November 12, 2009
Moscow: Brother Joseph Munoz-Cortes Remembered in Moscow
On St. Demetrius Ancestor’s Saturday on
November 7, 2009 in one of the halls of the Central House of Writers
in Moscow, people gathered to honor the memory of Brother Joseph (Jose
Munoz-Cortes) on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of his martyric
death. Of special significance to those gathered was the presence of
Matushka Maria Potapov from Washington, DC who brought with her photo
and video materials about Brother Joseph, and a number of his personal
items. There were no vacant seats in the conference hall and many had
to stand.
In the past several years a number of books
and films have been produced in Russia about the life and death of
Brother Joseph, so that many Orthodox Christians are aware of the life
and podvig of the faithful Custodian of Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon of
the Mother of God. Although not yet canonized, information on Brother
Joseph has nonetheless spread around the world. It should be noted
that Brother Joseph never visited Russia, which makes it all the more
striking that the number of his Russian admirers continue to multiply
from year to year.
Years ago Nikolai Mashkov became acquainted
with Brother Joseph as they took part in the Congress of Orthodox
Youth in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Since
then Nikolai has been active on behalf of ROCOR at Orthodox trade
fairs in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Ekaterinburg.
Nikolai recalled for those gathered in Brother Josephs’ memory, that
when he was attending a trade fair in Moscow that many faithful would
approach his booth, seeking not only Orthodox literature and
periodicals published by the Russian Church Abroad, but came to him
specifically to obtain grains of earth from the gravesite of Brother
Joseph or oil from the vigil lamp which burns there. Many faithful in
Russia also asked for prayers at the gravesite of Brother Joseph,
believing in the power of his prayers before the Throne of the Lord of
Glory. In honor of the memorial event Matushka Maria Potapov brought
many packets of soil to the Central House of Writers in Moscow from
the resting place of the ever-memorable Brother Joseph, and provided
enough for all of the participants.
The memorial event commenced with a lit
candle placed before the icons of the Iveron Montreal Icon of the
Mother of God and Tsar Martyr Nicholas II and everyone present chanted
"O Heavenly King". Portraits
of Brother Joseph were projected onto a large screen; and it seemed to
be that he was carefully observing all those gathered - his expression
was warm, kind, open and accessible to all.
Throughout the presentations, those who
knew Brother Joseph during his lifetime (Matushka Maria Potapov,
Hieromonk Macarius (Markish) and psychologist Tatiana Philipieva),
expressed much love and gratitude for the man, whom the Mother of God
Herself had chosen to serve Her through the guardianship of the Iveron
Montreal Icon. Also present was Yevgeny Fokin, a well-known singer and
guitarist, who sang poems dedicated to Brother Joseph written by monk
Vsevolod (Philipiev) and other artists performed their own spiritual
songs.
A lofty spiritual atmosphere was
experienced by all who attended the memorial and all felt that they
were able to better appreciate the podvig of Brother Joseph. For some,
the evening was their first acquaintance with Brother Joseph; while
others came to the event with the intent to honor a long-familiar and
beloved man whose ascetic life was a living example to all his
contemporaries.
Many spoke of the need to collect more
information on both major and secondary miracles associated with the
Iveron Montreal Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God and its
custodian. The memorial ended with a showing of a black-and-white
video of Brother Joseph speaking to a friend, (Brother Joseph had no
enemies) in his native Spanish.
Twelve years after the death of Brother
Joseph we can confidently sum up the meaning of all that he had to
tell us, thusly:
• The Iveron Icon goes where the Mother
of God desires.
• Brother Joseph never considered himself worthy of martyrdom.
• And his oft repeated words while he was still alive: “If you
are ever in need of anything, ask it of me. I can do little, but
nonetheless, ask...”
A portion from a conversation with the late
Abbess of the Pokrov Convent in Sofia, Bulgaria Mother Serafima
concluded the event in memory of Brother Joseph in Moscow on St.
Demetrius Saturday, when the entire Orthodox world prays for the
repose of the souls of all those slain in battle for Faith and
Fatherland:
- “Matushka, I
believe that Joseph was surrounded by mystery because he had one foot
on the ground, and the other in Heaven.
- God be with you, my
dear, he was always in the Kingdom of God!”
Tatiana Philipieva,
Moscow, November 2009
