John of Kronstadt is revered among Orthodox Christians as a miracle worker. Prayers addressed to him can heal even the most severe diseases.

Saint John helps everyone who turns to him in prayer. The power of the miraculous face has demonstrated its miraculous properties more than once. And during his lifetime, many pilgrims flocked to the holy righteous man who asked the wise John for advice.

History and description of the icon

John of Kronstadt early childhood was gifted, and at the age of six he came to him. The saint, like Sergius of Radonezh, acquired the ability to learn only after prayers. After graduating from the seminary and academy, John became a priest, and people soon began to turn to the monk for wise advice. Thanks to his innate sense of compassion, Father John always chose the right words for each parishioner, helped with prayers and healed people with any ailments. In addition to miracles of healing, John supported charitable activities, daily feeding the needy, whose number reached a thousand. The righteous man gained fame throughout the world and after his death was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

John of Kronstadt is depicted as an old man in the garb of a priest. The saint is depicted with the Chalice and the Gospel in his left hand, and with his right hand he blesses everyone who turns to him for help. On some icons John is depicted with a cross in right hand and the Kronstadt Cathedral on the left. There are also images where the elder holds in his hands a scroll with an inscription, which is different on the icons.

How does the icon of John of Kronstadt help?

People turn to the saint in different life situations with requests:

• about healing from diseases;
• about giving reason to children;
• during training;
• to avoid temptations;
• from alcoholism and other addictions;
• Elderly people pray for good health.

Righteous prayers, even said in your own words, can change everyone’s life. better side, help cope with raging emotions and abandon negative actions that can destroy the soul.

Celebration day icon

The Memorial Day of Orthodox Saint John is celebrated twice a year. First time - January 2, on the day of his death, and also June 14, on the day of his glorification.

Prayer before the icon

“Wonderworker John! Save and preserve the servant of God (name). Grant me health and healing from physical and mental torment. Guide me on the true path and do not let me perish in the abyss of my anger and greed. Keep my family in strength and peace, grant wisdom to my offspring so that they can comprehend the wisdom of learning. Save and preserve the souls of all my loved ones and do not leave me without your support in difficult times. Amen".

Where is the icon of John of Kronstadt

Pilgrims visit the monastery founded by St. John, which is located in St. Petersburg. It houses the tomb in which the miracle worker is buried. There are icons of John in many cities throughout Russia and abroad: in Moscow, Estonia, Bryansk, the village of Bereznik Arkhangelsk region, in Minsk, in Zaporozhye, in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Orthodox prayers provide help and support to everyone. With their help, it is much easier to cope with difficulties, lead a righteous lifestyle and resist negativity. We wish you health and happiness, and do not forget to press the buttons and

02.01.2018 05:15

Matrona of Moscow is one of the saints beloved and revered by Orthodox believers. Since birth she...

During the hustle and bustle troubled life Sometimes you really want to plunge into peace, and this can be done in an Orthodox church near the holy image of John.

The icon of John of Kronstadt is present in many Christian churches. The venerable saint continues to help people after death, just as he helped during his consecrated life to God and people.

Distinctive features of the icon of John of Kronstadt

The reverend archpriest died in 1908, at which time there was already a photographer, and to this day photographs of the saint during his lifetime have been preserved, helping icon painters to convey the appearance of the saint on canvas.

Righteous John of Kronstadt

Looking carefully at the image of the saint, even from a distance you understand that before you is the face of a man who during his lifetime had a deep mind and a strong will.

During prayer to the saint, special grace descends from the icon; those praying sometimes feel the presence of the saint near them, his image literally comes to life and differs from mortals only by the halo above his head.

What does an icon help with?

From the memoirs of the monks of the monastery where Archpriest John served, it is known that the saint never refused to help people; miracles of healing occurred both during the saint’s life and after death.

Christians ask the holy image for a gift:

People dependent on alcohol were under the special care of the saint. Not only relatives of drunkards, but also chronic alcoholics themselves came to him for help. Never refused anyone loving people Father.

Young people come to the icons of the saint to ask for the gift of diligence in their studies, old people - for a dignified old age, spiritual and physical health.

Important! The saint's selfless help during his lifetime continues in miraculous manifestations granted through prayers at the holy image.

John of Kronstadt helps everyone, regardless of religion and social status. Rich and poor, sick and healthy, young and old leave the saint with thanksgiving.

Both during the life of the righteous man and after his death, people consider it an honor to donate to the temple in the name of strengthening the Christian faith.

Miracles through prayers

There is an endless stream of messages of gratitude recorded in the Church of St. John of Kronstadt after miraculously received healings and liberations.

• The doctors sentenced Evgenia to childlessness, but the woman did not give up; if there is no treatment, then we must hope for God's healing. The woman went to the holy relics of the saint, prayed for a long time at the icon of the saint, and upon returning home it turned out that she was pregnant.
• Archpriest Vladimir Gamaris was subjected to religious persecution in 1982 on trumped-up charges. Vladimir asked in a letter for the protection of the bishop, sent a message and that same night saw a dream in which Saint John prayed on his knees at the altar of his church. The next morning the news came that the plan of the atheists had failed.
• Svetlana Tsvirko thanked the priest for the miraculous healing of her mother and mother-in-law. Her mother was suspected of cancer, and she came to St. Petersburg for examination. My mother-in-law was also treated here; she was diagnosed with gangrene and wanted to amputate her blackened leg. The woman spent the whole day in prayer near John’s grave, after which her mother called and said that there was no cancer, there was a mistake, and soon the mother-in-law was discharged, the gangrene receded on its own. Since that time, the icon of St. John of Kronstadt, attached to the saint’s grave, has always been with Svetlana.

The list of miracles performed through prayers near the miraculous image is endless.

My husband went straight away. How long the time dragged on! On next morning There was another doctor's round. The doctor explained to the worried mothers,
that their children feel better, that mothers don’t have to worry too much, but she was silent about my son.

My heart sank. I called out to her myself, asking what was wrong with my child.
The doctor answered me: “Mommy, most likely there was some mistake with yours. There is no other way to explain this. The baby is absolutely healthy. Both weight and temperature are normal. They’ll bring him to feed you now.” God bless!!!

And this is one of many cases prayer help Dear Father John of Kronstadt to our family. It’s impossible to list everything. Something so personal that you can’t trust it to paper. But everything is in memory, and the gratitude of our entire family is in our hearts. Low bow to the Holy Father and thanks to God!

Oksana A.
"Son tongues “not given in any way”»

Good afternoon, editor! It is very difficult for my son, Ivan, to study at the gymnasium. Once, in a conversation with my grandmother, I complained to her that my son “isn’t good at languages.” She said that she would pray for Vanya to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. I, too (only a few times and with doubts, God forgive me) asked the saint for help in teaching my son.

And so, already in the third grade, he first experienced a keen interest in English, his quarter marks in Russian and English languages. Holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, pray to God for us! Pray to the Lord to help our unbelief!

Tatiana
“I looked at his icon and prayed for help as best I could.”

