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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Name

Joseph, Old Testament patriarch

Saint ID

S00277

Reported Death Not After

1

Gender
Male
Type of Saint
Old Testament saints
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E00489The Piacenza Pilgrim describes the shrine at the oak of Mamre, and the tombs of the Old Testament Patriarchs *Abraham (S00275), *Isaac (S00276), *Jacob (S00280) and *Joseph (S00277), and of Abraham's wife *Sarah (S00278), which is frequented by both Jews and Christians, separated by a screen; he also mentions the feast of the deposition of *Jacob and of *David (king of Israel and psalmist, S00269), celebrated on the day after Christmas by large numbers of Jews. Account of an anonymous pilgrim, written in Latin, probably in Placentia (northern Italy), c. 560.
E02524The so-called Madaba Mosaic Map shows a number of labelled places of the cult of saints in the Holy Land (mainly monasteries). Found in Madaba (Roman province of Arabia). Probably mid-6th c.
E03373The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 4 September *Joseph (Old Testament patriarch, S00277), *Moses (Old Testament prophet and lawgiver, S00241) and *Julian (martyr in Emesa, S01259).
E03399The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 15 October the deposition of the relics of *John the Baptist (S00020), *Isaiah (Old Testament prophet, S00282), *Joseph (Old Testament patriarch, S00277), *Daniel (Old Testament prophet, S00727), *Ezekiel (Old Testament prophet, S01493), and the *Three Hebrew Youths, Ananias, Azarias and Misael (of the Old Testament Book of Daniel, S01198).
E03896The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 15 October *John the Baptist (S00020), *Isaiah (Old Testament prophet, S00282), *Ezekiel (Old Testament prophet, S01493), *Daniel (the Old Testament prophet, S00727), *Joseph (Old Testament patriarch, S00277), the *Three Hebrew Youths (of the Old Testament Book of Daniel, S01198), *Ioulianos/Julianus (probably the martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt, S00305), and *Longinos (centurion at the Crucifixion, S00926).
E05699Coptic ostracon from the area of Hermonthis (Upper Egypt) with a letter mentioning a place of Apa *Joseph (possibly the Old Testament patriarch, S00277) were a service takes place; datable to the 8th century.
E06090Adomnán, in his On the Holy Places, reports the recent visit of the Franco-Gallic bishop Arculf to Sichem/Shechem (Palestine), the burial site of *Joseph (Old Testament patriarch, S00277). Written in Latin at Iona (north-west Britain), possibly 683/689.
E06104The Itinerary of the so-called Pilgrim of Bordeaux mentions a number of tombs in the Holy Land of biblical figures, almost all from the Old Testament; Constantine's new church at Mamre, where Abraham (Old Testament patriarch, S00275) conversed with angels; and the spring near Jericho miraculously purified by the Elisha (Old Testament prophet, S00239). Written in Latin, probably in Bordeaux (south-west Gaul), shortly after 333.
E06658Aldhelm, in his prose On Virginity, concludes his list of exemplary virgins with the ultimately non-virginal Old Testament figures *Joseph (patriarch, S00277), *David (king of Israel, S00269), *Samson (judge of the Israelites, S02496), *Abel (second son of Adam, S02497), *Melchizedek (king and priest of Salem, S01783), and *Judith (S02498). Written in Latin in southern Britain, for the nuns at the monastery at Barking (south-east Britain), c. 675/686.
E07913Theodosius, in his On the Topography of the Holy Land, on a route northwards from Jerusalem notes Neapolis as the burial site of Joseph (Old Testament patriarch, S00277), Sebastea as the place where John (the Baptist, S00020) was beheaded, and Scythopolis as the site of the martyrdom of Basileios (martyr of Scythopolis/Skythopolis, S01150). Written in Latin, perhaps in Africa, 518/540.
E07959The Paschal Chronicle records that in 415 the remains of *Joseph (Old Testament patriarch, S00277) and *Zechariah (father of John the Baptist, S00597) were brought to Constantinople. Written in Greek at Constantinople, c. 630.
E08323The Hibernensis canon law collection's 48th book, 'On Martyrs,' quotes a number of unidentified sayings and precedents concerning martyrs, the translation of their relics, and their powers after death, including some falsely attributed to patristic authorities. Compiled in Latin in Ireland and/or Iona (north-west Britain), c. 690/748.