holy righteous
JOHN OF KRONSTADTSKY (†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 deacon Ilia Sergiev and his wife Theodora. The newborn seemed so weak and sickly that the parents hurried to baptize him at once, 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 on that day by the Holy Church. Soon after the baptism, the infant John began to noticeably recover.

Vanya's parents were simple and deeply religious people. Father, Ilya Mikhailovich, sang and read prayers during worship in the local village church. He is with early childhood He took his son to church and thus brought up in him a special love for worship.

Living in the harsh conditions of extreme material need, the lad John early became acquainted with bleak pictures of poverty, grief, tears and suffering. This made him concentrated, thoughtful and self-contained, and at the same time instilled in him a deep sympathy and compassionate love for the poor. Without being carried away by the inherent childhood games, he, constantly bearing in his heart the memory of God, 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 a special sensitivity to the 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, his father bought Vanya a primer and began to teach his son to read and write.Diploma at first was given to him with difficulty, as it was to St. Sergius of Radonezh, and just like the Monk, through prayer, the lad John acquired the ability to teach. One night, when everyone was sleeping, six-year-old Vanya saw an unusual light in the room. Looking closely, he froze: the Guardian Angel soared in an unearthly light. Confusion, fear and at the same time joy seized the child. Seeing the boy's excitement, the Angel calmed him and, promising to protect him from all sorrows and troubles, disappeared.

Studies

Young John prays on the way to school

From that time on, lad John began to study excellently: 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 to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, which he graduated in 1855 with a degree in theology, defending the work "On the Cross of Christ in the denunciation of 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 place as a deacon or a psalmist directly from the seminary, in order to support his old mother, who was left without a livelihood. 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.

Entering the Academy, the young student did not leave his mother without care: he got himself a clerical job on the academic board, and all the meager earnings he received completely sent to his mother.

Start of ministry

Thinking once about his future service to the Church of Christ during a solitary walk through the academic garden, he, returning home, fell asleep and in a dream saw himself as a priest serving in the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, in which he had never actually been before. He took it as a command from above. Soon the dream came true with literal accuracy.

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

In December 1931 Andrew's Cathedral was closed. In the second half of 1931, the warehouse of the purchasing cooperative was located in the premises of the cathedral. In 1932 the cathedral was demolished. In 1955, a monument to Lenin was erected on the resulting square. The square was called Leninsky. In 2001, this monument was moved to the square of the Young Leninist. In 2002, the Andreevsky Union installed a memorial granite sign with the inscription:
“At this place stood the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called, in which the Great Prayer Book of the Russian Land, the Holy Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, served for 53 years. The cathedral was consecrated in 1817, 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, Elizabeth, but had no children. The spouses "took upon themselves the feat of virginity." His marriage, which was required by the customs of our Church for a priest who is serving in the world, was only fictitious, necessary to cover up his selfless pastoral deeds. In fact, he lived with his wife like brother and sister.

John of Kronstadt with his wife

On December 12, 1855, he was consecrated to the priesthood. When he first entered the Kronstadt Andreevsky Cathedral, he stopped almost in horror on its threshold: it was exactly the temple that had been presented to him in his childhood visions long before. The rest of the life of John and his pastoral activity took place in Kronstadt, which is why many even forgot his last name "Sergiev" and called him "Kronstadt", and he himself often signed it 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, a powerful naval fortress, parking and base of the Baltic Navy. On the other hand, it is a place of exile for beggars, vagabonds and people who are guilty of something. There were also many unskilled laborers who worked in the port and in the factories.These residents huddled around the outskirts of the city. Whoever could, built shacks for himself from half-rotted 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, despised by all, unfortunate and degraded people. The young priest began to visit the poor quarters.

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, called him a holy fool. But in spite of everything, Father John went his own way.

« It is necessary to love every person both in his sin and in his shame, - was talking about. John - no need to confuse a person - this image of God - with the evil that is in him". With such a consciousness, he went to the people, conquering everyone and reviving with the power of his true pastoral compassionate love.

By admonishing fallen people and praying for them, by donating money and things to the poor, Father John also helped the sick. Sometimes he was called to the patient at night, and he, without hesitation, rode, not being afraid of even the most contagious. For his trips to the sick and for the prayer service for healing, Father John never asked for anything. He only reminded me to give thanks to God for everything.

Discovery of the Gift of Miracles

Soon Father John also revealed the wondrous gift of wonderworking, which glorified him throughout Russia and even far beyond its borders. There is no way to enumerate all the miracles performed by Father John. Our unbelieving intelligentsia and its press deliberately hushed up these innumerable manifestations of the power of God.

Through the prayers of John of Kronstadt and the laying on of his hand, the most serious illnesses were cured, when medicine was lost in its helplessness. Healings were performed both in private and with a large gathering 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 are many testimonies of healings.

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

The artist Zhivotovsky described the miraculous rainfall in an area that suffered from drought and was threatened forest fire, after Father John offered up his prayer there.

Many miracles were performed through the prayers of the blessed shepherd. Father John especially pitied those subject to the passion of wine-drinking 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 miracle-working was naturally a reward to Father John for his great deeds - prayerful labors, fasting and self-sacrificing deeds of love for God and neighbor.

"All-Russian Father"

Soon, all believing Russia flowed to the great and wondrous miracle worker. The fame of him as a famous pastor, preacher and miracle worker quickly spread everywhere. The second period of his glorious life, his exploits, began. At first, he himself went to the people within the boundaries 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 get some help from him.

More more he received letters and telegrams. Together with letters and telegrams, huge sums of money for charity flowed to Father John. Their size can only be judged approximately, for, receiving money, Father John immediately distributed everything. According to the most minimal estimate, at least one million rubles a year passed through his hands (an enormous amount at that time!).

St. John of Kronstadt brings homeless children to an orphanage.

With this money, Father John daily fed a thousand beggars, set up 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 built a convent in St. Petersburg. monastery on Karpovka, in which he was buried after his death.

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

The donations he received were handed out to the last penny. So, for example, having once received a package from the hands of a merchant at a huge gathering of people, Father John immediately handed it over to the outstretched hand of the poor man, without even opening the package. The merchant was excited: “Father, yes there is a thousand rubles!” - "His happiness" Father John replied calmly. Sometimes, however, he refused to accept donations from certain individuals. There is a known case when he did not accept 30,000 rubles from a rich lady. In this case, the foresight of Father John was manifested, for this lady received this money in an unclean way, which she later repented of.

Father John was also a wonderful preacher, and he spoke very simply and most often without much preparation - impromptu. He did not look for beautiful words and original expressions, but his sermons were distinguished by extraordinary power and depth of thought, and at the same time by exceptional theological scholarship, for all their accessibility for understanding even by ordinary people. In every word he felt some special power, like 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 the humble servant of Christ. Everywhere, wherever he appeared, a crowd instantly grew up around him, eager to at least touch the miracle worker. The confluence of the people was determined by tens of thousands, and all were embraced by feelings of heartfelt faith and reverence, the fear of God and a thirst to receive a healing blessing. During the passage of Father John on the steamer, crowds of people fled along the shore, many, as the steamer approached, knelt down.

When on July 20, 1890, John of Kronstadt served in the cathedral church of Kharkov, over 60,000 people gathered on Cathedral Square. Exactly the same scenes took place in the Volga cities: in 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 inhabitants of Riga tore his cassock to pieces, each wishing to have a piece).

Daily routine of John of Kronstadt

In this house on the second floor there was an apartment of 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 am and prepared for the service of the 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: the layout of the house, as it looked before

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

Living room of the apartment-museum of John of Kronstadt

During Matins, Father John always read the canon himself, attaching great importance to this reading. There was a confession before the beginning of the liturgy.

Because of the huge number of people who wanted to confess to Fr. John, a general confession was introduced to them. This general confession made a tremendous impression on all participants and eyewitnesses: many repented aloud, 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 took communion during the service continuously for 3-4 hours.

Sermon in St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt.

According to eyewitnesses and concelebrators of Father John, the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by Father John defies description. The service of Fr. John was an uninterrupted fervent prayer impulse to God. During the service, he was truly a mediator between God and people, interceding for their sins, he was a living link connecting the earthly Church, for which he interceded, and the Heavenly Church, among whose members he soared in those moments in spirit. The reading of Father John on the kliros was not a simple reading, but a lively, enthusiastic conversation with God and His saints: he read loudly, distinctly, penetratingly, and his voice penetrated the very soul of the worshipers. And during the Divine Liturgy, all exclamations and prayers were pronounced by him as if with his enlightened eyes he saw the Lord before him face to face and talked with Him. Tears of tenderness flowed from his eyes, but he did not notice them. It was evident that Father John during the Divine Liturgy experienced the whole history of our salvation, felt deeply and strongly all the love of the Lord for us, felt His suffering. Such a ministry had an extraordinary effect on all those present.

Not everyone went to him with firm faith: some with doubt, others with distrust, and still others out of curiosity. But here everyone was reborn and felt how the ice of doubt and disbelief gradually melted and was replaced by the warmth of faith. There were always so many who took communion after a general confession that sometimes several large bowls stood on the holy altar, from which several priests communed the believers 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 who were asked to remember him.

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 rarely when returned home before midnight. It must be assumed that many nights he did not have time to sleep at all.

It was possible to live and work like this, of course, only with the presence of God's supernatural grace-filled help!

Teaching activity

John of Kronstadt was also a wonderful teacher and 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 methods of teaching that often took place then in our educational institutions, that is, neither to excessive severity, nor to moral humiliation of the incapable. With Father John, marks were not measures of encouragement, nor measures of intimidation of punishment. His warm, sincere attitude both to the very matter of teaching and to his students gave birth to success. Therefore, he did not have "incapable".

At his lessons, everyone, without exception, eagerly listened to his every word. The lesson was waiting for him. His lessons were rather a pleasure, a rest for students, than a heavy duty, work. It was a lively conversation, a fascinating speech, an interesting, attention-grabbing story. And these lively conversations of the pastor-father with his children were deeply imprinted in the memory of the students for the rest of their lives. In his speeches addressed to teachers before the start of the academic year, he explained this method of teaching by the need to give the fatherland, first of all, a person and a Christian, pushing questions about the sciences into the background.

Often there were cases when Father John, having interceded for some lazy student sentenced to expulsion, himself began to correct him. Several years passed, and from a child who seemed to show no hope, a useful member of society was developed.

Father John attached particular importance to the reading of the lives of the saints, and he always brought separate lives to the lessons, which he distributed to students for reading 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 found, however, the time to keep, as it were, a spiritual diary, writing down his daily thoughts that came to him during prayer and contemplation. These thoughts constituted a remarkable book, published under the title "My life in Christ."

Throughout his life in Kronstadt, St. John kept a spiritual diary for 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 is a true spiritual treasure and can be put on a par with the inspired works of the ancient great fathers of the Church and the ascetics of Christian piety. In the complete collection of works of John of Kronstadt edition of 1893, "My Life in Christ" occupies 3 volumes of more than 1000 pages. This is a completely original 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; in all striking simplicity and clarity. There is none extra word, there are no "beautiful phrases". You cannot just “read” them - you must always re-read them, and you will always find something new, alive, sacred in them.

“My Life in Christ”, shortly after its publication, attracted so much attention to itself that it was translated into several foreign languages, and among Anglican priests it has even become a favorite reference book.

