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