Ein Sheva
In the winter of 2015 / 2016 I worked as a volunteer in the kitchen of a kibbutz on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, of Yam Kinneret, and every evening I would see the city of Tiberias light up on the other side.
It was my first stay in Israel ever, and I was blessed by the volunteers‘ organization‘s decision to send me to this beautiful spot where so many events and stories with Jesus of Nazareth and the disciples about which we read in the Gospel accounts took place.
Once I witnessed a storm haunting this usually calm and peaceful lake and turning it into a wild, foaming, and raging sea – and it made me feel like understanding the fear of the disciples caught in a storm with their boat more deeply.
I was living on that side of the lake which is closest to what is called “the Decapolis“ in the Gospels. During my stay I was also able to visit those places not far from Tiberias which we know as Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes.
And then there is a spot called Tabgha on the western shore of the lake where one finds the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fish, and, just a short walking distance away, the small Church of Saint Peter‘s Primacy. The latter was erected in the place where according to tradition the risen Jesus had breakfast with the Apostles on the shore, preparing for them bread and fish, and where He renewed the call and mission of the Prince of the Apostles as the supreme Shepherd.
When you tell the Israeli bus driver that you wish to go to Tabgha, he will most of the time not understand you. Tabgha is a short version of the Arabic name for the place. The Hebrew name though is Ein Sheva (עין שבע), the Greek Heptapegon – both meaning “seven springs“. In this spot, seven founts of water spring from the earth. Little did I know back then, that the first Church ever erected at Tabgha, the first Church of the Multiplication, was the fruit of the work of a saintly Jewish Catholic of the 4th century…
The current structure on the picture below was only built in the 1980s in a quite simplistic Byzantine style and is part of the mission of Benedictine monks who also take care of the Dormitio basilica on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Saint Joseph of Tiberias
So today, on the 22nd July, Saint Joseph of Tiberias, also known as Saint Joseph of Palestine or Count Joseph, is remembered. And he built churches all over the Galilee, in Tiberias, in Nazareth, in Capernaum, in Bet She‘an… and at Ein Sheva in the middle of the 4th century.
He was a Jewish convert from Tiberias, born in the year 285. He died at Bet She‘an (back then called Scythopolis) in 356 where he spent the last years of his life, often hosting Christian brothers, being the only orthodox Catholic in town.
He gave lodge to Saint Eusebius, the bishop of Vercelli in the Piedmont region of Italy, after he had been banished by the Arians. A spiritual battle was going on in the 4th century – between the majority of the bishops and people of God who had fallen for the Arian heresy, and a minority of bishops and laymen rejecting Arianism and suffering persecution.
Saint Joseph of Tiberias also hosted Saint Epiphanius (310-403) of Salamis, Cyprus, another anti-Arian bishop who wrote a whole compendium on all the heretical sects known to the Church after the first few centuries of Church history. This compendium is called Panarion, and in Chapter 30 of Book 1 Saint Epiphanius tells the life story of his host Joseph at Bet She‘an who had related it to him…
Saint Epiphanius, by the way, was Jewish just like Saint Joseph, a Romaniote Jew who had become a Christian while still being in his youth.
From Hillel the Elder to Hillel, close friend of Saint Joseph of Tiberias
So let‘s get into this story of Saint Joseph of Tiberias… First of all, it is important to note that after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in the year 70, after the disastrous Jewish-Roman war, the region of Tiberias became one of the two major religious centers of Judaism.
They had no high priest any more as the head of the Sanhedrin, but a “nasi“ – a “prince“ – instead. I guess we can think of him as the “chief rabbi“. Joseph was an assistant to a certain Hillel, son of Gamaliel III, the nasi, the chief rabbi in Tiberias in the 3rd century.
When we track back the genealogical line, we end up finding that this Hillel was a descendant of the famous Hillel the Elder, an important Pharisaic rabbi who died when Jesus was still a boy in the home of Joseph and Mary in Nazareth.
