Joseph of Dionysiou

Saint Joseph of Dionysiou was a monk of Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos, where he shone with the virtues of monastic life. He was an iconographer and painted the icon of the holy Archangels on the iconostasis of the monastery's main church.

In obedience to Abbot Stephen, he traveled to Constantinople with Eudocimus, a man who had abandoned Orthodoxy and become a Muslim. Eudocimus repented and wished to wipe out his sin through martyrdom, but when faced with torture and death he denied Christ again and blamed Joseph for turning him from Islam. Joseph was arrested and threatened with death. In spite of many tortures he refused to accept Islam. The holy martyr was hanged on 17 February 1819 and received an incorruptible crown of glory. Some sources commemorate him on 17 February (new style; 2 March on the old calendar), others on 14 September or 26 October.