Several years ago, my whole family and I were faced with a serious illness of mine - drug addiction. In addition, I was also addicted to extreme sports, where I recklessly constantly got injured and broke bones.

My best friend, feeling my problems, but not fully knowing them, she simply gave me a link to the Orthodox Counseling Center in the name of St. John of Kronstadt. At that moment, everything inside me resisted treatment and healing. More precisely, it seemed to me that there was nothing serious, it was just a stage of growing up. Then only I realized how strong the mercy of God is, His love and every second concern for our salvation!!! It is probably impossible for us to even fully imagine this.

I saved the link, and after some time, with God's help, came to this center. At that time I knew nothing about Saint John of Kronstadt. I just sat in the reception center of the center, looked at its icon and prayed for help as best I could...

And then something changed inside me, and I realized something important - shame and the mercy of God! Then began a long and painful struggle with the evil within oneself. Each time I prayed to God and the Saints to give me strength to just get to the temple. I am very grateful to the patron saint of the center, John of Kronstadt, because through his prayers the specialists and servants of the temple work, hundreds of people and their families are saved. This is a miracle!

Now everything is fine with me. I got married, we got married right after the painting. I have an amazing job as a speech pathologist. My husband and I are waiting for the birth of our baby.

Believe in the prayers of the Holy Fathers! God's mercy is immense!

Evgenia
“I prayed for the gift of a child to us”

Two years ago, my husband and I went on a pilgrimage to St. Petersburg for the New Year, where I prayed at the relics for the gift of a child to us.

When we returned to Moscow, I realized that I was pregnant. Now we have a son, Ivan. God bless!!!

Archpriest Vladimir Gamaris
"The godless retreat"

The holy righteous John of Kronstadt helped me in 1982, when I was persecuted by the godless authorities, the Kyiv regional commissioner of the Council for Religious Affairs and two ill-wishers and slanderers who actively helped them. At my parish in Irpen they staged a vile provocation. I wrote a report about the attempt to disrupt the service, which with great difficulty I was able to submit to the ruling bishop. Late at night, exhausted, I fell asleep completely exhausted.

I dreamed about our altar. I stand near the Throne. He enters the altar with quick, energetic steps, kneels, prays, tells me a few words of support and approval, and leaves the altar. Having cheered up, the next morning I go to my bishop. And I feel that the planned and well-organized provocation of the enemies of the Church failed. Everything is falling apart for them. The atheists retreat, the ruler settles the problems with the authorized representative and protects me. I was 28 years old at the time, my wife was 19...

I have no doubt that the Lord protected me through the prayers of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. Therefore, when our son was born in 1984, we named him John...

Zinaida
“On the second of January in our temple there is nowhere for an apple to fall”

And in the village of Nikolskoye, in the monastery of Father Zosima, on the second of January in the temple there is nowhere for an apple to fall. People go and go to pray to the holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, bring and bring children with faith to help the holy father. And so on for many years in a row. Surely there is specific examples help, and most importantly, that people come to pray to their beloved priest. And such joy in my soul! Father John, pray to God for us! Here's an example people's love to the priest in the vastness of Ukraine.

Svetlana Tsvirko
"Mother-in-law wanted to amputate the leg"

In 2012, I attended training in St. Petersburg for five days. On the first day after studying, I went to the Ioannovsky Monastery, where I had never been before, but I really wanted to visit the grave of Father Ioann.

My mother had to go to school the next day medical examination, and suspected the worst. My mother-in-law was also in the hospital. Her age was then 76 years. They wanted to amputate the leg: gangrene set in, the leg turned black. I was very upset and afraid for her. I was also worried about my husband - how he would survive if his mother-in-law couldn’t stand the amputation.

I fell to the grave of Father John and asked, asked, asked. The next day my mother called after the examination and said that there was no cancer, but she needed treatment. Ten days later, when I had already returned, my husband told me that his mother had been discharged from the hospital: the blackness on her leg began to go away and there was no gangrene - the doctors were mistaken, they say... Thank God for everything!!!

Now I know that the priest helped. His icon, attached to the grave, is always before my eyes. Holy righteous Father John, pray to God for us!

Priest Evgeny Tsyplenkov
“Once I read an article against Father John”

This incident occurred at the beginning of my priestly ministry in 2002.

I heard about miracles that happened after prayer, I revered him as a saint. It was dear to me that he lived not so long ago, that there was a lot of evidence about him. But one day I read an article by an opponent of his glorification... Painful thoughts about this article took me all the time from the evening service and all night.

In the morning I served the Liturgy, and I was completely overwhelmed by these thoughts, insomnia... What kind of prayer could I have? But it was impossible to cancel the service. In complete frustration, I was putting on my clothes before the proskomedia, when suddenly I was called from the altar.

Contacted elderly woman: “Father, in our family there is some kind of divine book, but no one needs it, no one reads it, they put frying pans on it, they’ve already worn it all out, it’s probably a sin. Please take her away!” I picked up the book and it’s really tattered: the cover is stained, the title can’t be read, the spine is torn off... I open it and see: “John Sergiev, Archpriest. My life in Christ”... The Liturgy passed in one breath.

Olga
“I began to ask the priest to talk some sense into his son”

Our family moved to live in another city when our son was 14 years old. He really missed his friends and the next summer, having gone to visit his grandparents (my husband’s parents), he immediately went to see his friends in our former yard and went on a spree to the point that public transport was no longer available. I scolded him over the phone and told him to take a taxi home. He said that then he would have no pocket money left, that he would spend the night on the street, and turned off the phone. As time passed, our concern for our son and the elderly, who were also worried and could not sleep, grew.

I was then taking my first steps in faith and had not even been baptized yet. I prayed as best I could. And suddenly the name of Saint John of Kronstadt appeared in my mind, I began to admonish my son. And literally immediately the phone rang: the son apologized and said that he was already on his way home by taxi. This incident served to strengthen my faith. And I have a very warm feeling for Father John.

Maxim Zlobin
“I received not only an icon, but also the blessing of a saint”

I have small miracle, but still very significant to me. About a year ago I began to pray to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt so that he would help me find his icon. The fact is that I greatly revere this great saint, but due to forgetfulness and vanity of life, I have not been able to purchase his icon for several years.

And then, about a few weeks later, my friend calls and says that he wants to give me an icon... of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. And not just an icon, but an icon, on the back of which there is a photo of the saint’s handwritten inscription: “I bless you in the name of the Lord. Archpriest John Sergiev, January 28, 1904."

Thus, he received not only the icon, but also the blessing of the saint. This is how the holy righteous John of Kronstadt quickly responded to prayer.

Natalia
“And the whole world around became beautiful”

In 2007, I quit my job and left our department building after communicating with the personnel officer, all in very upset feelings. The Ioannovsky Monastery was nearby, so I went there, stood in the tomb, cried at the grave of Father Ioann, and came out still very upset.

I just thought that they were writing about how no one had ever left Father John without being consoled - and at that moment everything changed: the sun came out from behind the clouds, everything shone, and my soul felt very good - peaceful, quiet, calm, easy , and the whole world around became beautiful.