The grandson of Hillel the Elder, Gamaliel I, is mentioned in the New Testament several times. He was the teacher of Saint Paul the Apostle, and he advised his fellow Jews to be lenient toward this group of Jewish men professing faith in Jesus as the Messiah:
“When they heard that Paul was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even more quiet. Then he said, ‘I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, trained strictly according to the Torah of our fathers, being zealous for God just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prisons – as the kohen gadol (i.e. the high priest) and all the council of elders (i.e. the Sanhedrin) can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers, and I went to Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem even those who were there in chains – to be punished. But it happened that as I was traveling and drawing near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly flashed all around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me‚ ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?‘ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?‘ He said to me, ‘I am Yeshua ha-Natzrati, whom you are persecuting.‘
Acts 22: 2-16
Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?‘ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up, and go to Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.‘
But since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. Then a certain Ananias – a devout man according to the Torah, well spoken of by all the Jewish people living there – came to me. Standing before me, he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, look up!‘ In that very moment, I looked and saw him! And he said, ‘The God of our fathers handpicked you to know His will – to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. Now why are you waiting? Get up and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on His Name.‘“
“Peter and the emissaries (i.e. the apostles) replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Yeshua, whom you seized and had crucified. This One God exalted at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and removal of sins. And we are witnesses of these events – as is the Ruach ha-Kodesh, whom God has given to those who obey Him.‘ Now when they heard this, they became enraged and wanted to kill them. But a certain Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Torah respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. Then he said to them, ‘Men of Israel, be careful what you are about to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody; and a number of men, maybe four hundred, joined up with him. He was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this fellow, Judah the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and got people to follow him. He also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So now I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or undertaking is of men, it will come to an end; but if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be found fighting against God.‘“
Acts 5: 29-39
Here is a little visualization of the genealogical line from Hillel the Elder down to this Hillel, chief rabbi or “patriarch“ in Tiberias, to whom Joseph was an assistant, followed up by the testimony of Saint Epiphanius of Salamis:
“But some may already have replied that the Gospel of John too, translated from Greek to Hebrew, is in the Jewish treasuries, I mean the treasuries at Tiberias, and is stored there secretly, as certain Jewish converts have described to me in detail. And not only that, but it is said that the book of the Acts of the Apostles, also translated from Greek to Hebrew, is there in the treasuries, so that the Jews who have read it, the ones who told me about it, have been converted to Christ from this.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 3,8 – 4,4
One of them was Josephus — not the ancient Josephus, the author and chronicler, but Josephus of Tiberias, born during the old age of the Emperor Constantine of blessed memory. This Josephus was awarded the rank of count by the Emperor himself, and was authorized to build a church for Christ in Tiberias itself, and in Diocaesarea, Capernaum and the other towns. He also suffered a great deal from the Jews themselves before he came to the Emperor’s notice.
For this Josephus was counted as one of their men of rank. There are such persons, who rank next after the patriarch and are called apostles. They attend on the patriarch, and often stay with him day and night without intermission, to give him counsel and refer points of law to him. Now the patriarch at that time was called Ellel. (I think that was how Josephus pronounced his name, unless I am mistaken because of the time). He was descended from the Gamaliel who had been one of their patriarchs. One may suspect, and others have suggested this as well, that these patriarchs were descended from the first Gamaliel, the Savior’s contemporary, who gave the godly counsel of refraining from abuse of the apostles.“
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis at the house of Saint Joseph of Tiberias at Bet She‘an
Before we read more about this Hillel and about Saint Joseph of Tiberias, let us first look at the exact quotes from the Panarion asserting how Saint Epiphanius came to know Saint Joseph‘s life story:
“Josephus told me this (i.e. this whole story) in conversation. For I heard all this from his own lips and not from anyone else, in his old age when he was about 70 or even more. For I was entertained at his home in Scythopolis; he had moved from Tiberias, and owned a notable estate there in Scythopolis. Eusebius of blessed memory, the bishop of Vercelli in Italy, was Josephus’ guest, since he had been banished by Constantius for his orthodox faith. I and the other brethren had come there to visit him, and we were entertained too, along with Eusebius.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 5,1 – 5,8
Now when I met Josephus at his home, asked him about himself, and found that he had been a prominent Jew, I also inquired his reason, and why it was that he had come over to Christianity. And I heard all this plainly (from him), not at secondhand from anyone else. And since I think that, because of the Hebrew translations in the treasuries, the things the man went through are worth recording for the edification of the faithful, I deliberately give Josephus’ entire reason.
Josephus was not only privileged to become a faithful Christian, but a great despiser of Arians as well. In that city, I mean Scythopolis, he was the only orthodox Christian – they were all Arians. Had it not been that he was a count, and the rank of count protected him from Arian persecution, he could not even have undertaken to live in the town, especially while Patrophilus was the Arian bishop. Patrophilus was very influential because of his wealth and severity, and his familiar acquaintance with the Emperor Constantius. But there was another, younger man in town too, an orthodox believer of Jewish parentage. He did not even dare to associate with me in public, though he used to visit me secretly.
But Josephus told me something plausible and amusing, though I would think that even here he was telling the truth. He claimed that after his wife died, fearing that the Arians might take him by force and make him a cleric – to flatter him into conversion to the sect they would often promise him higher preferments if need be, and to make him a bishop. Well, he claimed that this was why he had married a second wife, to escape their ordinations!“
The baptism of Hillel, and New Testament books in the secret treasuries at Tiberias
Hillel, the Jewish patriarch and sage of Tiberias, became a Catholic Christian on his deathbed – according to the testimony of Saint Joseph of Tiberias. This event was the beginning of Joseph‘s own long process of conversion.
