Righteous Joseph of Arimathea

Identity and Standing

Joseph came from Arimathea, a town in Judea whose precise location is uncertain. It has been identified variously with Ramleh, with Ramathaim-Zophim, and with Ramat Rahel, the last lying roughly three miles southwest of Jerusalem. The Gospels and later tradition agree that Joseph was a man of wealth and a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews, and that he was regarded as good and just.

Despite his position on the council, Joseph had become a disciple of Jesus, though he concealed this for fear of the authorities. Luke specifies that he had not given his assent to the council's decision and action against Jesus.

The Burial of Christ

Following the crucifixion, Joseph went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus, an act the Gospels present as one of courage given his secret discipleship. Having received permission, he obtained the body and prepared it for burial together with Nicodemus, who is recorded as bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes. They wrapped the body in fine linen with spices and laid it in Joseph's own tomb, new and previously unused, cut into the rock of a neighboring garden. A great stone was rolled to close the opening. The burial was carried out hastily because the Sabbath was drawing near.

Traditional Accounts

Beyond the Gospel narrative, several traditions developed around Joseph. The Gospel of Nicodemus relates that the Jewish elders imprisoned him for burying the body of Christ, but that he was miraculously delivered; Orthodox tradition holds that the risen Christ appeared to Joseph in prison. After his release and banishment from Jerusalem, tradition relates that Joseph traveled preaching the Gospel, and accounts describe him reaching Britain, where he is said to have reposed peacefully.

Medieval Western legend elaborated these accounts considerably, connecting Joseph with the founding of an early Christian community at Glastonbury, with the Glastonbury Thorn said to have sprung from his staff, and, in Robert de Boron's late twelfth-century romance Joseph d'Arimathie, with the Holy Grail. Historical and Catholic critical sources regard these later British and Grail legends as without firm foundation, the latter noting that the journey to Gaul and Britain and the founding of a Glastonbury oratory are not historically credible.