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At the end of October 1997
a terrible event occurred
one that shook the entire Orthodox world.
In Greece, a young Romanian
brutally murdered Joseph Muñoz-Cortes
guardian of the renowned Miracle-Working, Myrrh-Streaming
Iveron Icon of the Mother of God: The Keeper of the Portal.
An obituary compiled by the members
of the "Icon's House" Society in Montreal stated:
We live in a time of the flowering of spirituality
but only of satanic spirituality
a time when all that is of Christ, of Jesus, of God
evokes a tormenting irritation in carnal man
and a rabid malice in the deluded.
One of those deluded men
brutally murdered Joseph, Jose Muñoz-Cortes
the guardian of the Miracle-Working, Myrrh-Streaming
Icon of the Mother of God: the Keeper of the Portal.
In the fall of 1982
through ways unfathomable to the mind
an Orthodox Spaniard
an instructor of art history at the University of Montreal
was called by the Lord to a special service
which he was allowed to bring to its conclusion
with a martyric death.
In the face of his death, questions far from those
contained in the police inquiry involuntarily arise.
What did he feel
when he first visited the Nativity Skete on Holy Mount Athos
where, as if accidentally
he noticed the Iveron Mother of God Icon?
How did he understand the words
of the Abbot of the Skete, Fr. Clement
when he unexpectedly yielded to the requests
of the visiting young iconographer, saying
"The Most-Holy *** will leave with you."
In what way was the gradual realization of the miracle
expressed for him from that very day, November 24, 1982
when, around three o'clock in the morning
Jose woke up in his Montreal apartment
and noticed a blessed scent of unknown origin
wafting over to him?
The Lord lead him with His mighty hand
and His lofty design
and under these circumstances everything in the life
of the future guardian of the Miracle-Working Icon
developed without artifice
and, if it is possible to say so, naturally.
An offspring of an ancient race
Jose was born in 1948 to a pious Catholic family in Chile.
In 1962, the 14-year-old boy, while living in Santiago
was struck by the Orthodox divine services
in the local Holy Trinity and Kazan Mother of God Church.
He found himself in the church accidentally, as it were
while on the way to the Catholic cathedral.
Two years later Archbishop Leonty of Chile
baptized him into Orthodoxy.
He studied theology in college for three years.
Later, he wanted to accept monasticism
but in Canada where he had moved
there was not a men's Orthodox community.
Therefore, he continuously turned with prayers
to the Most-Pure Theotokos
that She show him his path, praying: "There I will go."
He was granted the possibility to stand before a miracle
that the world cannot comprehend.
And the Holy Myrrh-Streaming Icon
the Hope of those without Hope
has healed not only the bodies but also the souls
of those who turn to it
taming cruel hearts
bestowing the gift of tears
helping to find hope.
Whoever saw the faces of the people
Orthodox and heterodox alike
in the many parish churches and monasteries
to which Brother Jose brought entrusted to him
the Grace-filled Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Keeper of the Portal
who opened the gates of heaven to the faithful
that person could not but comprehend, to the extent possible
how awesome and difficult to bear
was the obedience given to this man
and how intolerable it must have been for the ancient serpent
the enemy of the Church of Christ.
In the sixth kontakion of the wonderful akathist
to the Montreal Myrrh-Streaming Icon
it is correctly noted:
"You chose as the proclaimer of Your miracles
and the keeper of Your Icon in the Russian Diaspora
not a bishop, not a prince, nor a monastic instructor
but an ordinary man from a foreign people
that no one might boast before God of his earthly origin.
Rather that we may praise the praiseworthy
to know the Lord
and in an Orthodox manner to call to Him:
Alleluia!"
The more blinding the uncreated light of Christ's miracles
the darker it is in the kingdom of this age.
The *** of Jose Muñoz-Cortes
guardian of the Miracle-Working Icon of the Mother of God
is, we trust
still one more sign of the depletion of the old times
that have lived out their usefulness
and a sign of the impending approach
of the victory that overcometh the world.
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20)
The guardian of the Myrrh-Streaming
Icon of the Keeper of the Portal
was buried 13 days after his brutal *** in Athens.
They wanted to serve the funeral with a closed coffin
and Br. Jose's body in a sealed plastic bag.
But God willed differently.
The coffin was opened
and the body bag was torn asunder.
Everyone could see the abundant evidence of the torture
that he endured alone on that fateful night in Athens
when he brought to a close his earthly service
to the Mother of God.
The coffin was opened
and there was neither a trace of stench nor evidence of corruption.
Is this not a miracle?
Is this not a continuation of those visible signs of God's grace
that appeared to the world through the passion-bearer Jose?
Despite the senselessness of the *** of Br. Jose
the meaning behind this cruel satanic act
will be revealed in time.
Jose had said, as if sensing his approaching death:
"Believers must be ready to die for the truth
and not forget that in acquiring enemies here
we acquire the Heavenly Kingdom.
One who is faithful in little things
will be faithful as well in great things
when that is required of him.
Given the opportunity to become confessors
we should not lose that opportunity.
In losing our earthly life, we acquire the heavenly one.
We should not fear death for the sake of Christ."
Wednesday, November 12, 1997
at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY
the funeral and burial of Br. Jose was served.