“When Ellel was dying he asked for the bishop who then lived near Tiberias, and received holy baptism from him in extremis for a pretendedly medical reason. For he had sent for him by Josephus, as though he were a doctor, and he had the room cleared and begged the bishop, ‘Give me the seal in Christ!‘ The bishop summoned the servants and ordered water prepared, as though intending to give the patriarch, who was very sick, some treatment for his illness with water. They did what they were told, for they did not know. And sending everyone out from pretended modesty the patriarch was vouchsafed the laver and the holy mysteries.“
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 4,5 – 4,7; 6,2 – 6,6
“‘Just as the patriarch was being granted baptism,‘ he (i.e. Josephus) told me, ‘I was peeping in through the cracks in the doors and realized what the bishop was doing to the patriarch – found it out, and kept it to myself. For besides,‘ Josephus said, ‘the patriarch had a very ample sum of money ready, and he reached out, gave it to the bishop, and said, ‘Offer it for me. It is written that things are bound and loosed on earth through the priests of God, and that these things will be loosed and bound in heaven.’ When this was over,‘ he said, ‘and the doors were opened, the patriarch’s visitors asked him how he was after his treatment, and he replied that he was very well. For he knew what he was talking about!‘
Then after two or three days, with the bishop visiting him often in the guise of a physician, the patriarch fell asleep with a good hope in store. He had entrusted his own son, who was quite young, to Josephus and another very capable elder. All business, then, was transacted through these two, since the patriarch, being a boy, was still childish, and was being brought up under their supervision.“
So patriarch Hillel had secretly read parts of the New Testament – those books that are hidden in the Jewish treasuries at Tiberias according to Saint Epiphanius of Salamis – and in his heart had turned to faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, and had then secretly received the sacraments from the hands of a Catholic bishop – the “physician“. And Joseph of Tiberias knew about it, and from that time “was often troubled over the rites that had been performed in the affair of the baptism, and he was considering what he should do“ (ibid. par. 6,7).
“Now there was a ‘gazophylacium‘ there which was sealed – ‘gaza’ means ‘treasure’ in Hebrew. As many had different notions about this treasury because of its seal, Josephus plucked up the courage to open it unobserved – and found no money, but books money could not buy. Browsing through them he found the Gospel of John translated from Greek to Hebrew, as I said, and the Acts of the Apostles – and Matthew’s Gospel moreover, which is actually Hebrew. After reading from them he was once more distressed in mind, for he was somehow troubled over the faith of Christ. But now he was prodded for two reasons, his reading of the books and the patriarch’s initiation. Still, as often happens, his heart was hardened.“
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 6,7 – 6,9
The wayward son of Hillel and the power of the sign of the cross
Unfortunately, the young boy, the son of Hillel, left in Joseph‘s care was going astray in his ways. The boy gave Joseph a lot of reasons for concern:
“Just as the lad was reaching full vigor some idle youths of his own age with vicious habits unfortunately met him. (I guess he was called Judas, but because of the time I am not quite sure.) His young contemporaries got him into many evil practices, seductions of women and unholy sexual unions. They undertook to help him in his licentious activities with certain magic devices – making certain love-philtres and compelling free women with incantations to be brought under duress for his seduction.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 7,2 – 7,4
Josephus and his fellow elder, who were obliged to attend the boy, bore this with difficulty and often both charged him and admonished him verbally. But he preferred to listen to the young men, and he hid his indecencies and denied them. And Josephus did not dare to voice his accusations of him openly; instead he admonished him, as though for his education.“
Saint Epiphanius then relates how this boy tried to seduce – with the aid of some magical charms – a woman who was a Christian:
“There happened to be a free woman of unusual beauty in the bath. Lured by the habit of his licentiousness the young man rubbed his side against the woman’s as he strolled about in the hot-air room. But being Christian, she naturally made the sign of the cross. (There was no need for her to behave improperly and bathe in mixed company. These things happen to simple lay persons, from the laxity of the teachers who do not forewarn them through their instruction.) Still, that God might make his wonders manifest, the youngster, I mean the patriarch, failed in his enterprise. For he sent emissaries to the woman and promised her gifts; but she insulted his messengers and did not yield to the pampered youth’s futile efforts.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 7,6 – 8,7
Then, when his helpers learned of the boy’s pain which he betrayed for the girl, they undertook to prepare more powerful magic for him, as Josephus himself described it to me in full. After sunset they took the unfortunate lad to the neighboring cemetery. (In my country there are places of assembly of this kind, called “caverns,” made by hewing them out of cliff sides.) Taking him there the cheats who accompanied him recited certain incantations and spells, and did very impious things to him and in the name of the woman.
