Saint John (Maximovich), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, wonderworker (†1966). Saint John (Maximovich), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, wonderworker (†1966) John of Shanghai biography
Family
Born into a noble Orthodox family, which financially supported the Svyatogorsk Monastery on the Seversky Donets. The famous church figure of the 18th century, Metropolitan John of Tobolsk (Maximovich), who was canonized by the Russian Church in 1916, also belonged to the same family.
- Father - Boris Ivanovich Maksimovich (-), of Serbian origin, Izyum district leader of the nobility of the Kharkov province.
- Mother - Glafira Mikhailovna.
His brothers also lived in exile. One received a higher technical education and worked as an engineer in Yugoslavia, the other, after graduating from the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, worked in the Yugoslav police.
Education and early life
He graduated from the Petrovsky Poltava Cadet Corps () and the Faculty of Law of Kharkov University (). Even in his youth he was a believer, his spiritual mentor was Kharkov Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky). Initially, he wanted to enter the Kyiv Theological Academy instead of the university, but at the insistence of his parents he received a law degree.
Like many Russian emigrants, he greatly respected the king of Yugoslavia, Alexander I Karageorgievich, who patronized refugees from Russia. Many years later, a memorial service was held for him at the site of his murder on one of the streets of Marseille. Other Orthodox clergy, out of false shame, refused to serve with the bishop on the street. Then Vladyka John took a broom, laid out the episcopal eagles on the swept section of the sidewalk, lit the censer and served a requiem mass in French.
Bishop in China
Ministry in Western Europe
According to the memoirs of contemporaries,
In everyday life, the bishop was unpretentious: he wore vestments from the cheapest fabric, put on sandals on his bare feet, and often went barefoot, no matter what the weather, giving his shoes to the poor. He was a true non-covetous, a follower of another great Russian saint - St. Nile of Sorsky. He was a man of God.
The work of Bishop John was highly appreciated not only by many Orthodox people, but also representatives of other faiths. There is a story about how in Paris catholic priest told his flock that in modern world there are miracles and saints, proof of which is the Russian Saint John Barefoot (Saint Jean Pieds) walking along the streets of Paris - he meant Bishop John.
Ministry in the USA
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See what “John of Shanghai (Maksimovich)” is in other dictionaries:
It is proposed to rename this page to John of Shanghai and San Francisco. Explanation of the reasons and discussion on the Wikipedia page: To rename / October 9, 2011. Perhaps its current name does not correspond to the standards of modern ... ... Wikipedia
- (in the world Mikhail Borisovich Maksimovich) (06/4/1896 07/2/1966), saint, archbishop, one of the brightest bearers of the spiritual values and ideals of Holy Rus' in the Russian emigration. Born in the village. Adamovka, Kharkov province. in a pious noble family... ...Russian history
Contents 1 Men 1.1 A 1.2 B 1.3 D 1.4 I ... Wikipedia
Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Maksimovich. Mikhail Maksimovich: Maksimovich, Mikhail Alexandrovich (1804 1873) scientist: historian, botanist, ethnographer, philologist, first rector of Kyiv University. Maksimovich, Mikhail... ... Wikipedia
Saint John (Maximovich)
Shanghai and San Francisco Miracle Worker
The future bishop of God was born on June 4/17, 1896 into the noble family of Maksimovich in the south of Russia in the Kharkov province of Izyum district on the family estate of Adamovka. Pious parents - Boris Ivanovich and Glafira Mikhailovna, named their first-born Mikhail in honor of the Archangel of the Heavenly Powers. From his archangel, the wondrous baby was endowed with unprecedented spiritual strength, humility and courage.
Having been home-schooled, Mikhail continued the family tradition and entered the Poltava Cadet Corps. The new way of life and new comrades could not change the character of the blessed youth, rooted in piety. As before, his first place was the Lord, whom he tirelessly pleased. Studying in the cadet corps strengthened the already strong character of the pious youth. The young cadet had the right structure, a clear and correct hierarchy of values developed within him, which he followed, regardless of persons and circumstances. One day, while walking in parade formation, he broke it by crossing himself at the cathedral. For which he received a penalty from his superiors.
His soul constantly strived for the highest, the heavenly, and therefore it was very natural for Mikhail to desire to enter a theological educational institution after graduating from cadet school. But the parents of the blessed young man were against it, and Michael, like young Bartholomew, the future abbot of the Russian land, our venerable and God-bearing father Sergius of Radonezh, fulfilled his parents’ will. According to the wishes of his parents, Mikhail Maksimovich entered the Faculty of Law of the Kharkov Imperial University.
At the university, as before at Adamovka and the cadet school, student Maksimovich was distinguished by extreme piety. Having excelled in all special subjects, he delved deeper and deeper into the study of the science of all sciences - theology. As in his childhood, the pious student’s favorite reading was the lives of saints, which he studied even more deeply and consciously.
Graduation from the university coincided with the onset of a new Time of Troubles in Russia. But even during this period, for Michael, the Church of God still remained in first place. He lived and suffered with the Mother Church. Zeal for God, which singled out the blessed young man, made it possible to nominate the young ascetic, along with the venerable honorary citizens of Kharkov, to one of the first twenty - the church council of the laity at the Temple of God.
Zealously defending church property, Michael was imprisoned more than once. Already at that time he was ready to suffer for the truth of God and, if it was God’s will, to accept the crown of martyrdom. Prayerfully empathizing with the lives of the saints, Michael knew about all the numerous, including especially sophisticated, tortures to which the holy martyrs were subjected. But love for the Lord, whom he loved from his infancy, did not count these temporary, earthly torments as anything. The young man’s holy soul longed to quickly unite with his beloved Lord; he longed for the crown of martyrdom as the most direct and sure path to the Kingdom of God.
But the Lord God prepared a different fate for him...
God, the knower of the heart, having tested the young ascetic, ready to suffer for the truth, elevated him to a new level of obedience.
The parents of the blessed confessor, realizing that they could lose their beloved son, decided to flee from these horrors of godlessness. So by Providence God's family Maksimovich ended up in Serbia.
Oh, the bitter fate of refugees!.. But the Lord God easily creates good even from the worst, transforming sadness into joy. It was celebrated in Serbia cherished dream Michael - he entered the Faculty of Theology at the University of Belgrade. Acquiring invaluable theological knowledge, Michael passed a new test: need and poverty. To help his family, he sold newspapers. Constantly overtired, he often fell asleep during lectures.
After graduating from the University of Belgrade, Michael was tonsured a monk and then ordained a priest. The young hieromonk became the spiritual mentor of the seminary in Bitol, Ohrid diocese. As a monk, Michael received a new name in honor of his relative, St. John of Tobolsk. The Lord appointed young Father John to cultivate His spiritual flower garden. The reverent hieromonk set about this new obedience with all zeal. He stayed with his students day and night, tirelessly caring for them. At night, with prayer, he walked around the rooms in which they slept, and blessed each individually and all together. Likewise, the collective classes he conducted were combined with a strictly individual approach. Such care and love of the young mentor quickly began to bear abundant fruit. All his students had the highest grades. The young shepherd devoted all his strength and knowledge to his new obedience.
But along with the visible feat of serving his neighbors, the young hieromonk also performed many secret feats. From the moment of his monastic tonsure, he never went to bed and performed truly all-night vigils, fasted very strictly, eating food once a day, and during Great Lent he deprived himself of even this little.
The path of the reverend fathers, which the young hieromonk knew deeply in theory, he joyfully followed in his Everyday life, rapidly ascending from strength to strength, receiving grace upon grace. Love for the Lord and his neighbors, hard work, and constraint of the flesh, he acquired great boldness in prayer to God, His Most Pure Mother and all the holy Saints of God. He was completely happy, because previously he could not even imagine such complete unity with the Lord! His humility and noble heart were filled with a feeling of immeasurable gratitude to the Creator for the blessings bestowed upon him. Oh, this wonderful venerable feat! It seemed that the reverent young hieromonk was not only best prepared for it, but was simply created for this path.
But the Lord again prepared a new assignment and a different path for his wondrous chosen one.
Such a wonderful blessed saint of God could not hide in a quiet monastery among the students dear to his heart, but shone forth throughout the entire Serbian land. The holy Saint of Christ Nicholas (Velimirović) himself testified about him: “If you want to see a living saint, go to Bitol, to Father John.”