The funeral was served by the head of the community
His Eminence, Archbishop Laurus of Syracuse and Holy Trinity.
Hundreds of people from the United States, Canada
and other countries of the world converged at the monastery
to say good-bye to the martyr
and conduct him on this final journey.
[Metropolitan Laurus:] The earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof.
Br. Jose's martyric death has universal significance.
For the Icon which was given into his keeping
was, through God's mercy, sent to everyone
who venerates the Theotokos.
He took the marvelous Icon throughout the world
sharing his joy in the protection of the Mother of God with all
everywhere leaving pieces of cotton soaked in the Divine Myrrh.
Now, in return for his faithful service
the Lord has bestowed the chosen one of His Most Pure Mother
with a martyr's crown.
[Deacon:] To the newly departed Joseph
grant him Memory Eternal!
Signs from God after the martyric death of Br. Jose.
The sign of the candles.
Having missed the 40-day panikhida
which was served at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY
Reader Daniel Olsen arrived from Washington, D.C.
and asked that another panikhida be served.
The story is related by a witness, Matushka Maria Potapova.
[Matushka Maria:] On Sunday, December 7
Shala and I went to pray at the grave of Br. Jose.
Having arrived, we stuck plain beeswax candles
in the ground at the grave
which we unsuccessfully tried to light.
This was prevented by a strong wind
a normal occurrence at the monastery cemetery
which is located on a hill.
On the next day, Monday the 8th
before the general panikhida was served
the same thing repeated itself.
It was impossible to light the candles.
On Tuesday, December 9
Hieromonk Averky, Reader Daniel, Shala and I
again returned to the grave of Br. Jose.
It was cold, snowy and windy.
Reader Daniel also tried to light the same candles
but, as on the previous days, the candles wouldn't light.
Daniel couldn't even light the charcoal for the censor
so Fr. Averky suggested that he sit in the car
where the wind wouldn't be a problem.
At that moment, to our general amazement
all the candles burst into flame in an instant before our eyes.
We were so astonished that we couldn't utter a word.
All the candles burned at the least 15 minutes.
After that, the three small candles went out
and the two large ones continued to burn
during the course of the entire panikhida.
After the panikhida we went to trapeza
and before we left we returned to the grave of Br. Jose.
The candles continued to burn.
A feeling of quiet, Grace and gratitude to God came over us.
Subsequently we learned from Archimandrite Luke
a spiritual father of the monastery
that in the evening the candles were still burning
and that the flames shone even below the height of the snow.
On the next day, Fr. Luke went again to the cemetery
and informed us that the candles had burned to the end.
[Singing:] O All-Praised Mother, O All-Praised Mother/
Before Your Miracle-Working Icon I am composing this song/
Praising You with words of praise/
Rejoice, O Queen All-Gracious/
Don't turn away from my sins/
O All-Praised Mother, O All-Praised Mother/
To whom, can I, the unworthy, turn to?/
Whom can I ask for help in my hour of sorrow?/
I call on Your Most-Holy name/
Mother of the Light, don't abandon us!/
O All-Praised Mother, O All-Praised Mother/
O, devils are rejoicing over my misery/
Wild waves crash around me/
Don't abandon me, O Hope of Sinners/
I call on You, hear me/
O All-Praised Mother... [Song ends]
[Matushka Maria:] Sunday, May 3, 1998.
At the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, D.C.
Fr. Victor serves a moleben for travelers for me, Maria Potapova
before a pilgrimage to Greece and Bulgaria
where our parishioners Michael and Maria Rae are awaiting me.
The moleben is served
in front of the Washington D.C. copy of the Iveron Icon
which streamed myrrh for two days in December of 1997.
It sits in the kivot from Br. Jose's house chapel.
The Myrrh-Streaming Icon was kept in this kivot in its last years.
Athens, May 5, 1998.
The church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva
where we went to pray and to venerate her holy relics
and to ask help before the start of our pilgrimage
to the holy places which Br. Jose visited
before his martyric end.
After praying to the Great Martyr Paraskeva
we set out for the Grand Hotel.
This is the hotel where Br. Jose was tortured.
Here we have arrived.
A typical, heavily trafficked, busy city block.
In this hotel, on the 8th floor
room number 806, Br. Jose was killed.
It is a big, corner building.
There is enormous traffic, stores, offices, a crowd.
We, of course, worried very much.
We didn't have any particular plans.
We simply wanted to go up, take a look and pray.
Walking here is Michael, the husband of Shala, Maria Rae.
Unexpectedly for himself and for us
Michael suddenly walks into the hotel
into the vestibule and we follow him.
The hotel looks respectable; it is not one of the cheapest.
Michael began to ask simple questions
How much do rooms cost? Do they give breakfast? and so on.
No one paid any particular attention to us.
We go up, as if to look at their dining room on the 2nd floor.
In reality, we intend to go up to the 8th floor.
Of course, we are very nervous.
Here is their lounge.
The corridor of the 8th floor.
Michael found the room.
It is the very corner room.
Number 806.
It was very tense.
On the spur of the moment we decided to pray
to sing a panikhida before the locked door.