By God’s will this came to the attention of the other elder, Josephus’ partner, and on realizing what was happening, he told Josephus. And he began by bemoaning his lot, and said, ‘Brother, we are wretched men and vessels of destruction! What sort of person are we attending?‘ And when Josephus asked the reason, no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the elder seized his hand and took Josephus to the place where the persons doomed to die, with the youth, were holding their assembly in the cemetery for magic. Standing outside the door they listened to what the others were doing, but withdrew when they came out. (It was not dark yet; it was just about sundown, and one could still see dimly.) After the monsters of impiety had left the tomb Josephus went in and saw certain vessels and other implements of jugglery thrown on the ground. They made water on them and covered them with a heap of dust, he said, and left.“
The whole episode of the wayward foster son trying to seduce a Christian woman becomes part of a series of encounters with the Christian faith that lead Saint Joseph of Tiberias to conversion over the course of many years.
“But they knew the sort of woman on whose account they had plotted these wicked things, and he watched to see whether they would win. When the sorcerers had not prevailed – the woman had the aid of the sign and faith of Christ – he (i.e. Josephus) learned that the youngster had waited for the girl’s arrival on three nights, and later quarreled with the persons who had performed the jugglery because he had not succeeded. This made Josephus’ third lesson – where Christ’s name was, and the sign of his cross, the power of sorcery did not prevail. But at this point he was by no means convinced that he should become a Christian.“
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 8,8 – 8,10
The voice of the Lord calling
“Then the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, ‘I am Jesus, whom your forefathers crucified; but believe in me.‘ When he was not convinced even by his he fell into grave illness and was given up for lost. But the Lord appeared to him again, and told him to believe and he would be healed. And he promised and recovered, and again persevered in his obstinacy.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 9,1 – 9,6
He fell ill a second time in turn, and was given up in the same way. When he was assumed to be dying by his Jewish kin he heard the words from them that they always repeat in secrecy among themselves. An elder, a scholar of the law, came and whispered to him, ‘Believe in Jesus, crucified under Pontius Pilate the governor, Son of God first yet later born of Mary; the Christ of God and risen from the dead. And believe that he will come to judge and quick and the dead.‘ That same Josephus told me this plainly during his story, as I can truthfully say.
Besides, I have heard this sort of thing from someone else. He was still a Jew from fear of the Jews, but he often spent time in Christian company, and he honored Christians and loved them. He traveled with me in the wilderness of Bethel and Ephraim, when I was going up to the mountains from Jericho and saying something to him about the advent of Christ, and he did not dispute it. I was amazed – he was learned in the Law as well and able to argue – and I asked the reason why he did not dispute, but agreed with me, about Jesus Christ our Lord. I had got no further than this when he too revealed to me that when he himself had been near death they had told him secretly, in a whisper, ‘Jesus Christ, the crucified Son of God, will judge you.‘ But let this be recorded here, from a genuine report about these persons and about this formula.“
So Saint Epiphanius of Salamis is not only telling us that in his day and age certain “Christian“ books were hidden in the treasuries at Tiberias, as we have already learned, but also that he had witnessed that there were Jews in the Roman province of Palestine who were secretly believing in Jesus as the Messiah, telling no one for fear of being cast out of the synagogue, yet passing on the Messianic faith in secrecy to others, especially when these were near death.
It reminds one of Nicodemus, and one cannot help but wonder whether he was the first in a long line of hidden – secret – Jewish believers in the Messiah running forth even up to the day of Saint Epiphanius, and maybe beyond:
“Now there was a man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish people. He came to Yeshua at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that You, a teacher, have come from God. For no one can perform these signs which You do unless God is with Him!‘
John 3: 1-21
Yeshua answered him, ‘Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.‘ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?‘ Nicodemus said to Him. ‘He cannot enter his mother‘s womb a second time and be born, can he?‘
Yeshua answered, ‘Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You all must be born from above.‘ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.‘ ‘How can these things happen?‘ Nicodemus said. Yeshua answered him, ‘You‘re a teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? Amen, amen I tell you, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen. Yet you all do not receive Our testimony! If you do not believe the earthly things I told you, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up into heaven except the One who came down from heaven – the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life!