And all the necessary signatures and papers for dismissal were collected in two days without the slightest obstacle. The personnel officer, when he received all this, was very surprised and admitted that in his memory this had only happened to one person, apologized to me and was very kind.

Andrey
“My coming to faith was through St. John of Kronstadt”

I have never gone to church before. And then one day, during Great Lent, I turned on my favorite TV3 channel, and there the program about John of Kronstadt was ending. I looked for about five minutes and really wanted to know more about him; I had heard about him before, but was not interested. The day before, my son broke his laptop, and there was no Internet, and in the city library, as I thought, there was no biography of the saint.

And the next day I came to the temple, found the priest, and he gave me two volumes of “My Life in Christ” to read. As I read, my inner world began to change, I began to go to church more often and talk with the priest.

One day I asked him who is my patron saint to whom I should pray. My name is Andrey, and I thought that this was the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Father answered me: “Whoever is closest to your heart, pray to him.” And Saint John of Kronstadt became close to my heart. Studying his biography, I learned that the saint served in the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral all his life, and my joy knew no bounds!

Once again, praying at the icon of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, again during Great Lent, I mentally ask the saint: how can I get to his relics in St. Petersburg, although I myself live in the north, very far away. And then, a couple of days later, a relative calls and asks for help driving a car from St. Petersburg. So a week later I found myself at the relics of the saint! The joy was overflowing! This is how Saint John of Kronstadt changed my life, and this is only a small part of the miracles from my new life!

Alevtina Viktorovna
“Father John of Kronstadt pulled me out of the darkness of unbelief”

When Sergiev Posad was still called Zagorsk, we were given an excursion to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra at work. I was not a believer, it’s even scary to remember that time now. But I was baptized, my ancestors were all believers.

In the Lavra, I bought two thin books in the church shop. So I learned the name of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, and my long and amazing journey to the temple of God began.

Through the prayers of Father John, I met and for a long time communicated with the granddaughter of his spiritual daughter Tatyana Glebovna Varypaeva, now deceased, the kingdom of heaven to her. She gave me books about Father John, gave me an autographed photograph of him, told me a lot about her grandmother Zoya, about her parents, who were believers.

My beloved father, Father John of Kronstadt, begged me, pulled me out of the darkness of unbelief, and gave me a leader at a time when I did not yet have my own confessor. Tatyana Glebovna was the light in my window. I still feel her spiritual support.

When I am in St. Petersburg, I always go to Karpovka, to see the priest. There is a big icon of him there, and every time he looks at me differently. Sometimes, even very affectionately, but mostly strictly, and I know why. Father, pray for me, a sinner, for my children, for my brother, for my mother, for our country, its authorities and its army!

Natalia, Berlin
“Yes, it was John of Kronstadt who sent you this book!”

I’ll tell you how Saint John of Kronstadt sent a book for my mother. Once books were brought to our temple, and I bought a lot at once. About six months have passed since I began to read from those purchased - “Biography, Miracles and Instructions” about St. John of Kronstadt. I started reading and was so upset in my heart that I didn’t buy it for my mother. Let me explain: most often I buy books in duplicate: for myself and for my mother, or rather, for my parents (my father reads them too). Now I catch myself thinking: but my dad is John!

So I read it and am upset: the book is not thin, I won’t be able to copy it, I won’t be able to buy it, it’s all been sold out a long time ago. The next time I come to the temple and immediately upon entering I see this book on the shelf. I went up to pay, and they directly attacked me: where did I get it? Many people ask for this book; all copies have long been sold out.

I tell my father, and he: “It was John of Kronstadt who sent you this book!” There was no end to the joy! I wrote a letter that the book was from Saint John of Kronstadt himself, and sent it along with the book to my parents (they live in Ukraine). Saint John of Kronstadt is the most beloved of my favorite saints, he helps us constantly.

Holy righteous Father John, pray to God for us!

To the extent that you begin to pray in spirit and truth before a holy icon, for example, the Savior, to the extent that the spirit of the one depicted on the icon is attracted to the icon, so that if your faith in the presence of the person written on the icon has reached the point of that you see that face alive, then by its grace it really is here. An example is miraculous icons that spoke, exuded tears, blood, etc.; That’s why they all look unusually vividly and expressively. What is impossible for God, who can animate a stone and form a man from it? – He can do this just as wonderfully with a picturesque image. “All things are possible to him who believes”(), and the Most High miraculously descends to the believer. He unites with the sign of the Life-giving Cross and works miracles (1).

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Icons of the Savior in every Orthodox home depict His omnipresence, His dominion in every place, and the image of the saints is the co-presence or closeness to us of the saints by the grace of God, as members of the one body of the Church, united under one Head, Christ (1).

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If I pray to my God with heartfelt, living, perfect faith, then I am close not only to Him, like a son to the Father who lives in the same house with him, but also to all the worldly powers of heaven, to all the saints who reign in heaven, and they are no further from me than my icons, in front of which I pray. Therefore, it is a wonderful habit for us to have in our homes icons of the Lord, His Most Pure Mother, the Archangels, the Guardian Angel and saints and to pray before them: their closeness to our physical gaze means even greater closeness to their spiritual gaze, armed with undoubted faith (1).

* * *

Worshiping icons, I, firstly, honor in them God, who gave birth without beginning to the Son - His living Image, who gave material existence to the infinite thought of God the Father, creating the worlds and all creatures that were in the thought of God, and man, created in the image and according to likeness of God; secondly, I honor the image of God incarnate; thirdly, I respect myself, my image of an immortal, god-like man, called to be a partaker of the divine nature, one with the Lord, the temple of the Holy Spirit. I am also involuntarily moved to venerate icons because I see the saving power of God manifested through them for the faithful and the punishing power for the unfaithful, just as I see and feel this same power in the image of the cross of the Lord, which, due to its miraculous power, is called wonder-working. For all these reasons, icons replace for me the very persons whose names they bear. The faces of the saints on our icons represent to us the closeness in spirit of the saints of God, who are all alive with God and in the Holy Spirit are always close to us through our heartfelt faith and prayer to them. For what could be remote for the Spirit of God, who is omnipresent and fulfills everything and penetrates all intelligent, pure, subtle spirits (). “There is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents”(). This means that the dispositions of our soul are revealed not only to God, but also to the Angels. “Standing before You and before Your terrible and holy Angels... I present my wicked and lawless deeds, reveal these and reprove them” (1).

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If someone asks you why you pray to soulless icons, what benefit do you get from them, say that we receive incomparably more benefit from our icons than from the kindest and most charitable person, say that from icons always comes grace-filled power and help to your souls , saving you from sins, sorrows and illnesses, especially from the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, that one heartfelt view of them with faith as being alive and near us saves from fierce sorrows, passions and spiritual darkness, that if touching the vestments of the Savior and the handkerchiefs of the apostles made the sick healthy, then all the more are the faces of the Savior and the Mother of God powerful to heal believers from all sorrow, through faith in the Lord and the Mother of God (1).

