Saint Joasaph (Joachim) Andreevich Gorlenko

Saint Joasaph (Joseph) of Belgorod

ST. JOSAF THE DIVINE PROTECTOR OF THE BELGOROD LAND

**The Holy Trinity Cathedral in Belgorod**
(the main cathedral in Belgorod in XVIII century)

Then Belgorod was the center of the Belgorod province and the Belgorod Eparchy, one of the biggest in Russia. But the spiritual life in the province was in very bad condition. The priests did not provide the religious and moral education of their Parish. Many churches, especially in villages became dilapidated and were not repaired for years.

Bishop Joseph worked hard to improve this situation. He inspected all places of his eparchy regularly. He gave much attention to the religious and moral state of the local clergy, work of schools in the eparchy. Joseph considered the aid to poor people to be one of his main goals. Very often he visited poor people personally bringing them spiritual and material help. Joseph also often called on sick people and healed them.

Bishop Joseph served in the Belgorod Eparchy till the end of his life. His selfless labor in this course made Bishop Joseph well-known all over Russia.

Bishop Joseph passed away on December,10,1754 in the age of 49 in the village of Granivore. On December 15 his body was carried from Granivore to Belgorod for burial. The coffin with his body was placed in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Belgorod for farewell.

And only on February,28,1755 the coffin with the body of Bishop Joseph was carried to a special crypt in the south-western part of the Holy Trinity Cathedral that was made by order of Joseph himself.

But sometime afterwards, it turned out the body of Bishop Joseph was not subject to decomposition. The rumor about this spread over Belgorod and region very quickly. Sick and maimed people came to the coffin of Joseph and many of them recovered. The talk about the miraculous power of Bishop Joseph’s hallows began to spread by word of mouth all over Russia. Every year more pilgrims came to the coffin of Joseph. Many people not only in Belgorod but in other region of Russia began to consider Joseph a saint long before his canonization. The portraits of Bishop Joseph were hanged near icons in many houses.

**Transferring the body of Joseph from Granivore to Belgorod**

Canonization and the 1911 Celebration

In 1883 the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Belgorod was transferred into a monastery cathedral. Despite the fact Belgorod was no more a eparchial town the stream of pilgrims did not diminish. People continued to go to the sanctified coffin.

Several times the eparchial authorities at local people’s request applied for canonization of Bishop Joseph. And at last, in 1910 Emperor Nicholas II proposed the Holy Synod to canonize Bishop Joseph. And the Synod supported this proposition and canonized Bishop Joseph. The day of September,4,1911 was set the day of celebration of the incorruptible hallows of Saint Joseph.

Sacred procession in Belgorod on September 4, 1911
(contemporary photos)

This memorable day became one of the most important events in the history of Belgorod. Very many people from very different places of Russia from the Western border to the Far East came to Belgorod. The whole number of people that took part in this celebration was more than 200 thousand. Very many state persons visited Belgorod for the celebration and three months after Emperor Nickolay II with his family visited Belgorod too.

After this celebration more and more people came to Belgorod from any places of Russia. Now the hallows were inside the cathedral in a special shrine made of silver.

**The shrine with the hallows of St. Joasaf in the Holy Trinity Cathedral**
(a photo at the beginning of XX century)

**Emperor Nicholas II near the hallows of Bishop St. Joseph**

The Hallows Returned to Belgorod

The Cathedral of Transfiguration of Our Lord in Belgorod — **The Cathedral of Transfiguration of Our Lord (Preobrazhensky)**
(a modern photo)

Patriarch Alexy II and Archbishop Ioann in the Cathedral of Transfiguration — **Patriarch of Moscow and Whole Russia Alexy II and Archbishop of Belgorod and Stary Oskol Ioann in the Cathedral of Transfiguration on September,16,1991**

After the October revolution the shrine was opened and the hallows of St. Joseph were taken out from Belgorod. For many years the whereabouts of the hallows was unknown. And only 70 years after they were found in the Museum of Religion and Atheism in Leningrad.

After identification the hallows were returned to Belgorod and placed in the Cathedral of Transfiguration of Our Lord (Preobrazhensky).

On September,16,1991 the incorruptible hallows of St. Joseph were solemnly transferred to The Cathedral of Transfiguration of Our Lord. Patriarch of Moscow and Whole Russia Alexy II took part in this ceremony. It was the second appropriation of St. Joseph hallows. He came back to Belgorod and sanctified it with his presence again.

**The shrine with the hallows of St. Joseph in the Cathedral of Transfiguration**

Archbishop Ioann near the shrine with the hallows of St. Joseph — **Archbishop of Belgorod and Stary Oskol Ioann near the shrine with the hallows of St. Joseph**

A Sunday school attached to the Cathedral of Transfiguration works in Belgorod from 1991. In this school the pupils study Bible chairs, the church regulations, make pilgrim travels and take part in church holidays.

In 1992 in the Cathedral of Transfiguration the Orthodox Community of St. Joseph was founded. The members of this community are people of very different professions: engineers, teachers, architects, workers and others do the job for moral and spiritual education of people, restoring churches and organizing charitable actions.