.
Honoring your martyrdom, we cry to you:
“O Hierarch Joseph, who were killed by the rebels, pray to Christ God for our souls.”

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 6

You fought the good fight, crowning your life with torments for the truth,
you have moved to the heavenly abodes,
where, before the Throne of the Holy Trinity, O Hierarch Joseph,
you pray for the city of Astrakhan, and for our earthly homeland to be saved.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline4 momentsReadHide
  1. 1579Birth at AstrakhanJoseph was born at Astrakhan in 1579, the city whose church he would later lead.
  2. 1631Archimandrite of the Trinity monasteryHaving taken monastic vows, at the age of fifty-two he was made Archimandrite of the Astrakhan Trinity monastery.
  3. 1656First Metropolitan of AstrakhanAfter a stay in Moscow in 1656 he was chosen to be Metropolitan of Astrakhan, the first to hold that dignity.
  4. 1671Martyrdom in the Razin uprisingDuring the uprising connected with the rebellion of Stenka Razin, which had seized Astrakhan and other Volga towns, the metropolitan was taken by the rebels and cast down to his death from the city tower.

Contributions & Legacy

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A hierarch in a time of rebellion

Joseph governed the church of Astrakhan during the troubles of the Razin rebellion, when the forces of Stenka Razin pushed up the Volga and took Astrakhan along with other towns of the region. As the senior churchman of the city he stood within the violence that followed its capture, and was seized by the rebels and thrown from the tower of the city to his death.

The sad event was set down in detail by two priests of the Astrakhan cathedral, Cyril and Peter, who witnessed it. They clothed the body of the slain hierarch in bishop's vestments and laid it in a grave, and his relics came to be honored as a source of healing.

Glorification

Joseph is venerated as a hieromartyr — a bishop who died for the faith. His relics were reported to be glorified by miracles, and he was formally numbered among the saints at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church held in 1918. His feast is kept on May 11.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints