Saint John the Russian (russian: Иоанн Русский) (1690 – May 27 (N.S. June 9), 1730) is one of the most renowned saints in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence. His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Life

Youth

St. John the Russian was born in approximately 1690 in the

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate ( uk, Гетьманщина, Hetmanshchyna; or ''Cossack state''), officially the Zaporizhian Host or Army of Zaporizhia ( uk, Військо Запорозьке, Viisko Zaporozke, links=no; la, Exercitus Zaporoviensis) ...

, in the Russian Tsardom. Having come of age, he was recruited to the army of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

and took part in the

Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711) The Russo-Ottoman War of 1710—1711, also known as the Pruth River Campaign, was a brief military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The main battle took place during 18-22 July 1711 in the basin of the Pruth riv ...

. During the war, he was taken prisoner and sold as a slave to the head of the Turkish cavalry who lived in

Ürgüp Ürgüp ( el, Προκόπιο ''Prokópio,'' or Cappadocian Greek: ''Prokópi'', ota, Burgut Kalesi) is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is located in the historical region of Cappadocia, an ...

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

in Central

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Life in slavery

Because he refused to convert to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, John was humiliated and tormented by the Turks, who called him a ''gavur'' (unbeliever). But as time passed, the mockery stopped because of the saint's steadiness of faith, humility and diligence and eventually John won the respect of his master and his household. He worked as a groom and lived in the stables. Other slaves mocked him for working zealously, but he didn't take offence, trying instead to help and comfort them in their need. For his kind-heartedness, John earned the love and trust of the Ağa who offered to let him live as a free man in a separate house. However, John 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". During the day John worked and prayed, keeping a strict fast, but when the night came, he used to go in secret to the cave-church of

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, where he said the prayers of the All-Night Vigil. Every Saturday he used to take

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

. Soon the Ağa became one of the most influential people in

and thought it due to the holy man who lived in his home. Having become rich, the Ağa decided to carry out the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

. While he was away, his wife threw a dinner for relatives and friends. When the master's favourite dish, pilau was being served, she said to John, who was serving as a waiter: "How glad would your master be, if he could eat this pilau with us". The saint asked her to give him the dish, promising to send it to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

. Everybody laughed thinking that John wanted to eat the rice himself or give it away to the poor. When the Ağa returned, he described a miracle that had happened to him: while in Mecca, he found a steaming plate of pilau in his locked room. And his name was engraved on this plate - as it was on every plate in his home.

Beginning of reverence

News of this miracle spread quickly, and everyone, even

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, began to call John a " Wali" - a "saint". However, he did not change the way he lived, and passed his time working hard and praying. Before his death, he became seriously ill and, being unable to stand up, asked a priest to give him Holy Communion. The priest was afraid to be seen going to a Muslim house and hid the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

inside an apple. John the Russian died on June 9, 1730, some time after receiving the Holy Communion. He was buried in the church of St George in Prokopi in Cappadocia (now Ürgüp), and was revered as saint. When the Greeks had to leave Turkey in 1924, the people took his relics to their new home on the island of Euboea.

Holy places worth visiting

The

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of Saint John re interred in the Church of Saint John the Russian inNeo Prokopion Prokopi in

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. His right hand is in the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon on

Athos Athos may refer to: Fictional or mythical characters * Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père * Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology * Athos Fadiga ...

. By the 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, a larger stone one was built nearby later and consecrated in 2016. In

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

the lower side chapel of the church of Our Lady of the Sign is also devoted to St. John the Russian. There is also a small private wooden chapel (tsasouna) of St. John the Russian in Viljakkala (Ylöjärvi municipality) in Finland.

External links

Life and miracles of St. John the Russian

Interior of the church of St. John the Russian in Neo Prokopion

Icon of St. John the Russian

Official website of the Church of St. John the Russian in Moscow (in Russian)

Website of the small private chapel of St. John the Russian in Finland

The Saint of Kayakapi - St. John the Russian

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John The Russian Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia 1690 births 1730 deaths Eastern Catholic saints 18th-century Christian saints Eastern Orthodox saints