This book will forever remain a vivid testimony of how our great righteous man lived and how all those who want not only to 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 an unceasing struggle with passions and lusts, devotion to faith and the Orthodox Church, as the only saving one.

Socio-political position

Being the very 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 currents that undermined the faith of the Russian people and undermined the thousand-year state system of Russia.

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

The object of special fears of John of Kronstadt was the activity of the revolutionary anti-church intelligentsia. He considered the falling away of people from the Church as the main reason for the revolutionary ferment in Russia.

From the beginning of the 1890s, he sharply criticized the popular and influential writer in society, Count Leo Tolstoy. He criticized the fact that the latter “perverted the whole meaning of Christianity”, “set out to ... lead everyone away from faith in God and from the Church”, “mocks the Holy Scriptures”, “taunts the Church with satanic laughter”, “perishes along with the followers”. He believed that Tolstoy's teachings increased the "corruption of the morals" of society, that his writings "poisoned many young men and women," that the Tolstoyists "disprove Russia and prepare her political death."

After 1905 and the subsequent liberalization of censorship, the Russian press began to publish negative articles and caricatures of John of Kronstadt, sometimes of an obscene and mocking nature. He was criticized for his speeches against Tolstoy, for his sharp rejection revolutionary movement and support for an autocratic form of government. The newspapers wrote that John of Kronstadt surrounded himself with unworthy people who plundered a significant part of the donations that controlled the communication of pilgrims with him, allowing mainly those from whom it was possible to receive a bribe; that a special source of income was the distribution of prayers allegedly composed by John of Kronstadt, crosses and other items “consecrated” by him.

The most notable anti-church work was the story of Nikolai Leskov "Midnight Occupants" (1890). For the most part, the story critically illuminates the activities of John of Kronstadt. The shepherd was depicted as a pseudo-healer, and his supporters as sectarians.

In the 1880s, a group of fanatical admirers separated from among his admirers, which received the name ioannites who revered him as the incarnated Christ again (which was regarded as a kind of whip sect; they were recognized by the 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 last years The life of John of Kronstadt was joined by a painful personal illness - a disease that he meekly and patiently endured, never complaining to anyone. He resolutely rejected the prescriptions of the famous doctors who used him - to support his strength with fast food. Here are his words: “I thank my Lord for the suffering sent down to me for the purification of my sinful soul. Revitalizes - Holy Communion.

Although the disease caused a lot of suffering, Batiushka did not change his rule - he performed divine services every day, partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Only in the last days of his life he could not celebrate the liturgy and took communion at home. The last time he served a liturgy at St. Andrew's Cathedral on December 9.

Father John accurately predicted the day of his death. On December 18, as if forgetting himself, he asked Mother Superior Angelina: What is the date today? She answered: "Eighteenth".— "So, two more days," Father said thoughtfully. Shortly before his death, he sent out postcards for Christmas to all postmen, messengers, etc. people who carried out his orders. "Or they won't get it at all" he added.

All-Russian pastor died December 20 (old style) 1908 at the age of 80 and was buried in the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka in St. Petersburg.

Tens of thousands of people participated 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. The people continuously went to the temple all night from 21 to 22 December. 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 weeping people. Until that time, such a number of people had not been at any funeral - this was a completely unparalleled case in Russia.

The funeral procession was accompanied by troops with banners, military bands performed “Kol is Glorious”, troops stood in tapestries along the entire road through the whole city. The funeral service was performed by the 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 not cold, not stiff. The funeral services were accompanied by general sobs of people who felt orphaned. Shouts were heard: “Our sun has set! To whom did the father leave us? Who will come now to help us, the orphans, the weak? But there was nothing mournful in the funeral service: it rather resembled a bright Paschal matins, and the longer the service went on, the more this festive mood among the worshipers grew and increased. It was felt that some kind of grace-filled power was coming 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 tomb, and his spirit was invisibly hovering in the temple, embracing with its love and affection all those who had gathered to pay their 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 underwent a serious operation, after which she lost her legs).

Relics of John of Kronstadt

Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka

The relics of the righteous John of Kronstadt lie under a bushel in the Ioannovsky monastery on Karpovka.

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

There is also a famous icon of St. John with his stole and his vestments.

There is also a particle of the epitrachelion in the Trinity-Izmailovsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in an icon that is an exact copy from the monastery icon.

In Moscow, the icon of John of Kronstadt with a particle of relics located in Church of St. Sergius of 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 reckoning as a saint - canonization - took place in 1990.

He is prayed for in all family and household needs and in illnesses, as well as for deliverance from drunkenness.

Sayings:

- “We must love every person both in his sin and in his shame. No need to confuse a person - 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 the Christian faith consists in loving enemies.”
- “Look at every person, whether he is home or a stranger, as an everlasting news in the world of God, as the greatest miracle of God's wisdom and goodness, and may your habit of him not serve as a reason for you to neglect him. Honor and love him as yourself, constantly, unchangingly.”
“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 and hitherto extends to the entire human race. All people, therefore, are the same as one person, or one great tree of mankind.
- "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 Russia 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 testament of Grand Duke Vladimir, as a single Church ... The Russian people have ceased to understand what Russia is: it is the Foot of the Throne of the Lord. A Russian person should understand this and thank God for being Russian.”
- "Democracy in Hell, but in heaven - the Kingdom of God."
- “Do not be merciless judges of people who work for God and fall in life into contradiction with themselves, that is, with their piety; they are brought into conflict with themselves by the devil, their evil adversary; he grabs hard with his teeth at their heart, compels them to do the opposite.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

for the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills

Prayer to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt
O great saint of Christ, holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wonderful shepherd, quick helper and merciful intercessor! Lifting up praise to the Triune God, you prayerfully cried out:
Your name is Love: do not reject me, the deluded one.
Your name is Strength: strengthen me, exhausted and falling.
Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.
Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul.
Your name is Grace: do not cease to have mercy on me.
Now, grateful for your intercession, the All-Russian flock prays to you: Christ-named and righteous servant of God!
With your love, illumine us, sinners and the weak, make us worthy to bear the fruits of repentance and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without condemnation. Strengthen your faith in us by your strength, support us in prayer, heal illnesses and diseases, deliver us from misfortunes, enemies visible and invisible.
With the light of the face of your servants and representatives of the Altar of Christ, move to the holy feats of pastoral work, grant upbringing as a baby, instruct youth, support old age, illumine the shrines of temples and holy cloisters!
Die, miracle worker and seer of the most wonderful, the peoples of our country, by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit, deliver from internecine strife, gather squandered, deceived conversion and gathering of the Holy Councils and Apostles of the Church.
By your mercy, keep marriages in peace and unanimity, grant prosperity and blessings to those who are monks in good deeds, give cowardly comforts, those who suffer from unclean spirits of freedom, have mercy on the needs and circumstances of those who exist, and guide us all on the path of salvation.
Living in Christ, our Father John, lead us to the Non-Evening Light of eternal life, may we be with you eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.

Troparion of the Righteous John of Kronstadt, Tone 1
Advocate of the Orthodox faith, saddened the Russian land, ruled as a shepherd and faithful image, preaching repentance and life in Christ, Divine Mysteries, reverent servant and daring prayer for people, Righteous Father John, healer and wonderful miracle worker, praise to the city of Kronstadt and our adornment to the Church, pray to the All-good God 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 her.

It is very useful for John of Kronstadt to pray for the protection of the family; he considered the family to be the basis of Christian society. He is asked for help in protection from temptations, for the healing of the soul, for the strengthening of faith.

Prayers before the icon of John of Kronstadt for the healing of relatives and friends from alcoholism have repeatedly helped to defeat this demonic ailment

It must be remembered that icons or saints do not "specialize" in any particular area. It will be right when a person turns with faith in the power of God, and not in the power of this icon, this saint or prayer.
and .

THE LIFE OF THE HOLY RIGHTEOUS JOHN OF KRONSTADTS

Ivan Ilyich Sergiev (this is John of Kronstadt) was born in 1829 on October 19 (November 1, according to a new style) in the north of Russia in the Arkhangelsk region, in the village of Sura. The child was so weak that his parents immediately christened him, fearing that he would not even survive the night. That day was the feast of St. John of Rylsky, so the baby was named John.
After his child began to recover, and pious parents, remembering the One who gave life to their child, raised John in love for God.
His father, Ilya Mikhailovich, who sang and read prayers in the local church, took him to worship services from childhood. John loved the Lord with all his soul, he loved to go to church very much. Instead of children's games, the boy often prayed and thought about the Creator.
At the age of six, John began to learn to read and write, but she was not given to him in any way, despite the most ardent prayers and requests to the Lord. One night, the child “as if a veil had fallen from his eyes and as if the mind had opened up in his head,” God’s grace overshadowed him, and from that time on, study began to be easy for him.

He graduated from the Arkhangelsk parochial school among the best, then in 1851 he also graduated from the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary. During his studies, his father died, his mother Theodora was left without a livelihood. John wanted to leave his studies and find a place as a deacon or psalmist, but Theodora insisted that her son receive a good education.
For his success in studies, he was accepted for budgetary (at state expense) education at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, which John graduated in 1855 with a degree in theology. At the same time, he worked in the office of an educational institution, and sent all the money to his mother.

Even at the academy, John of Kronstadt decided to devote himself to missionary work in Siberia and North America. But everything turned out differently. Once, the young man had a dream in which he saw himself as a priest of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt. And, although John had never been to this temple, he considered this dream to be an indication that came true immediately after graduation.
After graduating from the academy in 1855, St. John entered into marriage with Elizabeth, the daughter of the archpriest of the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, and on December 12 he received the priesthood. This marriage was essentially fictitious, because the priest, according to church customs, had to have a family.

“Happy families Lisa, and without us a lot. Let us devote ourselves to the service of God.”

- such words were spoken by John on the very first day family life, until the end of his life he remained a pure virgin.
When the saint for the first time crossed the threshold of the Kronstadt Andreevsky Cathedral, he was seized with extraordinary excitement - this was the same temple that was in his childhood and youthful visions. All subsequent life and his activities took place in Kronstadt, so history left him in human memory, not as John Sergius, but as Krostadt.
In addition to the fact that Kronstadt was the northern naval fortress of Russia, it was also a "unfavorable" place, in which there was a huge number of vagrants and poor people, sometimes living in dugouts. From the cold and hunger, crime flourished here, morality was simply forgotten.
It was among these people that Fr. John. Every day he went to them, talked with them, consoled them, provided possible assistance, more than once returned home without clothes and shoes, which he distributed to those in need. Often he was asked to help people, and he, without hesitation, went to even the most contagious patients. For his prayers for healing, the saint never asked for anything, except that people would not forget the Lord.