We didn't know if such a possibility would present itself to us again
to be at this place where this horrible evil deed was committed.
Here is an excerpt of the complete panikhida we sang.
While we sang the panikhida
we naturally were worked up and very emotional.
It was scary to stand before that room
where that evil deed was done to Br. Jose.
Where he was completely alone that night.
We now are anointing the door with myrrh
from the Iveron Mother of God Icon
from the last piece of cotton
that Br. Jose left before he departed for Greece.
Surely that fateful night
people walked along the street near the hotel
just the same way not suspecting a thing.
Indeed, who could suspect that in that building
an event of universal significance was occurring?
Not involving simply anyone
but involving the chosen one of the Mother of God.
It is horrifying.
Now we are standing in front of the Hotel Alpha
where Br. Jose lived.
It is literally around the corner from the hotel
where he was tortured
to where the murdered enticed him
with his request for help.
The seventh of May.
We are in the port Piraeus.
We are sailing to the island Aegina
where we plan to spend four days to praying
and intend to venerate the holy relics
of the Wonderworker Nektarios.
Br. Jose went to Aegina
immediately after his arrival in Greece
on October 13, 1997
and he planned to return there for a couple of days
immediately before his return to Canada.
We have arrived at the island of Aegina
at the port Souvala.
This is the women's monastery
founded by the Wonderworker Nektarios of Pentapolis.
Here is the burial chamber with the tomb
where part of his relics is kept.
The singing that is heard is the sacred hymn
composed by the Wonderworker Nektarios
in honor of the Most-Holy Theotokos, "Agni Parfene."
The Wonderworker Nektarios composed sacred music.
The burial chamber is open every day from morning until night
and all day pilgrims come to pray and venerate his relics.
This place is filled with Grace.
Silence.
This is the spring of the Wonderworker Nektarios.
Two days before his martyric death
Br. Jose blesses himself with water from the holy spring.
Maria Rae blesses a large candle on the tomb
and places it for all those who asked to pray for them.
We spent four days here
coming here for several hours every day.
This is the main entrance to the monastery.
Here is Br. Jose at the monastery gate
a couple of days before his end.
This is the recently erected Cathedral
of the Wonderworker Nektarios.
St. Nektarios loved this island very much
and said that this is the Holy Mountain
for female monasticism
just as Mt. Athos is for male monasticism.
We visited 5 of the 7 communities
and became convinced that he was right.
Truly, here we felt we were filled with love and Grace.
Everywhere on the island people were keenly interested
in the fate of Br. Jose and the Icon.
We return to Athens on May 11.
This is Hotel Alpha again, where Br. Jose lived.
We stayed there two days.
Here is room number 610 in the Hotel Alpha
in which Br. Jose lived.
This is the same room
in which he always stayed every time
that he came to Athens on a pilgrimage in the last years.
We rented this room
and set up a temporary prayer chapel in it
and in the neighboring room in which we lived.
Br. Jose spent the last night of his earthly life here
the night before his martyric end.
Notice the humble surroundings.
In this room he spent many hours in prayer.
It is well known that Br. Jose was in poor health
so it is possible to suppose
that he fulfilled his evening prayer rule
sitting in this chair.
It is worth noting
that Br. Jose had a daily nine-hour prayer rule.
In the evening we lit candles
that were blessed in his coffin during his funeral service.
Here we sang a panikhida for Br. Jose
and an akathist to the Mother of God
the penitential cannon to the Mother of God
an akathist to St. Joseph the betrothed
and read many commemoration lists.
The Grand Hotel, May 13, 1998.
The birthday of Br. Jose.
The manager of the hotel offered us the opportunity
to pray for several hours
in the room in which Br. Jose was martyred.
Here is the elevator on which Br. Jose went up.
The corridor along which he walked to his martyric death.
The bed upon which he was wickedly tortured
the night of the 30/31 of October, 1997.
Br. Jose was the faithful guardian of the Miracle-Working
Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.
The manager of the hotel pointed out this bed to us.
We sprinkled the room with Holy Water.
We made the sign of the cross on every wall with myrrh
from the Icon of the Mother of God.
We sang a panikhida, the akathist and penitential cannon
and, as on the previous day
commemorated the names on many prayer lists.
Br. Jose was the faithful guardian of the Miracle-Working Icon.
He not only guarded it, but preserved it.
He laid down his life for it.
It is impossible not to notice the circumstances.
The balcony of the room in which Br. Jose was killed
adjoins the roof of the neighboring building.
Something about this is not right.
[Voice Over:] From the reflections of Monk Vsevolod:
"Transfigured Passion
or a conversation with the murdered Br. Jose."
Greetings, brother Joseph.
Your soul, of course, sees me as I stand and look upon your body
resting in its coffin at the center of our Holy Trinity Cathedral.
They brought you here today at noon
and now it is already evening.
All of this time, the brethren have been reading
the Psalter over you.
Tomorrow will be the funeral service
and your body will return to the earth
only to arise at the glorious second coming of Christ.
I did not know you in life.
Yet tell me, why do I have this feeling
that we have known each other for a long time?
Why does my soul experience this gentle, bright, joyous sorrow?
Is it that such feelings visit mortal men
whenever they encounter saints?
