Joseph of Arimathea

Life events

1. Other

   Joseph, identified in the Gospels as a member of the Sanhedrin from a town called Arimathea ('a town of Judea', Luke 23:51), was a disciple of Jesus who had not consented to the council's decision and action against Jesus.

2. Other

   After the crucifixion, Joseph requested the body of Jesus from Pilate, who granted permission. Joseph purchased a linen shroud, went to Golgotha, and together with Nicodemus wrapped the body in linen cloths with myrrh and aloes.

3. Other

   Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body of Jesus in a rock-hewn tomb in a garden near the crucifixion site; Matthew 27 specifies it was Joseph's own newly cut tomb, and the burial was carried out hastily before the Sabbath.

4. Imprisoned

   According to the Gospel of Nicodemus (appended to the Acts of Pilate), Jewish elders imprisoned Joseph for burying Jesus, sealed his cell, and posted a guard; upon returning they found the seal intact but Joseph gone, and he was later discovered to have returned to Arimathea.

5. Other

   John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople from 397 to 403, was the first writer to identify Joseph as one of the Seventy Apostles appointed in Luke 10 — a detail not found in the canonical Gospels.

6. Other — 1191

   Robert de Boron composed Joseph d'Arimathie in the late 12th century, the first text to link Joseph with the Holy Grail: Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Britain, connecting his story to Arthurian legend.

7. Other — 1247

   The first appearance of Joseph of Arimathea in Glastonbury records dates to 1247, when the story of his alleged voyage to Britain was added as a marginal note to William of Malmesbury's chronicle — attributed to interpolations by Glastonbury monks seeking to enhance the abbey's prestige and pilgrim trade.

8. Other — 1520

   In 1520 the printer Richard Pynson published Lyfe of Joseph of Armathia, which contains the first printed mention of the Glastonbury Thorn — a hawthorn said to have sprouted from Joseph's walking staff planted on Wearyall Hill outside Glastonbury.

Relationships

Documented claims

• The four canonical Gospels give differing descriptions: Matthew calls Joseph a rich disciple; Mark identifies him as a respected Sanhedrin member; Luke adds that he had not consented to the council's decision; John describes him as a secret disciple who petitioned Pilate. (legendary)
• Eastern Orthodox tradition includes Joseph among the Myrrhbearers; he is commemorated on the Third Sunday of Pascha (the second Sunday after Easter) and on 31 July, a date also observed by Lutheran churches. (likely)
• Many Christians interpret Joseph's provision of a wealthy man's tomb as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9, which predicts that the Suffering Servant would be buried 'with the rich in his death', applying the verse to Jesus as Messiah. (plausible)
• Feast day varies by tradition: 31 August in the Roman Martyrologium (alongside Nicodemus), 31 July in Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran observance, 1 August in the Episcopal Church; the Church of England's abbreviated calendar omits him entirely. (likely)
• Joseph's alleged early arrival in Britain — predating the Roman Catholic mission of AD 597 — was invoked by John Bale (1546) and Queen Elizabeth I to argue that the Church of England pre-dated Roman ecclesiastical authority in England. (likely)