One craftsman told about the case of his spiritual rebirth:

“I was then 22-23 years old. Now I am an old man, but I remember well the first time I saw the priest. I had a family, two kids. I worked and drank. The family was starving. The wife slowly collected around the world. They lived in a crappy kennel. I come just not very drunk. I see some young priest sitting, holding his little son in his arms and saying something to him affectionately. The child listens seriously. It seems to me that the priest was like Christ in the picture “Blessing the Children”. I wanted to swear: here, they say, they are wandering around ... but the father’s gentle and serious eyes stopped me: I felt ashamed ... I lowered my eyes, and he looks, looks straight into the soul. Started talking. I don't dare to convey everything he said. He talked about the fact that I have a paradise in my closet, because where there are children, it is always warm and good there, and that there is no need to change this paradise for the children of a tavern. He did not blame me, no, he justified everything, only I had no time for justification. He left, I sit in silence ... I don’t cry, although in my heart it’s like before tears. My wife is watching ... And since then I have become a man ... "

At o. John began to open the gift of wonderworking and clairvoyance, to which there are countless testimonies and memories of his contemporaries. And John himself wrote of his first miracle:

“Someone in Kronstadt fell ill. They asked for my prayer help. Even then I already had such a habit: do not refuse anyone's request. I began to pray, committing the sick person into the hands of God, asking the Lord to fulfill His holy will over the sick person. But suddenly an old woman whom I have known for a long time comes to me. She was a God-fearing, deeply religious woman who spent her life as a Christian and ended her earthly wandering in the fear of God. She comes to me and insistently demands from me that I pray for the sick person only for his recovery. I remember then I was almost afraid: how can I, I thought, have such boldness? However, this old woman firmly believed in the power of my prayer and stood her ground. Then I confessed before the Lord my insignificance and my sinfulness, saw the will of God in all this work and began to ask for healing for the sick. And the Lord sent him His mercy - he recovered. I thanked the Lord for this mercy. Another time, through my prayer, the healing was repeated. At that time, in these two cases, I directly saw the will of God, a new obedience from God to myself - to pray for those who will ask for it.

Through the prayers of the saint, people got rid of the most serious ailments, while healings took place both in private and with a large crowd of people. Many people did not have the opportunity to come to the priest in Kronstadt, they wrote letters, and through them they also received healing.
Father John especially helped people who were prone to alcoholism, many people got rid of this disease thanks to his prayers.

Soon all of Russia learned about John of Kronstadt. Now thousands of people came to him every day hoping to get help, and a special unit was opened at the local post office to process all letters and telegrams from Fr. John. In addition to letters, he received huge amounts of money in the form of charity.

They say that about 1 million "then" rubles passed through it per year (now this corresponds to several billion). He left nothing for himself. For all 53 years of his ministry, he lived in one small apartment in Kronstadt, which is now open for visits to every guest.
On them, he daily fed a thousand beggars, in Kronstadt, with this money, Father John built the "House of Diligence", in which there was a school, a church, workshops and an orphanage. In his village, he founded and built a monastery with a large church, and in St. Petersburg, a convent was built on Karlovka, today called the John's Monastery.

After 25 years of teaching the Law of God at the Kronstadt school and gymnasium, Father John was forced to put aside the glorious feat of teaching the law in favor of his all-Russian counseling. At his lessons, all the students delved into every word with great attention, while the training was carried out in the form of a lively conversation, and was not a heavy "obligation". The saint tried to instill this manner of teaching in all teachers who are engaged in teaching. He considered it necessary, first of all, to educate a person and a Christian, putting the question of the sciences into the background.
Father John was a good preacher, he spoke very simply, most often without any preparation, but in his sermons there was great power and theological scholarship, which was understandable to ordinary people.

The saint's daily routine was very tight, he got up at 3 am and prepared for the service of the Divine Liturgy. At 4 o'clock he went to the cathedral, where pilgrims who wanted to receive were waiting for him.
During matins John of Kronstadt he himself read the canon, then, before the liturgy, he conducted confession. The number of confessors was very large, so Fr. John introduced a general confession, in which people repented of their sins aloud, without embarrassing anyone. It really was sincere repentance. St. Andrew's Cathedral, which can accommodate up to 5,000 people, was always full of people, communion took a very long time, so the liturgy ended after noon, sometimes he confessed for 12 hours.

Not all people came to John of Kronstadt with firm faith, there were those who doubted or were simply curious. But after communication, people were reborn, they began to fill the warmth of faith.
After the service, Father John went to St. Petersburg to visit numerous patients, he returned home late at night. Most likely, there was more than one night in which he did not have time to sleep at all.

There is no doubt that such a regime was possible only with the help of God's grace!

John's father was called All-Russian priest“, he visited even the most remote places of Russia with sermons and everywhere he was met by crowds of people, many wanted to receive a blessing from him or just touch the miracle worker. For example, on July 20, 1890, John of Kronstadt served in Kharkov, and more than 60,000 people gathered nearby, on the cathedral square. Sometimes his "popularity" in the minds of people reached the point of absurdity, in Riga the inhabitants tore the saint's cassock into pieces, wanting to have a memory of him.
Even Emperor Alexander III himself, dying in 1894, confessed and took communion through Fr. John. The emperor said this to the father:

“You are a holy man. You are righteous. That's why the Russian people love you." Alexander asked the righteous man to hold his hands on his head, telling him: “When you keep your hands on my head, I feel great relief, and when you take them away, I suffer a lot - do not take them away.”

Despite his busyness, Fr. John kept his spiritual diary, in which he wrote down many of the thoughts that visited him.
As a result, on the basis of this diary, the book of John of Krostadt was published, which in the complete collection of works consists of three volumes, with total number over a thousand pages.
This is a real spiritual book, which, along with the works of the great fathers of the Holy Church, helps people learn to live in Christ and become in fact, and not just in words, Christians.
In addition to this book, three volumes of his sermons were published, totaling more than 1800 pages, and later more were published. a large number of separate books with the writings of Father John.
All these works are from the heart, there is a lot of faith in them. In his thoughts - amazing depth and wisdom with an extraordinary simplicity of presentation. There are no superfluous, unnecessary words, no “beautiful phrases” to meet. It is impossible to read these books, each time, with a new reading, there is always something new and alive in them.

The basis of all the creations of John of Kronstadt is the need and necessity of a person in sincere faith in God, in his constant battle with passions, temptations and lusts, faith in the Orthodox Church as the only saving one.

John of Kronstadt and Matrona of Moscow

One day, during a service, a blind girl entered St. Andrew's Cathedral. John of Kronstadt saw her and said:

“Matronushka, come, come to me. Here comes my shift - the eighth pillar of Russia.

In the last years of his life, Fr. John was sick, but he endured this illness with humility and meekness. Despite the recommendations of doctors about the need to change their diet to a less lean one, the saint said:

“I thank my Lord for the suffering sent down to me for the purification of my sinful soul. Revitalizes - Holy Communion.

And he continued to partake of it daily.

On the morning of December 20, 1908, the great righteous John of Kronstadt peacefully reposed in the Lord, he knew about this day and predicted it in advance.

Tens of thousands of people came to the coffin of Fr. John, many miracles and healings of the sick were performed. From Kronstadt itself to Oranienbaum, and from the Baltic Station in St. Petersburg to the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karlovka, there were a huge number of weeping people. Troops with banners took part in the funeral procession.

The funeral service was performed by Metropolitan Anthony of St. Petersburg with the bishops. But the funeral service was more like a bright Easter morning, because people revered John as a holy righteous man, many felt a special grace emanating from his tomb.
John of Kronstadt was buried in the church-tomb of the St. Petersburg monastery he built on Karlovka.

In 1990, at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church St. rights. John of Kronstadt was canonized, and it was established to celebrate his memory on December 20 / January 2 - on the day of the blessed death of the holy righteous.

PRAYERS THAT SAINT JOHN OF KRONSTADT PRAYED

PRAYER OF GRATITUDE

I thank You, Lord my God, for giving me life, for giving birth to me in the Christian faith, for the Most Pure Virgin Mary, the Intercessor for the salvation of our family, for Your holy saints, praying for us, for the Guardian Angel, for the public worship that supports us faith and virtue, for the Holy Scriptures, for the Holy Mysteries, and especially Your Body and Blood, for the mysterious grace-filled consolations, for the hope of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven and for all the blessings You have given me.

PRAYER TO THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

Oh, Lady! Yes, not in vain and in vain do we call You the Mistress: reveal and manifest over us Your holy, living, active dominion. Reveal, for you can do everything for good, as the Mother of the all-good of the all-good King; disperse the darkness of our hearts, reflect the arrows of crafty spirits, flatteringly moved at us. May the peace of Thy Son, Thy peace reign in our hearts, may we all joyfully exclaim: who is after the Lord, like our Lady, our all-good, all-merciful and most swift Intercessor? For this you are exalted, Mistress, for that an abundance of indescribable divine grace has been given to you, for that inexpressible boldness and strength at the throne of God and the gift of almighty prayer have been given to you, for this you have been adorned with indescribable holiness and purity, for this you have been given unapplied power from the Lord, so that you can preserve, protect, intercede, purify and save us, the inheritance of your Son and God, and yours. Save us, O most pure, all-good, all-wise and all-merciful! You are the Mother of our Savior, Who of all names deigned to be called the Savior more than anyone else. It is natural for us, wandering in this life, to fall, for we are overlaid with many-passionate flesh, surrounded by spirits of malice in high places, seducing to sin, we live in an adulterous and sinful world, seducing to sin; and You are above all sin, You are the brightest Sun, You are the Most Pure, All-good and All-pleasing, It is Your nature to purify us, defiled by sins, as a mother cleanses her children, if we call on You humbly for help, You tend to raise us, who are constantly falling, to intercede to protect and save us, who are slandered by the spirits of evil, and to instruct us to walk towards every path of salvation.

PRAYER TO THE LORD

God! Your name is Love - do not reject me, the erring one.
Your name is Strength - strengthen me, exhausted and falling.
Your name is Light - enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.
Your name is Peace - pacify my restless soul.
Your name is Grace - do not cease to have mercy on me. Amen.

MORNING PRAYER

God! Creator and Lord of the world! look graciously at your creation, adorned with your divine image in these morning hours: may it live, may it enlighten your Eye, with darkness that times the brightest rays of the sun, my soul is dark and mortified by sin. Take away despondency and laziness from me, grant me joy and cheerfulness of soul, and in the joy of my heart I glorify Your goodness, holiness, Your boundless greatness, Your infinite perfections at every hour and in every place. Thou art my Creator and Lord of my life, O Lord, and glory befits Thee from Thy intelligent creatures at every hour, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER FROM DRUNKNESS

Lord, look mercifully on your servant (name), deceived by the flattery of the womb and carnal joy: grant him (name) to know the sweetness of abstinence in fasting and the fruits of the spirit flowing from it. Amen

PRAYER FOR RECOVERY

Glory to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father without beginning, heal every ailment and every ailment in people, as if you had mercy on me, a sinner, and delivered me from my illness, not allowing it to develop and kill me for my sins. Grant me from now on, Lord, the strength to firmly do Your will for the salvation of my damned soul and for Your glory with Your Father without beginning and Your Spirit consubstantial, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAVE SOMEONE FROM BODY DEATH

Blessed be your faith, according to your faith, may the Lord grant the fulfillment of my unworthy, unbelieving prayer, and may he add faith to me.

PRAYER FOR THE PROUD AND THE STRONG

Lord, teach Your servant, who has fallen into the devil's pride, meekness and humility, and drive away from his heart the darkness and the burden of satanic pride!

PRAYER FOR THE EVIL

Lord, do good to this servant of yours by your grace!

