An obedient monk travels with a repentant apostate who, like many others under the Ottoman yoke, wished to wipe away the sin of denying Christ by confessing Him publicly in the city where his apostasy took place. But the penitent's faith and courage collapses, and he betrays not only Jesus Christ — a second time! — but also the godly monk Joseph, blaming him for turning him from Islam. The monk Joseph refuses to deny his Lord and God, and is tortured and eventually killed by the Muslims, inheriting the crown of glory.
Dramas like this are played out every day in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Indonesia, and throughout the Islamic world. Would we confess Jesus Christ even unto death?
Monkmartyr Joseph of Dionysiou on Mt Athos (Oct 26)
OCA, October 26, 2015
Saint Joseph was a monk of Dionysiou Monastery on Mt. Athos, where he shone forth with the virtues of monastic life. He was an iconographer, and he painted the icon of the holy Archangels on the iconostasis of Dionysiou’s main church.
In obedience to the instructions of Igumen Stephen, St Joseph traveled to Constantinople with Eudocimus, who had apostasized from Orthodoxy to become a Moslem. Eudocimus repented, and wished to wipe out his sin through martyrdom.
When faced with torture and death, however, the unfortunate Eudocimus denied Christ again, blaming Joseph for turning him from Islam.
St Joseph was arrested and threatened with death. In spite of many tortures, he refused to convert to Islam. This holy martyr of Christ was hanged on February 17, 1819, and so he obtained an incorruptible crown of glory.
Some sources list his commemoration on February 17, while others list him on September 14 or October 26.