For although I never knew you
I nonetheless have no doubt as to your sanctity.
This confidence comes neither from my intellect
nor from my senses
but from some more subtle and higher faculty:
my soul believes it
and after all, the soul is wiser than the external man.
I will not try to keep from you, dear Br. Joseph
that, for a moment, my sinful soul, too
was covered with the shadow of that horrible abuse
which the world rushed to pour out upon you.
Pray that the Lord might forgive me this weakness.
Yet, even this mere shadow was appalling to my soul.
Oh, I recognized the one who was hiding behind this abuse.
His handwriting has become well known
to Christians over the past two thousand years.
For it is he, the father of lies
who in like manner slandered the earliest Christians
it was he who taught the persecutors to first *** the saints
and then slanderously announce that they, the Christians
were horrid people who secretly visited cemeteries by night
in order to drink blood
whereas they met to pray together
and commune of the Holy Gifts of Christ.
Depart from us, Satan.
we do not believe your lies about your *** of our brother.
Greetings, dear Joseph.
You have left us, but for many that departure will become
the beginning of their acquaintance with you.
I believe that your soul's biography
is already set down upon the tablets in heaven.
There are few such chosen ones.
The Mother of God herself chose you to serve Her miraculous Image
the Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon
which miraculously appeared to you on November 24, 1982.
And lo, for 15 years (an entire 15 years!)
you faithfully served the Most-Pure ***.
Through all these years, the miraculous Icon
which you carefully guarded and accompanied everywhere
healed hundreds and hundreds of human souls.
While you always lived as it were on the border between two worlds
the visible and invisible one
and constantly observed God's miracles
revealed through the Iveron Icon
you nonetheless expressed the idea
that one cannot become accustomed to a miracle.
Now there is a new miracle
this time revealed by God directly through you.
We know that you were beaten, tortured, mocked and taunted.
How your soul must have sorrowed as it endured such tortures
not only physical tortures, but the spiritual torment
evoked by the sight of human evil.
For your murderer lured you into going
like an innocent lamb to the slaughter
and when they laughed at your trusting nature
surely your soul was greatly offended.
With what did your killer lure you?
Was it with a promise of money or some service needed from him?
No. He lured you by asking for your help.
Of course, the demon, prompted him
knowing that your kind heart
would be incapable of turning away one who asked for assistance...
Now it is finished.
You endured to the end.
You have been sacrificed, or rather, you've been called
by the Son of God to His Most-glorious bridal chamber.
You, who dedicated the whole of your life
to the service of His Mother, have now departed from us
to be with your Heavenly Companions on high.
Well, everyone must die at some time.
What can be better than the laudable martyrdom
of which the Lord made you worthy?
Greetings, our dear brother Joseph.
Now we will frequently commemorate your name before God.
Should you have the daring to do so before the Lord
then, our beloved friend, pray for us who are left here.
By your prayers, may the Lord work a miracle.
May He soften our evil hearts
may He teach us to love, to endure, and to forgive.
Of course, this will take a miracle
but after all, you yourself, brother Joseph, said that
"One cannot become accustomed to a miracle."
A miracle is miraculous precisely because it crosses the line
between the possible and the impossible.
It is always a gift, a gift given by God to man.
Tell me, dear brother Joseph
why does the news of your demise
so pierce through the soul to its very depths?
Why are both heart and mind amazed
by what has happened to you?
Why do I not want to leave the church, but to remain there
standing longer and longer beside you?
It must be because through you
as through any Christian martyr
the souls of the faithful, as it were
encounter their Lord Jesus Christ
the first of martyrs.
In the person of God's holy ones, we honor Christ.
Bowing before martyrs
we bow down before the Divine Sufferer.
Does not the soul experience His mystical presence
so clearly and joyously during these moments?
I believe that you, dear Joseph
already see our Most-Sweet Saviour
Who promised salvation to all who endure to the very end.
One final thing:
I would like to tell everyone about your face
about what we saw therein
during the minutes in which we bade you farewell.
For what we saw was transfigured passion.
On your face was imprinted the amazement of a soul
which recognized
that the time of suffering was just about to end
and that in a moment it would encounter God.
Night has passed, and day has begun
a day to be remembered forever.
Today was the first day of your glory, dear brother Joseph.
Can one doubt that this glory will grow
that Orthodox people throughout the world
will honor the Christian struggle of your life
a struggle crowned with martyrdom?
I believe that even after your death
you will continue your service to the Lord
and more human souls will be renewed
having been impressed with your martyrdom.
Once again, you will bring new servants to Christ
as you did it during your life
in which you had 50 Godchildren.
Dear brother Joseph
your funeral attracted hundreds of people
to our Holy Trinity Monastery
as many as come here on Pascha.
Yet the atmosphere, it seemed, at least to me
was somewhat different from that on Pascha.
It felt as if I were attending services of Holy Saturday
as if I were standing reverently before the Epitaphion
while with awe and tenderness the souls of the faithful
looked upon the Lord's salvific Passion
and remembered His burial.
All that happened today
during your funeral and burial, dear Joseph
was at the same time mystically elevated
and brightly sad.