PRAYER FOR THE MONEY-LOVERING AND GREEDY

Our incorruptible treasure and inexhaustible wealth! Grant this servant of yours, created in your image and likeness, to know the flattery of wealth, and like all earthly things - vanity, shade and sleep. Like the grass is the days of every person, or like the abyss, and like You, the only wealth, our peace and joy! Do not be embittered by anything, conquer everything with love: all sorts of grievances, whims, all sorts of family troubles. Know nothing but love. Blame always sincerely yourself, recognizing yourself as the culprit of troubles. Say: I am guilty, I am sinful. Remember that just as you are weak, so is your neighbor, and weakness for weakness is destroyed, and there is nothing to blame the weak and sinners if they confess their weakness. The devil, mighty in evil, must be blamed.

PRAYER FOR THE ENVY

Lord, enlighten the mind and heart of this Thy servant to the knowledge of Thy great, innumerable and inexhaustible gifts, they are also received from Thy innumerable bounties, in the blindness of their passion, forget Thee and Thy rich gifts, and be poor yourself, rich in Thy blessings, and for this sake, it looks more charming at the good of Thy servants, image, O unspoken Blessing, have compassion on everyone, every time against his strength and according to the intention of Thy will. Take away, O all-good Master, the veil of the devil from the eyes of the heart of Thy servant and grant him contrition of heart and a tear of repentance and thanksgiving, may the enemy not rejoice over him, caught alive from him in his own will, and may not tear him out of Thy hand.

PRAYER TO THE MOTHER OF GOD

Lady Mother of God! You, whose love for Christians surpasses the love of any earthly mother, any wife, hearken to us in our prayer and save us! May we always remember You! May we always pray to You! May we always run under Your holy roof without laziness and without doubt.

Give me, Lord, to love every one of my neighbors as yourself, always, and for no reason be angry with him and do not work for the devil.
Let me crucify my vanity, pride, covetousness, lack of faith and other passions.
Let there be a name for us: mutual love; let us believe and hope that for all of us everything is the Lord; let's not bake, let's not worry about anything; May You, our God, be the only God of our heart, and besides You, nothing.
Let us be among ourselves in the unity of love, as it befits, and let everything that separates us from each other and separate us from love be contemptible among us, like dust trampled underfoot. Wake up! Wake up! Amen.

If God has given Himself to us, if He abides in us and we are in Him, according to His infallible word, then what will He not give me, what will He spare, what will He deprive me of, what will He leave me in?
The Lord shepherds me, and deprives me of nothing (Ps. 22:1).
So, be very calm, my soul, and know nothing but love.
This I command you, that you love one another (John 15:17)

PRAYERS FOR HEALING TO THE LORD

Lord, it is possible for You to do (that) and (that) to Your servant (name); do this to him, for your name is the good Lover of mankind and the Almighty. If we, a crafty being, know how to give good things not only to children, but also to strangers, how much more do You give all kinds of blessings to those who ask You. Good Man-lover! Even though you made a creature with a single word and created a man out of it, visit your fallen servant with your inexpressible love of mankind, as if the work of your hand will not perish to the end. Amen.

Magnification

We magnify you, our holy righteous father John, and we honor your holy memory: for you pray for us Christ our God.

VIDEO FILM

My husband left right away. How long time has passed! The next morning was another medical round. The doctor explained to worried mothers
that their children feel better, that mothers may no longer worry too much, but she was silent about my son.

My heart sank. I myself called out to her, asking what happened to my child.
The doctor answered me: “Mommy, and with yours, most likely, there was some kind of mistake. Otherwise, there is no way to explain it. The baby is absolutely healthy. Both weight and temperature are normal. They'll bring it to you to feed it." Thank God!!!

And this is one of the many cases of prayerful help from dear Father John of Kronstadt to our family. Do not list everything. Something so personal that you can't trust paper. But everything is in the memory, and the gratitude of our whole family is in our hearts. Low bow to the Holy Father and thanksgiving to God!

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

Good day editors! 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 languages ​​\u200b\u200bare not given to my son in any way. She said that she would pray for Vanya to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. I also (only a few times and with doubts, God forgive me) asked the saint for help in teaching my son.

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

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

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

My best friend, feeling my problems, but not fully knowing them, 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, His love and every second concern for our salvation!!! It is probably impossible for us to even imagine this in full.

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

And then something changed inside me, and I realized something important - the shame and mercy of God! Then began a long and painful struggle with evil within himself. Each time I prayed to God and the Saints to give me strength just to reach the temple. I am very grateful to the patron saint of the center, John of Kronstadt, for the fact that specialists and ministers of the temple work with his prayers, hundreds of people and their families are saved. It's a miracle!

Now I'm all right. I got married, we got married right after painting. I have an amazing job as a speech pathologist. My husband and I are expecting our baby.

Believe in the prayers of the Holy Fathers! The grace of God is immense!

Evgeniya
“Prayed for the gift of a child to us”

Two years ago, my husband and I New Year went on a pilgrimage to St. Petersburg, 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. Thank God!!!

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 authorized council for religious affairs, and two slanderers who actively helped them. At my parish in Irpin, they staged a vile provocation for me. I wrote a report about an attempt to disrupt the service, which I was able to convey to the ruling bishop with great difficulty. Without strength late at night fell asleep all broken.

I had a dream about our altar. I stand near the Throne. He enters the altar with a quick, energetic step, kneels, prays, says a few words of support and approval to me, and leaves the altar. 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 has failed. Everything falls apart for them. The atheists are retreating, the Vladyka settles the problems with the authorized person and protects me. I was then 28 years old, my wife 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, the apple has nowhere to fall”

And in the village of Nikolsky, 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 in the help of the holy father. And so many years in a row. Surely there is concrete examples help, and most importantly, people come to pray to their beloved father. And such joy in my soul! Father John, pray to God for us! This is an example of people's love for the priest in the vastness of Ukraine.

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

In 2012, she was on training in St. Petersburg for five days. On the very first day after my studies, I went to the Ioannovsky Monastery, where I had never been before, but I really wanted to visit the grave of Father John.

My mother had to go to a medical examination the next day, and the worst was suspected. 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, afraid for her. She was also worried about her husband - how he would survive if the mother-in-law could not stand the amputation.

I crouched at 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 to be treated. Ten days later, when I returned, my husband told me that his mother had been discharged from the hospital: the blackness on his leg began to disappear and there was no gangrene - they were mistaken, they say, the doctors ... Thank God for everything !!!

Now I know that the father helped. His icon attached to the grave is always in front of my eyes. Holy Righteous Father John, pray to God for us!

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

This incident happened at the dawn of my priestly ministry in 2002.

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

Serve the liturgy in the morning, 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 dressing before the proskomedia, when suddenly I was called from the altar.

An elderly woman turned: “Father, here 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 have already worn it all out, this is probably a sin. Take her, please!" I took the book in my hands - and it was really worn out: the cover was stained, the title could not be read, the spine was torn off ... I open it and see: “Ioann Sergiev, archpriest. My life is in Christ.” The Liturgy passed in one breath.

Olga
“I began to ask the priest to reason with his son”

Our family moved to live in another city when my son was 14 years old. He missed his friends very much and next summer, having gone to visit his grandparents (my husband's parents), he immediately went to his friends in our former courtyard and took a walk until public transport no longer ran. I scolded him on the phone and told him to take a taxi home. He said that then he would have no pocket money at all, that he would spend the night on the street, and turned off the phone. As time went on, our concern for our son and the elderly, who were also worried, could not sleep, grew.

I was then taking my first steps in the faith and had not even been baptized yet. She prayed as best she could. And suddenly the name of St. John of Kronstadt arose in my mind, I began to reason with my son. And literally immediately the phone rang: the son apologized and said that he was already going by taxi home. This experience strengthened 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 a small miracle, but still very significant for me. About a year ago, I began to pray to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt to help me find his icon. The fact is that I greatly revere this great saint, but due to the forgetfulness and vanity of life, for several years I have not been able to purchase his icon.

And then, after about a few weeks, 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 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.

Nataliya
"And the whole world around became beautiful"

In 2007, I quit my job, left the building of our administration after talking with the personnel officer, all in very upset feelings. Nearby was the Ioannovsky Monastery, and I went there, stood in the tomb, wept at the grave of Father John, and came out still very upset.

I just thought that they were writing about how no one had yet left Father John unconsoled - and at that moment everything changed: the sun came out from behind the clouds, everything shone, and it felt very good in the soul - peacefully, quietly, calmly, easily 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 this had only happened to one person in his memory, he apologized to me and was very kind.

Andrew
“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 ended. I looked for about five minutes and really wanted to know more about him, I had heard about him before, but I 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 is 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, to talk with the priest.

Once I asked him who is my patron saint, to whom I should pray. My name is Andrew, and I thought it was the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The father answered me: "Whoever is closer to the heart, pray to him." And Saint John of Kronstadt became close to my heart. Studying his biography, I learned that the saint served all his life in the Kronstadt Andreevsky Cathedral, 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 now, after a couple of days, a relative calls and asks for help to drive the car from St. Petersburg. So a week later I was at the relics of the saint! Joy was over the edge! This is how St. 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 also called Zagorsk, we were organized an excursion to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra at work. I was not a believer, it’s even scary now to remember that time. But I was baptized, my ancestors were all believers.

In the Lavra, I bought two thin books in a church shop. Thus 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 talked for a long time with the granddaughter of his spiritual daughter Tatyana Glebovna Varypayeva, now deceased, God rest her. She gave me books about Fr. John, gave me an autographed photo 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, gave me a guide at a time when I did not yet have my confessor. Tatyana Glebovna was a light in the window for me. Until now, I feel her spiritual support.

When I am in St. Petersburg, I always go to Karpovka, to the priest. There, his icon is large, and each 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’s John of Kronstadt who sent you this book!”

I'll tell you how St. John of Kronstadt sent a book for my mother. Somehow books were brought to our temple, and I immediately bought a lot. Approximately six months have passed since I began to read from those bought - "Biography, miracles and instructions" about St. John of Kronstadt. I started reading and was so upset in my soul that I didn’t buy it for my mother either. Let me explain: most often I buy books in duplicate: for myself and for my mother, or rather, for my parents (dad also reads them). Now I catch myself thinking: but my dad is John!

So I’m reading and I’m upset: the book is not thin, I won’t be able to copy it, I won’t be able to buy it, everything was sold out a long time ago. I come next time to the temple and immediately at the entrance I see this book on the shelf. She came 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.

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

Holy Righteous Father John, pray to God for us!

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 deacon Ilia Sergiev and his wife Theodora. The newborn seemed so weak and sickly that the parents hurried to baptize him at once, 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 on that day by the Holy Church. Soon after the baptism, the infant John began to noticeably recover.

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

Living in the harsh conditions of extreme material need, the lad John early became acquainted with bleak pictures of poverty, grief, tears and suffering. This made him concentrated, thoughtful and self-contained, and at the same time instilled in him a deep sympathy 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 a special sensitivity to the 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, his father bought Vanya a primer and began to teach his son to read and write. Literacy at first was given to him with difficulty, as it was to St. Sergius of Radonezh, and just like the Monk, through prayer, the lad John acquired the ability to teach. One night, when everyone was sleeping, six-year-old Vanya saw an unusual light in the room. Looking closely, he froze: the Guardian Angel soared in an unearthly light. Confusion, fear and at the same time joy seized the child. Seeing the boy's excitement, the Angel calmed him and, promising to protect him from all sorrows and troubles, disappeared.

