Joseph the Elder

Holy Venerable Joseph the Elder (Khutsi) was a priest from the region of Khevi in northern Georgia and a wonderworker. Very little is known of his life.

He was a native of Khevi and served there as a priest. The people of Khevi have always been distinguished by their steadfastness in the Christian faith, and their churches and monasteries amaze with their beauty and their remoteness, as though built on purpose in places that demand special zeal.

The ornament and symbol of the region is the peak of Kazbegi, covered with eternal ice, on whose slope stands the monastery of the Holy Trinity. There the Cross of Saint Nino once stood for a time, now kept in the Sioni cathedral in Tbilisi, on the left side of the iconostasis. Higher up, on the icy sheer wall of the mountain, lies a cave monastery called Betlemi (Bethlehem), which can be reached only by a chain let down from above. According to the chronicle Kartlis Tskhovreba, this monastery kept relics and the treasure of the Church.

According to the account, Saint Joseph climbed by God's will to the Betlemi monastery and presented King Heraclius with a piece of the tent of Abraham. Having attained the heights of clairvoyance and wonderworking, he reposed in peace in 1763. He is commemorated on 20 October, according to the Georgian calendar. He is not included in the present calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.