* * *

How do you see the face on the icon? Mother of God, so She, the Most Pure Mother of the Never-Slumbering Eye (of the Lord), sees your whole soul, all thoughts, feelings, intentions, undertakings, all passions, weaknesses, shortcomings, of course, and virtues, all sighs, tears, all reverence, hears thanksgiving, doxology , all secret and open prayers. Her knowledge is wonderful, for She is the Mother of the Omniscient and Omnipresent, who created our hearts (1).

* * *

When you pray before the image of the Lord, or the Mother of God, or the saints, ask yourself internally: do you sincerely and with love look at the holy icons, do you pray with faith, do you pray with all your heart, with all your thoughts and with all your hope? Is your heart not asleep, is your thought not asleep? (4)

* * *

We, Orthodox Christians, talk face to face, mouth to mouth, with the Lord, the Mother of God, the holy Angels and all the saints. This is what it means, according to Orthodox Christian custom, to pray reverently before holy icons in spirit and truth. This is why we supply them in churches and houses of worship (chapels) and in our homes. We believe in the closeness of the Lord and His saints to us and that we are one spiritual body with them, one Church, just as there is one Head of them and ours, the Lord. With such faith in our holy icons and in the Church, will you, heretical iconoclasts, throw stones of slanderous condemnation at them? We are right, and you are wrong and false (4).

* * *

The life-giving face of the Savior, the Mother of God, the Forerunner and the saints depicts the most holy truth, goodness, humility, and mercy. With what love we must look at the holy icons, at the image of the Holy Cross, at the Gospel and other shrines that remind us of the great deeds and words of God and the holy saints! So look, and do not lower your face to the ground, do not be alienated with your heart and eyes, like the Lutherans, Pashkovites or Jews.

Appropriate yourself to the heavenly Church. You love monuments to famous people, you love looking at their portraits, photographs - why don’t you like looking at the faces of saints? You are inconsistent and very, very stupid, false and wild (4).

* * *

Looking at the iconostasis in a church, chapel or home, remember the words of the Savior: “You are not strangers or aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s family”(). And say: by the grace of God, we, Orthodox and faithful Christians, are cohabitants of the Mother of God and all the saints. That is why we use holy icons and honor them, and in them - the most primitive thing, that is, the saints themselves, we form with them one cathedral, one, heavenly and earthly. By honoring them, we remember and honor their exploits out of love for God, their loyalty and devotion to Him until death, and we ourselves want to imitate them in faith and self-sacrifice for the sake of His name (4).

* * *

Orthodox Christian turns his face to the holy icons of the Savior, the Mother of God, Angels and various saints in order to clearly demonstrate his faith in their presence, in their closeness to himself; in holy icons they realize and fulfill our Orthodox faith, but without holy icons we seem to hang in the air, not knowing to whom we pray (4).

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You look at the icon of the Savior and see that He is looking at you with His brightest eyes - this looking is an image of the fact that He really looks at you with His clearest eyes of the sun and sees all your thoughts, hears all your heart desires and sighs. An image is an image; in features and signs it represents that which is indescribable and insignifiable, but comprehensible only by faith. Believe that the Savior always looks at you and sees you all - with all your thoughts, sorrows, sighs, with all your circumstances, in full view. “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands Mine; Your walls are always before Me."(), says the Lord. How much consolation and life there are in these words of the Almighty Provider! So, pray before the icon of the Savior, as if before Him Himself, the Lover of Mankind is inherent in it with His grace and with the eyes written on it, as if looking at you: in every place His eyes look (), which means, both on the icon and with hearing, on it pictured is listening to you. But remember that His eyes are the eyes of God, and His ears are the ears of the omnipresent God (6).

* * *

The Lord preserves not only all the bones (), but also the images of the holy saints, not allowing them to perish in corruption, neglect and idleness, seeking them miraculously, as we know from the description of the appearances of miraculous icons, especially the icons of the Most Pure Mother of God - our Lady. Thus, the image of a person is dear to the Lord, especially a holy person, a vessel of grace. Through the image He performs miracles or gives invisible powers of healing and consolation (6).

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Looking at the icon of the Mother of God with the eternal Child, marvel at how sincerely the Divinity united with humanity, glorify the goodness and omnipotence of God and, having recognized your human dignity, live worthy of the high title to which you are called in Christ, that is, the title of a child of God and an eternal heir bliss (7).

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We keep icons in our homes and worship them, among other things, to show that the eyes of the Lord God and all the inhabitants of heaven are constantly fixed on us and see not only all our deeds, but also our words, thoughts, and desires (7).

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Imagery or symbolism is the need of human nature in our present spiritual-sensual state: it clearly explains to us very much of spiritual world, which without images and symbols we could not know. Hence the Divine Teacher, the Hypostatic Wisdom, who created everything, the Son of God, our Lord, often taught people in images or parables; hence, in our Orthodox church it is customary to present many things figuratively to the gaze of Christians, for example, the Lord Himself in the icon, the Most Pure Mother of God, the Angels and all the saints, so that we imagine our lives, imagine all our thoughts, words and deeds in the image of the thoughts, words and deeds of the Lord and His saints; hence the frequent image of the cross, burning incense, lighting candles and lamps, entering and exiting the altar; for this purpose, bowing, bowing, prostrating (we have fallen deeply through sin). All this reminds us of various spiritual objects and states. Imagery has a great influence on the human soul, on its creative or active ability. So, they say, if a mother, during pregnancy, often looks at the face or image of her beloved husband, then the baby is born very similar to the father, or if she looks at the portrait of a beautiful child, then a beautiful baby is born to her; Thus, if a Christian often, with love and reverence, looks at the image of the Lord Jesus Christ or His Most Pure Mother and His saints, then his soul accepts the spiritual traits of the kindly seen face (meekness, humility, mercy, abstinence). Oh, if we would more often look at the faces and especially at the life of the Lord and His saints, how we would change, ascend from strength to strength! (7)

* * *

If you doubt whether the icon of the Mother of God, before which you pray, is consecrated, then know that the Primordial Lady Herself has been consecrated for one thousand nine hundred years, even in the womb of Her parents - Joachim and Anna, then at birth and in the temple of Jerusalem and, finally, in an ineffable incarnation from Her God of the Word. She is always holy and all-holy, eternally, unshakably, unchangeably, and She exists in every place, is inherent in every icon of Her, and with just the outline of Her face and name and the face of Spasov and His name, She already sanctifies the substance with Her very face and the outline of names. In the simplicity of your heart, look at every icon, and doubt is from the devil, to distract you from heartfelt prayer. Tell him: the whole earth is holy, in every place is the dominion of my Lord and His Most Pure Mother - the Lady of the whole world; I look at Her, the Most Pure One, with the eyes of my heart, and I do not worship the board: the image was made only to help my weakness (7).

* * *

The miraculous icons of the Mother of God and other saints teach us to look at every icon as at the very saint or saint to whom we pray, as living persons who converse with us, for they are close to us just as and even more than icons, if only with with faith and heartfelt affection we prayed to them (7).