Studies

Young John prays on the way to school

From that time on, lad John began to study excellently: 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 to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, which he graduated in 1855 with a degree in theology, defending the work "On the Cross of Christ in the denunciation of 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 place as a deacon or a psalmist directly from the seminary, in order to support his old mother, who was left without a livelihood. 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.

Entering the Academy, the young student did not leave his mother without care: he got himself a clerical job on the academic board, and all the meager earnings he received completely sent to his mother.

Start of ministry

Thinking once about his future service to the Church of Christ during a solitary walk through the academic garden, he, returning home, fell asleep and in a dream saw himself as a priest serving in the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, in which he had never actually been before. He took it as a command from above. Soon the dream came true with literal accuracy.

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

In December 1931Andrew's Cathedral was closed. In the second half of 1931, the warehouse of the purchasing cooperative was located in the premises of the cathedral. In 1932 the cathedral was demolished. In 1955, a monument to Lenin was erected on the resulting square. The square was called Leninsky. In 2001, this monument was moved to the square of the Young Leninist. In 2002, the Andreevsky Union installed a memorial granite sign with the inscription:
“At this place stood the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called, in which the Great Prayer Book of the Russian Land, the Holy Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, served for 53 years. The cathedral was consecrated in 1817, 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, Elizabeth, but had no children. The spouses "took upon themselves the feat of virginity." His marriage, which was required by the customs of our Church for a priest who is serving in the world, was only fictitious, necessary to cover up his selfless pastoral deeds. In fact, he lived with his wife like brother and sister.

John of Kronstadt with his wife

On December 12, 1855, he was consecrated to the priesthood. When he first entered the Kronstadt Andreevsky Cathedral, he stopped almost in horror on its threshold: it was exactly the temple that had been presented to him in his childhood visions long before. The rest of the life of John and his pastoral activities took place in Kronstadt, which is why many even forgot his last name "Sergiev" and called him "Kronstadt", and he himself often signed like that.

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, a powerful naval fortress, parking and base of the Baltic Navy. On the other hand, it is a place of exile for beggars, vagabonds and guilty people. There were also many unskilled laborers who worked in the port and in the factories. These residents huddled around the outskirts of the city. Whoever could, built shacks for himself from half-rotted 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, despised by all, unfortunate and degraded people. The young priest began to visit the poor quarters.

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, called him a holy fool. But in spite of everything, Father John went his own way.

« It is necessary to love every person both in his sin and in his shame, - was talking about. John - no need to confuse a person - this image of God - with the evil that is in him". With such a consciousness, he went to the people, conquering everyone and reviving with the power of his true pastoral compassionate love.

By admonishing fallen people and praying for them, by donating money and things to the poor, Father John also helped the sick. Sometimes he was called to the patient at night, and he, without hesitation, rode, not being afraid of even the most contagious. For his trips to the sick and for the prayer service for healing, Father John never asked for anything. He only reminded me to give thanks to God for everything.

Discovery of the Gift of Miracles

Soon Father John also revealed the wondrous gift of wonderworking, which glorified him throughout Russia and even far beyond its borders. There is no way to enumerate all the miracles performed by Father John. Our unbelieving intelligentsia and its press deliberately hushed up these innumerable manifestations of the power of God.

Through the prayers of John of Kronstadt and the laying on of his hand, the most serious illnesses were cured, when medicine was lost in its helplessness. Healings were performed both in private and with a large gathering 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 are many testimonies of healings.

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

The artist Zhivotovsky described the miraculous rainfall in an area that suffered from drought and was threatened by forest fire, after Father John offered up his prayer there.

Many miracles were performed through the prayers of the blessed shepherd. Father John especially pitied those subject to the passion of wine-drinking 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 miracle-working was naturally a reward to Fr. John for his great deeds—prayerful labors, fasting, and self-sacrificing deeds of love for God and neighbor.

"All-Russian Father"

Soon, all believing Russia flowed to the great and wondrous miracle worker. The fame of him as a famous pastor, preacher and miracle worker quickly spread everywhere. The second period of his glorious life, his exploits, began. At first, he himself went to the people within the boundaries 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 get some help from him.

He received even more letters and telegrams. Together with letters and telegrams, huge sums of money for charity flowed to Father John. Their size can only be judged approximately, for, receiving money, Father John immediately distributed everything. According to the most minimal estimate, at least one million rubles a year passed through his hands (an enormous amount at that time!).

With this money, Father John daily fed a thousand beggars, set up 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 monastery on Karpovka, in which he was buried after his death.

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

The donations he received were handed out to the last penny. So, for example, having once received a package from the hands of a merchant at a huge gathering of people, Father John immediately handed it over to the outstretched hand of the poor man, without even opening the package. The merchant was excited: “Father, yes there is a thousand rubles!” - "His happiness" Father John replied calmly. Sometimes, however, he refused to accept donations from certain individuals. There is a known case when he did not accept 30,000 rubles from a rich lady. In this case, the foresight of Father John was manifested, for this lady received this money in an unclean way, which she later repented of.

Father John was also a wonderful preacher, and he spoke very simply and most often without much preparation - impromptu. He did not look for beautiful words and original expressions, but his sermons were distinguished by extraordinary power and depth of thought, and at the same time by exceptional theological scholarship, for all their accessibility for understanding even by ordinary people. In every word he felt some special power, like 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 the humble servant of Christ. Everywhere, wherever he appeared, a crowd instantly grew up around him, eager to at least touch the miracle worker. The confluence of the people was determined by tens of thousands, and all were embraced by feelings of heartfelt faith and reverence, the fear of God and a thirst to receive a healing blessing. During the passage of Father John on the steamer, crowds of people fled along the shore, many, as the steamer approached, knelt down.

When on July 20, 1890, John of Kronstadt served in the cathedral church of Kharkov, over 60,000 people gathered on Cathedral Square. Exactly the same scenes took place in the Volga cities: in 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 inhabitants of Riga tore his cassock to pieces, each wishing to have a piece).

Daily routine of John of Kronstadt

In this house on the second floor there was an apartment of 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 am and prepared for the service of the 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: the layout of the house, as it looked before

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

Living room of the apartment-museum of John of Kronstadt

During Matins, Father John always read the canon himself, attaching great importance to this reading. There was a confession before the beginning of the liturgy.

Because of the huge number of people who wanted to confess to Fr. John, a general confession was introduced to them. This general confession made an amazing impression on all participants and eyewitnesses: many repented aloud, 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 took communion during the service continuously for 3-4 hours.

Sermon in St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt.

According to eyewitnesses and concelebrators of Father John, the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by Father John defies description. The service of Fr. John was an uninterrupted fervent prayer impulse to God. During the service, he was truly a mediator between God and people, interceding for their sins, he was a living link connecting the earthly Church, for which he interceded, and the Heavenly Church, among whose members he soared in those moments in spirit. The reading of Father John on the kliros was not a simple reading, but a lively, enthusiastic conversation with God and His saints: he read loudly, distinctly, penetratingly, and his voice penetrated the very soul of the worshipers. And during the Divine Liturgy, all exclamations and prayers were pronounced by him as if with his enlightened eyes he saw the Lord before him face to face and talked with Him. Tears of tenderness flowed from his eyes, but he did not notice them. It was evident that Father John during the Divine Liturgy experienced the whole history of our salvation, felt deeply and strongly all the love of the Lord for us, felt His suffering. Such a ministry had an extraordinary effect on all those present.

Not everyone went to him with firm faith: some with doubt, others with distrust, and still others out of curiosity. But here everyone was reborn and felt how the ice of doubt and disbelief gradually melted and was replaced by the warmth of faith. There were always so many who took communion after a general confession that sometimes several large bowls stood on the holy altar, from which several priests communed the believers 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 who were asked to remember him.

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 rarely when returned home before midnight. It must be assumed that many nights he did not have time to sleep at all.

It was possible to live and work like this, of course, only with the presence of God's supernatural grace-filled help!

Teaching activity

John of Kronstadt was also a wonderful teacher and 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 methods of teaching that often took place then in our educational institutions, that is, neither to excessive severity, nor to moral humiliation of the incapable. With Father John, marks were not measures of encouragement, nor measures of intimidation of punishment. His warm, sincere attitude both to the very matter of teaching and to his students gave birth to success. Therefore, he did not have "incapable".

At his lessons, everyone, without exception, eagerly listened to his every word. The lesson was waiting for him. His lessons were rather a pleasure, a rest for students, than a heavy duty, work. It was a lively conversation, a fascinating speech, an interesting, attention-grabbing story. And these lively conversations of the pastor-father with his children were deeply imprinted in the memory of the students for the rest of their lives. In his speeches addressed to teachers before the start of the academic year, he explained this method of teaching by the need to give the fatherland, first of all, a person and a Christian, pushing questions about the sciences into the background.

Often there were cases when Father John, having interceded for some lazy student sentenced to expulsion, himself began to correct him. Several years passed, and from a child who seemed to show no hope, a useful member of society was developed.

Father John attached particular importance to the reading of the lives of the saints, and he always brought separate lives to the lessons, which he distributed to students for reading 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 found, however, the time to keep, as it were, a spiritual diary, writing down his daily thoughts that came to him during prayer and contemplation. These thoughts constituted a remarkable book, published under the title"My life in Christ."

Throughout his life in Kronstadt, St. John kept a spiritual diary - for 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 is a true spiritual treasure and can be put on a par with the inspired works of the ancient great fathers of the Church and the ascetics of Christian piety. In the complete collection of works of John of Kronstadt edition of 1893, "My Life in Christ" occupies 3 volumes of more than 1000 pages. This is a completely original 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; in all striking simplicity and clarity. There is not a single superfluous word, there are no “beautiful phrases”. They cannot only be “read”—they must always be re-read, and you will always find in them something new, alive, sacred.

Soon after its publication, My Life in Christ attracted so much attention to itself that it was translated into several foreign languages, and among Anglican priests it even became a favorite reference book.

This book will forever remain a vivid testimony of how our great righteous man lived and how all those who want not only to 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 an unceasing struggle with passions and lusts, devotion to faith and the Orthodox Church, as the only saving one.

Socio-political position

Being the very 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 currents that undermined the faith of the Russian people and undermined the thousand-year state system of Russia.

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

The object of special fears of John of Kronstadt was the activity of the revolutionary anti-church intelligentsia. He considered the falling away of people from the Church as the main reason for the revolutionary ferment in Russia.

From the beginning of the 1890s, he sharply criticized the popular and influential writer in society, Count Leo Tolstoy. He criticized the fact that the latter “perverted the whole meaning of Christianity”, “set out to ... lead everyone away from faith in God and from the Church”, “mocks the Holy Scriptures”, “taunts the Church with satanic laughter”, “perishes along with the followers”. He believed that Tolstoy's teachings increased the "corruption of the morals" of society, that his writings "poisoned many young men and women," that the Tolstoyists "disprove Russia and prepare her political death."

After 1905 and the subsequent liberalization of censorship, the Russian press began to publish negative articles and caricatures of John of Kronstadt, sometimes of an obscene and mocking nature. He was criticized for his speeches against Tolstoy, for his sharp rejection of the revolutionary movement and for his support of the autocratic form of government. The newspapers wrote that John of Kronstadt surrounded himself with unworthy people who plundered a significant part of the donations that controlled the communication of pilgrims with him, allowing mainly those from whom it was possible to receive a bribe; that a special source of income was the distribution of prayers allegedly composed by John of Kronstadt, crosses and other items “consecrated” by him.

