The Story of the Relics of St. John the Russian and Confessor
The Holy
Confessor John the Russian was born in Little Russia around 1690, and was
raised in piety and love for the Church of God. Upon attaining the age of
maturity he was called to military service, and he served as a simple soldier
in the army of Peter I and took part in the Russo-Turkish War. During the
Prutsk Campaign of 1711 he and other soldiers were captured by the Tatars, who
handed him over to the commander of the Turkish cavalry. He took his Russian
captive home with him to Asia Minor, to the village of Prokopion.
The Turks
tried to convert the Christian soldiers to the Moslem faith with threats and
flattery, but those who resisted were beaten and tortured. Some, alas, denied
Christ and became Moslems, hoping to improve their lot. Saint John was not
swayed by the promise of earthly delights, and he bravely endured the
humiliation and beatings.
His
master tortured him often in the hope that his slave would accept Islam. Saint
John resolutely resisted the will of his master saying, “You cannot turn me
from my holy Faith by threats, nor with promises of riches and pleasures. I
will obey your orders willingly, if you will leave me free to follow my
religion. I would rather surrender my head to you than to change my faith. I
was born a Christian, and I shall die a Christian.”
Saint
John’s bold words and firm faith, as well as his humility and meekness, finally
softened the fierce heart of his master. He left John in peace, and no longer
tried to make him renounce Christianity. The saint lived in the stable and took
care of his master’s animals, rejoicing because his bed was a manger such as
the one in which the Savior was born.
From
morning until late evening the saint served his Turkish master, fulfilling all
his commands. He performed his duties in the winter cold and summer heat, half
naked and barefoot. Other slaves frequently mocked him, seeing his zeal. Saint
John never became angry with them, but on the contrary, he helped them when he
could, and comforted them in their misfortune.
The
saint’s kindness and gentle nature had its effect on the souls of both the
master and the slaves. The Agha and his wife came to love him, and offered him
a small room near the hayloft. Saint John did not accept it, preferring to remain
in the stable with the animals. Here he slept on the hay, covered only by an
old coat. So the stable became his hermitage, where he prayed and chanted
Psalms.
Saint
John brought a blessing to his master simply by living in his household. The
cavalry officer became rich, and was soon one of the most powerful men in
Prokopion. He knew very well why his home had been blessed, and he did not
hesitate to tell others.
Sometimes
Saint John left the stable at night and went to the church of the Great Martyr
George, where he kept vigil in the narthex. On Saturdays and Feast days, he
received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
During
this time Saint John continued to serve his master as before, and despite his
own poverty, he always helped the needy and the sick, and shared his meager
food with them.
One day,
the officer left Prokopion and went to Mecca on pilgrimage. A few days later,
his wife gave a banquet and invited her husband’s friends and relatives, asking
them to pray for her husband’s safe return. Saint John served at the table, and
he put down a dish of pilaf, his master’s favorite food. The hostess said, “How
much pleasure your master would have if he could be here to eat this pilaf with
us.” Saint John asked for a dish of pilaf, saying that he would send it to his
master in Mecca. The guests laughed when they heard his words. The mistress,
however, ordered the cook to give him a dish of pilaf, thinking he would eat it
himself, or give it to some poor family.
Taking
the dish, Saint John went into the stable and prayed that God would send it to
his master. He had no doubt that God would send the pilaf to his master in a
supernatual manner. The plate disappeared before his eyes, and he went into the
house to tell his mistress that he had sent the pilaf to his master.
After
some time, the master returned home with the copper plate which had held the
pilaf. He told his household that on a certain day (the very day of the
banquet), he returned from the mosque to the home where he was staying.
Although the room was locked, he found a plate of steaming pilaf on the table.
Unable to explain who had brought the food, or how anyone could enter the
locked room, the officer examined the plate. To his amazement, he saw his own
name engraved on the copper plate. In spite of his confusion, he ate the meal with
great relish.
When the
officer’s family heard this story, they marveled. His wife told him of how John
had asked for a plate of pilaf to send to his master in Mecca, and how they all
laughed when John came back and said that it had been sent. Now they saw that
what the saint had said was true (Compare the story of Habakkuk, who
miraculously brought a dish of pottage to Daniel in the lions’ den [Dan.
14:33-39], in the Septuagint).
Toward
the end of his difficult life Saint John fell ill, and sensed the nearness of
his end. He summoned the priest so that he could receive Holy Communion. The
priest, fearing to go to the residence of the Turkish commander openly with the
Holy Gifts, enclosed the life-giving Mysteries in an apple and brought them to
Saint John.
Saint
John glorified the Lord, received the Body and Blood of Christ, and then
reposed. The holy Confessor John the Russian went to the Lord Whom he loved on
May 27, 1730. When they reported to the master that his servant John had died,
he summoned the priests and gave them the body of Saint John for Christian
burial. Almost all the Christian inhabitants of Prokopion came to the funeral,
and they accompanied the body of the saint to the Christian cemetery.
Three and
a half years later the priest was miraculously informed in a dream that the
relics of Saint John had remained incorrupt. Soon the relics of the saint were
transferred to the church of the holy Great Martyr George and placed in a
special reliquary. The new saint of God began to be glorified by countless
miracles of grace, accounts of which spread to the remote cities and villages.
Christian believers from various places came to Prokopion to venerate the holy
relics of Saint John the Russian and they received healing through his prayers.
The new saint came to be venerated not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by
Armenians, and even Turks, who prayed to the Russian saint, “Servant of God, in
your mercy, do not disdain us.”
In the
year 1881 a portion of the relics of Saint John were transferred to the Russian
monastery of the holy Great Martyr Panteleimon by the monks of Mount Athos,
after they were miraculously saved by the saint during a dangerous journey.
Construction
of a new church was begun in 1886, through the contributions of the monastery
and the inhabitants of Prokopion. This was necessary because the church of the
holy Great Martyr George, where the relics of Saint John were enshrined, had
fallen into disrepair.
On August
15, 1898 the new church dedicated to Saint John the Russian was consecrated by
the Metropolitan John of Caesarea, with the blessing of the Ecumenical
Patriarch Constantine V.
In 1924,
an exchange of the populations of Greece and Turkey took place. Many Moslems
moved out of Greece, and many Christians moved out of Turkey. The inhabitants
of Prokopion, when they moved to the island of Euboia, took with them part of
the relics of Saint John the Russian.
For
several decades the relics were in the church of Saints Constantine and Helen
at New Prokopion on Euboia, and in 1951 they were transferred into a new church
dedicated to Saint John the Russian. Thousands of pilgrims flocked here from
all the corners of Greece, particularly on his Feast, May 27. Saint John the
Russian is widely venerated on Mount Athos, particularly in the Russian
monastery of Saint Panteleimon.
Saint
John’s help is sought by travelers, and by those transporting things.
Source: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2018/05/27/101545-st-john-the-russian-and-confessor-whose-relics-are-on-the-island