* * *

Is it not for the beauty of your home, like beautiful furniture, like decoration, that you hang rich and picturesque icons in your house, without treating them with heartfelt faith, love and reverence, as if they were a shrine? Ask your heart if this is true. Icons in a house or in a temple are not for show, but for prayer, for veneration, for edification. The faces of the saints should be our home church teachers. Read their lives and seal them on your heart, and try to conform to their lives (7).

* * *

We worship images of saints as images of the glorious and all-validating Christian virtues: faith, hope, love, selflessness, mercy, meekness, humility, kindness, courage and patience, obedience, purity, unceasing prayer, spiritual alertness. This is who and what we worship - we worship God Himself in them, who dwells in them and acts in them and performs beneficial miracles of healing through them.

The use of holy icons in Orthodox and other Christian societies is necessary because - in addition to other reasons - that the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy Angels and holy saints are inaccessible to our mortal vision in their heavenly wonderful glory, but in holy icons they are accessible, tangible, so to speak , and our nature - dual, spiritual and physical, requires a visible, tactile image - the very Body and Blood of Christ in communion under the guise of bread and wine. Therefore, the Lord, condescending to our weakness, depicted Himself on the ubrus and gave up His image for pious worship, healing, and consolation for people for all ages; therefore he gave us the most pure Body and Blood; therefore, the world seals us in Confirmation for the visible communication of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (10).

* * *

By venerating icons, I venerate virtue personified, I venerate the image and likeness of God restored in fallen man, I venerate God, who rests in the saints, for “He who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord” ().

Holy righteous
JOHN OF KRONSTADT (†1908)

Childhood

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (real name Ivan Ilyich Sergiev) born October 19 (November 1, New Style) 1829 in the village of Sura, Arkhangelsk province - in the far north of Russia - in the family of a poor rural sexton Ilya Sergiev and his wife Theodora. The newborn seemed so weak and sickly that the parents hastened to baptize him immediately, thinking that the child would not live to see the morning, and they named him John, in honor of the Monk John of Rila, celebrated that day by the Holy Church. Soon after his baptism, baby John began to noticeably improve.

Vanya's parents were simple people and deeply religious. Father, Ilya Mikhailovich, sang and read prayers during services in a local rural church. From early childhood he took his son to church and thereby instilled in him a special love for worship.

Living in harsh conditions of extreme material need, the youth John early became acquainted with bleak pictures of poverty, grief, tears and suffering. This made him focused, thoughtful, and introverted, while at the same time instilling in him a deep empathy and compassionate love for the poor. Not being carried away by the games characteristic of childhood, he, constantly carrying the memory of God in his heart, loved nature, which aroused in him tenderness and admiration for the greatness of the Creator of every creature.

Already in childhood, he was characterized by special sensitivity to manifestations of the spiritual world: at the age of 6, John was honored with the appearance of his Guardian Angel. Little Vanya was often sick and sometimes spent long days in bed. He not only saw his mother praying for his health, but he himself prayed with her.

At the age of 6, Vanya’s father bought an ABC book and began teaching his son to read and write.At first, the diploma was given to him with difficulty, like the Monk Sergius of Radonezh, and just like the Monk, through prayer the youth John acquired the ability to teach. One night, when everyone was sleeping, six-year-old Vanya saw an unusual light in the room. Having looked closely, he froze: the Guardian Angel was floating in the unearthly light. Confusion, fear and at the same time joy overwhelmed the child. Seeing the boy’s excitement, the Angel calmed him down and, promising to protect him from all sorrows and troubles, disappeared.

Studies

The youth John prays on the way to school

From that time on, the youth John began to study well: he was one of the first to graduate from the Arkhangelsk Parish School, in 1851 he graduated from the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary and for his success was admitted at public expense to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, which he graduated in 1855 with a candidate of theology degree, defending the work “On the Cross of Christ in Convicting the Imaginary Old Believers.”

While still studying at the seminary, he lost his dearly beloved father. As a loving and caring son, John wanted to look for a position as a deacon or psalmist straight from the seminary in order to support his old mother, who had no means of support. But she did not want her son to lose his higher spiritual education because of her, and insisted on his admission to the Academy. And the obedient son obeyed.

Having entered the Academy, the young student did not leave his mother without care: he obtained a clerical job for himself from the academic board, and sent all the meager earnings he received to his mother.

Beginning of ministry

One day, thinking about his upcoming service to the Church of Christ during a solitary walk through the academic garden, he returned home, fell asleep and in a dream saw himself as a priest serving in the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, which in reality he had never been to before. He took this as an order from above. Soon the dream came true with literal accuracy.

After completing his theological education in 1855, he became a priest of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt, where he served for 53 years.

In December 1931 St. Andrew's Cathedral was closed. In the second half of 1931, the premises of the cathedral housed a warehouse for a purchasing cooperative. In 1932, the cathedral was dismantled. In 1955, a monument to Lenin was erected in the resulting square. The square was named Leninsky. In 2001, this monument was moved to the Young Leninist square. In 2002, the St. Andrew's Union erected a memorial granite sign with the inscription:
“On this site stood the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called, in which the Great Prayer Book of the Russian Land, holy and righteous Father John of Kronstadt, served for 53 years. The cathedral was consecrated in 1817 and destroyed in 1932. Let this stone cry out to our hearts for the restoration of the desecrated shrine.”

He married the daughter of the archpriest of the same church, Konstantin Novitsky, Elizaveta, but had no children. The couple “took upon themselves the feat of virginity.” His marriage, which was required by the customs of our Church for a priest serving in the world, was only fictitious, necessary to cover up his selfless pastoral deeds. In reality, he lived with his wife like brother and sister.

John of Kronstadt with his wife

On December 12, 1855, he was ordained to the priesthood. When he first entered the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, he stopped almost in horror at its threshold: this was exactly the temple that had long before appeared to him in his childhood visions. The rest of life is about. John and his pastoral activities took place in Kronstadt, which is why many forgot even his surname “Sergiev” and called him “Kronstadtsky,” and he himself often signed his name that way.

Located on the island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland, 46 versts from St. Petersburg, Kronstadt of those times was not an ordinary city. On the one hand, there is a powerful naval fortress, a parking lot and a base for the Baltic Navy. On the other hand, it is a place of exile for beggars, vagabonds and people who have done something wrong. There were also many laborers here who worked in the port and factories.These residents huddled around the outskirts of the city. Those who could, built themselves shacks from half-rotten logs and boards. Others dug dugouts. People lived in hopeless need, in cold and hunger. Not only children begged, but also their drinking fathers, and sometimes desperate mothers.

And Father John drew attention to these unfortunate and degraded people, despised by everyone. The young priest began visiting poor neighborhoods.

With his troubles for the Kronstadt “unfortunate tramps,” Father John annoyed many, and especially the authorities and high-ranking officials. Many did not believe in the sincerity of his intentions, mocked him, spread slander and slander about the priest, and called him a holy fool. But no matter what, Father John went his own way.