Of course, there were tears
for how could our eyes keep tears back
when, in the light of day
we more clearly examined your weary face
and your martyred body, decorated with wounds
as if with some kind of Divine pearls.
We saw your hands lined with purple gashes
that traced how your executioner bound you.
Joseph, Joseph, our poor, dear, beloved, Joseph.
Did any of us have so stone-hard a soul
that he could remain indifferent to your sufferings?
Was there any conscience so charred
that it could have doubts about your innocence?
I want to believe that there was not.
Forgive us, and... farewell, dear brother Joseph.
Now we have left the cathedral
we have accompanied your body to the monastery's cemetery.
Now the final prayer
and the coffin is lowered into the grave.
We believe that this grave pit
will become for you a window into Heaven.
We each cast into your grave a bit of earth
and it is finished...
One person who had recently come from Russia
and who "coincidentally" happened to attend Br. Joseph's burial
said to me, "You know, I had the sensation
that I was attending not funeral and burial services
but the rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
I realized, clearly and distinctly
that even if during those minutes
we were to have been led out of the church
to be executed by a firing squad
we would nonetheless have been victorious!"
At Br. Joseph's grave, we recognized with all of our being
that his martyrdom
was one more victory of Christ over the forces of darkness.
How could it be otherwise, for we Christians believe
that the love of Christ conquers all evil.
Is this not so?
I also got the impression that the time has come
when before our eyes
the "Lives of the Saints" are coming to life.
[Matushka continues:] May 14, early in the morning
we depart for the island of Andros.
We are guided to the ferry by Manolis
a close friend of Br. Jose who at one time
made the riza for the Miracle-Working Myrrh-Streaming Icon.
He turned out to be a great help for us on our pilgrimage.
We have arrived at Andros.
We head to the monastery.
A taxi takes us; it is about an hour's drive
a distance of 50 kilometers.
It is very picturesque.
Now we have arrived.
Fr. Parpheni, a young novice, a Greek from Australia
hits the bilo and rings the bells.
The main church of the monastery
in honor of the Wonderworker Nicholas.
Br. Jose visited this church on the eve of his martyric death.
This was the last church in which he prayed in his earthly life.
Archimandrite Dorotheus, Abbot of the monastery.
A priest for 30 years, he serves Liturgy daily.
The weeping icon of the Mother of God in the vestibule.
It is a fresco from the start of the fifteenth century.
It is the same icon that started to cry
at the moment Br. Jose entered the church.
When we arrived, the monks told us
that the night before the icon had cried, but they didn't know why.
It had been the birthday of Br. Jose.
They also said that the dark circles
below the eyes of the Mother of God are very clearly marked.
This is a new manifestation; they have never been like that.
It is possible to see the moisture if you look carefully.
The face is very sorrowful; it is alive, but worn out
as if She has no more strength to cry.
This is the place to where the Mother of God brought Br. Jose
on the eve of his death;
She led him from this holy place to his martyrdom.
These video clips were taken when Br. Jose
visited the monastery on the eve of his death.
It is possible to see the tears in the eyes of the Mother of God.
A fresco of the Wonderworker Nicholas
also from the start of the fifteenth century.
Now we are standing in the vestibule.
This is a ninth century church; it is not very large.
When you walk into the church a feeling of Grace envelopes you.
Behind the grill is a Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God.
It is in the iconostasis to the left of the Royal Doors.
This is a large icon of the Most-Pure Theotokos
known throughout Greece as the Root of Jesse.
It has already streamed myrrh without interruption 17 years.
Therefore, when you enter the church
its entire expanse has the blessed scent of myrrh.
It feels as if you have entered into an incubator of Grace
from which you have no desire to exit.
The grate is for the protection of the Icon.
It is opened for pilgrims so they may venerate it.
Fr. Alejandro Iwaszewicz
who accompanied Br. Jose the last days of his life
said that during the moleben with akathist
before the Myrrh-Streaming and Weeping Icons of the Mother of God
Jose repeated his daily prayerful petition for Orthodox Youth:
"May you all be holy husbands and holy wives."
Fr. Parpheni shows us the sacred places of the monastery.
In this chapel with a stone floor
a strong blessed scent also surrounds you when you enter.
It turns out that in this floor there are two openings
and under the floor are buried
the fathers and ascetics of this monastery.
They willed to be buried in this fashion
so that people would walk on them.
This is a sign of humility.
When Br. Jose was here, he continually repeated:
"This is heaven on earth. Heaven on earth."
Here Br. Jose venerates the icon.
We went down several steps under that same chapel
to the brotherhood's burial chamber.
Behind the grate are the relics of the ascetics.
Such a strong blessed scent emanated from here
through the openings that it fills the entire chapel above.
Fr. Dorotheus offered to go with us
to the chapel of the Nativity of the Mother of God
where he had been and had prayed with Br. Jose.
Again, we show scenes taken at the same place
on the eve of Br. Jose's death.
We have arrived at the chapel
of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God.
This is the very last chapel in which Br. Jose prayed
immediately before his departure from the monastery.
The Martyr Sebastian
was also bound by his hands and feet, and tortured.
Why do I say also?
Because Br. Jose was tortured in the same manner
just several hours after he venerated this icon.