Piety, strict monastic life, deep theological knowledge, endless devotion and love for the Lord elevated the young hieromonk. In 1934, it was decided to consecrate him as Bishop of Shanghai.
Bishop John arrived at his first see in China on the eve of the Feast of the Entry into the Temple Holy Mother of God, just as in his time the Monk Seraphim arrived at the place of his exploits in Sarov. Saint John, with his fiery prayerful spirit, was like the Sarov stylite. At the end of the Lord's earthly life he was often compared to Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky, All Russia Wonderworker.
Upon arrival in Shanghai, the routine, measured and half-asleep life of his flock ended. Not all the flock did not immediately accept the new Lord. But gradually he established church life, many new people came to the Church, the Law of God began to be taught in all Russian educational institutions and prayer services were regularly served. Numerous charitable organizations began to open for the elderly, children and the disabled. Today, when crowds of destitute, exhausted, homeless people roam the streets of big cities, you involuntarily ask yourself the question: what would have happened if the Wonderworker John of Shanghai found himself in modern Russia. The answer is obvious: this blessed bishop would very quickly restore order in the cities and villages of his beloved Motherland.
The authority quickly gained among the Shanghai flock gave Cover of the book “Helping the Sick”
Cover of the book "Helping the Sick"
swear to Saint John with sweat and blood. Every day he served in the churches of Shanghai and was involved in the administration of the diocese, and at night he visited the sick, infirm and languishing in bonds.
As a rule, no one invited him; he himself knew where the suffering, sick and dying people were. There is a secret hidden in this feature of the Lord: why he so quickly, often without even calling on his name, comes to the aid of all suffering, ailing, people in trouble. If he did all this in his earthly life, how much closer and faster is he in a hurry to help from the Kingdom of Heaven! He is truly an ambulance - urgent, speedy Heavenly Help.
The Lord God Himself revealed to him who needed help or dying instructions. There are known cases when in the middle of the night he came to apparently healthy people, woke them up, confessed and communicated the Holy Mysteries. When asked by those accompanying him why such a rush was needed, he answered: “Tonight this man must die.” That's how it all happened.
How many hopelessly sick people did he heal with his prayer? No one will know about this anymore, because he performed all his good deeds and deeds of mercy in secret. He could pray for the dying man all night. Day after day, month after month, year after year, he begged the Lord for every sinful soul, asking people for time to repent, raise children, and repose the elderly. In the most difficult and hopeless situations, he strengthened the desperate, saying that a person’s life is not in the hands of doctors, but in the hands of God.
How many people were threatened by poverty and starvation in a foreign land, but through his prayers they were given work and shelter. In the orphanage organized by Saint John, he fed, gave excellent upbringing and education to many thousands of disadvantaged children who paid him with love and devotion. The incredible spiritual power of the Bishop was manifested in the “materialization” of his prayers: new buildings were erected for numerous charitable organizations, food products appeared, which were served daily on the table of the shelters. He truly was the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep day and night.
At the end of the 40s of the twentieth century, the life of Russian emigrants changed greatly. The new Chinese authorities invited all foreigners to leave the country. Most left China for the USSR, a small group of wealthy people moved to Western Europe, Latin America, the USA and Australia. About 5-6 thousand poor Russian refugees who did not want to go to the USSR did not have the means to move to other countries. Saint John took them all to the Philippines.
As it became known from surveys conducted by the John the Wonderworker Foundation among “Shanghai residents” living in Russia today, Saint John, as a rule, did not bless his flock to move to the USSR due to the fact that people in a godless country inevitably lost their faith. And, on the contrary, in those few cases when he blessed the return to Russia, he saw with his perspicacious spiritual eyes many decades in advance that this person was able to maintain the faith and not fall away from the Church.
In the Philippines, on the island of Tubabao, both Russian refugees and local natives involuntarily asked themselves the evangelical question: “Who is he, that terrible typhoons bypassed the island. Knowing this, even today many of the faithful receive help and protection from the effects of terrible natural elements. This happened in the USA, Russia, Spain and Cuba.
The lack of work and livelihood did not allow Russian refugees to stay on the island for a long time, but destitute, poor people were not needed. No country agreed to accept them. And again Saint John came to the aid of his flock. He went to Washington, got a meeting with the assistant to the US President and convinced many senators. His mission, like everything that the tireless archpastor undertook, ended in complete success. The entire colony of Russian refugees moved to the United States, and St. John of Christ himself went to a new place of ministry, to Western Europe.
In Europe, even the native population of other faiths saw and openly professed the holiness of the Russian archbishop: they said that St. John was a real bishop of God, endowed by the Lord Himself with extraordinary spiritual power. Therefore, the French, English, Dutch, and Germans often called him a saint. As in Shanghai, he healed hopelessly ill people doomed to death, regardless of their religion and nationality. He was the Incarnate Love and Mercy of God for fallen and suffering people.
The Lord himself, as in his youth, sought to please only the One God, often performing actions incomprehensible to those around him. So, in Marseille, he served a memorial service for the murdered Serbian King Alexander right on the street, at the site of the terrible crime.
Keeping his lips and not uttering a word, he often admonished his flock with unusual behavior, denouncing the madness of the world with imaginary “madness.”
He revived the veneration of many European saints, glorified before 1054 by the then United Church. He encouraged the revival of local Orthodox churches in France, Holland, Spain and the holding of services in national languages.
But clouds gradually gathered over the Bishop-Wonderworker himself. The attacks on Saint John began in China - they tried to poison him, but the Lord preserved him. In Paris, the Vladyka’s spiritual daughter became an involuntary witness to how Saint John wept bitterly in the altar of the temple. The envy and malice of the false brothers became more and more evident. After the new appointment in the United States, the attacks only intensified. At this time, he wrote to his spiritual children in Europe: “If you hear that I have died, know that they killed me.” He was melting before our eyes, endless litigation and the trial of the righteous undermined his strength.
Archbishop John died on June 19/07/2. 1966 in Seattle (USA) in front of Hodigitria, Guide to the Russian Abroad, Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign.
Soon after his righteous death, Saint John appeared to one of the spiritual children devoted to him with the words: “Tell the people: although I died, I am alive,” thereby, as if inviting all those who suffer to resort to his help and heavenly protection, as many thousands of people did this during his earthly life. Now his flock is the whole world and, above all, the Russian land. There are no illnesses, sorrows or problems that cannot be healed or solved by this wondrous heavenly helper and patron.
Incurable diseases, injuries, cancer, struggle with passions, including drug addiction. Help with family needs, solving everyday issues, petitioning those in power. Patronage for travelers in extreme conditions. Wonderful storage in the combat zone of not only individual soldiers, but also large military formations and even aircraft carriers. Saving people, cities and entire countries from deadly bombings.
The fiery love of Blessed John the Wonderworker for God and his neighbors gives him great boldness to intercede before the Lord for all who call on his name.
In 1994 Saint John was glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. The decision to glorify John the Wonderworker took place in the presence of the Iveron Montreal myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God, which left the world three years after this event. The incorrupt relics of St. John (Maximovich) the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco rest openly in the Cathedral in San Francisco (California, USA).
Based on materials from the Institute of Hagiography
04.07.2014
Friday
Your care for your flock on their journey, / this is a prototype of your prayers, ever offered up for the whole world: / thus we believe, having known your love, to the saint and wonderworker John! / Everything is sanctified by God through the sacred rites of the most pure mysteries, / with them we ourselves are constantly strengthened, / you hastened to the suffering, / the most joyful healer. // Hasten even now to help us, who honor you with all our hearts (troparion to St. John, tone 5).
On June 19 (July 2) the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the great saint of God, prayer book and ascetic St. John of Shanghai and the Wonderworker of San Francisco. Saint John dedicated his entire life to the Lord and to serving his neighbors. Even during his lifetime, the bishop’s contemporaries revered him as a saint; thousands of people of different faiths turned to him for help, and not one of them left the saint inconsolable. One Catholic pastor, a Frenchman, when asked whether there are saints in the world, exclaimed thus, addressing the youth who questioned him: “You demand proof, you say that now there are no miracles or saints. Why should I give you theoretical evidence when today a saint walks the streets of Paris - Saint Jean Pieds-Nus (Saint John Discalced)!
