Saint John the Russian

icon Saint John Russian icon on wood

Saint John was born in a village in the so-called Little Russia, around 1690 AD, to pious and virtuous parents. When he reached the legal age, he enlisted in the army, while Peter the Great reigned in Russia. He took part in the war waged by the brave Tsar against the Turks in 1711 AD, and was taken prisoner by the Tatars. The Tatars sold him to an Ottoman officer, Hipparchus, who came from Procopius of Asia Minor. So, blessed John, having the wisdom that God generously gives to those who love him, endured the slavery and mistreatment of his master. After a few years, during which the blessed John lived with fasting and prayer, approaching the end of his life, he fell ill. Anticipating his end, he asked to commune with the Eternal Mysteries and so he asked for a priest. But the priest was afraid to openly carry the Holy Mysteries to the stable, because of the fanaticism of the Turks. However, he became wise, with the help of the Divine Enlightenment, and taking an apple, he dug it up, put the Holy Communion inside and so he went to the stable, where he actually communed with the blessed John. John, as soon as he received the Incarnate Body and the Holy Blood of the Lord, surrendered his Holy Soul to the hands of God, Whom he loved so much. The Relic of the Saint is indestructible in the homonymous Pilgrimage of Prokopi, Evia. His memory is honored on May 27.
John the Russian Saint