This was the last church icon
that Br. Jose venerated in his earthly life.
We head for Sophia, the capitol of Bulgaria
where Br. Jose had taken the Miracle-Working Icon
in October 1995.
The women's monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God.
The church of the Holy Apostle Luke.
We spent 5 days here.
The monastery gates.
This is the Iveron Mother of God Icon
a copy of the Myrrh-Streaming Icon
that was made by a nun of this monastery
during the nights when Br. Jose had visited them.
It was blessed on the Miracle-Working Icon.
Here is Bishop Photius' main Cathedral of the Dormition
which is currently being built.
Bishop Photius conversing with his parishioners.
A parishioner who volunteers and directs the entire construction
of the cathedral.
We went to look around this still-under-construction, majestic church.
This church is being built to a significant degree
thanks to the Miracle-Working Iveron Icon.
Before the arrival of Br. Jose, no funds remained
and Vladika said that it had been decided to halt construction.
When Br. Jose arrived with the Icon, he desired
that all money donated for the Icon go instead
for the construction of the church.
In the course of 10 days
65,000 people venerated the Miracle-Working Icon
after which there turned out to be so much money
that construction could continue.
Thousands of people stood for up to 6 hours in prayerful silence
awaiting the opportunity to venerate, for at least a moment
the great sacred Icon of the Iveron Mother of God.
We return to the monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God
to meet with Margarita, who lives at the monastery
and runs a small shop at the gate.
Margarita shares with us her memories of Br. Jose.
[Margarita:] So I'll say that I do not know what to say.
God will help me say what needs to be said.
I'll tell what we discussed and how this all began.
How we became acquainted with Br. Jose.
They told me in the monastery
that a guest will be arriving from Canada
and that it will be necessary to meet him
and open the monastery gates.
So we waited.
[Interviewer:] When was this?
[Margarita:] In the evening. In the winter.
[Interviewer:] Was it the first time that Br. Jose visited?
[Margarita:] Yes, it was the first time that I saw him.
At that time I didn't know...
[Interviewer:] So he was without the Icon then?
[Margarita:] Yes. I will tell how it happened.
A man arrived at the shop. He was so very humble, quiet.
And he began to look at the icons
and was completely engrossed in the icons.
When he came to me, I thought he perhaps would be glad
to know that there is the Icon in Canada.
I said, "Here is the kind of icon you have in Canada."
He smiled gently, but didn't say anything.
I thought, probably he doesn't know about this Icon.
I will show him the magazine.
And I said here is a magazine to which we subscribe;
that Icon came from Mt. Athos.
He still didn't say a thing.
I was left in disbelief
and so then I also didn't say anything.
We went to the doors of the monastery and opened them.
He left so humbly, so meekly...
And when, afterwards, they told me
"Did you understand who had come?"
I thought, "No."
But when I found out, I didn't know what to do.
I was so ashamed. So ashamed.
It was a lesson for me in humility.
If I had been in his place, I would have said
"Don't worry. I'm the one who brought it from Athos."
But he did not make a sound and with his silence
he showed me that he is the bearer of the Miracle-Working Icon.
And then, O my, I still see that meek smile, that self-effacing smile.
That humble smile and his appearance was so humble, humble
that you couldn't understand that he was such a person
that the very Queen of Heaven had chosen.
And the second time he visited
to tell you about about his humility
when the Icon of the Queen of Heaven came to us.
That day I was off work and I could go to church
to where they expected Her Icon.
We stood by the great door outside.
Oh my, so many people. They came and came.
Then they said the Icon will come in two or three hours.
So we waited.
Those men, who were so hired, called bodyguards
who were there for the protection of the Icon and Br. Jose
they told us that the Icon will not be coming through the street.
"Go away. It is not coming out here."
It will come in a car to inside the courtyard of the church.
We said, "That's all right. We will wait for the car.
If we don't see the Icon, we will see a car
in which there is the Icon of the Theotokos."
We waited and waited.
It was a one-way road. Time was running out.
I saw a car with dark windows and I just saw the kivot.
My, I was engulfed in such bliss.
That kivot - such a wonderful blue with white flowers!
And I said, that is the Icon!
And I said, Lord, may that glance, for me, never leave my mind.
That Icon was the very Queen of Heaven
who so slowly, slowly came to the very doors of our church.
We all cried and wept
because She, the very Queen of Heaven, came to us.
And when the bodyguards were not there - crowds and all -
we understood that the Icon had arrived here
and had not gone into the courtyard in the car.
And quickly a priest took the Icon inside, and they closed the doors.
And when we opened our eyes, Br. Jose was standing at the door
pale, stuck in the crowd, with no way out.
What could he do? He was left without the Icon.
They took It inside and he remained.
And one women came up who had been in the car
and banged on the door, "Open up! Br. Jose is still here."
And he, so dear, meekly, humbly, he just walked away.
I didn't see what else happened then, but I thanked God
for the glance, because my children didn't see it
and we expected the Icon so much, so much.
And when they said that Br. Jose was killed
we cried so and wept.
That humble, quiet man, thanks to whom we have that Icon.
I caught a quick glance at the Icon.
I cried for joy, but I also looked at him and thought
if not for him we would never have seen such an icon.