The saint was an unusual person. His main unusualness was that he resolutely and forever devoted his life to God. Only the Lord lived in his heart, and his ardent faith was active to the point of exhaustion. Not only the huge number of Russian emigrants who left Russia during the Civil War, but also thousands of foreigners (Asians, Europeans, Americans), whom the Bishop saved from inevitable starvation, serious illness and despair, owe the saint the salvation of their lives. Saint John is an example for us of how a Christian should work for the Lord. After all, the saints were given to us not so that we selfishly ask them for various benefits, but first of all so that we learn from them the feat of life.
The appearance of the ruler was also unusual. He looked unattractive: a stooped figure, dark hair streaked with gray haphazardly flowing over his shoulders, a limp when walking and speech impediments. In the akathist to the saint there are these words: “Preaching salvation, like a new Moses, the evil one appeared...” (kontakion 6). “This small, physically weak man, almost like a child in appearance, is a miracle of ascetic fortitude and severity,” Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who ordained him as a bishop, said about St. John of Shanghai. Archpriest Elijah Wen, who was with the saint in Shanghai for many years, recalled: “The bishop himself always preached during services, but it was very difficult to understand him...”
The saint walked in light sandals in any weather, while dressing in the simplest clothes. When meeting him, you could not even guess that this was a bishop of God. And in general, if you look at the photographs of the bishop, he does not at all look like the majestic gray-haired old man from whom an unearthly radiance emanates. Before us is a tired, stooped, plain-looking man with patched clothes. But his eyes...his gaze is kind and penetrates to the very depths of the human heart. “Vladyka John wore inexpensive clothes made in China, slippers or sandals without socks, no matter what the weather was like. The children of the orphanage were once very surprised to see that the socks they had knitted for the Bishop were being worn by beggars on the street.”
The parishioners who interacted with the bishop were sometimes embarrassed by this appearance of the saint. They even complained about his bare feet, about which they wrote a letter to Metropolitan Anastasius. He asked the bishop to wear shoes and not embarrass the people. The saint carried out the instructions exactly (it is no coincidence that by his main education he was a lawyer, graduating from the Faculty of Law of Kharkov University in 1918). Saint John began to wear shoes everywhere... holding them by the laces. After such “execution,” the Metropolitan had no choice but to demand that the Bishop put on his shoes. Since then he started wearing them.
They remember the saint: “In the remote Shanghai slums, a barefoot man in shabby clothes walks along the crooked narrow streets. Sometimes he stops near some shelter and starts a conversation with beggars and vagabonds. Then he moves on. At the next hotel for the poorest, he lingers again, talks with its inhabitants and again continues on his way. So all evening he wanders from shelter to shelter. Perhaps this is a completely unfortunate tramp who does not have enough money even for the cheapest overnight stay. Suddenly a woman comes up to him and bows her head respectfully, and the “tramp” with a smile blesses her with a sweeping sign of the cross. And it immediately became clear that this was not a beggar, but the new bishop of Shanghai. True, his cassock really looks more like a beggar’s rags, and he has no shoes on his feet.”
With his “hikings” through unsafe places in Shanghai, the saint healed human souls crippled by sin with love and often saved people’s lives.
There is a known incident that occurred during the stay of the saint and his flock in Shanghai. Devotee of St. John, sacristan of the one erected by the labors of the bishop cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco, Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, in a book he compiled based on the memoirs of various contemporaries of the saint, gives the following story: “One of the most significant deeds of Bishop John was the establishment of a shelter in the name of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk († 1783), who, like Bishop John, loved children very much. Street children were the first thing that struck him upon his arrival in Shanghai... Vladyka himself picked up sick and hungry children abandoned on the streets of Shanghai. Having learned from the newspapers that in some poor neighborhoods of the city dogs sometimes tear apart babies thrown into garbage cans, Bishop John went there, accompanied by Maria Alexandrovna Shakhmatova. He asked her in advance to get him two bottles of Chinese vodka and, when he revealed to her where they were going, he scared her very much, since it was known that anyone could be killed there. Nevertheless, she gave in to the young bishop’s persuasion and went with him through the dark streets where drunkards and all sorts of shady characters lived. Trembling, she clutched two bottles; suddenly they heard a drunk man muttering something in the doorway, and a child moaning weakly in the trash can. When the bishop walked towards the child, the drunk man leaned forward threateningly. Then Bishop John turned to Maria Alexandrovna and asked her for a bottle. Raising the bottle in one hand and pointing at the baby with the other hand, the bishop wordlessly made it clear that he was offering a “deal.” The bottle ended up in the hands of a drunken man, and Maria Alexandrovna Shakhmatova took the child. As night fell, Bishop John entered the shelter, bringing with him two children. Such fearlessness could only be acquired at the cost of strong spiritual warfare” (Vladyka John - Saint of the Russian Abroad / Compiled by Archpriest Peter Perekrestova. -3rd ed., revised - M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2009. P.64).
We thank the Lord that through the efforts of the faithful admirers of the saint, Archpriest Peter Perekrestov and the rector of our church, Archpriest Georgy Gutorov, the Church of the Deposition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Leonovo (March 2012) and the Church of the Tikhvin Icon Mother of God pieces of the relics of the great Russian saint were donated from San Francisco.
Saint John led an ascetic life, was an ascetic and prayed incessantly. From the day he took monastic vows, he never went to bed and slept either on a chair or on the floor. In general, according to the recollections of his contemporaries, he slept little, sometimes not at all, but could pray all night. Due to the lack of normal sleep, the bishop sometimes dozed off on the road or while communicating with an interlocutor, but never “switched off.” Father John did not tell anyone about his ascetic feat, and only thanks to one stupid prank of his students did it become known. Wanting to play a trick on the teacher, they secretly placed push pins under his sheet. But when it was time to change the linen, it turned out that all the buttons were in place, and Father John had not even touched the bed.
They recalled: “One evening, during a conversation with me in his office, Father John answered the phone that rang on his desk. I don’t know who he was talking to then, but I will never forget how, while continuing the conversation, he suddenly dropped the telephone receiver and dozed off. The receiver lay in his cassock on his lap, and he, dozing, continued to talk with the person who called him. According to all the laws of nature, it was completely impossible for a sleeping person to hear the one who called, and even more so to answer him in a dream. However, from the duration and meaning of what he said, it was clear to me that - miraculously - a conversation was taking place!
In addition to the feat of unceasing night prayer, the saint made it a rule to eat once a day, late in the evening. And if he did not have time to eat due to his many tasks, then the next meal was postponed until the evening of another day. At the same time, the bishop showed extreme prudence when assigning obediences and labors in relation to other people, trying to observe moderation in everything. Bishop John advised young people to avoid extremes. Here is what Father Georgy Larin says: “Vladyka John became an ideal for me, and I decided to imitate him in everything. One day during Lent, I stopped sleeping on the bed and lay on the floor, stopped having dinner with my family, switched to bread and water, etc. My parents were upset and took me to the good bishop. Hearing their complaints against me, he ordered the attendant to go to the store and bring bolognese. In response to my tears - “now still Lent!” - the wise archpastor told me to eat the sausage he brought and always remember that obedience to parents is more important than unauthorized fasting... I remember how angry I was that he did not assign me some “special” ascetic feat” (Larin G., Archpriest of Shanghai // Russian revival. 1985. No. 1. P.69).
The saint treated divine services with special love. He tried to serve the liturgy every day. His services were very long. In the evening Vespers and Compline were celebrated. At Compline, from one to three canons to the saints were necessarily read out in advance. At 6 o'clock in the morning the Midnight Office, Matins and Liturgy were served. During the proskomedia he remembered an extraordinary number of names. Contemporaries testify to the extraordinary power of the saint’s prayer during the liturgy. His prayer literally poured out on everyone present, as one of the believers who attended his service in Europe states: “The power and penetration of Archbishop John’s service captures all praying souls. During his service, it is more clearly felt that during the holy liturgical hours the line between heaven and earth is erased and the created world during these hours lives a divine life, breaking away from earthly life - “let us now put aside all worldly concerns.”
