SAINT JOHN THE RUSSIAN

Saint John the Russian.

Life

Saint John the Russian was born around 1690 in the region of Little Russia, present-day Ukraine, to Christian parents. He joined the army of Peter the Great and took part in the Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711), where he was captured and subsequently sold as a slave to a Turkish officer (hipparchos) who came from the village of Prokopi in Asia Minor.

The Turkish officer took the Saint to Prokopi and there he tried, as was customary at the time, to convince him to convert. The Saint strongly resisted all the Turk's efforts and finally the Turk left the Saint alone to maintain his faith.

The Saint's living conditions were very harsh. He slept in his master's stable, along with the animals, whose care he had entrusted to him. He ate little, his clothes were poor and he was forced to walk without shoes. In this stable, the Saint prayed, while in the evenings he often visited a church nearby, dedicated to Saint George.

His boss became rich and became one of the most powerful men in the area. When at one point the Turkish officer visited Mecca for pilgrimage, Saint John miraculously sent a plate of rice from Prokopi to Mecca for his boss. At first they did not believe him, but when the Turk returned from Mecca bringing the plate with him they were convinced and this miracle became known to all those who lived in the area.

The Turk, wanting to honor the Saint, offered to improve his living conditions. However, the Saint refused and continued to take care of his master's animals and stay in the stable. Working during the day and praying at night, Saint John the Russian lived the rest of his life until May 27, 1730, when he rested at the age of 40.

John's Holiness could not be hidden, as could his love for God and people. When his end was near, he asked to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. The priest, knowing the fanaticism of the Turks, in order to protect the Holy Communion, hid it in an apple and thus quietly passed it through the Turkish house to the Saint. His body was handed over by his boss to the Christians of Prokopios, so that they could bury it according to the rules of Christianity. The Saint's body was buried in the Christian cemetery and remained there for three and a half years. After this, the Saint appeared in the dream of an elderly priest asking him to bring his holy relics.

The Christians brought back the Saint's relics and placed them in a shrine under the Holy Altar of the Church of Saint George, to which the Saint prayed while he was alive.

Worship

In 1832 the Turks attempted to burn the shrine of Saint John, when the Viceroy of Egypt, Ibrahim Pasha, rebelled against Sultan Mahmud II, who sent Osman Oglu to suppress the rebellion. After a fierce battle, the village was destroyed and the churches were desecrated. Although they set fire to it and even threw the Saint's relics there, they remained unharmed and, to the great surprise of the Turks, did not turn to ashes.

When in 1834 or 1868 a large Church of St. Basil the Great was built in Prokopi, his relic was transferred there. However, three times the Holy Relic of the Saint was returned to the old church at night, while the faithful transferred it to the new Church during the day. After many vigils, his relic was now permanently transferred to the new Church.

The Saint remained in this church until 1924. With the exchange of Greek and Ottoman populations that took place at that time, the Holy Relic of Saint John the Russian was also transferred to Prokopi in Euboea (via a port in present-day southeastern Turkey, as well as Chalkis), where the Greeks who lived in Prokopi in Asia Minor settled. The transfer to Prokopi in Euboea was made possible thanks to the efforts of Panagiotis Papadopoulos. The late Panagiotis Papadopoulos chartered at his own expense the ship “Vasilios Destounis”, with which, in addition to the Saint’s relics, 800 patriots were also transferred to Greece. The ship initially went from Asia Minor to Rhodes, then to Chalkis and then to Prokopi in Euboea. In Rhodes the ship remained stationary for an unknown reason and was circling in the same spot. Then Panagiotis Papadopoulos reminded the captain of the presence of the sacred tabernacle in the hold. An order was immediately given to bring it up to the main area of the ship and thus the journey towards Chalkida continued unhindered.

In 1930, construction began on a church in honor of the Saint, which was completed after much effort by the faithful in 1951. Then the Saint was transferred (from the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen in the village) to the new Church, where he remains to this day. Faithful people visit this church and worship the Saint from Greece and abroad.

The Saint's miracles are countless, many unknown, but also several known to the general public. Among them, the healing of Kostas Mitsios' brother from an incurable illness, as well as Evangelia Arnaoutoglou from a demon (with the contribution of faith in Saint Athanasios Sorides, mortgagee of Thebes) in 1954.

The conversations between Saint John and the then Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint David the Elder and now Saint James Tsalikis are remarkable and worth mentioning.

Saint John the Russian, together with Saint Nicholas, Saint John the Forerunner, Saint David the Elder in Rovia, Evia, Saint John the Kalyvetis, Saint Daniel the Stylite, Saint Paraskevi and the 14 (now) Evian Saints, constitute the pride and hope of Evia and the entire world.

The parish priests of the Church of St. John were brilliant and highly respected fathers, such as Polycarp Chrysikos, Irenaeus Georgiades, Ignatius Kapnisis, Klimis Zokaris, Ioannis Vernezos (for 56 consecutive years), etc.

Finally, other Holy Churches dedicated to the Saint can be found in Makrymallis (Prokopis) in Psachna, in Vasiliko in Evia, in Patras, etc.

His memory is celebrated on May 27th.