In Byzantine iconography, Joseph - designed as the Betrothed appears in an off-center or even marginal position. Such a choice reflects Joseph's special position in front of the Theotokos and Christ. The apocryphal gospels (the Infancy Gospel of James and the Gospel of the Pseudo-Matthew) report that the priests entrusted Mary to Joseph in order to protect her virginity. Such a mission explains the rare scenes of Joseph's doubts and the ordeal of the bitter water, both rich with theological meaning. Joseph was also the guardian of Christ. In relation to Him, he did his duty as a father by circumcising him and presenting him to the Temple, protecting him when Herod threatened him with death, and caring for Him, as an adolescent, during the Passover in Jerusalem. Byzantine iconography, a reflection of theological tradition, was careful to translate visually this Christological doctrine. In the scene of the Nativity of Christ, Joseph is represented at an angle, often thoughtful, in order to show that he has no part in the conception of the Word of God and, at the same time, that he has fully assumed his exceptional roles as husband and father. During the presentation of Christ in the Temple, the Flight into Egypt, and the return from Egypt to the trip to Jerusalem for Easter, Joseph is most often placed a few steps behind the Virgin and Christ. A man whose dreams point to the divine path to follow, silent according to the canonical gospels, which do not report a single word from him, Joseph manifested his paternity throughout his hidden life: celebrated in the liturgy as the greatest saint, after the Mother of God, he shines in Byzantine iconography in that role, which was secondary only in appearance.
