Joseph of Volotsk | |
|---|---|
 Russian icon of Saint Joseph Volotsky | |
| Venerable, Abbot | |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | 1591 by Russian Orthodox Church, (Patriarch Job of Moscow) |
| Majorshrine | Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery |
| Feast | September 9 October 18 |
| Attributes | Vested as a monk |
| Patronage | Businessmen |
| Controversy | Theology career |
| Notable work | The Enlightener (Просветитель,Prosvetitel) |
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Joseph Volotsky (Russian:Ио́сиф Во́лоцкий; 1439 or 1440 – September 9, 1515), also known asJoseph of Volotsk orJoseph of Volokolamsk, bornIvan Sanin (Russian:Ива́н Са́нин), was a prominentRussiantheologian and early proponent oftsarist autocracy. He led the party defending monastic landownership (the so-called possessors) in the dispute with thenon-possessors. TheRussian Orthodox Church considers him asaint (along with his most notable opponent,Nilus of Sora); his memory is celebrated on September 9 and October 18 (dates in theJulian Calendar). His patronage is over businessmen.[1]
Joseph Volotsky came from a family of a wealthy landowner (avotchinnik) whose property consisted of the Yazvishche village in the Principality ofVolokolamsk,Moscow Oblast. He learned to read and write at the local monastery and then took the tonsure at theBorovsk Monastery in 1459. Upon the death of itsabbot,St. Paphnutius of Borovsk, Joseph Volotsky took his place and attempted to introduce a strict monastic charter.[2] Themonks, however, rebuffed his idea, and he had to leave themonastery for good. After having lived in a few other monasteries, Joseph became disappointed with their lax morals and founded his owncloister in 1479 nearVolokolamsk, which would become known as theJoseph-Volokolamsk Monastery. Joseph's charter prescribed a monk's chief virtue as absolute obedience to his abbot. All aspects of a monk's life at the monastery were regulated and controlled.
Initially, Joseph Volotsky was connected with theappanage princes of Volokolamsk (brothers ofIvan III) and defended the right of localecclesiastical andsecularfeudatories to oppose the authority of thegrand prince. Later in his life he severed his relations with the opposition and took the side of the grand prince, sealing this alliance by transferring Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery to the patronage ofVasili III in 1507.
During the ChurchSobor of 1503, Joseph Volotsky and his supporters (Josephites) managed to scrap the project of elimination of monastic landownership, proposed by thenestiazhateli, ornon-possessors (those who opposed monastic landownership), in the persons of the so-calledTransvolgan elders led byNilus of Sora andVassian Patrikeyev. Joseph Volotsky addressed a number ofepistles to thenestiazhateli, in which he tried to prove the legality of monastic landownership and to justify the rich décor of churches. Eventually, Joseph Volotsky gained the upper hand and the monasteries preserved their landholdings.
The triumph of the possessor party went hand in hand with Joseph's efforts to bolster the position of Russia's grand princes, who were now increasingly referred to astsars, succeeding to the title of universalemperors ofByzantium. Joseph Volotsky restated the formula of an early Byzantine ecclesiastical writerAgapetus that the tsar was a "man in essence, but his power is that of God" and that he was God's deputy on Earth. According to Joseph, however, since the main duty of the tsar is to care for the well-being of theChristian Church, he islegitimate only as long as he adheres to Church rules and moral obligations.
Joseph Volotsky is also known to have been a staunch opponent of theheretical sect which was spreading inRussia at that time ("Judaizers"). During the Church Sobor of 1504, he demanded that all heretics be executed by the state.
In his major work, calledThe Enlightener (Просветитель,Prosvetitel), which consisted of 16 chapters, he tried to prove the wrongfulness of the "new teaching" in order to be able to prosecute the heretics and convince people not to believe in the sincerity of theirrepentance. Taking inspiration from the Roman-Byzantine treatment of heresiarchs and the Dominican-led persecutions in Spain and Portugal, he called for a civil inquisition against heretics and championed their imprisonment and execution. As with the controversy over monastic ownership of estates, Joseph Volotsky was opposed in this matter by Saint Nilus of Sora.
Joseph's sainthood was officially accepted by theRussian Orthodox Church following his localcanonization in 1579 and national canonization in 1591.
