Joseph of Arimathea, St

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Joseph of Arimathea, St. The ‘councillor’ (Luke 23. 50) who buried the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. (Arimathea was perhaps Ramlah.) John 19. 38 adds that he was a secret disciple of Jesus. According to a 12th-cent. source, he came to England with the Holy Grail, building a church (the first in England) at Glastonbury. The Holy Thorn is said to have sprung from his staff. Feast day in E., 31 July; in W., 17 Mar.