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben-Elohim. Now this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness instead of the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. But whoever practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be made known that his deeds have been accomplished in God.‘“
This Nicodemus later performed a mitzvah, a corporal work of mercy toward the crucified Jesus together with Joseph of Arimathea, another “secret disciple“, as they gave Jesus a proper burial:
“After these things, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take Yeshua‘s body away. Joseph was a disciple of Yeshua, but secretly for fear of the Judean leaders. Pilate gave permission, so Joseph came and took the body away. Nicodemus, who had first visited Yeshua at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Yeshua and wrapped it in linen with the spices, as is the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where He was executed, there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. Because it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Yeshua there.“
John 19: 38-42
In fact, both the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Churches venerate rabbi Gamaliel, and one of his sons, Abibon, and this very Nicodemus, his nephew, as saints, with their feast day being the 3rd August.
According to tradition, as related for example by Saint Photios the Great (also known as Photios I of Constantinople), the patriarch of Constantinople in the 9th century, Gamaliel, Abibon and Nicodemus were all baptized by the apostles Saint Peter and Saint John – while remaining partly secret believers in the midst of the Jewish community, and partly – in the case of Nicodemus – suffering persecution due to the faith.
The 3rd August is their feast day because on this day, in the year 415, the ancient Christians discovered their relics. Saint Gamaliel had appeared to a priest by the name of Lucian and had told him where both his and Saint Stephen the martyr‘s relics were to be found (along with those of Abibon and Nicodemus).
As this tradition has it, testified to also by Saint Augustine of Hippo, who was a contemporary of the priest Lucian, Gamaliel and Nicodemus had buried Saint Stephen, the deacon stoned to death, about whom we read in Acts chapters 6-7.
Here is the entry for the 3rd August in the Roman Martyrology referring to Saint Gamaliel, Saint Nicodemus, Saint Abibon, and Saint Stephen:
“At Jerusalem, the finding of the body of most blessed Stephen, first martyr, and of the Saints Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and Abibo, through a divine revelation made to the priest Lucian, in the time of the emperor Honorius.“
Roman Martyrology, 3rd August
I will attach the traditional account of the finding of Saint Stephen‘s relics as it is told by Jacobus de Voragine in the Golden Legend as Post scriptum no. 1 to this article, so look below if you are interested in more details.
For now it is enough to let you know that in the apparition of Saint Gamaliel to the priest Lucian, Gamaliel tells him that neither his wife nor his oldest son Selemias embraced the faith in Jesus Christ. Selemias is probably just the Latin transliteration of the Hebrew name Shimeon – Shimeon ben Gamaliel being the heir to the rabbinical seat as we saw in the genealogy given above.
Saint Joseph of Tiberias‘ conversion, and his appointment as Count by Emperor Constantine
But back to Saint Joseph of Tiberias and his conversion story…
“Josephus was still sick. And though, as I said, the presbyter, along with the others, had told him, ‘Jesus Christ will judge you,‘ he was still hardened. But the Lord in his lovingkindness again said to him in a dream, ‘Lo, I heal you; but rise and believe!‘ But though he recovered again, he did not believe. When he was well the Lord appeared to him in a dream once more and scolded him for not believing. And he promised him, ‘If, for an assurance of your faith, you choose to work any miracle in my name, call upon me and I will do it.‘
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 10,1 – 11,3
There was a madman in the city who used to roam the town, I mean Tiberias, naked. If he was dressed he would often tear his clothing apart, as such people will. Now Josephus was overcome with awe and wished to put the vision to the test, although he was still doubtful. So he brought the man inside, shut the door, took water, made the sign of the cross over it, and sprinkled it on the madman with the words, ‘In the name of Jesus of Nazareth the crucified begone from him, demon, and let him be made whole!‘
Falling down with a loud cry, the man lay motionless for a long time foaming profusely and retching, and Josephus supposed that he had died. But after a while he rubbed his forehead and got up and, once on his feet and seeing his own nakedness, he hid himself and covered his privy parts with his hands, for he could no longer bear to see his own nakedness. Dressed by Josephus himself in one of his own himatia (i.e. an over-garment, seamless robe), in proof of his comprehension and sanity, he came and thanked him and God profusely, for he realized that he had been cured through Josephus. He spread word of him in town, and this miracle became known to the Jews there. Much talk ensued in the city from people saying that Josephus had opened the treasuries, found the Name of God in writing and read it, and was working geat miracles. And what they were saying was true, though not in the way they thought.
Josephus, however, still remained hardened in heart. But the merciful God who is continually arranging good opportunities for those who love him, grants them to those whom he deems worthy of life. As things turned out for Josephus himself, after Judas the patriarch, of whom we have spoken, grew up — I guess he was called that – to repay Josephus he granted him the revenue of the apostolate. He was sent to Cilicia with a commission, and on arriving there collected the tithes and firstfruits from the Jews of the province, from every city in Cilicia. At this time he lodged next to the church, I don’t know in which city. But he made friends with the bishop there, went to him unobserved, borrowed the Gospels and read them.“
So once again Joseph witnesses the power of the holy name of Jesus and of the sign of the cross against the demonic. And he hears the Lord‘s voice calling him to believe several times… but remains “hardened in heart“.
