Who was Saint Joseph the Bishop?

The Coptic Encyclopedia identifies him as a bishop also known as Anba Yusab. The supplied notices do not give his diocese, dates, or a narrative of his life.

When is Saint Joseph the Bishop’s feast day?

His feast day is 17 Baramhat. The supplied calendar includes Anba Yusab the Bishop among the commemorations for that day.

Is Anba Yusab another name for Saint Joseph the Bishop?

Yes: the encyclopedia explicitly gives “Joseph the Bishop, or Anba Yusab,” and its index directs readers from Anba Yusab to Joseph the Bishop, Saint. Other supplied passages also mention people named Yusab, so the name alone does not establish that every occurrence refers to this saint.

Saint / historical person

Saints & Martyrs

Feasts & Fasts

Saint Joseph the Bishop

Saint Joseph the Bishop, also called Anba Yusab, is commemorated on 17 Baramhat. The supplied encyclopedia entries identify his episcopal rank and feast day but provide no biography.[^1][^2]

Also known as: Joseph the Bishop · Anba Yusab · Anba Yusab the Bishop

Published 10/3/2026Updated 10/3/20261 revisionPage history

In brief

Saint Joseph the Bishop is a saint listed in The Coptic Encyclopedia under the alternative name Anba Yusab, with a feast day of 17 Baramhat. The encyclopedia’s calendar also records Anba Yusab the Bishop on that day, but these notices do not identify his diocese or lifetime.

Overview

Saint Joseph the Bishop, also called Anba Yusab, is identified in The Coptic Encyclopedia as a bishop whose feast day is 17 Baramhat. The encyclopedia’s calendar independently includes “Anba Yusab the Bishop” among the commemorations listed for the seventeenth day.¹²

The direct notices are brief: they establish his name, episcopal designation, and commemoration, but do not supply a diocese, dates of birth or death, or an account of his ministry. They therefore support a short reference entry rather than a reconstructed biography.¹²³

Names and documentary record

The identification of Joseph with Yusab is explicit rather than inferred. The encyclopedia’s list gives “Joseph the Bishop, or Anba Yusab,” while its index states, “Anba Yusab. See Joseph the Bishop, Saint.” Read together, these entries establish that the two names refer to the same saint within the encyclopedia’s reference system.¹³

The supplied notices preserve the forms Anba and Yusab in Latin characters; they do not provide an original Coptic, Arabic, or Greek spelling for this particular entry. “The Bishop” is the identifying designation used both in the English name and in the calendar notice.¹²³

Feast day and calendar context

Joseph’s feast day is given explicitly as 17 Baramhat in the encyclopedia’s list of saints. The calendar places Anba Yusab the Bishop on a line with George the Ascetic and Belasius the Martyr under day seventeen, confirming the day recorded in the shorter notice.¹²

Other commemorations under the same calendar date include Lazarus, described as the friend of the Lord; Anba Basilios, archbishop of Jerusalem; and the martyrdom of Sidhom Bishay in Damietta. Their appearance under a shared date establishes a calendar grouping, but the passage gives no biographical relationship between Joseph and these figures.²

The calendar evidence documents Joseph’s commemoration without supplying a particular hymn, prayer, service rubric, or account of the origins of his feast.¹²

Distinguishing similarly named figures

The supplied encyclopedia material contains several other notices using the name Joseph or Yusab. These require care in identification: the direct entry for Joseph the Bishop gives no geographical epithet with which to connect them securely.¹

[[Joseph of Bishwaw]] has a separate entry describing him as a monk who lived with Saint Elias of Bishwaw, with a feast day of 5 Hatur. His entry is distinct from that of Joseph the Bishop.⁴
Anba Yusab, bishop of Jirja, known as al-Abahh, appears in another calendar extract alongside [[Saints Maximus and Domitius]]. That notice supplies a see and an epithet absent from the entry for Joseph the Bishop; the passages do not explicitly identify the two.⁵¹
Anba Yusab (Joseph), bishop of Isfaht, appears in the account of Constantine of Asyut. That passage describes him as entering monastic life with Constantine and Rufus, the future bishop of Shutb, but does not connect him with the feast of 17 Baramhat.⁶¹

These comparisons leave Joseph’s diocese and historical setting unresolved: the secure identification in the supplied material remains Joseph the Bishop / Anba Yusab, commemorated on 17 Baramhat.¹³

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Who was Saint Joseph the Bishop?: The Coptic Encyclopedia identifies him as a bishop also known as Anba Yusab. The supplied notices do not give his diocese, dates, or a narrative of his life.
When is Saint Joseph the Bishop’s feast day?: His feast day is 17 Baramhat. The supplied calendar includes Anba Yusab the Bishop among the commemorations for that day.
Is Anba Yusab another name for Saint Joseph the Bishop?: Yes: the encyclopedia explicitly gives “Joseph the Bishop, or Anba Yusab,” and its index directs readers from Anba Yusab to Joseph the Bishop, Saint. Other supplied passages also mention people named Yusab, so the name alone does not establish that every occurrence refers to this saint.

References

Sources

1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 128)
Joseph the Bishop, or Anba Yusab (feast day: 17 Baramhat), bishop.
2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 366)
17—13 Lazarus, friend of Our Lord George the Ascetic, Belasius the Martyr, and Anba Yusab the Bishop Anba Basilios, archbishop of Jerusalem Martyrdom of Sidhom Bishay in Damietta
3.The Coptic Encyclopedia — Index — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 22)
Anba Yusab. See Joseph the Bishop, Saint
4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 128)
JOSEPH OF BISHWAW (feast day: 5 Hatur), monk who lived with Saint Elias of Bishwaw.
5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 363)
17—12 Saints Maximus and Domitius, ascetics of Scetis Anba Yusab, bishop of Jirja, known as al-Abahh
6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 672)
Ten young men embraced the monastic life on that day. Among them, in addition to Constantine, was Rufus, the future bishop of Shutb (Hypselis/Shotep), and Anba Yusab (Joseph), who subsequently became bishop of Isfaht (Apollinopolis Parva/Sbeht). Anba Yusab is not otherwise known

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This article was drafted from the sources listed above with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor before publication.