The most notable anti-church work was the story of Nikolai Leskov "Midnight Occupants" (1890). For the most part, the story critically illuminates the activities of John of Kronstadt. The shepherd was depicted as a pseudo-healer, and his supporters as sectarians.

In the 1880s, a group of fanatical admirers separated from among his admirers, which received the name ioannites who revered him as the incarnated Christ again (which was regarded as a kind of whip sect; they were recognized by the 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

The difficult feat of serving people in the last years of the life of John of Kronstadt was joined by a painful personal illness - a disease that he meekly and patiently endured, never complaining to anyone. He resolutely rejected the prescriptions of the famous doctors who used him - to support his strength with fast food. Here are his words: “I thank my Lord for the suffering sent down to me for the purification of my sinful soul. Revitalizes - Holy Communion.

Although the disease caused a lot of suffering, Batiushka did not change his rule - he performed divine services every day, partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Only in the last days of his life he could not celebrate the liturgy and took communion at home. The last time he served a liturgy at St. Andrew's Cathedral on December 9.

Father John accurately predicted the day of his death. On December 18, as if forgetting himself, he asked Mother Superior Angelina: What is the date today? She answered: "Eighteenth".- "So, two more days,"- said Father in thought. Shortly before his death, he sent out postcards for Christmas to all postmen, messengers, etc. people who carried out his orders. "Or they won't get it at all" he added.

All-Russian pastor died December 20 (old style) 1908 at the age of 80 and was buried in the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka in St. Petersburg.

Tens of thousands of people participated 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. The people continuously went to the temple all night from 21 to 22 December. 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 weeping people. Such a number of people had not been at any funeral until that time - this was a completely unparalleled case in Russia.

The funeral procession was accompanied by troops with banners, military bands performed “Kol is Glorious”, troops stood in tapestries along the entire road through the whole city. The funeral service was performed by the 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 not cold, not stiff. The funeral services were accompanied by general sobs of people who felt orphaned. Shouts were heard: “Our sun has set! To whom did the father leave us? Who will come now to help us, the orphans, the weak? But there was nothing mournful in the funeral service: it rather resembled a bright Paschal matins, and the longer the service went on, the more this festive mood among the worshipers grew and increased. It was felt that some kind of grace-filled power was coming 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 tomb, and his spirit was invisibly hovering in the temple, embracing with its love and affection all those who had gathered to pay their 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 underwent a serious operation, after which she lost her legs).

Relics of John of Kronstadt

Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka

The relics of the righteous John of Kronstadt lie under a bushelin the Ioannovsky monastery on Karpovka.

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

There is also a famous icon of St. John with his stole and his vestments.

There is also a particle of the epitrachelion in the Trinity-Izmailovsky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in an icon that is an exact copy from the monastery icon.

In Moscow, the icon of John of Kronstadt with a particle of relics located inChurch of St. Sergius of Radonezh (Life-Giving Trinity) in Rogozhskaya Sloboda (m. "Ilyich Square", Nikoloyamskaya St., 57-59).

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

His reckoning as a saint - canonization - took place in 1990.

He is prayed for in all family and household needs and in illnesses, as well as for deliverance from drunkenness.

Sayings:

“You must love every person, both in his sin and in his shame. No need to confuse a person - 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 the Christian faith consists in loving enemies.”
“Look at every person, whether he is home or a stranger, as a constant news in the world of God, as the greatest miracle of God's wisdom and goodness, and your habit of him may not serve as a reason for you to neglect him. Honor and love him as yourself, constantly, unchangingly.”
“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 and hitherto extends to the entire human race. All people, therefore, are the same as one person, or one great tree of mankind.
“Pray that 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 Russia 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 testament of Grand Duke Vladimir, as a single Church... The Russian people have ceased to understand what Russia is: it is the Foot of the Throne of the Lord. A Russian person should understand this and thank God for being Russian.”
“Democracy is in Hell, but 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 brought into conflict with themselves by the devil, their evil adversary; he grabs hard with his teeth at their heart, compels them to do the opposite.

Dear readers!

1. Healing a cancer patient.

On December 5, 1990, Valentina Nikolaevna Krasavtseva was taken to the hospital with an attack of gallstone disease. During the operation, a cancerous tumor in her liver was found in a very neglected state. The preliminary diagnosis read: "cirrhosis of the liver and pancreatic adenoma of the 4th degree." From the beginning of March 1991, the patient was placed for examination at the Research Institute of Oncology. prof. N. N. Petrov in the village. Sand. On April 16, 1991, a council of doctors came to the conclusion: “A cancerous tumor of the retroperitoneal space. Multiple liver metastases." And further, with the note “do not give to the patient’s hands!”, The conclusion: “The size and spread of the tumor do not allow radical surgery, according to its histological structure, the tumor cannot be subjected to radiation therapy. The patient was discharged under the supervision of an oncologist. Home, to die ... But Valentina Nikolaevna was only 46 years old, she has two children, the youngest is 8 years old. By the time of discharge, the patient had already begun severe toxicosis, her head was constantly spinning, Valentina Nikolaevna could not move independently. The strongest bouts of pain exhausted the last forces. The patient was prescribed a course of chemotherapy, but Valentina Nikolaevna asked the doctors that she had about six months to live. The poor woman fell into indescribable despair. Death stood before her coldly, clearly, inexorably. “Well, why are you screaming? - once a neighbor in the ward, originally from Ishmael, told her, - you have the monastery of John of Kronstadt on Karpovka. Go there!”

And at the end of April, formerly a non-believer, Valentina Nikolaevna, leaning on her mother's hand, went to the monastery. I got there with difficulty, although I lived very close. She approached the priest and tried to cross herself. “Well, you don’t even know how to be baptized,” the priest reproached. “I am a dying person…”, Valentina Nikolaevna began and told in detail about her grief. The priest advised her to speak and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Four days later, having repented for the first time in her life, Valentina Nikolaevna took communion. Then, together with everyone, she went to a prayer service in the tomb and prayed and cried there for a long time. Several times during the month she managed to come to the monastery and ask dear Father John for help. Just a month and a half after the first appearance of Valentina Nikolaevna in the Ioannovsky Monastery, an entry dated June 13, 1991 appeared in the medical record: “According to ultrasound data, volume-shaped formations under the liver are not clearly detected at present.” Repeated ultrasound scans performed on August 12 and September 26 again confirmed the absence of lesions in the liver. And so, on October 3, 1991, in honey. On the map, an unusually emotional (which is not typical for such documents) entry of an oncologist appears on the map: “At the moment, if we focus on ultrasound (namely, echography objectified the tumor lesion), is the patient cured of the tumor? From what? What caused the regression of the tumor? - the doctor does not hide his surprise, and further, having gone through all the possible reasons for such a radical improvement, he does not recognize any of them as satisfactory.

But Valentina Nikolaevna herself knows perfectly well the true reason for the healing - this is the manifestation of God's mercy through the prayerful intercession of St. rights. John of Kronstadt.

2. Healing the hand.

A resident of the Moscow Region, Vladimir Vasilievich Kotov, had a severe pain in his right arm for a whole year, and by the spring of 1992, it had almost stopped moving. Vladimir repeatedly addressed to doctors. Those established a presumptive diagnosis - severe arthritis of the right shoulder, but failed to provide significant assistance. Vladimir himself, having lost hope for a cure, began to earnestly pray to God, asking for relief from his illness. Once he got a book about the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. Reading it, Vladimir was amazed at the miraculous healings that the Lord performed through the prayers of the great righteous man. “If only I could go to Karpovka to the monastery, and Batiushka would heal me,” he thought in the simplicity of his heart.

The trip to St. Petersburg was arranged, and on August 19, 1992, at the Transfiguration of the Lord, Vladimir, together with his friend, prayed at the Ioannovsky Monastery, confessed, took communion, and prayed at the prayer service of St. rights. John of Kronstadt and smeared his sick hand with consecrated oil from the tomb of the saint. At the end of the service, the friends, leaving the monastery, went to the tram stop. Vladimir hung the bag over his right shoulder and carefully placed his helpless hand on it, as he usually did in recent times.

When walking, the bag began to fall off and he automatically corrected it. right hand without feeling any pain. Stopping in his tracks, still not believing himself, he began to move his hand again. She appeared to be perfectly healthy. Vladimir's friend is a witness to this miraculous healing.

Since then, Vladimir Vasilyevich regularly comes to the monastery. To the question: “How is the hand?” he replies: “Thank God, everything is fine. I came to the Father to pray.”

3. Healing of the lad Sergius from a brain tumor.

Sometimes the Lord, by special consideration, admonishes a person through the illness of his children. Trouble came to the family of military musician Grigory Andreevich Vasilevsky: his only son, ten-year-old Seryozha, fell mortally ill. In the autumn of 1992, the boy began to have severe headaches. The child was admitted for examination to the neurosurgical department of the regional hospital in Murmansk. Nuclear tomography revealed a brain tumor. Doctors did not hide from shocked parents that with such a disease, children usually die or remain disabled.

In early January 1993, Serezha was sent to the St. Petersburg Neurosurgical Institute. A. L. Polenova. A difficult operation was ahead. There was practically no hope for a cure. For the first time in their lives, the Vasilevskys experienced great grief. And they turned to God. Previously, they were practically unbelievers, they had never been to confession and communion, and in the village of Pechenga, located 160 kilometers from Murmansk, there is no temple.

Life flows safely and calmly, and we do not feel a special need for God, but only in the face of the trials that the Lord sends us savingly, we realize our weakness and deepest dependence on the Creator. So it was with Serezha's parents. In their sorrow they put their hope in God, and He was not slow to help.

Before leaving for St. Petersburg, the Vasilevskys came to the Murmansk Church, one of whose clergy, having learned about their misfortune, spoke about the holy righteous John of Kronstadt and about the miraculous healings that were due to his prayers, and advised them to turn to the St. John Convent in St. Petersburg, where the relics of the great shepherd rest under a bushel.

They got to the monastery the next day, January 12, for Vespers and immediately turned to the priest with the question: “What should I do?” He told them about the need for confession and communion and advised them to pray with all diligence to Fr. John of Kronstadt. The next morning, all three, having brought repentance for the first time, took communion. On the same day the boy was admitted to the hospital.

Preliminary tests confirmed the presence of a tumor. Every day, the husband and wife Vasilevsky came to the tomb and prayed before the relics of the Kronstadt righteous man. Seryozha also prayed in the hospital, asking God for healing. How deep and sincere were their prayers! How many times did mother crouch at the tomb of dear Father, asking for his prayerful intercession. She later recalled: “One night I dreamed of a very old gray-haired Elder. I stood with Serezha and cried, asked him to heal my son. He listened to me for a long time, and I was very afraid that he would refuse me. But he got up, went up to Seryozha and began to say something and stroked his head. What he said, I did not hear. But for the first time in two months I woke up very happy and joyful, and for some reason I already knew in my heart that Seryozha would be healthy!

Two days later, on January 21, 1993, the child was sent for a second tomography of the brain at the Diagnostic Consultative Center No. 1 in St. Petersburg. Computed tomography showed the incredible - there was no tumor!

The surprise of the doctors and the joy of the parents knew no bounds. The boy was discharged from the hospital healthy. Soon all three took communion again at the Ioannovsky Monastery. How Grigory Andreevich's eyes shone when he talked about the miraculous healing of his son!