Yet, the amazing thing is how many times the Lord Jesus Christ communicates Himself to him – again, and again, and again. It emphasizes the unyielding love of God, of the Shepherd coming after his scattered sheep to gather them in, or as Saint Epiphanius wonderfully put it:
“But the merciful God who is continually arranging good opportunities for those who love him, grants them to those whom he deems worthy of life.“
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis
Remember that Saint Paul the Apostle was from Tarsus in Cilicia. So it is that very region to which Joseph is sent by the in the meantime grown-up patriarch of Tiberias to put things in order in the Jewish community there as the head of the synagogue of Tarsus. And “accidently“, or rather by God’s providence, his house happens to be next to a Christian church, and he becomes friends with the bishop of the city who hands him the Gospels.
There is a tradition according to which the first bishop of Tarsus, by the way, was Jason of Thessalonica – appointed by Saint Paul the Apostle. Jason was a Jewish convert who is also mentioned in the book of Acts – as well as named by Saint Paul at the end of his Epistle to the Church at Rome:
“After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went to the Jewish people; and for three Shabbatot, he debated the Scriptures with them. He opened them and gave evidence that Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, saying, ‘This Yeshua, whom we declare to you, is the Messiah.‘ Some of them were convinced and became attached to Paul and Silas, as were a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and no small number of the leading women.
Acts 17: 1-7
But some of the Jewish people became jealous. Taking some wicked fellows of the marketplace and gathering a crowd, they stirred the city into an uproar. They attacked Jason‘s house, trying to bring Paul and Silas out to the mob.
When they did not find them, they instead began dragging Jason and some of the brethren before the city officials, shouting, ‘These men who have upset the world have come here too, and Jason has welcomed them! They are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Yeshua.‘“
“Now the God of shalom will soon crush satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Yeshua be with you. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; as do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kin.“
Romans 16: 20-21
Maybe Saint Paul the Apostle, the native of Tarsus and student of Saint Gamaliel, and Saint Jason of Thessalonica, the first bishop of Tarsus, prayed for Joseph‘s conversion from heaven? And probably Saint Gamaliel himself as well. Alongside his 4th great-grandson patriarch Hillel next to him in the company of all the saints in heaven after having received complete remission of all his sins through holy baptism on his deathbed.
It cannot be just a mere coincidence – because what ever is? – that Joseph of Tiberias did indeed fully convert to the faith in that very place of Tarsus with the help of the local bishop:
“Since he (i.e. Josephus) was very severe as an apostle should be – as I said, this is their name for the rank – and indeed was a reformer, he was always intent on what would make for the establishment of good order and purged and demoted many of the appointed synagogue-heads, priests, elders and ‘azanites‘ (meaning their kind of deacons or assistants), many were angry with him. As though in an attempt to pay him back these people took no little trouble to pry into his affairs and find out what he was doing. For this reason a crowd of meddlers burst in upon him at home in his residence, and caught him pouring over the Gospels. They seized the book and grabbed the man, dragged him to the floor with shouts, bore him off to the synagogue with no light mistreatment, and beat him as the Law prescribes. This made his first trial; however, the bishop of the town arrived and got him out. Another time they caught him on a journey, he told me, and threw him into the river Cydnus. When they saw him taken by the current they thought he had gone under and drowned, and were glad of it.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 11,4 – 11,10
But a little later he was vouchsafed holy baptism – for he was rescued (from the river). He went to court, made friends with the Emperor Constantine, and told him his whole story – how he was of the highest Jewish rank, and how the divine visions kept appearing to him, since the Lord was summoning him to his holy calling, and the salvation of his faith and knowledge. And the good emperor – a true servant of Christ, and, after David, Hezekiah and Josiah, the king with the most godly zeal – rewarded him with a rank in his realm, as I have said already. He made him a count and told him to ask what he wanted in his turn.
