Saint John of Kronstadt, born as Ivan Ilyitch
Sergieff, the son of poor peasant folk, was born on
the 19th of October 1829 in the little village of
Soura, in the province of Arkhangelsk in the far
north of Russia. His parents, poor and simple
though they were, took great pains with his
education, both spiritual and temporal. From
school, where he had gone to the top of his class,
he went to the seminary. From there he was sent
in 1851, at government expense, to the
Theological Academy of Saint Petersburg. While
he was there his father died, and it was with great
thankfulness to God that he accepted the post of
registrar.
Having considered becoming a monk, and
going to eastern Siberia as a missionary, he came
to the conclusion that there were many people
around him as unenlightened as any pagan, and
he decided to work for their salvation, after a
dream in answer to prayer, in which he saw
himself officiating in some unknown cathedral.
Soon after completing his studies he
married Elisabeth, daughter of the Archpriest K.
P. Nevitzki, and he was ordained priest in
December 1855. Appointed as assistant priest at
Saint Andrew's Cathedral, Kronstadt, when he
entered it for the first time he recognized it as the
church he had seen in his dream; and there, first
as curate, and afterwards as rector, he served
throughout the fifty-three years of his ministry.
Cherishing a lofty ideal of the priestly vocation,
he continued nightly to study and pray that he
might perfect himself in it, while during the day
he devoted himself to the many poor of his parish.
Father John, whose predecessors,
apparently, had hardly even dared to penetrate
the worst parts of the town, spent much of his
time there, striving to heal bodies and souls alike,
attracting to himself first the children, and then,
through them, their parents. Often he found no
time to eat until the late evening, and even then
he would sometimes be summoned out again,
and not return before the small hours; he gave
away his own shoes, he gave away the
housekeeping money: his wife gradually
accustomed herself to it, and finally became
something like his keeper.
In 1857 he was invited to teach the
scripture in the municipal school at Kronstadt,
and he accepted with joy, for he loved children,
and always took great pains with them. When his
fame had spread and he was constantly visiting
Saint Petersburg, then to his own, his colleagues
and pupils great regret, he was forced to abandon
his teaching post.
Another object of Father John's concern
and labor was the removal of the widespread
poverty that afflicted Kronstadt. At first he gave
these beggars money for food and shelter, but he
soon came to see that this was not merely useless,
but positively harmful. In 1868 he conceived the
idea of founding a House of Industry, comprising
a number of workshops, a dormitory, a refectory,
a dispensary, and a primary school. He formed a
committee, and appealed for funds. His appeal
was answered by rich and poor from all over
Russia, and the House of Industry was founded
in 1873. Father John administered a total of over
$25,000 a year in numerous charities, half of it in
Kronstadt.
There is an attractive power in the
personality of Father John of Kronstadt, in his
portrait, the magnetism of his writings, and in his
diary My Life in Christ. There is a peaceful and
consoling quality in the notes of his diary, not to
mention the very subjects of his talks, which
spiritually exalt, uplift, and strengthen.
In the early 1890s Father John became well
known, and people from all over Russia came to
him every day in thousands. The bishops treated
him with high respect. He was already greatly
venerated at the time he died, on 20 December
1908.
He was canonized by the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1964, and by
the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990.
Archbishop John Maximovitch of Shanghai and
San Francisco (later glorified as a Saint too)
played an active role in preparation of St. John's
canonization. His life and work are
commemorated on the feast days of December
20 and October 19.
Quotes from St. John
"When you are praying alone, and your spirit is
dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by
your loneliness, remember then, as always, that
God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes
brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your
own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God.
Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and
where God is, there are they also. Where the sun
is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to
understand what this means."
"There is nothing impossible unto those who
believe; lively and unshaken faith can accomplish
great miracles in the twinkling of an eye. Besides,
even without our sincere and firm faith, miracles
are accomplished, such as the miracles of the
sacraments; for God's Mystery is always
accomplished, even though we were incredulous
or unbelieving at the time of its celebration. "Shall
their unbelief make the faith of God without
effect?" (Rom. 3:3). Our wickedness shall not
overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy
of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's
wisdom, nor our infirmity God's omnipotence."
— My Life in Christ
"Oh, what great happiness and bliss, what
exaltation it is to address oneself to the Eternal
Father. Always, without fail, value this joy which
has been accorded to you by God's infinite grace
and do not forget it during your prayers; God, the
angels and God's holy men listen to you."
"The enemy of our salvation especially strives to
draw our heart and mind away from God when
we are about to serve Him, and endeavours to
adulterously attach our heart to something
irrelevant. Be always, every moment, with God,
especially when you pray to Him. If you are
inconstant, you will fall away from life, and will
cast yourself into sorrow and straitness."
"Do not be despondent when fighting against the
incorporeal enemy, but even in the midst of your
afflictions and oppression praise the Lord, Who
has found you worthy to suffer for Him, by
struggling against the subtlety of the serpent, and
to be wounded for Him at every hour; for had
you not lived piously, and endeavored to become
united to God, the enemy would not have
attacked and tormented you."
"Do not fear the conflict, and do not flee from it;
where there is no struggle, there is no virtue. Our
faith, trust, and love are proved and revealed in
adversities, that is, in difficult and grievous
outward and inward circumstances, during
sickness, sorrow, and privations."
Troparion (Tone 1)
“As a zealous advocate of the Orthodox faith, as a
caring Solicitor for the land of Russia, faithful to
the rules and image of a pastor, preaching
repentance and life in Christ, an awesome servant
and administer of God's sacraments, a daring
intercessor for people's sake, O Good and
righteous Father John, healer and wonderful
miracle-worker, the praise of the town of
Kronstadt and decoration of our Church, beseech
the All-Merciful God to reconcile the world and
to save our souls!”
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