October 12, 1894 in the Livadia Palace was a very ill sovereign Alexander III. Soon, accompanied by many people, a priest came to him. The autocrat gathered his strength and went out to greet the shepherd. Alexander thanked him for his imminent arrival on his own initiative and asked to pray for his health. The tsar himself did not dare to call on him a priest. Five days later, the autocrat invited a shepherd to take communion. A few minutes before his death, the emperor asked the priest to put his holy palms on his sore head. Until Alexander III lost his spirit, the shepherd did not take his hands from him. This priest was John of Kronstadt. Biography and wonderful facts from the life of this amazing person will be presented in this article. So let's get started.
Favorite Child
The biography of John of Kronstadt begins the countdown from 1829. It was then that the future shepherd was born in the Arkhangelsk province. The boy’s parents - a reader of the local church, Elijah and his wife Iodora - believed deeply in God. Since the newborn was helpless and very weak, they hastened to christen him. There was almost no hope for the baby's survival, and so he would immediately find himself in the kingdom of God. And a miracle happened: after the priest who arrived three times immersed John in the water, the baby's eyes sparkled and his cheeks turned pink. From that day on, he began to grow stronger and fill with vitality.
The boy's parents, who had great religious experience, saw a sign from above in the miraculous healing of his son. Reader Elijah insisted on the Christian education of the boy. So from the first years of life, the parish church became for the hero of this article a home, a school of knowledge of God and piety.
Study
From childhood, Ivan seemed to have the seal of chosenness. The boy did not like to communicate with peers. All his free time he spent either studying and praying in the temple, or in domestic work. Since the family was large, John from an early age had to help his parents with the chores.
The letter was very poorly given to a young Christian. This tormented his sensitive and subtle soul. John was especially worried about the fact that his poor parents upset his failure to study. Once the boy once again received an unsatisfactory mark and went to bed. He tossed and turned for a long time and could not sleep. Vanya got out of bed and, without putting on his shoes, went to his home icon to pray. The future saint sincerely asked God to grant him learning abilities. As John of Kronstadt later recalled, whose biography was full of bright events, insight descended on him. The mind in the head seemed to open, and the memory was cleansed of all husks. The lesson set the day before appeared before the boy's inner gaze in all its details. Classmates were very surprised when the next day Vanya answered in a class with clear, understandable language. Since then, the young Christian received only high marks. Later he became the best student: first at the school, then at the seminary and, finally, at the theological academy (St. Petersburg).
Vision of the future
There are many examples in the history of religion when God's chosen ones have received special revelations or prophetic visions. The biography of John of Kronstadt contains several such mystical cases. And the first of them occurred during the study of a young man in a theological academy. Once John was thinking about the future service to people and God. The young ascetic dreamed of accomplishing some kind of missionary feat, bringing to the Lord wild tribes living in the Far Eastern outskirts of the country. With these thoughts the young man fell asleep.
And at night he had a vision: John stood in the middle of a magnificent cathedral in priestly vestments. All the details of the interior decoration seemed to him clearly and distinctly. In a vision it was revealed to him that it was the cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called, which was located in the city of Kronstadt. Having woken up, the young man did not think about night vision, but immediately set about his duties.
Wedding
A few days later, the biography of John of Kronstadt was colored by a significant event. The young man received a proposal to enter into a legal marriage with an Orthodox girl Elizabeth. She was the daughter of the abbot of the cathedral in Kronstadt. Up to this point, the hero of this article did not even think about getting married. John was like an angel in the flesh and his thoughts never bowed to the joys of married life. But John considered the coincidence of the marriage proposal and the recent dream to be an indication from above.
Soon, a young graduate of the Academy became the married husband of Elizabeth, daughter of the head of St. Andrew's Cathedral. And after some time John accepted the ordination and took office as a priest of this temple.
Unexpected offer
The married life of a young couple began with a scandal. On her wedding night, the shepherd turned to Elizabeth with a proposal that shocked her. John of Kronstadt (biography, diaries and other information about the saint is in church libraries) said that there are quite a lot of happy couples in the world. But nevertheless, grief prevails in the general mass. He desired that they, together with Lisa, serve all the unfortunate and afflicted. And the newly-made priest wanted to do this in complete moral purity. John invited his wife to remain brother and sister.
It was difficult for a healthy, beautiful, young wife to understand and accept such a request. She did not immediately come to terms with such a terrible, but essentially angelic lot. Elizabeth repeatedly complained to her father. He, in turn, reported to the bishop about the strange behavior of the new shepherd, hinting that John could become a victim of his own pride. But the young priest was adamant and did not heed the insistent demands of the spiritual authorities to return to normal family life. Soon there was a resolution of this drama, which almost became a tragedy.
Sign from above
Once, the bishop himself summoned John and began to put pressure on him with special force. The priest apologized and said that there was no God's will for such an act. After that, the bishop darkened in his eyes, and a panagia (an oval image of the Mother of God worn on a gold chain) fell off his neck and rolled with a knock on the floor. Vladyka himself fell to his knees in front of the young shepherd. The bishop, who has significant religious experience, immediately realized on whose side justice is. He instantly realized that the young man is God's chosen righteous man, to whom the Almighty has prepared a special way. We can say that from this moment the spiritual biography of John of Kronstadt began. The priest was no longer pestering with demands for the performance of conjugal duty. Over time, and his wife Elizabeth completely reconciled with a heavy lot.