Josephus asked nothing of the emperor but this very great favor – permission by imperial rescript to build Christ’s churches in the Jewish towns and villages where no one had ever been able to found churches, since there are no Greeks, Samaritans or Christians among the population. This rule of having no gentiles among them is observed especially at Tiberias, Diocaesarea, Sepphoris, Nazareth and Capernaum.“
Building churches in the Galilee
Saint Epiphanius ends his account on Saint Joseph‘s life by telling us about his efforts to establish churches in various places in the Galilee region:
“And so he began to build in Tiberias. There was a very large temple in the town already, I think they may have called it the Adrianeum. The citizens may have been trying to restore this Adrianeum, which was standing unfinished, for a public bath. When Josephus found this he took the opportunity from it; and as he found that there were already four walls raised to some height, made of stones four feet long, he began the erection of the church from that point.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 12,2 – 12,4
But lime was needed, and the other building material. He therefore had a number of ovens, perhaps seven altogether, set up outside the city. (In the language of the country they call these ‘furnaces‘.)“
Yet he is facing opposition from some of the inhabitants of Tiberias. They try to hinder the building of the church by means of “sorcery“ and “magic“ – according to Saint Epiphanius:
“Well, the fire was smouldering and not doing anything but had practically ceased to be fire. When those whose task it was to feed the fire with fuel – I mean brushwood or scrub – told Josephus what had been done he rushed from the city, stung to the quick and moved with zeal for the Lord. He ordered water fetched in a vessel, (I mean a flask, but the local inhabitants call this a ‘cacubium,‘) and took this vessel of water in the sight of all – a crowd of Jews had gathered to watch, eager to see how it would turn out and what Josephus would try to do. Tracing the sign of the cross on the vessel with his own finger, and invoking the name of Jesus, he cried out, ‘In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom my fathers and those of all here present crucified, may there be power in this water to set at naught all sorcery and enchantment these men have wrought, and to work a miracle on the fire that the Lord’s house may be finished.‘ With that he wet his hand and sprinkled the water on each furnace. And the spells were broken, and in the presence of all, the fire blazed up. And the crowds of spectators cried, ‘There is one God, who comes to the aid of the Christians,‘ and went away.
Saint Epiphanius of Salamis: Panarion, Book 1 ch. 30 par. 12,5 – 12,10
Though they harmed the man on many occasions, he eventually restored part of the temple at Tiberias and finished a small church. He left then and came to Scythopolis and made his home. However, he completed buildings in Diocaesarea and certain other towns. So much for my account and description of these events, which I recalled here because of the translation of the books, the rendering from Greek to Hebrew of the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles.“
Crazy story, right? Saint Joseph of Tiberias, patron saint of converts, pray for us!
Post scriptum no. 1: The account of the finding of Saint Stephen‘s relics in Jacobus de Voragine‘s Golden Legend
Saint Stephen, deacon in Jerusalem, was the first martyr of the Church. Let us first look at a few excerpts of the account of his martyrdom in the book of Acts:
“Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen – both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and Asia – stood up and began arguing with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Ruach by whom he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men into saying, ‘We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God!‘ They also incited the people, the elders, and the Torah scholars; and they rushed at Stephen, seized him, and led him away to the Sanhedrin. (…) Watching him intently, everyone who was sitting in the Sanhedrin saw that his face was like the face of an angel.“
Acts 6: 8-15
Saint Stephen then preaches to the Sanhedrin. After a while “they became enraged and began gnashing their teeth at him“ (Acts 7: 54). Stephen receives a vision of “Yeshua standing at the right hand of God“ (Acts 7: 55-56) that comforts and strengthens him for what comes next:
“Driving him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as we has calling out, ‘Lord Yeshua, receive my spirit!‘ Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!‘ After he said this, he died.“
Acts 7: 58-60
And now Jacobus de Voragine:
“We are told that the body of Stephen the Protomartyr was found (…) in the reign of the emperor Honorius. (…)
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 426-430
The finding came about as follows. In the territory of Jerusalem there was a priest named Lucian, whom Gennadius numbered among illustrious men and who wrote the present account. One Friday evening he went to bed and was half-asleep when there appeared to him an aged man, tall, comely on feature, richly bearded, wearing a white mantle adorned with crosses and small gems, shod in gilded boots. He held in his hand a gold rod with which he touched Lucian and said: ‘Open our tomb with great care, because we were laid away in a very unsuitable place. Go therefore and tell Bishop John of Jerusalem that we are to be reburied in an honorable setting, because, now that the world is stricken with drought and tribulation, God has decreed that he will have mercy if our help is prayed for.‘ The priest Lucian asked: ‘Sir, who are you?‘ ‘I am Gamaliel,‘ came the answer. ‘I nurtured Paul and taught him the Law. And the one who lies buried beside me is Stephen, who was stoned by the Jews and cast outside the city to be eaten by birds and wild beasts; but this was prevented by him for whom the martyr kept his faith intact. I therefore took up his body with all reverence, and buried it in my own new tomb. Also buried with me is my nephew Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night and who received sacred baptism from Peter and John. The chief priests were angry about that and would have killed him, but were deterred by their respect for our relationship. They did, however, take away all his possessions, deposed him from his high office, beat him long and hard, and left him half dead. I carried him into my house, he lived for some days, and when he died, I had him buried at Saint Stephen‘s feet. The third body in my tomb is that of my son Abibas, who at the age of twenty was baptized with me, remained a virgin, and studied the law with my disciple Paul. My wife Aethea and my son Selemias, who refused to accept the faith of Christ, were not worthy to be buried with us. You will find them buried elsewhere, and their places in my tomb will be found empty and bare.‘ Having said as much, Gamaliel disappeared.
