Saint John the Russian
Pious, Confessor of the Faith
Born 1690
Ukraine, Russian Empire
Died June 9, 1730
Ürgüp, Turkey
Honored in Eastern Orthodoxy
Major shrine Church of Saint John the Russian in Prokopion, Euboea, Greece
Feast June 9/May 27
Saint John the Russian (Russian: Иоанн Русский) (1690 - May 27 (N.S. June 9), 1730) is one of the most renowned saints in the Greek Orthodox Church. Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Agha, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence. His holy relics are undecayed and wonder-working; there are evidences that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
He worked as a groom and lived in the stables. Other slaves mocked at him for the zeal he was working with, but the pious man took no offence, trying to help them in their needs and comforting them when needed. For his sincere kind-heartedness, the saint had earned love and trust of the Agha who proposed him to live as a free man, in separate house. But he refused, saying: "My patron is Lord, and no one is above Him. He predestined me to live as a slave in a foreign land; seems, it must be so for my salvation".
In the daytime John worked and prayed, keeping strict fast, and when the night came, he used to go secretely to the cave-church of St. George, where he said the prayers of All-Night Vigil. Every Saturday he used to take the Holy Communion.
Soon the Agha became rich and one of the most influential people in Urgup. He decided, that it is due to the holy man, who lives in his home. Having become rich, the Agha decided to carry out the Hajj. During this travel, his wife was giving a dinner to the relatives and friends. When the master's favourite dish, pilau was being served, she told John, who was waiting upon the table: "How glad would your master be, if he could eat this pilau with us". The saint asked her to give him this dish, promising to send it to Mecca. Everybody was laughing, but John's request was complied, they decided he wanted to eat pilau himself or give it to the poor.
When the Agha came back, he told about the miracle that had happened to him: while being in Mecca, he found a fuming plate of pilau in his locked room. And on this plate his name was engraved - as on every plate in his home.
Holy Places Worth Visiting
The relics of saint John are in Church of Saint John the Russian in (Prokopi) in Euboea, Greece. His right hand is in Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon on Athos. By blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow in 2003-2004 a small wooden church of St. John the Russian was erected in Moscow, in Kuntsevo district. In Novosibirsk, Russia the lower side chapel of the church of Our Lady of the Sign is also devoted to St. John the Russian.
Pious, Confessor of the Faith
Born 1690
Ukraine, Russian Empire
Died June 9, 1730
Ürgüp, Turkey
Honored in Eastern Orthodoxy
Major shrine Church of Saint John the Russian in Prokopion, Euboea, Greece
Feast June 9/May 27
Saint John the Russian (Russian: Иоанн Русский) (1690 - May 27 (N.S. June 9), 1730) is one of the most renowned saints in the Greek Orthodox Church. Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Agha, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence. His holy relics are undecayed and wonder-working; there are evidences that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
He worked as a groom and lived in the stables. Other slaves mocked at him for the zeal he was working with, but the pious man took no offence, trying to help them in their needs and comforting them when needed. For his sincere kind-heartedness, the saint had earned love and trust of the Agha who proposed him to live as a free man, in separate house. But he refused, saying: "My patron is Lord, and no one is above Him. He predestined me to live as a slave in a foreign land; seems, it must be so for my salvation".
In the daytime John worked and prayed, keeping strict fast, and when the night came, he used to go secretely to the cave-church of St. George, where he said the prayers of All-Night Vigil. Every Saturday he used to take the Holy Communion.
Soon the Agha became rich and one of the most influential people in Urgup. He decided, that it is due to the holy man, who lives in his home. Having become rich, the Agha decided to carry out the Hajj. During this travel, his wife was giving a dinner to the relatives and friends. When the master's favourite dish, pilau was being served, she told John, who was waiting upon the table: "How glad would your master be, if he could eat this pilau with us". The saint asked her to give him this dish, promising to send it to Mecca. Everybody was laughing, but John's request was complied, they decided he wanted to eat pilau himself or give it to the poor.
When the Agha came back, he told about the miracle that had happened to him: while being in Mecca, he found a fuming plate of pilau in his locked room. And on this plate his name was engraved - as on every plate in his home.
Holy Places Worth Visiting
The relics of saint John are in Church of Saint John the Russian in (Prokopi) in Euboea, Greece. His right hand is in Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon on Athos. By blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow in 2003-2004 a small wooden church of St. John the Russian was erected in Moscow, in Kuntsevo district. In Novosibirsk, Russia the lower side chapel of the church of Our Lady of the Sign is also devoted to St. John the Russian.
Category
🎥
Short film