« We must love every person both in his sin and in his shame, - said Fr. John, - there is no need to confuse man - this image of God - with the evil that is in him" With such a consciousness, he went to people, conquering everyone and reviving everyone with the power of his truly pastoral compassionate love.

By admonishing fallen people and praying for them, donating money and things to the poor, Father John also helped the sick. Sometimes he was called to a sick person at night, and without hesitation he went, not afraid of even the most contagious. For his trips to the sick and for prayers for healing, Father John never asked for anything. He only reminded us that we need to thank God for everything.

Discovery of the gift of miracles

Soon the wondrous gift of miracles was revealed in Father John, which glorified him throughout Russia and even far beyond its borders. There is no way to list all the miracles performed by Father John. Our unbelieving intelligentsia and its press deliberately suppressed these countless manifestations of the power of God.

Through the prayers of John of Kronstadt and the laying on of his hands, the most serious illnesses were cured, when medicine was lost in its helplessness. Healings were performed both in private and in front of a large crowd of people, and very often in absentia. Sometimes it was enough to write a letter to Father John or send a telegram for the miracle of healing to happen.

There is a lot of evidence of healings.

Particularly remarkable was the miracle that happened in front of everyone in the village of Konchanskoye (Suvorovskoye), described by chance by the Suvorov commission of military academy professors that was then there (in 1901). A woman who had suffered from demonic possession for many years and was brought to Father John in an insensible state, a few moments later was completely healed by him and brought to normal condition a completely healthy person.

The artist Zhivotovsky described the miraculous shedding of rain in an area suffering from drought and threatened by a forest fire, after Father John offered his prayer there.

Many miracles were performed through the prayers of the gracious shepherd. Father John especially pitied those susceptible to the passion of drinking wine and healed many from it.

Father John healed with the power of his prayer not only Russian Orthodox people, but also Muslims, Jews, and foreigners who turned to him from abroad. This great gift of miracles was naturally a reward to Father John for his great deeds - prayerful works, fasting and selfless deeds of love for God and his neighbors.

"All-Russian Father"

Soon all believing Russia flowed to the great and wondrous miracle worker. His fame as a famous shepherd, preacher and miracle worker quickly spread everywhere. The second period of his glorious life and his exploits has begun. At first, he himself went to the people within the confines of one of his cities, and now the people themselves from everywhere, from all over Russia, rushed to him. Thousands of people came to Kronstadt every day, wanting to see Father John and receive some kind of help from him.

More larger number He received letters and telegrams. Along with letters and telegrams, huge sums of money for charity flowed to Father John. Their size can only be judged approximately, for when Father John received the money, he immediately gave it all away. According to the most minimal calculation, at least one million rubles passed through his hands a year (a huge amount at that time!).

St. John of Kronstadt brings homeless children to the shelter.

With this money, Father John fed a thousand beggars every day, built a wonderful institution in Kronstadt - the “House of Diligence” with a school, church, workshops and an orphanage, founded a convent in his native village and erected a large stone church, and in St. Petersburg he built a convent for women. monastery on Karpovka, in which he was buried upon his death.

Having reached high degree prayerful contemplation and dispassion, Father John calmly accepted the rich clothes presented to him by his admirers and put on them. He even needed this to cover up his exploits. Some people blamed Father John for wearing expensive clothes. However, according to eyewitnesses, he did not order it for himself, and accepted it only so as not to offend the donors, who sincerely wanted to thank him or serve him in some way. In fact, carefully hiding his asceticism from people, Father John was the greatest ascetic. The basis of his ascetic feat was unceasing prayer and fasting.

He gave away all the donations he received, down to the last penny. So, for example, having once received a package from the hands of a merchant in front of a huge crowd of people, Father John immediately handed it over to the outstretched hand of a poor man, without even opening the package. The merchant got excited: “Father, there’s a thousand rubles there!” - “His happiness” Father John answered calmly. Sometimes, however, he refused to accept donations from certain people. There is a known case when he did not accept 30,000 rubles from one rich lady. In this case, the foresight of Father John was revealed, for this lady received this money through unclean means, for which she later repented.

Father John was also a wonderful preacher, and he spoke very simply and most often without special preparation - impromptu. He wasn't looking beautiful words and original expressions, but his sermons were distinguished by extraordinary power and depth of thought, and at the same time exceptional theological scholarship, with all their accessibility to understanding even ordinary people. In every word he felt some special power was felt, as a reflection of the strength of his own spirit.

The “All-Russian Father” (as Father John was called) himself constantly traveled around the country, visiting its most remote corners. These trips were a real triumph for Christ's humble servant. Everywhere he appeared, a crowd of people eager to at least touch the miracle worker instantly grew around him. The crowd of people was in the tens of thousands, and everyone was overwhelmed with feelings of heartfelt faith and reverence, the fear of God and the thirst to receive a healing blessing. As Father John passed by on the steamer, crowds of people ran along the shore, many kneeling as the steamer approached.

When John of Kronstadt served in the cathedral church of Kharkov on July 20, 1890, over 60,000 people gathered on Cathedral Square. Exactly the same scenes took place in the Volga cities: Samara, Saratov, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod. Wherever it became known about his arrival, many people gathered in advance: crowds gathered around him and literally tore his clothes (once the residents of Riga tore his cassock into pieces, everyone wanting to have a piece for themselves).

Daily routine of John of Kronstadt

In this house on the second floor there was an apartment for the clergy of St. Andrew's Cathedral - John of Kronstadt lived in it from 1855 to 1908

Father John got up every day at 3 a.m. and prepared for service. Divine Liturgy.

Under John of Kronstadt, the house was two-story, but in Soviet times two more floors were added to it, which greatly confused historians when they were looking for an apartment. In the photo: a model of the house, what it looked like before

At about 4 o'clock he went to the cathedral for matins. Here he was already met by crowds of pilgrims, eager to receive at least a blessing from him. There were also many beggars to whom Father John gave alms.

Living room of the apartment-museum of John of Kronstadt

During Matins, Father John always read the canon himself, giving this reading great value. Before the start of the liturgy there was confession.

Due to the enormous number of people who wanted to confess to Father John, general confession was introduced to them. This general confession made a stunning impression on all participants and eyewitnesses: many repented out loud, loudly shouting out their sins without shame or embarrassment. St. Andrew's Cathedral, which could accommodate up to 5,000 people, was always full, and therefore communion took a very long time, and the liturgy did not end before 12 noon. On other days he confessed for 12 hours and received communion during the service continuously for 3-4 hours.

Sermon in St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt.

