Troparion, voice 5*
As the fasters are the fertilizers and the fathers of beauty, / the giver of mercy, the wisdom of the lamp, / let us praise all the faiths that have come together, / the meekness of the teacher, and the shamer of heresies, / the wise Joseph, the Russian star,/ praying to the Lord,// to have mercy on our souls.
Translation: As the adornment of fasters and fathers, the beauty, the mercy of the giver, the reasoning of the lamp, all believers gathered together glorify the meekness of the teacher who disgraced heresy, the Russian star, the wise Joseph, praying to the Lord for mercy on our souls.
How long have they been praying for trade to Joseph Volotsky?
The first prayer for successful trading to this saint was probably said even before his canonization. It is impossible to accurately answer the question of when the merchants began to pray to Joseph. From time immemorial, the merchant people considered Joseph their patron and intercessor.
Joseph acquired the official status of “patron of trade” only in our century. Saint Joseph was declared the heavenly patron of Orthodox entrepreneurship and economics in the winter of 2009 by Patriarch Kirill.
Kontakion, voice 8*
Lives of unrest and worldly rebellion, / and passionate leaping into nothingness, imputing it to nothing, / you appeared as a deserted citizen, / you were a mentor to many, like Joseph, / a fellow monk, and a prayer book in Eren,/ purist of purity.// Pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Translation: The storms of life and the vanity of the world, and the riot of passions, counting them as nothing, you became an inhabitant of the desert and a mentor for many, the Venerable Joseph, who gathered the monks, a true man of prayer, a lover of purity. Pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Who is Joseph Volotsky?
Joseph Volotsky is not some foreign saint who patronized overseas merchants in ancient times. This is a Russian man who lived at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries and was engaged in enlightenment within the framework of the monastic order.
Saint Joseph was born into the Sanin family, which belonged to the noble class and was in the service of the appanage princes of Volotsk. In the world the boy was named Ivan. The saint's family owned the small village of Yazvische and were quite wealthy.
However, life turned out in such a way that after Joseph, his father took monastic vows, and subsequently his siblings, and their nephews came to the monastery after them. Thus, almost all of Joseph's family served the Lord.
The saint himself became famous for his educational work. He is the author of many books and messages, but in addition to writing, Joseph was actively involved in general church issues, especially those related to land ownership and the monastic economy in general.
Joseph was canonized at the end of the 16th century, and his chains and holy relics still rest in the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery, in the Assumption Cathedral. There is also a monument to the saint in the courtyard, which is a rarity for Orthodox churches.
Prayer 1
Oh, great zealot and teacher of the Orthodox faith, holy wise Joseph! Accept the prayer brought to you from us sinners, and with warm intercession beg God in the Trinity, that He may send down His rich mercy to us sinners, and confirm us in His Holy Orthodox Church Revere right faith and piety: may shepherd her with holy zeal for the salvation of the spiritual flock, for the believers will observe, and the unbelievers and those who have fallen away from the true faith will understand and convert. Also ask for all of us everything that is useful in this temporary life and useful for our eternal salvation. Remember your flock, which you have gathered, do not forget to visit your children, and like a child-loving father, do not despise, nor deny our prayers, but lift up your hands in prayer to the Lord God, and brings His righteous wrath upon us, and will deliver us from enemy of the visible and invisible, from famine, flood, sword, deadly plagues, invasions of foreigners and internecine warfare. Hey, our most merciful intercessor, glorious miracle worker! Guide us all in peace and repentance to end our lives and settle with hope in the blessed bosom of Abraham, where the all-sung name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit is glorified, forever and ever ́v. Amen.
Orthodox icons and prayers
Kontakion 1
Chosen servant of Christ and wondrous ascetic of piety, Reverend Father Joseph, who received the gift of knowledge of God and healing from above, as if you have boldness towards the Holy Trinity, pray to deliver us from the troubles and sorrows and illnesses that find us, so that we call to you with love:
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Ikos 1
The leading angel in the flesh, the Reverend Joseph, was sent from God, so that you may show in men the image of true piety and good deeds, marveling at His path, revealed in your temporary life, and glorifying the greatness of His compassion, in tenderness of heart we cry out to you:
Rejoice, noble root of the good branch; Rejoice, abundant vine of Christ's grapes.
Rejoice, child of the prayers of pious parents; Rejoice, hope and consolation of their God-loving hearts.
Rejoice, childish fear of the Lord acquired; Rejoice, thou who received the seed of the word of God from youth.
Rejoice, guardian of humility and silence from childhood; Rejoice, prayers and abstinence to the zealot.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 2
Seeing Christ the good will and desire of your heart, as from your youth you ceaselessly glorified the Name of the Lord by reading and singing psalms and sacred songs in His holy temple; .