A year later, Serezhin's dad came to the monastery, prayed in the tomb, giving thanks to the Lord God, the Mother of God and Father John of Kronstadt for deliverance from trouble. He said that his son is healthy, goes to school, headaches no longer torment him. The Vasilevskys survived the ordeal and learned from it the most important thing - faith.

4. Ukrainian Olga Soyluk suffered from a disease of the nasopharynx, for 12 years she could not breathe normally through her nose. In the spring of 1993, the course of the disease worsened; I had to use drops every half hour. The patient underwent surgery, but to no avail. The doctors said: three successive surgeries are indispensable, since the nasal septum is severely deformed and the mucous membrane has become dead.

AT Holy Week Olga sent a letter from Ukraine to the Ioannovsky Monastery, asking them to pray at the relics of St. rights. John of Kronstadt, and bright week was already breathing freely. “I can’t even believe,” she writes in a letter of thanks, “that now I am a free person, not tied to a pharmacy.”

At the window of the temple-tomb

5. Even powerful monastery walls, of course, cannot be an obstacle to grace-filled love and help. On June 27, 1993, Natalia Makarova died during a chest operation. The resuscitator made every effort, but breathing never resumed. "That's it, he's not breathing anymore," was heard in the operating room.

Meanwhile, Natalia's sister, Irina, came to pray for her health to Father John of Kronstadt. The monastery was closed for cleaning, and Irina, not wanting to disturb the sisters, prayed outside at the window in the tomb. As it turned out later, it was at that moment that Natalia's breath returned, and she came to life ...

6. Miraculous power, by the Grace of God, he also has oil from the lamp from the tomb of Father John. One woman, who had suffered from bronchial asthma for several years, began to lubricate her chest with this oil, and the disease disappeared ... Another woman, having anointed herself, was healed of severe eczema on her face.

In September 1993, lad Victor died of severe burns. The child underwent four skin grafts, but engraftment went very poorly, the wounds did not heal. They began to anoint Vitya with consecrated oil from the Holy Sepulcher and from an icon lamp from the tomb of St. rights. John of Kronstadt, and a miracle happened - the skin began to take root intensively, and a week after the anointing, the wounds almost completely healed.

The boy's family lives in Kyiv. It turned out that his maternal great-grandfather was a deacon and served several times with Father John of Kronstadt. Victor's father was not baptized, but after the healing of his son, he believed, came to the monastery and was baptized on the day of his heavenly patron - St. Oleg Bryansky, October 3, 1993

7. Resident of Arkhangelsk Oleg Nikolaevich Sutorin at the age of 12, he became severely frostbitten. Since then, bone pains haunted him, his hands and feet were cold even in warm weather, so that he had to wear mittens and woolen socks all year round. The skin in places of frostbite acquired a crimson-red color.

After serving in the army, the young man came to St. Petersburg to visit a friend, and then the disease overtook him again - his bones ached so much that Oleg did not sleep at night. Before his flight home to Arkhangelsk, Oleg's mother, Galina Alexandrovna, who lives in St. Petersburg and is a sincere admirer of Father John of Kronstadt, anointed her son's ailing hands and feet with oil from the saint's tomb. Arriving in Arkhangelsk, Oleg found that the pain in the bones disappeared, and the skin became a normal pale pink color. Now he can walk without mittens and in the cold. Oleg himself told the story of his healing when he visited the monastery in 1994 on Christmas Day. He prayed in the tomb of the dear Father and thanked for the mercy shown to him.

8. Blessed Lyubushka directs to John of Kronstadt.

In November 1993, a boy named Konstantin was hit at school by his classmate. The blow fell on the nerve between the sacrum and the ilium, which led to severe inflammation, threatening paralysis.

On the first day, the boy could not eat and walk, he vomited, any movement caused terrible pain. The neurosurgeon called to the house advised me to move more (later it turned out that this advice was completely wrong) and see the doctors a week later.

The parents of the boy who hit Konstantin were invited to the home of a sick priest from the church of St. Job the Long-suffering, father of Nicholas. The relatives of Konstantin himself were then few believers and non-church people, but nevertheless agreed that Father Nikolai consecrated their son.

After the sacrament of unction, Kostya ate for the first time in two days and even got up, but after a while his temperature rose. Then the priest blessed to call an ambulance. The boy was admitted to the intensive care unit with severe inflammation that threatened blood poisoning. For a week he was on a drip, he had his blood cleaned twice, he had a blood transfusion, but nothing helped. Finally, they wanted to do a puncture at the site of the bruise.

Then Konstantin's parents called Father Nikolai to ask for a blessing for a puncture, but he sent them to the old woman Lyubushka in Susanino (near St. Petersburg). After listening to the parents of the patient, the blessed old woman said: “The boy is good, he will live, smear with oil,” and then unexpectedly shouted after them: “Don’t let them cut, take them from the hospital and go to John, we will pray together with him.” Believing in the intercession of Father John, they first came to the monastery on Karpovka, where the nuns advised them to read the Akathist to Batushka for forty days, which was fulfilled, and the child’s mother, in addition, read the Akathist to the Iverskoy Icon of the Mother of God.

After visiting the tomb of Father John, the boy was transferred from intensive care to the department, where he remained for a long time. He had to be taught to sit up and walk. Trusting more in God's help than human, and remembering the words of blessed Lyubushka, the parents refused the operation proposed by the doctors, but all the time they smeared their son with oil from Father John, prayed for him, invited a priest who took the child to communion in the hospital (for which they received a reprimand from doctors). After some time, the first diagnosis - osteomyelitis - was removed, and the doctors, upon examination, found only "consequences after a bruise." Now Kostya is a lively, active boy.

The parents of the miraculously healed boy end their written testimony with the following heartfelt words: “Our boy, thank God, is alive and well. But, most importantly, through his suffering, through his pain, we gained faith in God. We all began to be healed by the soul - our whole family. Now we have our parish, our spiritual mentor. Unusually kind people began to surround us. This is how, thanks to Father John, we are healed.”

9. Olga's letter from the Moscow region.

Testimonies of the miraculous help of St. John of Kronstadt

“God bless! In 1992, I fell ill with depression. peptic ulcer stomach and bilateral pneumonia. Severe pain and weakness haunted. I could not eat food: nausea and pain interfered, I lost consciousness. Prayers didn't go. I only remembered one single prayer - to John of Kronstadt. I realized that I needed to urgently take a ticket and go to St. Petersburg, to the holy monastery of Father John. I asked my spiritual father to pray and, accompanied by my cousin (my spiritual mother), came to St. Petersburg. I made it to the monastery with difficulty. Three times in a row she attended the liturgy, ordered a prayer service to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt and venerated the holy relics. On the third day, the fear disappeared, the pain disappeared. I ate the soup - and I didn’t feel sick, my strength and vigor returned. Again there was a desire to work and go to confession as often as possible.

Since then, every day I thank Father John of Kronstadt, every day I pray to him both in the morning and in the evening; I read the Akathist to him and that's it free time I sing the troparion, and for everything I thank the Lord. I give everyone his icons and Akathist, I ask everyone to pray to him in any situation. After all, he said that earthly doctors have to wait for hours, and when they come, it is not known whether they will help; and the saints of God come to the rescue instantly. And many, many times, calling for help from Father John, I received healing on the same day.

In 1993 I had severe poisoning. I could not get out of bed, but only repeated: “Father John, dear little Father, come to the rescue, heal me, forgive me, a sinner, and pray to the Lord for me, do not leave me in your holy prayers. There is no one else to help me, only you and the Lady of the Most Holy Theotokos, hear me soon and come to the rescue. A few hours later I got up, smeared oil from the holy relics on my throat and stomach with small crosses with a candle with the words: “Our holy righteous father John, pray to God for us.” A few drops dripped inside, down the throat. And very soon I got better.

In 1994, I had a tumor on my leg in the form of a hard lump, it was painful to walk. My sister told me to urgently go to the doctor, as it could be a blood clot. For the night I anointed this tumor with the oil of Father John of Kronstadt with the words: “Lord! Through the prayers of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, heal me! ”, and read the troparion to the Batushka forty times. I fell asleep, and in the morning when I woke up, there was no trace of the tumor left. Thank God for everything!"

10. In the fall of 1994, a misfortune happened with Nikolai Ivanovich, who worked in one of the "closed" enterprises. During the tests, a rocket exploded, several people were injured. Nikolai Ivanovich received a severe burn - 53 percent of the body surface, even the oral cavity was burned. No one imagined that with such injuries a person could survive. Meanwhile, his relative (the mother of his son-in-law), Evgenia Vasilievna, came to the Ioannovsky Monastery and told about this grief with tears. The nuns said that she needed to serve a moleben to St. John of Kronstadt, they brought oil from his tomb, and, having given advice to firmly trust in the help of the Father, they promised to pray for the sick person themselves.

Nikolai Ivanovich began to be lubricated with healing oil. Few believed in his recovery: after all, he was "all like a firebrand." However, a miracle happened: a few months later, Nikolai Ivanovich was discharged from the hospital healthy and continues to work. Evgenia Vasilievna came to the monastery to tell about this mercy of God and thank God and His saint John for the healing of her relative.

11. Among the testimonies of the miraculous help of the saints the most striking, memorable are usually cases of healing. Indeed, the recovery of a hopelessly ill person is amazing. But we turn to the saints in other difficult circumstances of life, we ask for the arrangement of everyday, everyday affairs. In such cases, the action of the will of God and the miraculous help of the saints is not always obvious to outsiders, but the people themselves, who have received the justification of their hopes by their faith, know with undoubted certainty who heard them and helped them. If a person asks for help from a saint with firm faith and humility, and if what is asked is useful and saving for him, help will certainly come, and previously unsolvable problems and circumstances will suddenly be resolved as if “by themselves”.

Such an outwardly inexplicable story happened to a St. Petersburg student Svetlana G. She studied at the Polygraphic Institute, but left her studies, got married, but God did not give the spouses children. Svetlana went to work at the Orphanage, and soon realized that she needed to gain deeper knowledge in order to work with children. She turned to the dean of one of the pedagogical universities in St. Petersburg with a request to enroll her in the evening department by transfer from the former institute, but was refused. Svetlana went to the dean for the second time, but again she heard in response: “It's impossible. No places. I can’t transfer you to the third year of the evening department.”

In June 1996, Svetlana came to the monastery at Karpovka without thinking about any request. She prayed at the Liturgy, took communion of the Holy Mysteries, and after the prayer service, venerating the tomb of the Father, unexpectedly for herself, she asked not for health, but for Father John to help her recover at the institute.

After that, she immediately went to the Pedagogical Institute. Svetlana waited an hour and a half for an appointment and was about to leave when she was invited into the office. As soon as she entered, something strange and completely unexpected happened: when she saw the girl, the dean immediately said: “Sit down, write an application for a transfer.” Then she called somewhere and told Sveta: “I will take you to the correspondence department, and from there I will immediately transfer you to the third year of the evening course. Actually, it's illegal, but I'll do it for you." It was a complete surprise for Svetlana to meet such care after two categorical refusals. “There was such an impression that the dean herself did not quite understand what she was doing,” she said. “I had no doubts that Father himself helped me.”

Svetlana came to the monastery to thank Father John for his mercy, told the sisters about what had happened and, at their request, left a written testimony of his miraculous help.