Lucian woke and prayed the Lord that if this had been a true vision, it might occur a second and third time. On the following Friday Gamaliel appeared to him as before and asked him why he had neglected to do as he had directed. ‘It was not that I was negligent, Sir,‘ he answered. ‘I had asked the Lord to let the vision be repeated a second and third time if it was truly from God.‘ Gamaliel said: ‘You have thought about how, if you found us, you would be able to distinguish the relics of each of us. I now give you clues by which you will recognize the coffin and relics of each one!‘ He showed Lucian three gold baskets and a fourth of silver. One of the first three was filled with red roses, the other two with white roses; the fourth was filled with saffron. ‘These baskets are our coffins,‘ Gamaliel said, ‘and the roses are our relics. The one with the red roses is Saint Stephen‘s, since he was the only one of us who merited the crown of martyrdom. The baskets filled with white roses are my coffin and Nicodemus‘s, because we persevered with sincere hearts in confessing Christ. The silver basket filled with saffron belongs to my son Abibas, who shone by his virginity and departed this life pure.‘ With these words Gamaliel again disappeared.
On Friday of the following week he appeared again, angry, and sternly rebuked Lucian for his hesitancy and negligence. Lucian therefore set out immediately for Jerusalem and told Bishop John all that had happened. They called some other bishops and all went together to the place that had been made known to Lucian. As soon as they began to dig, the earth shook and a sweet odor spread, and its fragrance, by the merits of the saints, freed seventy sick people of their infirmities. The relics of the saints were transferred with great rejoicing to the church of Sion in Jerusalem, where Saint Stephen had functioned as archdeacon, and were given honorable burial there. At that very hour a great rainstorm relieved the drought. (…)
About this martyr Augustine says: ‘Gamaliel, clothed in a richly adorned garment, revealed the location of the martyr‘s body; Saul, stripped, stoned him; Christ, wrapped in swaddling clothes, enriched him and crowned him with precious stones.‘ Augustine again: ‘In Stephen shone beauty of body, the flower of age, the eloquence of the preacher, the wisdom of a most holy mind, and the operation of divinity.‘ Again: ‘This strong column of God, when he was held between the hands of stoners as by a giant vise, was enkindled by his white-hot faith, was struck down yet stood up, was strangled, throttled, beaten, yet could not be conquered.‘ (…) And still Augustine: ‘Consider Stephen, your fellow servant! He was a man, as you are, came from the mass of sin, as you did, was redeemed at the same price as you were; when he was a deacon, he read the Gospel that you read or hear, and there he found written, ‘Love your enemies.‘ He learned this by reading, he accomplished it by obeying.‘“
I must say I find it quite charming and amusing that Saint Gamaliel, that great rabbi of Jerusalem, always appeared on the Sabbath evening…
By the way, Bishop John of Jerusalem (356-417) mentioned in the story is also venerated as a saint, and sometimes referred to as Saint John II. And the very first gathering place – the first church – of the first believers in Jerusalem, where Saint Stephen served as deacon, was on Mount Zion where also the Upper Room is located in which Jesus instituted the Most Holy Eucharist during the Pesach meal with the Apostles.
Saint Stephen, Saint Gamaliel, Saint Abibon, Saint Nicodemus, Saint John of Jerusalem, pray for us!
Post scriptum no. 2: The teaching of the Church on the relationship between the Jewish and the Christian people according to Lumen Gentium and Nostra Aetate
“Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are related in various ways to the people of God. In the first place we must recall the people to whom the testament and the promises were given and from whom Christ was born according to the flesh. On account of their fathers this people remains most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts He makes nor of the calls He issues.“
Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964), par. 16
“As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.
Nostra Aetate, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (1965), par. 4
Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ – Abraham’s sons according to faith – are included in the same Patriarch’s call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people’s exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles. Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.
The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: ‘theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh‘ (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church’s main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ’s Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.
As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation, nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading. Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues – such is the witness of the Apostle. In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and ‘serve him shoulder to shoulder‘ (Soph. 3:9).
Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues. (…)
Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.
Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church’s preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God’s all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.“