St. Joseph the Betrothed icon (2)

$ 19.00

Mounted on wood sizes

3 x 5 4 x 6 5 x 7 6 x 8 8 x 11 11 x 17 16 x 20

Language

English Greek

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Orthodox icon of Saint Joseph the Betrothed (2). Copy from a contemporary icon.

Commemorated December 29.

NOTE: the name of our store in the icon is a watermark. Your icon will NOT have it.

Protector Saint of : Adopted Boys, Carpenters and Woodworkers

Orthodox icon of Saint Joseph the Betrothed of the royal lineage of King David, who was a simple carpenter from Nazareth. In his first marriage to Salome, he had four sons, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and two daughters. After he became a widower, St Joseph led a life of strict temperance and was chosen by divine providence to be the protector of the Most Holy Theotokos, who had taken a vow of virginity.

An angel told him of the Incarnation of the Son of God through her. St Joseph was present when the shepherds and the Magi worshiped the new-born divine Infant. On the orders of the angel, he fled into Egypt with the Mother of God and the Infant Jesus, saving them from the wrath of King Herod. He lived in Egypt with the Virgin Mary and the divine Child, working as a carpenter. St Joseph reputedly died at the age of one hundred.

St. Joseph is called the Betrothed because although he was betrothed to the Virgin, which is the first part of the marriage contract in Israel, he never married her as a witness that Jesus was not his child. He was 80 years old when he began to protect the Virgin. His date of death is unknown, though he was still living when Jesus was 12 years old. St Joseph is commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity. If there is no Sunday between December 25 and January 1, his Feast is moved to December 26. The Righteous Joseph is also commemorated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers.

We find this name of our God in two Biblical Books. The first is in the Book of Daniel and it was a vision that Daniel's had: "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire."A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened”.

The second is in the book of Revelation 1/A 12-18: "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

In the art of the orthodox iconography, sometimes Christ portrayed as an Elderly, as the “Ancient of the Days”, to symbolically show His existence in eternity and some times like a young “person” to demonstrate His incarnation. This tendency of hagiography appeared in the 6th century AD, especially in the Eastern Byzantine Empire.

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