And a year later, through the prayers of Father John, the Lord gave Svetlana a new joy - she had a child.

lifetime icon

12. Appearance of St. John of Kronstadt in a dream.

“Hello, dear inhabitants of the Ioannovsky Monastery in the Lord!

I received a notification from you that your monastery will be praying at the proskomedia for half a year for the erring Pavel and Oleg. Good news for all of us. It was even more joyful for us to receive from the holy righteous John himself a striking sign that the blessing of your monastery, sent to our family, is in fact the blessing of the holy righteous John himself.

In May, my sister Elena came to my mother to wish her a happy birthday. And told us amazing dream. As if she saw in a dream the holy righteous John. He was sitting on a dais in some temple and was blessing our whole family, which in succession passed by him. Here is such a dream. The sister was still wondering why Father John would have dreamed about her. After all, she had not recently turned to him with a prayer. And I was surprised, but still did not understand anything. And suddenly, a week later, a letter arrives from your monastery with the blessing of your monastery. When my sister read it and looked at the date - May 27, 1996 - she exclaimed that this was the date of her wonderful dream! Only then did we understand what her dream means and why she dreamed of the holy righteous Father John. That the prayers of your monastery in the tomb of the holy father John are not in vain. And that Father John is still a prayer book and an intercessor before God for all those who flow to him with faith.

And that's what's wonderful! If I had this dream, it would be possible for a skeptical mind to explain it with natural causes: they say, I sent a letter to your monastery and thought about it all the time. But the holy righteous Father John appeared in a dream to the sister, who did not know anything about the letter, therefore, could not even think about it. And there can be only one explanation here: Father John himself assures us all of his blessing.

Vadim Aleksandrovich, Astrakhan.

13. Healing from a tumor.

Often body diseases are the result of our sins, therefore healing is granted to a person after sincere, deep repentance. Here is one such case.

A woman from Moscow named Lyubov, 45 years old, came to the monastery in the summer of 1996 to thank Batushka and told about her salvation.

About a year and a half earlier, doctors found a tumor in her and said that she urgently needed to cut it out within three days. But Lyubov decided to postpone the operation for two weeks in order to prepare for it in a Christian way - to take communion, to take unction. With the blessing of her spiritual father, she went to confession to Archim. Ambrose (Yurasov), confessor of the Vvedensky Monastery in Ivanovo. There she brought a very detailed confession, during which she reviewed her whole life. With the help of o. Ambrose, she confessed all forgotten sins, including those related to her illness, and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Then she went to the blessed Lyubushka, who advised her not to have an operation, but to take St. oil from Father John of Kronstadt and smear the site of the tumor.

When Lyubov told the doctor that she was refusing the operation, he called her a "frivolous" person, apparently considering her half crazy. To a world that is far from God, it always seems crazy to live according to Christ's commandments! With faith, relying entirely on the will of God, Love began daily to smear the sore spot with oil. After about two weeks, she felt as if something had torn inside her, after which she began to feel immediately better. Soon the edema disappeared, all signs of the disease disappeared. Love no longer turned to doctors - the miraculous healing through the prayers of Father John was so obvious.

14. Testimony of Eugene.

“God, be merciful to me a sinner!

On August 10, right from work, I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. It was Saturday, and for two days before the doctor's arrival, I endured bouts of pain. On August 12, the doctor, after examining me, ordered an examination.

The next day, I turned to Father John of Kronstadt for prayer help through my wife Nina. She brought oil from the lamp in the tomb of the Father, and on August 14, at 15:00, we prayed and anointed the sore spot. At the same instant, the pain disappeared, and after two hours very small stones came out, easily and simply.

I must say that for two days, on August 12 and 13, I drank flaxseed every two hours, but the attacks, however, were repeated more and more often. And at the touch of oil from the icon lamp of Father John, the pain disappeared immediately!

Servant of God Eugene.

15. Elena's testimony about the salvation of her son.

“On November 11, 1996, at about 10 am, Vanya (2 years 7 months), left alone in the kitchen, got to heart medicine. When I came in, he was finishing his last pill and, by my count, he ate about seven of them. An ambulance was called, a lavage was done, but the doctor said that, apparently, the drug had already been absorbed, and he was powerless to do anything; The child needs to be taken to the hospital immediately. While still at home, Vanya lost consciousness. At the hospital, he was placed in intensive care. As the doctor later explained to me, Ivanushka ate a dose of the drug, which was fatal for him, and paralysis of the respiratory tract could occur. The doctor who was on duty in the intensive care unit came out at 12.00 and said that he could not promise that my son would remain alive, and asked me to come at 6 pm, when everything cleared up.

At about 3 pm I arrived at the monastery to Father John of Kronstadt, because I realized that there was nowhere else to go and no one to go to. Father Demetrius came out, who, having learned about what had happened, began to serve a prayer service to the Most Holy Theotokos and the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. After the prayer service, Father Dimitri said: "Let's hope that everything will be fine."

At 6 pm I went to the intensive care unit, terribly afraid to hear that Vanya was gone, but very much hoping for the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and Father. The doctor came out and said: "Your son will live."

Thank God!

And the next day, Vanya was already running, as if nothing had happened.

In the tomb of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt

16. Once in the St. John's Convent a woman came and told about her healing. The sisters asked her to write down her story. Here is that entry:

“In October 1996, I fell ill. At first she was treated with medicines, but they did not help. It's been a month and a half. It got worse and worse, I couldn't even leave the house. In my illness, I was reading a book about our holy righteous father John of Kronstadt, and I was struck by a case of healing from a flower from his crayfish. I remembered that in the house there is oil from the lamp from Fr. John of Kronstadt. She stopped taking medicines and began to smear herself with this oil. A week later she fully recovered. She made a vow to come and thank Father John, but in her wickedness she did it only today.

17. Servant of God Raisa On December 25, 1996, she got into a subway car, she was hit by a closing door and broke a rib. The doctor said that the fracture is very dangerous, because it is located under the very heart and it is extremely difficult to treat it. Raisa was very upset. But then she remembered how once at the catechism courses she heard a story about Father John of Kronstadt, the rector of the monastery church, Fr. Nicholas. The priest spoke about how quickly the saint of God responds to people's requests. This story, filled with warm love for dear Father, made a deep impression on her then. And Raisa decided to ask him for help. With difficulty, overcoming the pain, she began to come to Karpovka, ordered prayers, put candles in the tomb. And she constantly prayed to Father at home, read an akathist, began every day with prayers to the Kronstadt miracle worker - in a word, she only thought about him. And he was not slow to respond to such an ardent and sincere faith. A month later, a serious injury healed without any consequences. Now Raisa tries to come to the monastery more often in order to thank the merciful miracle worker again and again, she shares her joy: “Batiushka saved me, and I will remember this all my life.”

18. Healing choristers per daymemory of the Father.

“Mother Abbess, bless!

I inform you about the miraculous healing that I received through the prayers of our righteous father John. On December 31, 1996, I fell and broke two ribs, bruised the bony process and kidney. The blow was so strong that all my insides shook. The traumatologist, very experienced, immediately diagnosed my condition. I could not walk, lie down, sit, just stand, otherwise it would be a wild pain. I was given sick leave. I am a singer in the choir of the Sorrowful Church of the former Ascension convent. On January 2, on the territory of our church, a new baptismal church was opened in memory of rights. John of Kronstadt. Lying in bed, almost without moving, I began to read the life of this holy righteous man, about his miraculous healings. I thought maybe he would help me too, and fervently prayed to him with tears. And - about a miracle! - On January 3, she slowly got up, there was almost no pain. I went to the temple on my own. She confessed, took communion in the new church, ordered a thanksgiving service.

Ten days later I went to the doctor. He immediately sent me to the so-called "TV" to confirm the diagnosis. The doctor who looked at me said: “I don’t find anything with you, everything is clean ... But after ten days, neither fractures, nor even bruises can go away!” She invited a colleague, but the two of them found nothing, absolutely nothing. With their conclusion, I came to the attending physician, he did not believe it and said: “It happens that the devices are messed up.” I took another picture - nothing! He was shocked, and I rejoiced with joy! The doctor said I was born under a lucky star. And I knew who helped me. I almost ran out of the office. Here is a miracle in our time I received, sinful and unworthy. In support of my words, I am sending my sick leave.

Mother, I am indebted to St. rights. John. I thank him for his kindness to me. May God give you and your sisters spiritual joy in God and many years.

With a low bow - Photinia from Tambov.

19. Servant of God Tamara from Moscow wrote that she came to the Lord in 1993. Saint Nicholas brought her to the temple of God, saving her from a cruel death. In her letter, filled with ardent love for Father John, she reports a miracle of healing:

“On January 1, 1997, I became ill, the whole right side of my torso got sick. I couldn't breathe from the pain. On the night of January 4, the hellish pain returned to me with renewed vigor. Called the doctor in the morning. In the meantime, she cried, suffered, asked St. Nicholas and Fr. save John - after all, all the planned things collapsed ... The book about Fr. Ioann I. K. Sursky stood on my shelf. The last time I opened it six months ago, and then I read other spiritual books. I went to the shelf, took the book, opened it in its place and began to read. And, experiencing my own, and what I read, on page 502, at the same time, I cried out to the priest: “Dear Father, help me!” And in that moment, everything went away for me, as if it had never happened. I lie, listen to myself - everything is in order. On Christmas Day, she went to church and took communion. On January 9, in the evening, the same pain appeared, only on the left. But I immediately asked about. John for help, and everything went.

I humbly ask you to serve a thanksgiving service at the tomb of the Great Righteous and Wonderworker, the Great Russian Pastor of the Church of Christ's Father, Fr. John of Kronstadt; ask his prayers for healing me from passions and illnesses, and help in my affairs, and strengthen my faith.

I have many books about him and his complete works, and I want to know more and more about him. I buy and donate his icons and books to friends, relatives and temples. I think that little is still known about him and he is honored in Moscow, in Russia.

20 . Appearance of Father John during the operation.

Servant of God Nina from Novo-Peredelkino in thank you letter the monastery reported the following. In February 1997, she had a major operation. Before going to the hospital, she wrote to the monastery on Karpovka, asking for prayer help. During the operation, being under anesthesia, she saw the figure of a man who was either moving away or approaching her. Then she heard two voices, male and female, talking over her, but she did not see the conversation itself. Nina tried to understand what they were talking about, but she could not make out, she only remembers that they spoke to each other "very, very affectionately." They led her to a corridor and walked a little with her along it. At that moment, they began to wake Nina up - the operation was over.

Before that, she had not seen the icon of Father John of Kronstadt. She spent a long time in the hospital, 39 days, and after being discharged, she went to the church that had opened in Novo-Peredelkino. There she asked if there is an icon of the Father? When she was shown the image, she was amazed: just like on this icon, Father appeared to her during the operation. She cried for a long time, thanking Father John, and since then, every time she comes to the temple, she first of all lights a candle in front of his icon. “I pray to him and thank him every day,” Nina concludes her story.

So Dear Father, Fr. John cares for everyone in ways we don't know. We believe that even now he will not leave with his petition all those who resort to his prayerful help and intercession.

We thank everyone who sends us their stories about the miraculous help of the saint.

Monastery address: 197022, St. Petersburg, emb. R. Karpovki, 45, Ioannovsky Stauropegial Convent

e-mail: [email protected]