Olga Ivanovna Semenyuk, who, in her words, “was fortunate when the doctors entrusted her with caring for Bishop John during his illness,” testifies: “Then for the first time in my life I saw a man wholly devoted to the Lord. He did not interrupt his prayers for a minute. The doctors' orders were completely ignored by him, and no force could prevent him from serving. Sometimes the doctors put him to bed, but a few minutes passed, and he was already at the altar...” There is confirmation of this: “Once, from constant standing, the bishop’s leg became seriously swollen, and a council of doctors, fearing gangrene, prescribed him immediate hospitalization, which he categorically refused. Then the Russian doctors notified the parish council that they absolved themselves of any responsibility for his condition and even for his life. After much persuasion by members of the council, who were even ready to forcibly hospitalize him, the bishop was forced to agree and in the morning, the day before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, he was sent to a Russian hospital. However, by six o’clock, limping, he came to the cathedral on foot and began to serve. Within a day the swelling was completely gone.”
Even on the way, the bishop did not abandon divine services - he took with him all the necessary daily liturgical books, including his Menaions in Greek, if he suspected that he would have to read Vespers in the waiting room at the station or serve the liturgy on a ship. But, as Archimandrite Ambrose Pogodin writes, “only his cell and the churches where he prayed could tell about the night prayers of the late Bishop and his other prayerful feats. It remained hidden to us."
It is known that even for the sake of solving important matters, the saint never shortened the service. In one of the cities of Western Europe, in order to resolve issues of refugee accommodation, he had to appear at a strictly appointed time to a high official. However, in the morning, Vladyka served in the temple; the service, according to custom, was very long and ended only at noon. Despite the great delay, Father John was received by the official and all the problems facing the flock were resolved.
Saint John treated the shrine with the same reverence. Let us cite just one of many amazing stories: “In Shanghai there was such an amazing incident that could not better characterize the great soul of our departed shepherd, his unshakable faith. One woman, Menshikova, was bitten by a mad dog; She either refused to take anti-rabies injections, or did them carelessly, violating the basic rules prescribed in connection with injections. And the day came when this woman fell ill with the terrible disease of rabies. Vladika John found out, as he always knew, about all the sick, suffering and dying, and with the Holy Gifts he hurried to the dying Menshikova. The Bishop gave Holy Communion to the sick woman, but at that time one of the attacks of this terrible disease occurred to her, and she spat out the Holy Communion with foam coming from her lips. A particle of Holy Communion cannot be thrown away, and the Bishop picked up and put into his mouth the particle of Holy Communion spat out by the sick person. The servants who were with him exclaimed: “What are you doing, Master! Rabies is a terrible infection!” But the Bishop calmly replied: “Nothing will happen - these are the Holy Gifts.” And really, nothing happened.”
And how many miracles were performed by the saint during his lifetime! It is no coincidence that he was nicknamed the miracle worker. There are even more of them after the righteous death of the ruler. The saint provided and continues to provide special care to seriously ill people. There are thousands of cases of healing of terminally ill people through his prayers to God. In addition to constantly visiting hospitals, the bishop came to prisons, visited the mentally ill, treated the possessed, and participated in the construction of shelters, almshouses, and churches. He lived for his neighbor, completely and selflessly devoting himself to the service of God. For an ordinary person, the volume of work with which the ruler was busy was beyond his strength. It is no coincidence that Saint John especially venerated the All-Russian shepherd John of Kronstadt: the feat of life of both miracle workers is similar in greatness and devotion to the Lord.
The death of the saint was peaceful and quiet. On July 2, 1966, during an archpastoral visit to the city of Seattle with miraculous icon The Bishop served the Divine Liturgy to the Mother of God of Kursk-Root (at the age of 71) and remained in the altar alone with the icon for another three hours, then, having visited the spiritual children near the cathedral with the miraculous icon, he proceeded to the room of the church house where he was staying. Entering the room, the people in the house heard the sound of a falling body and hurried to it. The dying bishop was seated in a chair, in which he went to the Lord.
The bishop lay in the coffin for six days, but, despite the heat, no smell of decay was felt, and his hand remained soft. At the funeral service, both the multitude of those gathered and the bishops themselves who performed the service could not restrain their sobs. It is surprising that at the same time, the temple was filled with quiet joy. Eyewitnesses noted that it seemed as if they were present not at a funeral, but at the unveiling of the relics of a newly discovered saint.
After his death, the ruler appeared to some of his spiritual children in a dream. But his most striking phenomenon, which has, perhaps, ecclesiastical significance, was the long-time head of the St. Tikhon's orphanage M.A. Shakhmatova. He impressively and firmly told her: “Tell the people, although I died, I am alive.”
We thank the Lord, His Most Holy Mother, for making us sinners worthy to receive the help of such a great saint and wonderworker as John of Shanghai and San Francisco. Let us also heartily pray for the repose of the souls of the parents of Bishop Boris and Glafira Maksimovich, who raised their son Michael (the name given to the saint at birth before his monastic tonsure) in piety, kindling in him an ardent love for the Lord. Let us also try, at least a little, to be like St. John, serving our neighbors, visiting the sick, the disadvantaged, and prisoners. The saint is alive. He, as in earthly life, helps everyone who turns to him with faith and love. You just need to be diligent in prayer. Saint John helped the author of these lines create an Orthodox family. After many years of childlessness, he blessed the deacon of the Deposition of the Robe Church in Leonovo with the birth of a child...
Our Hierarch John, pray to God for us!
Troshchinsky Pavel
Appearing after his death to one woman.
Saint John (Maximovich), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco
And he came to different people, and life always overflowed him, quenching the thirst of many, many. Today it is especially appropriate to remember that John of Shanghai, the San Francisco miracle worker, is our contemporary, who died only half a century ago, in 1966, that is, quite recently. This is another clear evidence of the unity of the Russian World, since St. John embraces and binds with his earthly destiny Slobozhanshchina (Sloboda Ukraine, a historical region in the northeast of modern Ukraine and the southwest of the Black Earth Region in Russia. – Editor's note), Little Russia, China, Western Europe, America.
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia canonized this wondrous saint of God on July 2, 1994. On June 24, 2008, Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco was glorified for church-wide veneration by the Russian Council of Bishops Orthodox Church.
On July 2 of the same year, the first solemn cathedral service in honor of the newly glorified saint was held in Poltava. The words of the prayers dedicated to St. John, who studied in Poltava and prayed in the local churches, sounded touching.
Archbishop John (Mikhail Borisovich Maksimovich) was born on June 4/17, 1896 in the village of Adamovka, Kharkov province, into a noble Orthodox family that financially supported the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Monastery on the Seversky Donets.
The father of the future saint, Boris Ivanovich Maksimovich (1871-1954), was the Izyum district leader of the nobility of the Kharkov province. After the revolution, the Bishop’s parents emigrated first to Belgrade, then to Venezuela. The saint's brothers also lived in exile; one received a higher technical education and worked as an engineer in Yugoslavia, the other, after graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade, worked in the Yugoslav police.
Since childhood, Mikhail was distinguished by his deep religiosity, stood for long periods of time in prayer at night, and diligently collected icons, as well as church books. Most of all he loved to read the lives of saints. The child's holy and righteous life made a deep impression on his French Catholic governess, and as a result she converted to Orthodoxy.
After graduating from the Petrovsky Poltava Cadet Corps in 1914, the young man wanted to study at the Kyiv Theological Academy, but at the insistence of his parents he entered the Faculty of Law of Kharkov University, which he graduated in 1918. Mikhail's spiritual mentor during these years was the famous Kharkov Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky).
During the time of revolutionary persecution, the Maksimovic family emigrated to Belgrade, where the future saint entered the university at the Faculty of Theology. In 1926, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who headed the Russian Church Abroad, Mikhail was tonsured a monk with the name John, in honor of his ancestor, St. John of Tobolsk, metropolitan, a famous church figure of the 18th century, and in 1929 he was elevated to the rank of hieromonk.
Already at that time, Bishop Nikolai (Velimirović), the Serbian Chrysostom, gave the following characterization to the young hieromonk: “If you want to see a living saint, go to Bitol to Father John.”
Father John fasted strictly and served every day Divine Liturgy and took communion, from the day of his monastic tonsure he never went to bed, sometimes he was found in the morning dozing off on the floor in front of the icons. His meekness and humility were reminiscent of those immortalized in the lives of the greatest ascetics and hermits. Father John was a rare man of prayer; he was so immersed in prayer as if he were simply talking with the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos, the angels and saints who stood before his spiritual eyes. The gospel events were known to him as if they were happening before his eyes.
