Blessed Joseph of Arimathea
Blessed Joseph of Arimathea (Hebrew: Yosef ha-Ramatayim; fl. first century AD) was a wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and a secret disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, who, according to all four canonical Gospels, provided his own newly hewn rock tomb for the burial of Jesus after the Crucifixion. The Synoptic Gospels describe him as a good and righteous man who had not consented to the council's condemnation of Jesus; the Gospel of John adds that he acted together with Nicodemus. After the burial, Joseph disappears from the Gospel narrative, and the early Church preserved no certain account of his subsequent life. A rich medieval tradition, originating in Britain, identified him as the first evangelist of the British Isles, the founder of the first Christian church in Britain at Glastonbury, and the guardian of the Holy Grail; these traditions are not historically verifiable but shaped the devotional imagination of medieval Christendom. Joseph has been venerated as a saint since antiquity; his feast is kept on March 17 in the Roman calendar and on July 31 in the Eastern traditions.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Joseph of Arimathea
| Blessed Joseph of Arimathea | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | March 17 |
| Profession | Member of the Sanhedrin; man of wealth and influence; secret disciple of Jesus |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; venerated also in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Anglican traditions |
| Patronage | Gravediggers; funeral directors; tin and lead miners (Cornwall); Glastonbury; the city of Arimathea |
| Attributes | Burial shroud; jar or vessel (Holy Grail); pilgrim staff blossoming as a thorn tree |
| Birthplace | Arimathea (possibly Ramathaim-Zophim, present-day Rentis, West Bank) |
| Death Place | Unknown; tradition places his death in Britain or the Holy Land |
| Cause of Death | Unknown; ancient tradition; died in the mid-first century AD |
| Primary Shrine | Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury, Somerset, England (traditional) |
| Liturgical Class | Optional Memorial (March 17 in the Roman Martyrology) |
| Historic Class | Commemoration in some local calendars |
Biography
Gospel accounts
Joseph of Arimathea is named in all four canonical Gospels solely in the context of the burial of Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew (27:57–60), he is described as a rich man from Arimathea who had himself become a disciple of Jesus; he went to Pontius Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, then wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb cut from rock, and rolled a great stone over the entrance. The Gospel of Mark (15:43–46) calls him a respected member of the council — meaning the Sanhedrin — who was himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God; it adds that he went boldly to Pilate to ask for the body. The Gospel of Luke (23:50–53) notes that he was a member of the council but a good and righteous man who had not agreed to the council's purpose and action, and that he was from the Jewish town of Arimathea. The Gospel of John (19:38) identifies him as a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews.
In John's account, Joseph was accompanied by Nicodemus, who brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. Together the two men took the body, bound it in linen cloths with the spices, and laid it in a new tomb in a garden near the place of the Crucifixion.
Arimathea
The location of Arimathea has been debated by scholars. Most ancient sources identified it with Ramathaim-Zophim (1 Samuel 1:1), the birthplace of the prophet Samuel, which is believed to correspond to modern Rentis in the West Bank. Others have proposed Ramleh or various sites in Judaea. The name simply locates Joseph's ancestral city and tells us nothing of where he lived in the time of Jesus — as a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, he presumably maintained a residence in Jerusalem.
Tradition and legend
The earliest post-Gospel tradition about Joseph comes from Eusebius of Caesarea and other patristic writers, who say only that he was a man of importance in Jerusalem who performed a service of mercy to Jesus and was rewarded with the faith. The elaboration of his story began in earnest in the high medieval period. William of Malmesbury, writing in the twelfth century, recorded a tradition that Philip the Apostle had sent Joseph and eleven companions to Britain, where they arrived at Glastonbury in Somerset and built a small wattle church — reputedly the first Christian building in Britain — dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This church, the legend maintained, was the direct ancestor of Glastonbury Abbey.
The Grail legends, developed in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries by Robert de Boron and other French writers, enlarged this picture greatly: in their telling, Joseph had been present at the Last Supper or the Passion and had preserved the chalice (or a vessel that caught Jesus's blood), which he brought to Britain where it was kept in a castle and sought by the knights of King Arthur. This cycle of Grail romance shaped the spiritual imagination of medieval Europe and kept devotion to Joseph of Arimathea vivid across many centuries. The Holy Thorn of Glastonbury — a hawthorn said to have grown from the staff Joseph planted — became a major object of pilgrimage.
Significant events
- Member of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem; wealthy landowner from Arimathea; secret follower of Jesus.
- After the Crucifixion of Jesus, went boldly to Pilate to request the body.
- Together with Nicodemus, prepared and buried Jesus in his own new tomb, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9 ("his grave was assigned with rich men in his death").
- After Easter, disappears from the canonical record; subsequent history unknown.
- Medieval British tradition: brought the Christian faith to Britain; founded first church at Glastonbury.
- Holy Thorn legend: planted pilgrim staff at Wearyall Hill, Glastonbury; it flowered into the Christmas-blooming Holy Thorn.
- Grail legends: preserved the Holy Grail and brought it to Britain.
- Feast day: March 17 (Roman Calendar); July 31 (Eastern traditions).
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Arimathea (possibly Ramathaim-Zophim, present-day Rentis, West Bank)
Death location: None
Notable location: Ancestral city of Joseph of Arimathea, from which he took his name (Arimathea (Ramathaim), Judaea)
Notable location: Where he went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus and provided his tomb for the burial (Jerusalem, Judaea)
Notable location: Traditional site of Joseph's missionary journey to Britain and the legendary first Christian church in the island (Glastonbury Abbey) (Glastonbury, Somerset, England)
Notable location: Associated with medieval Holy Grail legends connected to Joseph of Arimathea (Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, England)
Notable location: Built over the tomb area where Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus (Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)
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Canonization
Veneration
Joseph of Arimathea is venerated as a saint by immemorial custom throughout the Catholic and Eastern Christian traditions. He was never formally canonized through the post-medieval canonical process, and no specific date or named pope can be assigned to his canonization. He is listed in the Roman Martyrology and commemorated on March 17 in the Latin Church and on July 31 in the Eastern traditions.
Feast day
March 17
Veneration
Blessed Joseph of Arimathea is venerated in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Anglican traditions as the holy man who performed the last acts of charity for the body of Christ. In Britain, his veneration is particularly strong in Glastonbury, where Glastonbury Abbey preserves the site of the legendary first church and where a descendant of the Holy Thorn still grows in the churchyard of the Church of the Holy Trinity. He is the patron of gravediggers, funeral directors, and — because of the tin-trade legends that brought him to Cornwall before the ministry of Jesus — tin and lead miners. Pilgrims visiting the Holy Land venerate him especially at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the vicinity of his tomb.
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