122 Chapter 3 that the Life was intended to be recited for a community of monks in a monastery for which Gregory was the patron saint – in other words, the monastery founded by Joseph.386 As abbot and founder of this monastery, Joseph would effectively be the one who – in name of his monastic community – commissioned Ignatius to write the Life. Although the hypothesis presented by Makris is possible, there are some objections that suggest that it is not as certain that Joseph was the commissioner as Makris argues. The first objection is that Joseph is not mentioned in the Life of Gregory of Decapolis.387 It is striking that he does not feature clearly in the narrative if he would be the commissioner, for the two would have spent time together in Thessaloniki and Constantinople, and Joseph himself was becoming a person with spiritual authority in the years after Gregory’s death and after Joseph’s return to Constantinople. The Life of Joseph the Hymnographer suggests that Joseph’s encounter with Gregory inspired Joseph to live an ascetical life, which would have been a key moment in Joseph’s own trajectory in becoming a spiritual leader.388 Moreover, Gregory would have been the one to send Joseph to Rome, which had a great impact on Joseph’s life trajectory – including being captured by Arabs and released again. These events do not feature in the Life of Gregory. If Joseph commissioned the Life, why would he not make sure that Ignatius mentioned his connection to his spiritual father Gregory? This could have reflected positively on the spiritual authority that Joseph was accumulating. Moreover, a few other connections to Gregory are referred to by name: his uncle and abbot Symeon (in the Decapolis region and Constantinople), a leader of an ascetical community in Thessaloniki named Mark, a disciple named Anastasios (in Thessaloniki and at Mount Olympus), another named Johannes (in Thessaloniki), one named Peter (in Thessaloniki), a government official (a protokancellarios) named Georgios (in Thessaloniki), and a priest called Theodoulos (in Thessaloniki).389 So Ignatius did not necessarily keep (all of) Gregory’s connections anonymous. The other note of caution to assume that Joseph commissioned the Life concerns the interpretation of τῆς σῆς ποίμνης, ‘your flock’, in the epilogue. Makris interprets this as the monastic foundation founded by Joseph with Gregory as the patron saint. However, would Joseph’s monastic circle not be considered to be dedicated to Gregory only after 386 In referring to this passage, Makris states that ‘[i]n der Dekapolitesvita steht explizit, […] dass die Vita zunächst als Lesung für den Konvent des Klosters gedacht war, das unter dessen Patronat stand, d.h. für das Kloster Josephs’. Makris (1997), p. 26. 387 This has also been observed by Malamut (2004), p. 1195. 388 Life of Joseph the Hymnographer 5. 389 Makris refutes this by suggesting that these informants were all dead, and living connections were not mentioned by name. Makris (1997), p. 27. It is true that many people Gregory interacts with in the story are not mentioned by name, but just referred to as ‘a monk’ or ‘a woman/man’. Theodoulos’ death is narrated in the Life (for Gregory predicts it to him), but the deaths of the other individuals are not. Moreover, Gregory predicts more deaths than just the one of Theodoulos, and those individuals are not mentioned by name either (see e.g., chapters 43 and 45). So there is no way to verify or disprove Makris’ assertion, although the hagiographer does not consistently use the criterium of death for deciding who to identify by name. Chapters in the Life of Greogry of Decapolis in which these individuals are mentioned: Symeon (multiple chapters); Mark (chapter 22); Anastasius (chapters 52-53); Johannes (chapter 62); Peter (55 and 88); Georgios (chapter 52); Theodoulos (chapter 44).
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