According to eyewitnesses and those who served with Father John, Father John’s celebration of the Divine Liturgy defies description. Father John's service was a continuous fervent prayerful outburst to God. During the service, he was truly a mediator between God and people, an intercessor for their sins, he was a living link connecting the earthly Church, for which he interceded, and the heavenly Church, among whose members he hovered in spirit at those moments. Father John's reading on the choir was not a simple reading, but a lively, enthusiastic conversation with God and His saints: he read loudly, clearly, soulfully, and his voice penetrated the very soul of those praying. And during the Divine Liturgy, all the exclamations and prayers were pronounced by him as if with his enlightened eyes, face to face, he saw the Lord before him and spoke with Him. Tears of tenderness flowed from his eyes, but he did not notice them. It was clear that Father John, during the Divine Liturgy, experienced the entire history of our salvation, felt deeply and strongly all the Lord’s love for us, felt His suffering. Such service had an extraordinary effect on everyone present.

Not everyone came to him with firm faith: some with doubt, others with distrust, and others out of curiosity. But here everyone was reborn and felt how the ice of doubt and unbelief gradually melted and was replaced by the warmth of faith. Those taking communion after general confession it always happened so much that sometimes there were several large bowls on the holy altar, from which several priests gave communion to the faithful at the same time. And such communion often lasted more than 2 hours.

During the service, letters and telegrams were brought to Father John directly to the altar, and he immediately read them and prayed for those whom he was asked to remember.

After the service, accompanied by thousands of believers, Father John left the cathedral and went to St. Petersburg on countless calls to the sick. And he rarely returned home before midnight. It must be assumed that many nights he had no time to sleep at all.

It was possible to live and work like this, of course, only with the presence of God’s supernatural, gracious help!

Teaching activities

John of Kronstadt was also a remarkable teacher of the law. For over 25 years he taught the Law of God in KronstadtCity School (since 1857) and Kronstadt Classical Gymnasium (since 1862).

He never resorted to those teaching methods that often took place then in our educational institutions, that is, neither to excessive severity, nor to the moral humiliation of the incapable. For Father John, marks were not measures of encouragement, nor were punishments deterrents. His success was born of his warm, sincere attitude both towards the very work of teaching and towards his students. Therefore, he had no “incapables.”

In his lessons, everyone, without exception, eagerly listened to his every word. They were waiting for his lesson. His lessons were more of a pleasure, a relaxation for the students, than a heavy duty or work. It was a lively conversation, a fascinating speech, an interesting, attention-grabbing story. And these lively conversations between the shepherd-father and his children were deeply imprinted in the students’ memory for the rest of their lives. This is the way he teaches in his speeches addressed to teachers before starting academic year, explained by the need to give the fatherland, first of all, a person and a Christian, relegating questions about the sciences to the background.

There were often cases when Father John, having interceded for some lazy student sentenced to expulsion, himself began to correct him. Several years passed and the child, who seemed to show no hope, became a useful member of society.

Father John attached particular importance to reading the lives of saints, and always brought individual lives to lessons, which he distributed to students to read at home.

In 1887, John of Kronstadt was forced to leave teaching.

Spiritual diary “My life in Christ”

Despite all his extraordinary busyness, Father John nevertheless found time to keep a kind of spiritual diary, writing down daily his thoughts that came to him during prayer and contemplation. These thoughts formed a wonderful book, published under the title "My life in Christ."

Throughout his life in Kronstadt, St. John kept a spiritual diary - more than 50 years. Extracts from it were published in two volumes under the title “My Life in Christ” back in the time of St. John. After World War II, some of the diaries were lost.

This book represents a genuine spiritual treasure and can be placed on a par with the inspired works of the ancient great fathers of the Church and ascetics of Christian piety. In the 1893 edition of the complete works of John of Kronstadt, “My Life in Christ” occupies 3 volumes of more than 1000 pages. This is a completely unique diary, in which we find an unusually instructive reflection of the author’s spiritual life for every reader. Every word is from the heart, full of faith and fire; in thoughts - amazing depth and wisdom; There is amazing simplicity and clarity throughout. There is not a single extra word, there are no “beautiful phrases”. You can’t just “read” them - you must always re-read them, and you will always find in them something new, living, sacred.

“My Life in Christ,” soon after its publication, attracted everyone’s attention so much that it was translated into several foreign languages, and even became a favorite reference book among Anglican priests.

This book will forever remain a vivid testimony of how our great righteous man lived and how all those who want to not only be called, but actually be Christians should live.

The main idea of ​​all the written works of John of Kronstadt is the need for true ardent faith in God and life by faith, in a constant struggle with passions and lusts, devotion to faith and the Orthodox Church, as the only one who saves.

Socio-political position

Being himself the image of meekness and humility, love for every person, regardless of nationality and religion, John of Kronstadt treated with great indignation all those godless, materialistic and free-thinking liberal movements that undermined the faith of the Russian people and undermined the thousand-year political system Russia.

Revolutionary cataclysms, including in Kronstadt, John of Kronstadt perceived as demonic demons, asserting that “if things go like this in Russia, and atheists and anarchist madmen will not be subject to the righteous punishment of the law, and if Russia is not cleansed of many chaff, then it will will be desolate like the ancient kingdoms and cities.”

The object of particular concern for John of Kronstadt was the activities of the revolutionary anti-church intelligentsia. The main reason He considered the revolutionary ferment in Russia to be the falling away of people from the Church.

From the early 1890s, he sharply criticized the popular and influential writer Count Leo Tolstoy. He criticized that the latter “perverted the whole meaning of Christianity”, “set out to... lead everyone away from faith in God and from the Church”, “mocks Holy Scripture“,” “mocks the Church with satanic laughter,” “perishes along with his followers.” He believed that Tolstoy’s teachings intensified the “corruption of morals” of society, that his writings “poisoned many young men and women,” that Tolstoy’s “subverted Russia and prepared its political destruction.”

After 1905 and the subsequent liberalization of censorship, the Russian press began to publish negative articles and cartoons about John of Kronstadt, sometimes of an obscene and mocking nature. He was criticized for speaking out against Tolstoy, for his strong opposition to the revolutionary movement and for his support of the autocratic form of government. The newspapers wrote that John of Kronstadt surrounded himself unworthy people, who stole a significant part of the donations, who controlled the communication of pilgrims with him, admitting mainly those from whom they could get a bribe; that a special source of income was the distribution of prayers allegedly composed by John of Kronstadt, crosses and other objects “consecrated” by him.

The most notable anti-church work was Nikolai Leskov’s story “Midnight Office” (1890). Much of the story critically illuminates the activities of John of Kronstadt. The Shepherd was portrayed as a pseudo-healer, and his supporters as sectarians.

In the 1880s, a group of fanatical admirers emerged from among his admirers, who received the name Johannites, who revered him as Christ incarnate again (which was regarded as a type of Khlysty sect; they were recognized Holy Synod as a sect on April 12, 1912); Father John himself rejected and condemned them, but its very presence created a scandalous reputation in certain circles.

Death of John of Kronshadt

To the difficult feat of serving people in recent years The life of John of Kronstadt was joined by a painful personal illness - an illness that he meekly and patiently endured, never complaining to anyone. He decisively rejected the instructions of the famous doctors who used him - to maintain his strength with modest food. Here are his words: “I thank my Lord for the suffering sent down to me to purify my sinful soul. Revives - Holy Communion."