It seems to me that I will never see such an icon again. Never.
Then came our comfort.
It was in that magazine about the candles
that matushka Maria sent us.
Here. Here it is. Here.
The candles show that he is alive
and that we have no need to cry, so we rejoice.
Thanks to the Icon, he showed us who he is.
When acquaintances and friends of Br. Jose come to us
it seems to me all that same that he comes to us.
And may God grant us to never forget about Br. Jose, never.
Thank you for your attention.
[Matushka Maria:] Vladika Photius stands here in the front.
He arranged a meeting Sunday, May 24 with his parishioners.
Many people gathered.
Everyone wanted to hear about Br. Jose
and about the last days of his life, about the funeral
and about all the events after the burial
and of our pilgrimage to the holy places
where Br. Jose had been and where he was martyred.
Immediately after the presentation of the video
Vladika lead the singing of memory eternal.
Memory Eternal to Br. Jose.
Nowhere did we find such love and devotion to Br. Jose
and such great veneration of the Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon.
On the analoi is Vladika's Icon
just like the one in the Monastery of the Protection
of the Mother of God, an exact copy.
Every Wednesday since Br. Jose visited them
an akathist to the Iveron Mother of God is served
in front of this icon.
Everyone venerates it.
We gave Vladika holy objects related to Br. Jose.
They are on the table in small plastic bags.
A piece of clothing from Br. Jose when he was in the coffin
which was cut off before the burial service.
Br. Jose's hair. A piece of the Icon's kivot.
A piece of the bed on which Br. Jose was martyred.
Wax from the candles which ignited themselves
at his grave on the 40th day.
Notice how concentrated and reverentially
the faithful venerate these things.
This happened entirely spontaneously.
No one even expected this.
They simply began to walk up and venerate them.
You see, even the clergy bless small crosses
and icons on them.
[Paschal troparion is sung.]
This is a respectful honoring of the memory of a martyr
which comes from the depths of people's souls.
It has always been this way in the history of the church.
[Voice over:] Through the efforts of the charitable fund
in memory of Br. Jose
at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY
on October 31, 1998 -
the first anniversary of Br. Jose's death -
many of those who honor the memory of
the guardian of the Myrrh-Streaming Icon
gathered for the blessing of a grave stone in his memory.
[Singing:] Memory Eternal.
[Fr. Victor:] Dear brothers and sisters
while Br. Jose was still alive
his spiritual father, Schema-Igumen Clement
who in 1982 - you all know this story -
gave him the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
which, on the 24th day of November of that same year
began to myrrh-stream.
He said to Jose that if a worthy place for the Icon
was not found in the world
than its fate will be to return to Mt. Athos.
We of course, do not know if it has returned to Athos or not;
if this prediction of the schema-monk has been fulfilled or not.
If God allows it, some day we may find out.
But the fact that
the guardian of such a great miracle was murdered
and that the Icon has been hidden from us forces us
whether we want to or not
to think about the reasons for the disappearance of the Icon.
There is certainly something unusual about it.
We grieve that the Icon is gone
but we know that the Mother of God will never abandon us.
And as a small source of consolation
which happened entirely Providentially
a copy of this Icon appeared.
I say entirely Providentially
because in this, we played no role.
The new Igumen of the Skete of the Nativity on Athos
who painted the Miracle-Working Icon
was touched by the love
which appeared in many of us to Jose
and through his own desire
decided to make a new copy of this Icon.
And a friend of Jose in Athens
who made the riza for the Icon -
his name is Emmanuel Argiris -
he also decided to beautify the icon
with an exact copy of the riza which he did the first time.
He personally went to Athos
to accept directly from the hands of Fr. Chrysostomos
this icon which you see before you.
He carried it to Iveron monastery
where he was allowed to lay it all night beside the original
Miracle-Working Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.
Then he personally brought the Icon to the United States
and here he is with us.
I want to introduce him to you
and ask you all to pray for the servant of God Emmanuel
who, despite his heart problem and poor health
accomplished this great spiritual struggle
out of love to Br. Jose.
I also want to thank all of you who came for today's panikhida
bringing righteousness, honor and love
to our contemporary martyr
whose presence in the world evil could not tolerate.
Remember that he died on the night of October 30/31
the main satanic festival of the year.
Help us, Lord, that by the prayers of the martyred Jose
the Mother of God continue to preserve us in Her Holy Protection.
Save us, O Lord.
We have already said more than once that
the martyric death of our dear Br. Jose
the chosen one of the Mother of God
has universal significance.
Although, of course, even in the Orthodox world
perhaps not everyone has noticed and appreciated
the true worth of that side of this great tragedy.
I say universal significance because the Mother of God
in the form of the Myrrh-Streaming, Iveron Icon
came to all people and all nations.
And when the murderer or murderers
by the teaching of the devil
accomplished this horrifying act of ***
of the chosen one of the Mother of God
the Icon was hidden from all of us.
We must pray to the Mother of God for forgiveness
because, as it seems to me, it was allowed by the Lord
because we turned out to be unworthy
to guard and have in our midst that great miracle.
I don't say this just for effect.
I say this in all seriousness.