In 1934, Hieromonk John was elevated to the rank of bishop, after which he left for the place of his future ministry, in Shanghai. Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) said about him: “This small and weak man, almost a child in appearance, is some kind of miracle of ascetic fortitude and severity, a mirror of ascetic firmness and severity in our time of general spiritual relaxation.”
In Shanghai, the young bishop loved to visit the sick and did this daily, taking confession and receiving communion. If the patient’s condition became critical, the bishop came at any time of the day or night and prayed for a long time at the patient’s bedside. Numerous cases of healing of hopelessly sick people through the prayers of St. John are known.
With the communists coming to power in China, Russian emigrants were forced to flee. On the island of Tubabao (Philippines) a camp was organized for Russian refugees, in which Bishop John and his flock lived. In 1949, approximately 5 thousand Russians who had fled China lived in a temporary camp on Tubabao. The island is sparsely populated because it lies in the path of seasonal typhoons, but during the camp's 27-month existence, a typhoon threatened it only once, and even then it changed course and bypassed the island. When a Russian mentioned his fear of typhoons to the Filipinos, they said that there was no reason to worry, since “your holy man blesses your camp every night from all four sides.”
Caring for and supporting his destitute flock, Saint John fervently prayed for them. He managed to negotiate with the United States authorities on the resettlement of Russian refugees to America. Then amendments were made to American laws, and most of the emigrants moved to the USA, and the rest went to Australia.
In 1951, Archbishop John was appointed ruling bishop of the Western European Exarchate of the Russian Church Abroad. Both in Europe and in San Francisco, where the bishop moved in 1962, his fame also spread among the non-Orthodox population. In one of Catholic churches In Paris, a local priest tried to inspire young people with the following words: “You demand proof, you say that now there are no miracles or saints. Why should I give you theoretical proofs when today Saint Jean Pieds-Nus walks the streets of Paris.”
Blessed John received this name because he always walked barefoot, even on the hard gravel of Versailles Park. After serious blood poisoning from a glass cut, the bishop was ordered to wear boots. He carried them - under his arm. Until the next order came to put on shoes.
Archbishop John often served barefoot in church, which bewildered other priests. However, his every action had a profound inner meaning and was born from a living sensation of the presence of God. Since the prophet Moses heard from the Lord: “Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground,” Blessed John with his bare feet showed that now the whole earth is sanctified by the feet of Christ and in every place we stand before the Living God .
The Bishop was known and highly revered throughout the world. In Paris, the railway station dispatcher delayed the departure of the train until the arrival of the “Russian Archbishop”. All European hospitals knew about this bishop, who could pray for the dying all night. He was called to the bedside of the seriously ill - whether Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or anyone else - because when he prayed, God was merciful.
Here is what Mrs. L. Liu said, for example: “In San Francisco, my husband, having been in a car accident, was very ill: he suffered terribly. Knowing the power of the bishop’s prayers, I thought: “If I were to invite him to my place, my husband would get better.” Two days pass, and suddenly the bishop arrives - he only spent about five minutes with us. Then there was the most difficult moment in my husband’s illness, and after this visit he experienced a sharp turnaround, and soon he completely recovered. Later I met Mr. T., and he told me that he was driving the car when he was taking Vladyka to the airport. Suddenly the bishop tells him: “We’re going to L now.” He objected that they would be late for the airplane and that he could not turn back right now. Then the bishop said: “Can you take on a person’s life?”
Saint John of Shanghai (Maximovich)
Here's another story. The servant of God Alexandra was lying sick in a Paris hospital. The Bishop was told about her. He passed a note that he would come and give her Holy Communion. Lying in the common ward, where there were about 40-50 people, this woman felt awkward in front of the French ladies due to the fact that she would be visited by an Orthodox bishop, dressed in incredibly shabby clothes, and also barefoot. When he gave her the Holy Gifts, her roommate, a French woman, said to her: “How lucky you are to have such a confessor. My sister lives in Versailles, and when her children get sick, she sends them to the street where Bishop John usually walks and asks him to bless them. After receiving the blessing, the children immediately recover. We call him a saint."
Once, when Archbishop John happened to be in Marseille, he decided to serve a memorial service at the site of the brutal murder in 1934 of the Serbian King Alexander I Karageorgievich, who patronized the Russian emigration. None of his clergy, out of false shame, wanted to serve with him. Vladyka went alone. Residents of Marseille were amazed to see a clergyman in unusual clothes, with long hair and a beard, walking with a suitcase and a broom right on the road. Photographers noticed him and immediately began filming. Meanwhile, Vladyka stopped, cleaned a small part of the sidewalk with a broom, opened his suitcase, put the bishop's eagles in the swept place, lit the censer and began to serve the requiem.
Many testimonies have been preserved about the saint’s strict fulfillment of church instructions. The Bishop’s famous “decrees” contain many instructive things. They breathe mercy and severity, united by the wisdom of the ruler. The Orthodoxy of Bishop John was uncompromising; in particular, despite his mercy to all people without exception, he sharply opposed ecumenism.
Also memorable are his prohibitions against females kissing sacred objects with painted lips.
Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in San Francisco
He even forbade the “poor and unfortunate grandmothers” from distributing Easter eggs before the end of the Easter service, even due to the extreme weakness and infirmity of those praying. Here is the saint’s decree on this matter: “The main thing on the Bright Day of Easter is our communion with the Risen Christ, which is especially manifested in communion during the Bright Service, for which we repeatedly offer prayers in the services of Great Lent. Leaving the Easter service before the end of the liturgy is a sin or misunderstanding of the Church service. If an irresistible necessity forces one to do something, then the egg, which is only a symbol of the resurrection, cannot replace the actual tasting of the Resurrection in the Divine Liturgy, and distributing eggs before the liturgy would be contempt for the Divine Sacrament and a deception of the faithful. ... I urge everyone to take close part in the Divine feast of the Risen Christ - the Holy Liturgy, and after it is over, proclaim His Resurrection and greet each other with the symbol of the Resurrection.”
The decree “On the correct naming of the temple” evokes our admiration for both the rigor of the approach to the issue and the sensitivity to the non-accidental use of church names. “In view of the abbreviated name of the Cathedral “Holy Sorrow” that has come into use, it is explained that the said Cathedral in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos has in its temple icon the image not of the Sorrowful Mother of God, depicting Her sorrow, but the image of All Who Sorrow Joy, depicting the joy of all those nourished by Her and comforted. Therefore, as personifying joy and not sorrow, this image and bearing his name, the Cathedral should be called, in the case of shortening its name, Sorrowful-Joyful or Joyful-Sorrowful, as it should henceforth be called when shortening its name.”
The children, despite the ruler’s usual severity, were absolutely devoted to him. There are many touching stories about how the blessed one incomprehensibly knew where a sick child might be, and came to console him and heal him. Receiving revelations from God, he saved many from impending disaster, and sometimes appeared to those who were especially needed, although such a movement seemed physically impossible.
Now, in the era of a completely permeating information space, the Orthodox world has become actively susceptible to deformations from the outside. In particular, seemingly playful Western cults and celebrations have become pervasive. And here the attitude of St. John to this is important to us, who lived precisely in the environment of the Western world, defending Orthodox piety and not allowing retreats even out of weakness or, as young people now say, “for fun.”
When the bishop found out that some of the parishioners, on the eve of the celebration of the day of memory of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, were having fun at a ball on the occasion of “Halloween,” he went to the ball, silently walked around the hall, looking at the participants, to their amazement and shame, and also silently left. On the morning of the next day, he promulgated a decree “On the inadmissibility of participation in entertainment on the eve of Sunday and holiday services,” which stated: “The sacred rules dictate that the eves of holidays should be spent by Christians in prayer and reverence, preparing for participation or presence at the Divine Liturgy. If all Orthodox Christians are called to this, then even more so it applies to those directly taking part in church services. Their participation in entertainment on the eve of holidays is especially sinful. In view of this, those who were on the eve of Sunday or a holiday at a ball or similar entertainment and amusements cannot the next day participate in the choir, serve, enter the altar and stand on the choir.”
