Kontakion
in Tone 4)
When thou didst speak to the myrrh-bearing women with
joy,
thou didst end the wailing of Eve the first mother,
by thy Resurrection, commanding thy Disciples
to proclaim that the Savior is risen from the tomb.
Saint Joanna the Myrrh-bearer, wife of
Chusa, the household steward of King Herod, was one of the women
following and attending the Lord Jesus Christ during the time of His
preaching and public ministry. She is mentioned in Luke 08:03
and 24:10.
Joanna lived in Jerusalem at the Hasmonean
Palace. As Herod's steward, her husband was the financial minister
manager of the royal estates. It appears that she was well acquainted
with the Pharisees Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. All three of these
individuals were secretly disciples of the Lord.
Together with the other Myrrh-Bearing Women,
Saint Joanna went to the Sepulcher to anoint the Holy Body of the Lord
with myrrh after His death on the Cross, and she heard from the angels
the joyful proclamation of His All-Glorious Resurrection. (Luke
23:55-24:11).
According to tradition,
when Herod had John the Baptist beheaded, he cast his head out into an
unclean place. Joanna took the head and buried it with honor on the
Mount of Olives, on Herod's land. Later, in the reign of Constantine the
Great, the head was found. St Joanna is also remembered because she was
present at both the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.
She died peacefully.
