Joseph the Confessor was a 9th-century

Archbishop of Thessalonica The Metropolis of Thessaloniki ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see based in the city of Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is part of the so-called "New Lands", belonging to ...

and brother of Theodore Stoudites. He is venerated as a saint by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. Together with his brother, they pursued a life of asceticism under the guidance of

Plato of Sakkoudion Platon the Studite, also Plato of Sakkoudion ( gr, Ὅσιος Πλάτων τῆς Μονῆς τῶν Σακκουδίων), probably Constantinople, ca. 735 – Constantinople, 4 April 814, was a Byzantine minor official who became a monk in 759 ...

in the latter's monastery at Sakkoudion,

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

. Later Joseph was unanimously elected archbishop of the city of

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. Together with his brother he spoke out against the

illegal marriage Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the c ...

of Emperor

Constantine VI Constantine VI ( gr, Κωνσταντῖνος, ''Kōnstantinos''; 14 January 771 – before 805Cutler & Hollingsworth (1991), pp. 501–502) was Byzantine emperor from 780 to 797. The only child of Emperor Leo IV, Constantine was named co-emp ...

(the " Moechian Controversy"), for which, after the torment, he was imprisoned in a dungeon on a deserted island. Emperor

Michael I Rangabe Michael I Rhangabe ( gr, Μιχαὴλ Ῥαγγαβέ; ''c''. 770 – 11 January 844) was Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813. Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylact Rhangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet. He married Prokopia, the ...

liberated Joseph from prison. Under Emperor

Leo V the Armenian Leo V the Armenian ( gr, Λέων ὁ ἐξ Ἀρμενίας, ''Leōn ho ex Armenias''; 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed ...

, when the second period of the

Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ...

began, the bishop and his brother were again punished for venerating the holy icons. In prison he was tortured, but the prelate was unshakable in his faith. The emperor demanded that he subscribe to the iconoclastic confession of faith. For his refusal the saint was thrown into another, foul dungeon. Under Emperor

Michael II Michael II ( gr, Μιχαὴλ, , translit=Michaēl; 770–829), called the Amorian ( gr, ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου, ho ex Amoríou) and the Stammerer (, ''ho Travlós'' or , ''ho Psellós''), reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to ...

, Joseph, along with other monks who had been persecuted for the veneration of icons, were liberated. He spent his last years in the

Stoudion The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( grc-gre, Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en to ...

monastery, where he retired in 830. Joseph is known as a spiritual songwriter. He composed the triodia and stichera of the Lenten Triodion, a canon for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son's Week and other hymns. He wrote several sermons for feastdays, of which the best known is the Sermon on the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord ("Λόγος είς τόν τίμιον καί ζωοποιόν Σταυρόν").

Literature

* Joseph the Confessor // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 ext.). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907. * Orthodox Church of America - St. Joseph the Bishop of Thessalonica, and brother of St. Theodore of Studio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph The Confessor 8th-century births 9th-century deaths 8th-century Byzantine monks 9th-century Byzantine monks 9th-century Byzantine bishops 9th-century Christian saints Saints of medieval Macedonia Saints of medieval Greece Christian hymnwriters Byzantine hymnographers Byzantine composers Byzantine Iconoclasm Studite monks Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Byzantine bishops of Thessalonica