Yosip was ordained a deacon at age 12 and ordained as a priest in 1912 at the age of 20. In 1914, he was sent as a delegate to participate in a meeting at the patriarchal cell in Qudchanis to discuss the effects of World War I on the Church and the nation and prepare for the changes that were expected to take place. While there, he was consecrated a Bishop on August 10, 1914 at age 22. He remained in Qudchanis until 1916. When the Assyrian Christians sought a safe haven elsewhere, Yosip took a great number of believers to the city of Baqooba.