Liturgical feat
What did he consist of? Immediately after John became a shepherd in St. Andrew’s Cathedral, he held a sacred liturgy there until the end of his life. And he did it daily without holidays and weekends. Even illness did not stop his religious zeal. The shepherd came to St. Andrew's Cathedral by four in the morning and was preparing for the service. Each of its liturgies took place with a huge confluence of Orthodox people.
Charity
The hero of this article was distinguished by a lively sincere love for people. Immediately after the service, he went to the slums of Kronstadt. He blessed, talked, distributed everything that he had in his pockets. Often John of Kronstadt, whose biography and family were described in this article, returned home without money, boots and outerwear. Sometimes Elizabeth complained to her bishop about the fact that sometimes there is nothing to eat at home, and the priest gives everything to the poor. But then she understood the meaning of his actions. After all, this was not a whim, but a punctual fulfillment of the gospel command: give to the one who asks.
With his own money, John founded the House of industriousness. There, during the day, up to a thousand thirsty and poor could receive food. Kronstadsky also founded a monastery in honor of John Rylsky, a school for the poor, workshops, a hospital and much more. But his main mission was the healing and rebirth of human souls. The priest possessed the gift of miracles and healing.
Salvation from Suicide
Once, Father John was walking along Kronstadt, returning to his home. In one of the squares he saw a girl sitting on a bench. On her face the shepherd read the strongest spiritual torment. Father came up and offered his help. It turned out that the young girl was on the verge of suicide. From the current life situation, she simply did not see another way out. Many years later, the woman wrote in her memoirs that at that moment Father John, with a pure kind word, sparked hope in her soul. She followed him to the temple and, with the help of faith, changed her own life, determining the purpose and meaning of existence.
Wonders
Once the hero of this article was invited to a noble woman in St. Petersburg. She could not be born in any way. When the priest arrived at the house, the doctors shrugged: the fetus died in the womb. Sepsis and mother's death were inevitable. John of Kronstadt (a biography for children about this saint is present in many books on Orthodox subjects) asked everyone to leave the room where the woman in labor was moaning loudly in hot delirium. The shepherd knelt down, raised his hands to heaven and began to forgive God to heal the woman and the child. Kronstadsky prayed for half an hour. Then the father left the room with a blush on his cheeks. His gaze burned with divine power, and incomprehensible holy words flowed from the mouth: “The Lord was pleased that the baby would be resurrected. Mother is alive. A boy was born. "
The miracles that God performed through the prayer of John became public property. In St. Andrew's Cathedral, where the shepherd served, a lot of people came. Thousands of telegrams and letters were also received (even from abroad) asking for help and prayer. John of Kronstadt did not refuse anyone - neither Jews, nor Muslims, nor Christians. The glory of the priest was such that during trips from one city to another, crowds of people met him all the way. When approaching the vessel or carriage on which the shepherd rode, they knelt.
Prophecies about the fate of Russia
St. John of Kronstadt, whose biography is known to all believers, was a divine prophet. One of his most famous predictions concerns the fate of the Russian state. At the beginning of the twentieth century, John preached from the pulpit that our country would face severe trials. According to the saint, the rebellion rebellion will cause the ruin of the Russian lands. The shepherd mercilessly exposed the liberals, socialists, nihilists, for which he was fiercely hated by them. Somehow, he was lured into a rich mansion by tricking him, saying that a dying person needs communion. As soon as the priest entered, he was seized and crucified on the bed, and then stabbed in the groin several times with a knife. But the criminals were not Russian people, so the priest hid this attempt to avoid pogroms.
Shortly before his death, St. John of Kronstadt, whose biography is in many religious encyclopedias, wrote another prophecy about Russia. We give it verbatim:
“What will happen to Russia? If seditioners reign, the country will be ruled by enemies of the Orthodox faith. Their main goal is to deprive the church of freedom, property, original splendor and enslave the Russians, as well as all fraternal peoples. Pitiful and insane our intellectuals. By their frivolity, they lost the faith of their fathers, which is a vital pillar in all troubles and sorrows. These madmen do not understand that if, thanks to their efforts, Russia abandons God, the tsar will be taken away from her, and the Russian lands will be fragmented into many fragments. And then the time of the Antichrist will come. If the country is not cleared of a large number of chaff, then it will soon be empty. This is the fate that many ancient cities and kingdoms were wiped out by the justice of God from the face of the earth for their departure from the faith. ”
Death
Father John of Kronstadt, whose biography is an imitation for any Christian, passed away in 1908. In 1964, he was glorified by the Holy Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. And in 1990, the priest was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian people revered Kronstadsky saints during his lifetime. Recently in St. Petersburg, the Ioannovsky monastery was renovated. It is in it that the miraculous tomb of the saint is located.
So ended a short biography of John of Kronstadt. In conclusion, we present some informative information about the shepherd.
Interesting Facts
- It is known that after the general confession conducted by the hero of this article, almost all the people present cried. In the end, the floors were not washed with water, but with tears of repenting sinners.
- John was called Kronstadt because he spent his whole life in this city. Many did not even know his real name "Sergiev."
- John of Kronstadt, whose biography and miraculous facts were presented above, healed with his prayer not only Orthodox people, but also Jews and Muslims.
- In one of his visions, the father saw the events of the October Revolution of 1917.
- 53 years - this is the priestly experience that John of Kronstadt had. A short biography for children about this saint is presented in the textbooks of theological schools and seminaries.
- The last line in the diary of Father John is: "Only one sincere charity can save our soul."