Ikos 2
Understanding the futility of this world from the good writings of your fathers, and constantly thinking about the outcome of this temporary life and constantly remaining in the hidden struggle of prayer, you did not cleave with your heart to those of the world, except to the only one most worthy of your peers, and with him the path of a godly monastic life from the days of adolescence you have chosen, reverend. Let us also please you:
Rejoice, fragrant flower of good upbringing; Rejoice, vessel of Divine election.
Rejoice, enlightened in mind by God; Rejoice, confirmed in God with your heart.
Rejoice, image of an immaculate and unflattering community; Rejoice, thou who seekest with all soul the Kingdom of Heaven.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 3
Overcoming the storm of worldly thoughts with the grace of Christ, you raised your best thoughts to the Heavenly Ones, O Reverend, fixing your serene and passionless mind on the High One, and completely subduing your will under the yoke of Christ, and you made your body the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, from nowhere and in the body, as if incorporeal, with the disembodied you cried out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 3
Having zeal for the perfect life of Christians and having learned from the writings of the fathers, you have given yourself into obedience to a skillful leader and unflattering mentor, in your youth you left your parents, reverend, and you put it in your heart to ask the spiritual elder Barsanuphius, and what else he says, be it to you, as the word of God Himself, which was accomplished for the good of God’s dispensation; For this reason, since so much of your faith is your hope, we cry to you:
Rejoice, for you have despised the dear and red of this world; Rejoice, for you have longed for the heavenly and incorruptible ones.
Rejoice, admiring the inner beauty of the Cross of Christ; Rejoice, thou invested with power from Above for the work of bearing the cross.
Rejoice, you renounced by the will of your firm will; Rejoice, for by cutting off the passions you have pleased God and been saved.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 4
By the power of God's love, drawn to greater monastic perfection and wisdom in life, following the advice and blessing of the perspicacious and holy elder Barsanuphius, you came to the monastery of the Venerable Paphnutius and begged him to accept you into obedience, so that together with him in labor and struggle you might please God, chanting: Alleluia.
Ikos 4
Foreseeing in spirit the good will of the young man, the purity of his soul and his gracious calling, the Monk Paphnutius clothed him in a monastic image and placed on him the yoke of obedience, which he fulfilled with zeal in simplicity and patience, as if to be an image of unquestioning obedience, labor and piety for him; so now we call him sitsa:
Rejoice, beloved of the narrow path of salvation from youth; Rejoice, you who have placed the yoke of the Lord on your neck.
Rejoice, you who bound your will with sacred vows; Rejoice, having given yourself and your whole life to the Lord.
Rejoice, you who serve zealously for everyone’s good; Rejoice, pacifier of the sick and weak.
Rejoice, drive away carnal thoughts through the power of prayer; Rejoice, confirming those who doubt their faith with the word of God.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 5
We inflame with divine love and your neighbors in the world, you did not reject your heart, reverend: hearing the elder of your father in the weakening of his body, you begged the Venerable Paphnutius to be accepted into that monastery and you served your sick parent for a long time, looking after him with all zeal and nourishing the body with your hands and the spiritual with the word of God until the very end, as if he were to cry to you: You are not my father, but you are my father. Therefore, in praise of this labor of love of your son, as a sacrifice acceptable to God, we sing: Alleluia.
Ikos 5
Having lived in the monastery for eighty years in obedience, vigil, fasting and teaching the scriptures of the saints and spirit-bearing fathers, when the hour of the blessed death of the Venerable Paphnutius arrived, you were called to rule over him, even if you did not want to, and made him a presbyter, so that you could manage the good he had collected the flock of Christ; But you, having been in command in a small way, still wanted to be in control, so that you could increase your virtues and imperishable treasures. Moreover, marveling at your zealous love of philosophy and humility, we cry out to you:
Rejoice, you who have gathered many spiritual blessings from physical deprivation; Rejoice, you who have acquired heavenly gifts through poverty.
Rejoice, great guardian of silence; Rejoice, strict guardian of the monastic rules.
Rejoice, you who served the sick as the brethren of Christ; Rejoice, the lofty image of filial love revealed.
Rejoice, you who shirked power over others and honor; Rejoice, again, as an unknown servant who has moved into Kirillov’s monastery.
Rejoice, you have prepared a certain meal there; Rejoice, and in rags we are slaves, known and convicted.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 6
You became like a merchant looking for good beads, the Reverend Joseph, when you were skilled in obedience and all spiritual asceticism, you visited monastic monasteries: so that you might experience the best and most perfect in them and appropriate for the benefit of the souls of your verbal flock, who rejoiced with great joy at your return, crying out in gratitude to the Chief Shepherd Christ: Alleluia.