The blessed bishop commemorated Moscow Patriarch Alexy I at the services along with the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, saying that “due to circumstances we found ourselves cut off, but liturgically we are united. The Russian Church, like the entire Orthodox Church, is united Eucharistically, and we are with it and in it. But administratively, for the sake of our flock and for the sake of certain principles, we have to follow this path, but this in no way violates our sacramental unity of the entire Church.”
Turning to history and seeing the future, Saint John said that the grave suffering of the Russian people is a consequence of betrayal of their path, their calling. But, he believed, the Fatherland did not perish, it would rise just as it had risen before. It will arise when faith flares up on Russian soil, when people are spiritually reborn, when the path to them again becomes clear, firm faith in the truth of the Savior’s words: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Truth, and all this will be added to you.” He will rise when he loves the confession of Orthodoxy, when he sees and loves the Orthodox righteous and confessors.
This is exactly what the saint spoke about in his sermon-teaching “The Sin of Regicide”. His holy words are still relevant for us now: “...The crime against Tsar Nicholas II is even more terrible and sinful because His entire Family, innocent children, were killed along with Him! Such crimes do not go unpunished. They cry out to Heaven and bring down God's wrath on earth.
If a foreigner, the imaginary murderer of Saul, was put to death, the entire Russian people are now suffering for the murder of the defenseless Tsar-Sufferer and His family, who committed a terrible crime and remained silent when the Tsar was subjected to humiliation and imprisonment. A deep awareness of the sinfulness of what we have done and repentance before the memory of the Tsar-Martyr is required of us by God’s truth.
Memory of the innocent princes of St. Boris and Gleb awakened the conscience of the Russian people during the appanage unrest and shamed the princes who started discord. Blood of St. Grand Duke Igor produced a spiritual revolution in the souls of the Kyivans and united Kyiv and Chernigov by the veneration of the murdered holy prince.
St. Andrew Bogolyubsky with his blood sanctified the autocracy of Rus', which was established much later than his martyrdom.
All-Russian veneration of St. Mikhail Tverskoy healed the wounds on the body of Russia caused by the struggle between Moscow and Tver.
Glorification of St. Tsarevich Dimitri clarified the consciousness of the Russian people, breathed moral strength into them and, after severe upheavals, led to the revival of Russia.
Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II with His long-suffering family is now included in the ranks of those Passion-Bearers. The greatest crime committed against Him must be atoned for by ardent veneration of Him and glorification of His feat.
Before the Humiliated, Slandered and Tortured, Rus' must bow, as the people of Kiev once bowed before the Reverend Prince Igor, who was martyred by them, as the people of Vladimir and Suzdal did before the murdered Great Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky!
Then the Passion-Bearer Tsar will have boldness towards God, and His prayer will save the Russian land from the disasters it endures. Then the Tsar-Martyr and His Compassionate Ones will become the new heavenly defenders of Holy Rus'. Innocently shed blood will revive Russia and overshadow it with new glory!”
Vladyka John foresaw his death. On June 19 (July 2, new style), 1966, on the day of remembrance of the Apostle Jude, during an archpastoral visit to the city of Seattle with the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kursk-Root, this Hodegetria of the Russian Abroad, the great righteous man departed to the Lord.
After the death of the bishop, one Dutch Orthodox priest wrote with a contrite heart: “I do not and will no longer have a spiritual father who would call me at midnight from another continent and say: “Go to sleep now. What you pray for, you will receive.”
The four-day vigil over the bishop’s body was crowned by a funeral service. The bishops conducting the service could not contain their sobs. It is surprising that at the same time the temple was filled with quiet joy. Eyewitnesses noted: it seemed that we were present not at a funeral service, but at the opening of the relics of a newly discovered Saint.
The saint was buried in the crypt of the cathedral in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco. Soon, miracles of healing and help in everyday affairs began to occur in the bishop’s tomb.
Thousands of people in the world revere Vladika John as a great righteous man and saint, turning to him with fervent prayer, asking for help and consolation in mental and physical sorrows.
It is believed that the memory of the great Kharkov resident will be restored in the saint’s homeland.
In 1994, on June 19 / July 2, the Russian Orthodox Church abroad glorified in the ranks of its revered saints one of the greatest ascetics of Orthodoxy of the 20th century, a prayer book for all the suffering and needy, a protector and shepherd who found themselves far from their long-suffering homeland - the saint of Shanghai and San- Francis John (Maksimovich). It is providential that this happened on the eve of the celebration of the day of remembrance of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. It is also providential that in the year when Holy Rus' celebrates the 1020th anniversary of its baptism, the Council of Bishops of the newly united Russian Orthodox Church established church-wide veneration of St. John.
Solemn glorification of St. John, the Wonderworker of Shanghai, in San Francisco on June 19 / July 2, 1994
Believers from all over the world began to flock to the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco a few days before the glorification of the saint. Daily funeral liturgies were performed, memorial services were served hourly, confession was continuous.
Two days before the celebration, on Thursday, during the liturgy, communion was taught from five cups. The cathedral, in which there could only be a thousand people, could not accommodate all the believers, and about three thousand people stood outside, where all the services were broadcast on a large screen. Three miraculous icons of the Mother of God were present at the celebrations: the Kursk-Root icon, the Iverskaya myrrh-streaming icon and the local shrine - renewed Vladimir icon. The glorification was led by the oldest hierarch of the Russian Church abroad, Metropolitan Vitaly. He was concelebrated by 10 bishops and 160 clergy.
On Friday, July 1, at 1:30 pm in the lower church, the relics of St. John of Shanghai were transferred by Metropolitan Vitaly from the tomb to a shrine made of expensive wood. The saint was dressed in snow-white vestments, trimmed with silver braid and crosses; his slippers were sewn in Siberia, his undercoat was also from Russia. The reliquary was solemnly transferred to the upper temple. At 4:30 the last funeral service was performed.
During the all-night vigil before the polyeleos, Metropolitan Vitaly opened the shrine: the holy relics, except for the face, were open, the hands were visible. The icon of the saint was raised high by two tall priests, and glorification of the saint was sung publicly. The application to the relics ended at 11 o'clock at night.
On Saturday, services alternated in the chapels of the temple. The first liturgy was celebrated at 2 a.m. by Bishop Ambrose of Vevey. Over 20 priests concelebrated with him. The reliquary was brought by the clergy into the altar and placed on a high place. The second liturgy began at 5 a.m., with about 300 people receiving communion. And at 7 o’clock in the morning at the Divine Liturgy, 11 bishops and about 160 clergy united around Metropolitan Vitaly. Three choirs sang and there were about 700 communicants. The religious procession went around the entire block, all directions of the world were overshadowed by miraculous icons. Then the holy relics were placed in a specially constructed vestibule in the temple. The service ended at 1:30 pm. The festive meal brought together about two thousand people. Behind her a word of praise was read to Saint John. Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany delivered a speech befitting the occasion.
The celebrations continued on the second day, on the Sunday of All Saints Who Shone in the Russian Land. The flow of pilgrims to the saint’s shrine did not stop.
This is how a great spiritual celebration took place - the canonization of St. John, the Wonderworker of Shanghai, in the city of San Francisco on July 2, 1994. This event not only filled the hearts of Russians living abroad with joy, but also gladdened the hearts of many people in Russia who knew about the extraordinary life of Bishop John. It also embraced converts to Orthodoxy scattered throughout the world - Orthodox French, Dutch, Americans...
Who was this man who shrewdly went to the sick, brought the dying person back to life, cast out demons from the possessed?
Childhood and adolescence of the future saint
The future Saint John was born in the village of Adamovka, Kharkov province, on June 4, 1896. In holy baptism he was named Michael - in honor of the holy archangel of God. His family, the Maksimovichs, had long been distinguished by their piety. In the 18th century, St. John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk, the enlightener of Siberia, who sent the first Orthodox mission to China, became famous from this family; After his death, many miracles happened at his grave. He was glorified in 1916, and his incorruptible relics rest in Tobolsk to this day.
Misha Maksimovich was a sickly child. He maintained good relations with everyone, but did not have particularly close friends. He loved animals, especially dogs. He did not like noisy children's games and was often immersed in his thoughts.
Since childhood, Misha was deeply religious. At his consecration in 1934, he described the mood of his childhood years as follows: “From the very first days that I began to become conscious of myself, I wanted to serve righteousness and truth. My parents kindled in me the zeal to stand unwaveringly for the truth, and my soul was captivated by the example of those who gave their lives for it.”