Although the illness caused a lot of suffering, Father did not change his rule - he performed divine services every day, partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Only in last days throughout his life, he could not perform liturgy and received communion at home. IN last time he celebrated liturgy at St. Andrew's Cathedral on December 9.

Father John accurately predicted the day of his death. On December 18, as if having forgotten himself, he asked Abbess Angelina: “ What date is today? She replied: "Eighteenth."— “So, two more days,”- Father said thoughtfully. Shortly before his death, he sent out Christmas cards to all postmen, delivery boys, etc., who carried out his instructions. “Otherwise they won’t get it at all,”- he added.

All-Russian shepherd died December 20 (old style) 1908 in the 80th year of his life and was buried in the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka in St. Petersburg.

Tens of thousands of people took part and were present at the burial of John of Kronstadt, and many miracles were performed at his tomb both then and in subsequent times.

It was an extraordinary funeral! The coffin with the body of John of Kronstadt was exhibited in St. Andrew's Cathedral for farewell. People continuously went to the temple all night from December 21 to 22. Throughout the entire space from Kronstadt to Oranienbaum and from the Baltic Station in St. Petersburg to the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka there were huge crowds of crying people. Until that time, such a number of people had never been at any funeral - this was a completely unprecedented event in Russia.

The funeral procession was accompanied by troops with banners, military bands performed “How Glorious is How Glorious,” and troops lined trellises along the entire road through the city. The funeral service was performed by St. Petersburg Metropolitan Anthony, at the head of a host of bishops and numerous clergy. Those who kissed the hand of the deceased testify that the hand remained neither cold nor numb. Funeral services were accompanied by general sobs of people who felt orphaned. Shouts were heard: “Our sun has set! To whom did my dear father leave us? Who will come to the aid of us now, the orphans and the weak?” But there was nothing mournful in the funeral service: it rather resembled a bright Easter matins, and the further the service went, the more festive the mood among the worshipers grew and increased. It was felt that some kind of gracious power was emanating from the coffin and filling the hearts of those present with some kind of unearthly joy. It was clear to everyone that a saint, a righteous man, was lying in the coffin, and his spirit was hovering invisibly in the temple, enveloping with his love and affection all those gathered to pay his last debt to him.

Hearse with the coffin of John of Kronstadt near St. Andrew's Cathedral

Funeral procession with the coffin of John of Kronstadt on the ice of the Gulf of Finland

The widow Elizaveta Konstantinovna survived Father John by only a few months, and was buried on May 24, 1909 in the cemetery near St. Andrew's Cathedral (at the end of her life Elizaveta Konstantinovna suffered major surgery, after which she lost her legs).

Relics of John of Kronstadt

Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka

The relics of Righteous John of Kronstadt rest in hiding in the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka.

Tombstone over the relics of John of Kronstadt in the Ioannovsky Monastery in St. Petersburg

Here are famous icon Saint John with his stole and his vestments.

A piece of the epitrachelion is also found in the Trinity-Izmailovsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in the icon, which is exact list from a monastery icon.

In Moscow, an icon of John of Kronstadt with a particle of relics located V Temple St. Sergius Radonezh (Life-Giving Trinity) in Rogozhskaya Sloboda (metro station "Ilyich Square", Nikoloyamskaya St., 57-59).

Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (Life-Giving Trinity) in Rogozhskaya Sloboda

His canonization took place in 1990.

They pray to him for all family and household needs and illnesses, as well as for deliverance from drunkenness.

Sayings:

- “We must love every person both in his sin and in his shame. There is no need to confuse man - this image of God - with the evil that is in him.”
- “You hate the enemy - you are stupid... love the enemy - and you will be wise.”
- “We must remember that this is Christian faith consists of loving one's enemies."
- “Look at every person, whether he is at home or a stranger, as constant news in the world of God, as greatest miracle God's wisdom and goodness, and let your habit of him not serve as a reason for you to neglect him. Honor and love him as yourself, constantly, unchangeably.”
- “What are human souls? This is one and the same soul, or one and the same breath of God, which God breathed into Adam, which from Adam has spread to the entire human race to this day. All people are therefore the same as one person, or one great tree of humanity.”
- “Pray, the Lord will help you according to your faith.”
“I foresee the restoration of a powerful Russia, even stronger and more powerful. On the bones of the martyrs, as on a strong foundation, a new Rus' will be erected - according to the old model, strong in its faith in Christ God and the Holy Trinity; and it will be, according to the behest of Grand Duke Vladimir, as a single Church... The Russian people have ceased to understand what Rus' is: it is the Foot of the Throne of the Lord. Russian people must understand this and thank God for being Russian.”
- “Democracy is in Hell, and in heaven is the Kingdom of God.”
- “Do not be merciless judges of people who work for God and who in their lives fall into contradiction with themselves, that is, with their piety; they are put into contradiction with themselves by the devil, their evil opponent; he grabs their hearts with his teeth and forces them to do the opposite.”

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

for the Temple Life-Giving Trinity on Vorobyovy Gory

Prayer to Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt
O great servant of Christ, holy and righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wondrous shepherd, quick helper and merciful representative! Raising praise to the Triune God, you prayerfully cried out:
Your name is Love: do not reject me, the erring one.
Your name is Strength: strengthen me, weak and falling.
Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.
Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul.
Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me.
Now, grateful to your intercession, the all-Russian flock prays to you: Christ-named and righteous servant of God!
With your love, illumine us, sinners and weaklings, grant us the ability to bear fruits worthy of repentance and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without condemnation. With your power, strengthen our faith in us, support us in prayer, heal ailments and illnesses, deliver us from misfortunes, visible and invisible enemies.
With the light of your face, incite the servants and representatives of the Altar of Christ to holy deeds of pastoral work, grant education to an infant, instruct youth, support old age, illuminate the shrines of churches and holy monasteries!
Die, most miraculous and visionary, the peoples of our country, by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit, deliver from internecine warfare, gather the scattered, convert the seduced, and unite the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
By your grace, preserve marriage in peace and unanimity, grant prosperity and blessings to monastics in good deeds, give comfort to the faint-hearted, freedom to those suffering from unclean spirits, have mercy in the needs and circumstances of our lives, and guide us all on the path of salvation.
In Christ living, our Father John, lead us to the Everlasting Light of eternal life, so that with you we may be worthy of eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.

Troparion of Righteous John of Kronstadt, tone 1
Champion of the Orthodox faith, sorrowful of the Russian land, a shepherd of rule and a faithful figure, a preacher of repentance and life in Christ, a reverent servant of the Divine Mysteries and a daring prayer book for people, the righteous Father John, healer and wonderful miracle worker, praise to the city of Kronstadt and adornment of our Church, pray to the All-Good God to pacify the world and save our souls.

Kontakion of Righteous John of Kronstadt, tone 3
Today the shepherd of Kronstadt/ stands before the Throne of God/ and earnestly prays for the faithful/ Christ the Chief Shepherd,/ who gave the promise:/ I will build My Church,// and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.