Ikos 6
Hearing the blessed Prince Boris about the coming of the Venerable Joseph to his borders, he went out fervently praying and may he choose a place in his inheritance, may he build a holy monastery on it and remain in it since the monks, and having accomplished this, I will indicate the place to the stormy breath, and settle down with the zeal of the prince , moreover, with the blessing of God through the prayers of the saint, we cry out to him with love:
Rejoice, O zealot of high feats of life as a Christian; Rejoice, skillful leader of beginners.
Rejoice, unchanging rule of fasting and repentance; Rejoice, guardian of unceasing abstinence.
Rejoice, worldly teacher of a godly life; Rejoice, founder of the fruitful monastery.
Rejoice, for Christ bless your good undertakings; Rejoice, for you have been shown to be a collaborator in the person of the sovereign.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 7
Having acquired great treasures of love, O Reverend One, just as in the days of the first Christians, who had one heart and soul and from whom no one from the estates said that theirs was to be, you judged and in other places your monastery, as by the will of the heart of those who rejected the world and its acquisitions, to establish this habitation image, so that all together, together, one and the same, they will seek the eternal acquisition of God, Him, and let them cry out: Alleluia.
Ikos 7
New Theodosius, the leader of the common life, the Russian country sees in you, Reverend Father Joseph, just as you, having taken monastic vows, with all your heart and soul are devoted to the charter of the common monastic life, and you, too, walk this path, in patience with the many commandments of the community of saints Father unswervingly followed you, and from those who honor you you hear this:
Rejoice, founder of the common life of monastics; Rejoice, for you have given them the full armor of piety.
Rejoice, having abolished the common labors of idle thoughts and vacillation; Rejoice, you who, like armor, repelled the passions of kindled arrows.
Rejoice, instilling in the monastery the spirit of general abstinence; Rejoice, having consumed in her the tares of covetousness.
Rejoice, you who taught many monks spiritual vigilance; Rejoice, until the end of your life you were first among those who labor.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 8
You came as a wanderer into the wilderness of your fatherland, reverend, and you, the lord of the house, appeared to God, I bow my heart to the power of the present right-believing Prince Boris and serve from your estates to build a stone church in this place, decorate it magnificently, and erect cells for the multiplying brethren, and and here, like holy angels in heaven, a song is offered to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 8
Seeing the zeal for God and the cruel life of the Monk Joseph and the brethren, constantly laboring and fasting asceticism and walking in rubble and thin clothes, I did not turn away from the monks and every rank of worldly people and princes, but rather with the equality of spiritual burning in the monastery If you want to fight together with them, you will bring your property to the Shah for the common benefit; We also proclaim to the creator of that:
Rejoice, thou who wisest ordained the new abode; Rejoice, jealous of the poor life of Christ.
Rejoice, you who created holy temples in the monastery; Rejoice, gathered together many monastics.
Rejoice, for your work has been blessed from above; Rejoice, for the holy desire of your heart has been fulfilled.
Rejoice, for in your abode many souls have been saved; Rejoice, for from her the chief shepherd came forth.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 9
Having loved God with all my heart and having received many spiritual gifts from Him, O Reverend Joseph, you have found so much grace before men, as not just many from the simple, but also princes who demanded your instructions, in obedience to you I committed myself completely, to whom you were a peacemaker, having interceded the favor of the autocrat to Prince Yuri, who was innocently slandered under fear of death, but was delivered in the joy of his soul, crying out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 9
Divine grace, attracted by the prayers of the venerable one, was clearly marked in him by the gift of miracles and the knowledge of the hidden: for the death of the pious Prince John, arouse with your prayer, so that, of course, he will be prepared by repentance and will receive the pledge of eternal life, and so may he go to the Lord; Likewise, those who live in sins and require effective arousal to repentance cry out to him:
Rejoice, joy and consolation of the pious; Rejoice, firm fence for those who waver in faith.
Rejoice, strengthening those who despair in hope; Rejoice, having enlightened many with your writings.
Rejoice, peace among the warring factions; Rejoice, thou who deliverest the innocent from death.
Rejoice, thou who bring the dying to repentance: Rejoice, thou who instill in all the punishment of eternal life.