He loved to play “monastery,” dressing up toy soldiers as monks and making monasteries out of toy fortresses.
He collected icons, religious and historical books - and this is how he formed a big library. But most of all he loved to read the lives of saints. In this way he had a great influence on his brothers and sister, who, thanks to him, knew the lives of saints and Russian history.
Michael's holy and righteous life made a strong impression on his French governess, a Catholic, and she converted to Orthodoxy (Misha was then 15 years old). He helped her prepare for this step and taught her prayers.
The country estate of the Maksimovichs, where the whole family spent the summer, was located 12 miles from the famous Svyatogorsk Monastery. Parents often visited the monastery and lived there for a long time. Crossing the gates of the monastery, Misha enthusiastically entered the monastic element. They lived there according to the Athos rule, there were majestic temples, the high “Mount Tabor”, caves, monasteries and a large brotherhood of 600 monks, among whom were schema-monks. All this attracted Misha, whose life from childhood was built on the lives of saints, and encouraged him to often come to the monastery.
When he was 11 years old, he entered the Poltava Cadet Corps. And here he remained just as quiet and religious, looking little like a soldier. At this school, when he was 13 years old, he distinguished himself by one act that brought upon him charges of “disturbing order.” The cadets often marched ceremoniously into the city of Poltava. In 1909, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, this march was especially solemn. When the cadets passed in front of the Poltava Cathedral, Mikhail turned to him and... crossed himself. For this, his fellow students ridiculed him for a long time, and his superiors punished him. But through the intercession of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, the punishment was replaced with a commendable review indicating the boy’s sound religious feelings. So the ridicule of his comrades gave way to respect.
After graduating from the cadet corps, Misha wanted to enter the Kyiv Theological Academy. But his parents insisted that he enter the Kharkov Law School, and, for the sake of obedience, he began to prepare for a career as a lawyer.
The relics of Archbishop Meletius († 1841) rested in Kharkov. He was an ascetic; he practically never slept, was a seer and predicted his death. Requiem services were constantly being served at his tomb, under the temple... The same thing was later repeated in the fate of Vladika John.
During his studies in Kharkov - in the years when a person matures - the future saint realized the whole meaning of his spiritual education. While other young people referred to religion as “old wives' tales,” he began to understand the wisdom hidden in the lives of the saints compared to a university course. And he indulged in reading them, although he excelled in legal sciences. Assimilating the worldview and comprehending the variety of activities of the saints - ascetic labors and prayer, he loved them with all his heart, was completely saturated with their spirit and began to live according to their example.
The entire Maksimovich family was devoted to the Orthodox Tsar, and young Mikhail, naturally, did not accept the February Revolution. At one of the parish meetings it was proposed to melt down the bell - he alone prevented this. With the arrival of the Bolsheviks, Mikhail Maksimovich was sent to prison. Released and jailed again. He was finally released only when they were convinced that it did not matter to him where he was - in prison or in another place. He literally lived in another world and simply refused to adapt to the reality that governs the lives of most people - he decided to unwaveringly follow the path of Divine law.
Emigration. In Yugoslavia
During the civil war, together with his parents, brothers and sister, Mikhail was evacuated to Yugoslavia, where he entered the University of Belgrade. He graduated from its Theological Faculty in 1925, earning his living by selling newspapers. In 1926, at the Milkovsky Monastery, Mikhail Maksimovich was tonsured a monk by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), and with a name in honor of his distant relative, St. John of Tobolsk. On the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, a 30-year-old monk became a hieromonk.
In 1928, Father John was appointed teacher of the law at the Bitola Seminary. There were 400–500 students studying there. And Father John, with love, prayer and work, began to educate young people. He knew each student, his needs, and he could help each one resolve any confusion and give good advice.
One of the students spoke of him this way: “Father John loved us all, and we loved him. In our eyes, he was the embodiment of all Christian virtues: peaceful, calm, meek. He became so close to us that we treated him like an older brother, loved and respected. There was no conflict, personal or social, that he could not resolve. There was no question to which he did not have an answer. It was enough for someone on the street to ask him something, and he would immediately give an answer. If the question was more important, he would usually answer it after church service, in class, or in the cafeteria. His answer was always informatively rich, clear, complete and competent, because it came from a highly educated person who had two university degrees - in theology and in law. He prayed for us daily and nightly. Every night he, like a guardian angel, protected us: he adjusted the pillow for one, the blanket for another. Always, entering or leaving a room, he blessed us with the sign of the cross. When he prayed, the students felt that he was talking with the inhabitants of the heavenly world.”
Bishop Nikolai (Velimirović) of Ohrid, the great Serbian theologian and preacher, once addressed a group of students like this: “Children, listen to Father John! He is an angel of God in human form."
A completely fabulous episode happened with Father John when he was called to his consecration in Belgrade in 1934. Arriving in Belgrade, he met a lady he knew on the street and began to explain to her that there had been a misunderstanding: they were supposed to consecrate some Father John, but they called him by mistake. Soon he met her again and, puzzled, explained to her that it turned out that the consecration concerned him.
Sending him as a bishop to China, Metropolitan Anthony wrote: “Instead of me, as my own soul, as my heart, I send you Bishop John. This small, frail man, almost a child in appearance, was in fact a mirror of ascetic firmness in our time of general spiritual relaxation.”
In the Far East. Shanghai
Arriving in Shanghai, Bishop John was faced with conflicts that had flared up in church life. Therefore, first he had to pacify the warring parties.
The bishop paid special attention to religious education and made it a rule to attend oral exams on the law of God in all Orthodox schools in Shanghai. He simultaneously became a trustee of various charitable societies, actively participating in their work.
He set up an orphanage for orphans and children of needy parents, entrusting them to the heavenly patronage of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, who especially loved children. Vladyka himself picked up sick and starving children on the streets and in the dark alleys of the Shanghai slums. Vladyka tried to replace their father, especially paying attention to them during the great holidays of Christmas and Easter, when parents try so hard to please their children. On such days, he liked to organize evenings for the children, for example, with a Christmas tree, performances, and got them wind instruments.
His joy was to see young people united in the brotherhood of St. Joasaph of Belgorod, where conversations were held on religious and philosophical topics, Bible study classes.
The Bishop was extremely strict with himself. His feat was based on prayer and fasting. He took food once a day - at 11 pm. During the first and last weeks of Great Lent I did not eat at all, and on the remaining days of Great Lent and Nativity - only altar bread. He usually spent his nights in prayer and, when his strength was exhausted, he laid his head on the floor or found brief peace sitting in a chair.
Miracles through the prayers of Bishop John
There are numerous miracles that occurred through the prayers of Bishop John. The description of some of them will allow us to imagine the comprehensive spiritual power of the saint.
A seven-year-old girl fell ill at the shelter. By nightfall, her temperature rose and she began to scream in pain. At midnight she was sent to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a volvulus. A council of doctors was convened, who told the mother that the girl’s condition was hopeless and that she would not be able to endure the operation. The mother asked to save her daughter and perform an operation, and at night she went to Vladyka John. The Bishop called the mother to the cathedral, opened the royal doors and began to pray in front of the throne, and the mother, kneeling in front of the iconostasis, also fervently prayed for her daughter. This lasted a long time, and morning had already arrived when Vladyka John approached the mother, blessed her and said that she could go home - her daughter would be alive and well. The mother hurried to the hospital. The surgeon told her that the operation was successful, but he had never seen such a case in his practice. Only God could save the girl through the prayers of her mother.
A seriously ill woman in the hospital called to the bishop. The doctor said that she was dying and there was no need to bother the bishop. The next day, the bishop arrived at the hospital and said to the woman: “Why are you stopping me from praying, because now I have to perform the liturgy.” He gave communion to the dying woman, blessed her and left. The patient fell asleep and began to recover quickly after that.
A former teacher at a commercial school fell ill. At the hospital, doctors diagnosed severely inflamed appendicitis and said he could die on the operating table. The sick man's wife went to Vladyka John, told him everything and asked him to pray. Vladyka went to the hospital, laid his hands on the patient’s head, prayed for a long time, blessed him and left. The next day, the nurse told his wife that when she approached the patient, she saw him sitting on the bed, the sheet on which he slept was covered in pus and blood: appendicitis had burst at night. The patient recovered.