We must thank the Lord as well
that we had the opportunity in our life to know this man
and to see with our sinful eyes this great miracle
which he was the faithful guardian of
for exactly 15 blessed years.
The last time he went to Greece
Br. Jose went primarily in order to pray
at the grave of his spiritual father
who tonsured him into monasticism with the name Ambrosy -
he was a secret monk - Schema-monk Ambrosy.
He wanted to venerate, and surely to bring home some soil
from the grave of his Elder Clement.
We remembered his spiritual father at today's panikhida
and also remembered Archbishop Leonty of Chile
who baptized Br. Jose into Holy Orthodoxy.
These were people
who played an enormous role in his spiritual fate.
And now, our friend Manolis from Athens went to Athos
and took this icon from the hands of Fr. Chrysostomos.
He also brought some of that soil
and more soil was brought by our parishioner
Veljko Sikirica who was on Athos this summer.
We have brought that soil from the grave of the Elder Clement
which surely Br. Jose had wanted to bring.
We brought it and give this soil
so that the soil of his spiritual father will mix
with the soil of the grave of our dear Br. Jose.
The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
May he go to the Heavenly Kingdom.
[Voice over:] Meditations from the monk Vsevolod
"The victory that overcometh the world"
The Christian Church was strengthened by and grew
on the graves of the martyrs
where the earliest Christians gathered to pray
and to glorify the holy sufferers.
Gathered around the grave of the new martyr Joseph
we as well experience an amazing feeling
of living oneness with the first Christians.
Unfortunately, it is not rare that
people go to the same church year after year
but in their hearts remain strangers.
But here, on the grave of a martyr, such a state is unthinkable.
Here we are all one in spirit
here we clearly recognize ourselves as the Church
gathered in one True Faith.
Here we comprehend by the reason of our heart
what Orthodox Christianity is.
But here at Jose's grave
our conscience is also faced with difficult questions:
What does the martyrdom of the caretaker
of the Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon mean to us?
Why did the Icon hide itself from us?
Br. Jose's martyrdom is unquestionably a sign
a sign manifested unto the strengthening of our faith to all of us.
The life and death of any Christian martyr is in miniature
a likeness, image and an emulation of Christ's suffering.
Martyrdom, as the spiritual struggle of Christian love
is that lofty sign which has so often been manifested
in the sight of men.
What more is there to say or teach about this true sign?
It heralds and bears witness to the triumph of Truth
to the victory which overcometh the world
to our Faith, to the ultimate triumph of Orthodox Christianity.
After all, the crucifixion and burial of the Savior
was followed by His Most Glorious Resurrection.
And each martyr, murdered by his executioners
acquires life eternal.
Ultimately, the history of the Christian Church on earth
will, too, end in a martyr's Golgotha
for without Golgotha, there is no Resurrection.
I think that whenever the Lord gives the Church a new martyr
we should remember all of this.
We can truly characterize the 20th Century
as the age of Russian martyrdom
even though, of course, in our time, glorious martyrs
shone forth in other Local Churches as well.
I believe that Br. Jose
the chosen one of the Mother of God
was made worthy of Divine mercy to crown the glorious list
of the New Martyrs of the 20th Century;
the century with which ends the 2nd millennium of Christianity.
Accordingly, those who say that Br. Jose's martyrdom
is an event of universal significance are correct.
From now on, martyr Joseph
belongs not just to Russian Orthodoxy
but to all Orthodoxy throughout the world.
Perhaps it was for this reason that
the Myrrh-Streaming Icon kept by Br. Joseph for 15 years
has now hidden itself from us -
so that we might now direct our spiritual attention
towards its humble guardian
whose martyrdom was presaged by many years of Grace-filled
Myrrh-streaming from the Iveron Icon of the Theotokos.
Now the Mother of God Herself
wishes to glorify Her faithful servant.
From now on this difficult path
a life-long, voluntary, Christian martyrdom
is illuminated for us by the radiance
of Br. Jose's spiritual struggle.
Those who were close acquaintances of the faithful guardian
of the Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon
testify that his life was a spiritual struggle of love
a struggle of self-denial, of self-crucifixion
for the sake of service to the Mother of God
and for the sake of suffering people
seeking spiritual and physical healing by the Miraculous Icon.
Often sick, Joseph would take the Miraculous Icon
even in inclement weather to wherever people
were in need of help from the Queen of Heaven.
Although he had the opportunity to become fabulously wealthy
through the Icon, Joseph lived very simply.
He courageously and patiently endured sorrows and sufferings
that he hid from others, and sought comfort by praying
which, as people say, he did without ceasing.
Br. Jose's life was one of voluntary martyrdom
hidden from the wise men of this age
but obvious to the little ones of the Gospel.
We have not the slightest doubt that Br. Jose's life
crowned with a suffering death
was a true continuation of that unassailable Christian sign
the light of which illumined the path of Christians
from Golgotha for all time.
This is that single sign which one should truly seek.
[Singing:] O All-Praised Mother, O All-Praised Mother/
O Maiden and the Mother of the Light/
I have no strength to see the apostasy/
What else should I ask for in this life?/
Allow me to die Orthodox./
What else should I ask for in this life?/
Only allow me to die Orthodox./
O All-Praised Mother...