Rejoice, thou who walked the difficult and narrow path; Rejoice, lead others to the heavenly abode.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 10
The Lord tested the newly built monastery of the Venerable Joseph with a visit of His wrath, but also with mercy: for the sins of mankind, He brought great hunger to the land of Volokolamsk and to all the surrounding villages, as it was useless for many people to perish. The monk, having taken this away, intensified the prayer in the monastery and opened that granary to the hungry; Having distributed everything that exists and could not to anyone, not just thousands of people who came, but to feed them below his brethren, the ambassador borrowed silver for the monastery and bought grain seeds, without leaving those who needed to perish with hunger, but for their little children he created a house, until the sovereign pious Tsar Vasily Hearing this, he suddenly came to the monastery and was pleased with the gift of charity for the needy, who, seeing in this the merciful hand of God, in the tenderness of their hearts raised a voice of praise to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 10
Following the good will of the sovereign, many rich donations from the military commanders and appanage princes and other lovers of Christ were brought to the monastery of Joseph, as if all those who came to her for the sake of famine would safely return to their homes and be blessed with a new abundance of the monastery of the venerable one, to whom we now appeal:
Rejoice, bright hope in the need and situation of those who exist; Rejoice, patron of the orphans and the homeless.
Rejoice, feeder of the hunger of those who perish; Rejoice, child of their vitality to the creator.
Rejoice, inexhaustible source of mercy; Rejoice, invisible comforter of those who mourn.
Rejoice, your last one given to each other by God; Rejoice, gathered together by the good lavishness of those who exist.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 11
Knowing from the Divine Scriptures that one who trusts in the Lord will marry a thousand and two movements of darkness, you were not afraid, reverend, one with Saint Gennady, a host of strong champions of vain false teachings against tiredness; and with the weapon of truth you have finally struck these things: for all have been scattered like dust before the wind, but I cry out to you with gratitude from my heart and lips: Alleluia.
Ikos 11
Believe in Me, says the Lord, and rivers of living waters will flow from his belly. This was justified in you, most wonderful Joseph, not because you were taught the sacred dogma of theology in some school, but you yourself sought God with the living faith of your heart, you found the truth in the word of God and the writings of the Fathers, and you became an invincible stronghold of Orthodoxy. We also appeal to you:
Rejoice, destroyer of evil false teachers and wickedness; Rejoice, you who confirmed those who doubted the Orthodox faith.
Rejoice, vigorous defender of the teachings of Christ; Rejoice, thou kindled lamp with God-loving zeal.
Rejoice, thou who shone forth for good in thy fatherland; Rejoice, you who have shown faith in the deeds of your life.
Rejoice, well-skilled teacher of the wise and simple; Rejoice, enlightener of Russians near and far.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 12
The spirit of malice, the evil deed, which has settled in the Church in the world, will move the heart of the Volotsk ruler of self-interest for the sake of much confusion and oppression of the creation of the monastery, and also unrighteously erect condemnation on the reverend, the hedgehog and fall on the head of the one who condemned; By the sacred council, the Monk Joseph was quickly justified with great honor, singing to God everlastingly: Alleluia.
Ikos 12
Ending the course of his life in labors and prayers, and ascetics of piety, the monk bequeathed to invariably preserve the charter handed down to them with a significant order: if I receive mercy from God, then this abode will be meager for nothing, and so, having laid aside the veil of flesh, I departed to the Lord and hereafter bestowed healing the sick who come with prayer to his relics. For this reason, we offer him the following praise:
Rejoice, unhypocritical guardian of spiritual purity; Rejoice, true good and faithful servant of Christ.
Rejoice, invulnerable to the arrows of the enemy; Rejoice, invincible leader of those who are being saved.
Rejoice, thou most worthy of the image of patience; Rejoice, teacher of unflattering reverence.
Rejoice, and after your departure you will keep your monastery; Rejoice, give good things to those who pray.
Rejoice, having received the crown of righteousness from the Lord; Rejoice, shining with the glory of miracles.
Rejoice, Reverend Father Joseph, God-wise, miracle worker.
Kontakion 13
O venerable and God-bearing Father Joseph! Remembering now your deeds and labors, even those you have done for Christ, we, your sinners and unworthy servants, humbly ask you: pray to the merciful God, may He grant peace to our life and to His Holy Church, may He protect us from all soul-destructive and godless teachings, may He grant May all that is beneficial for us in this life, and in the future, enable us to sing to Him: Alleluia.
This kontakion is read three times, then the 1st ikos “Angel in the flesh...” into the 1st kontakion “The chosen saint...”.
Where to pray to Joseph Volotsky?
Of course, you can visit the monastery and temple of Joseph of Volotsky, venerate the relics and order a prayer service. However, this is not at all necessary. Like all requests to higher powers, prayer to this saint has only one rule - sincerity and the presence of faith.
A prayer to Joseph Volotsky for success in trade matters, according to tradition, should not be dictated by a sense of self-interest or desire for profit. This means that the trader must carry in his heart a firm intention to spend the profits on good causes. This does not mean that a businessman should give all his profits to a homeless shelter or anything like that. But it is necessary to support an orphanage or a local clinic to the best of your ability and donate to good causes. But this must be sincere, at the behest of the soul, and not “for show.” Only in this case will the prayer for successful trading be heard. You can pray anywhere, both in church, at work or at home.