After the evacuation from China, Bishop John and his flock found themselves in the Philippines. One day he visited the hospital. Terrible screams were heard from somewhere far away. To the bishop’s question, the nurse answered that she was a hopeless patient who was isolated because she was bothering everyone with her screams. Vladyka wanted to go there immediately, but the nurse did not advise him, since the stench emanated from the patient. “It doesn’t matter,” the bishop answered and headed to another building. He placed a cross on the woman’s head and began to pray, then confessed her and gave her communion. When he left, she no longer screamed, but moaned quietly. Some time later, the bishop visited the hospital again, and this woman herself ran out to meet him.
Here is a case of exorcism. A father talks about the healing of his son. “My son was obsessed, he hated everything holy, all holy icons and crosses, he split them into the thinnest sticks and was very happy about it. I took him to Vladyka John, and he put him on his knees, placing either a cross or the Gospel on his head. My son was very sad after this, and sometimes ran away from the cathedral. But the bishop told me not to despair. He said that he would continue to pray for him, and over time he would get better, but for now let him continue to be treated by doctors. “Don’t worry, the Lord is not without mercy.”
This went on for several years. One day my son was reading the Gospel at home. His face was bright and joyful. And he told his father that he needed to go to Minhon (30-40 km from Shanghai), to a mental hospital, where he sometimes went: “I need to go there, there the Spirit of God will cleanse me from the spirit of evil and darkness, and I then I will go to the Lord,” he said. They brought him to Minhon. Two days later, his father came to visit him and saw that his son was restless, constantly tossing about in bed, and suddenly he began shouting: “Don’t, don’t come near me, I don’t want you!”
The father went out into the corridor to find out who was coming. The corridor was long and opened onto an alley. There the father saw a car, Bishop John got out of it and headed towards the hospital. The father entered the room and saw that his son was thrashing about on the bed and shouting: “Don’t come, I don’t want you, go away, go away!” Then he calmed down and began to quietly pray.
At this time, footsteps were heard along the corridor. The patient jumped out of bed and ran down the corridor in only his pajamas. Having met the bishop, he fell on his knees in front of him and cried, asking him to drive away the spirit of evil from him. Vladyka put his hands on his head and read prayers, then took him by the shoulders and led him into the room, where he put him on the bed and prayed over him. Then he gave communion.
When the bishop left, the patient said: “Well, the healing has finally taken place, and now the Lord will accept me to Himself. Dad, take me quickly, I have to die at home.” When the father brought his son home, he was happy to see everything in his room, especially the icons; began to pray and took the Gospel. The next day he began to hurry his father to quickly call the priest so that he could receive communion again. The father said that he only received communion yesterday, but the son objected and said: “Dad, hurry up, hurry up, otherwise you won’t have time.” Father called. The priest arrived and my son received Holy Communion once again. When the father accompanied the priest to the stairs and returned, his son’s face changed, smiled at him again and quietly went to the Lord.
This is how God was glorified in the actions of St. John.
But there were people who hated him, slandered him, tried to push him aside, and there were even those who tried to poison him and almost succeeded in this, for the saint was dying.
During the evacuation from communist China, Bishop John showed himself to be a good shepherd, leading his flock to a quiet refuge, a shepherd ready to lay down his life for his sheep. There is a known case when he sat for days on the steps of the White House in Washington and thus obtained permission to enter the United States for five thousand refugees.
In Western Europe
In the early 1950s, Bishop John was appointed to the Western European See with the title of Archbishop of Brussels and Western Europe. He settled in the cadet corps in Versailles. And again in front of his beloved children.
Vladyka turned out to be an indispensable guardian and father for the sisters of the Lesna monastery, who had just evacuated from Yugoslavia. He served with particular zeal in the memorial church in Brussels, erected in memory of the royal family and all the victims of the revolution. He found a good mansion in Paris and built his own in it. cathedral, dedicated to All Russian Saints. The Bishop tirelessly toured the churches of his widely spread diocese. He constantly visited hospitals and prisons.
In Western Europe, his work acquired apostolic significance. He introduced the veneration of Western saints of the first centuries, submitting to the Synod for approval a list with detailed information about the life path of each individual saint. He contributed to the development of the French and Dutch Churches. Although the results in this area are questioned by many, those who seek Orthodox faith and life, he could not refuse his support, obviously pinning his hopes on the spiritual disposition of individuals. This activity of his found its justification in many cases. Let us only point out the fact that the Spanish priest he ordained served for about 20 years as rector in the Parisian church he created.
Through the prayers of Bishop John, many miracles occurred in Western Europe. A special collection will be required to testify about them.
In addition to such diverse miraculous phenomena as clairvoyance and healing of mental and physical infirmities, there are two testimonies that the ruler was at some point in the radiance and standing in the air. One nun of the Lesna monastery testified to this, as well as reader Gregory in the Church of All Russian Saints in Paris. The latter, having finished reading the hours one day, went up to the altar for additional instructions and saw through the slightly open side door Vladyka John in radiant light and standing not on the ground, but at a height of about 30 cm.
In the United States of America. San Francisco
The bishop arrived on the coast of the far West of America, to his last see, in the fall of 1962. Archbishop Tikhon retired due to illness, and in his absence the construction of the new cathedral stopped, as acute disagreements paralyzed the Russian community. But under the leadership of Bishop John, peace was restored to some extent and the majestic cathedral was completed.
But it was not easy for the bishop. He had to endure a lot meekly and silently. He was even forced to appear in a public court, which was a flagrant violation of church canons, demanding an answer to the absurd accusation that he had covered up dishonest financial transactions of the parish council. True, all those brought to justice were eventually acquitted, but the last years of the bishop’s life were darkened by bitterness from reproach and persecution, which he always endured without complaint or condemnation of anyone.
Accompanying the miraculous Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God to Seattle, Bishop John on June 19/July 2, 1966 stopped at the local St. Nicholas Cathedral - a temple-monument to the Russian New Martyrs. After serving the Divine Liturgy, he remained alone in the altar for another three hours. Then, having visited the spiritual children who lived near the cathedral with the miraculous icon, he went to the room of the church house where he usually stayed. Suddenly a roar was heard, and those who came running saw that the bishop had fallen and was already leaving. They sat him in a chair, and in front of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God he gave up his soul to God, fell asleep for this world, which he so clearly predicted to many.
For six days Vladyka John lay in open coffin, and, despite the summer heat, not the slightest smell of decay was felt from him, and his hand was soft, not numb.
Discovery of holy relics
On May 2/15, 1993, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad decided to canonize Archbishop John of Shanghai and San Francisco.
A preliminary examination of his honest remains took place on September 28 / October 11, 1993. A secondary examination and revegetation of the remains of the saint took place on December 1/14, 1993, on the day of remembrance righteous Philaret Merciful.
While singing the irmos of the great canon “Helper and Patron,” the lid was removed from the coffin, and the imperishable remains of the Bishop appeared before the clergy, overcome with awe and reverence: the eyebrows, eyelashes, hair, mustache, and beard were preserved; the mouth is slightly open, the hands are slightly raised, the fingers are partially bent, giving the impression that the bishop is preaching with the movement of his hand; all muscles, tendons, nails are preserved; the body is light, dried, frozen.
While singing the canon of St. Andrew of Crete, they began to anoint the entire body with oil. Then the holy relics were anointed with myrrh from the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God of Iveron while singing the troparion “From Thy holy icon, O Lady Theotokos...”. After this, they began to put on new clothes, up to the bishop’s vestments of snow-white color with silver braid and crosses.
The final funeral litany was served.
“Eternal memory” spread throughout the universe. And then they sang with enthusiasm: “Master of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and purity, lamp of the universe, God-inspired fertilizer for the bishops, John, the wise, with your teachings you have enlightened everything, spiritual priest, pray to Christ God to save our souls.”
Troparion to Saint John
voice 5Your care for your flock on their journey, / this is a prototype of your prayers, ever offered up for the whole world: / thus we believe, having known your love, to the saint and wonderworker John! / Everything is sanctified by God through the sacred rites of the most pure mysteries, / with them we ourselves are constantly strengthened, / you hastened to the suffering, / the most joyful healer. // Make haste now to help us, who honor you with all our hearts.
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