Days of remembrance: December 20 (January 2), June 1 (14)
Biography
Childhood and Youth of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt
There were many priests in the lineage of John of Kronstadt. He himself was born on October 19, 1829, in the Arkhangelsk province, in the village of Sura, Pinezhsky district, into a Christian family. The family did not have great wealth, but was distinguished by zeal for God and piety. John's father, Ilya Sergiyev, served as a psalm-reader in the local church. His wife, Feodora, John's mother, was noted for her simplicity of manner and deep faith.
John was born sickly and very weak: so much so that his parents, fearing for his life, were forced to hasten his baptism. He was named in honor of Saint John of Rila. After Baptism, the boy began to recover, gain strength and become stronger.
It is noted that even in childhood he witnessed a miracle: one day John saw a luminous angel in the room, who, seeing the child's confusion, calmed him and said that he was his Guardian Angel, and would protect him until the end of his earthly days.
In his sixth year of life, with the help of his parents, John began to learn to read. His father often took him to the temple, introduced him to the divine services and liturgical books. Over time, John became imbued with their spirit and content. It is said that even from childhood, the villagers noticed in him a special inclination towards God.
When the boy grew up, his parents, having with difficulty gathered the necessary sum, arranged for him to enter the Arkhangelsk Parish School. At that time he was about ten years old. At first, studying was difficult: he could not properly comprehend and remember the material being taught. This greatly saddened the young John: on the one hand, he was and was considered a laggard, and on the other, he understood how hard it was for his poor parents to pay for his stay at the school.
One day, after a heartfelt prayer before going to sleep, John, by his own admission, felt as if he had been shaken, as if a veil had fallen from his eyes and his mind had opened up; his teacher and the lesson appeared clearly to him; he remembered its content. In that fervent prayer, he asked God for help, and God answered him. Then his soul was filled with joy, and he fell asleep as peacefully as he had never slept before. At dawn, rising from his bed, John took the books in his hands and began to read. And, miraculously, he suddenly noticed that an internal transformation had taken place in him: he easily grasped and remembered what he read.
From that time on, attending lessons, he both felt and behaved completely differently: he understood the educational material well and answered well. Gradually, John moved from being one of the last students to being among the best. Upon completion of the course, he was transferred to the seminary, and after its completion, in 1851, he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy at state expense.
During his studies at the Academy, his father died. The destitute situation in which the family found itself after the loss of its breadwinner greatly weighed on John. Feeling pity and his personal responsibility towards his mother, John began to look for possible work and found it. Knowing about his straitened circumstances and good handwriting, they accommodated him, offering him the position of a clerk. For this work, John received up to ten rubles monthly. Sending money to his mother, he sincerely rejoiced that he was able to support her.
One day, after returning home from a walk in the academic garden, John fell asleep and saw in a dream that he was a priest, serving in a cathedral in which he had never been before. Soon, what he had seen in the mysterious dream was fulfilled in reality.
The Priestly Feat of Father John of Kronstadt
In 1855, John graduated from the academy with the degree of Candidate of Theology. Due to the fact that he had entered into marriage with the daughter of Archpriest K. Nesvitsky, who served at the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, he was offered a position as a clergyman in that same church. On December 10, 1855, John was ordained a deacon, and on December 12 of the same year, he was ordained a priest. Upon visiting the cathedral for the first time, he recognized it as the very one he had seen in his dream.
Father John's pastoral life unfolded during a difficult time for the country, marked by a widespread weakening of faith, the beginning of a surge in rebellious sentiments, and the fermentation of revolutionary ideas. The city of Kronstadt served during that period as a place of concentration for people exiled from the capital. Vagrancy, idle wandering, hard drinking, begging, extreme poverty—these are just a few aspects of that social stratum which constituted a significant part of his flock and needed special attention and care. Great were the difficulties facing the pastor, but equally great were his sense of pastoral duty, his love for God, and his mercy and compassion for his neighbors.
Father John's married life unfolded as follows: having announced to his wife his desire to preserve virginity and by agreement with her, he lived with Elizabeth as brother and sister. Until the end of his life, John maintained chaste purity.
Initially, many did not understand and even rejected the impulses of the extraordinary pastor. But over time, seeing his kindness and patience, seeing his diligence and, not least, the material aid he provided to those in need, people began to realize: God had granted them a good and heartfelt instructor, a sensitive, responsive, wise guardian. It is said that visiting dugouts, hovels, and poor apartments, the venerable one would give away his salary, nurse children while their mothers did housework, look after the sick, could give his boots and clothing to a poor man, and all the while he prayed, exhorted, gave hope, and comforted.
Father John's selflessness and mercy went so far that sometimes he himself was left without means. Seeing this unprecedented state of affairs, many, whether out of envy, stupidity, or hardness of heart, accused the saint of insincerity, of pandering to idlers and deceivers; they slandered, reviled, and mocked him, not only orally but also in print. Due to John of Kronstadt's striking dissimilarity from many other pastors of the Church, he was, among other things, accused of foolishness for Christ.
With the support of the diocesan authorities, his fellow clergy arranged for his wife to receive the priest's salary on his behalf. But the All-Wise Lord did not leave him without the means to help the destitute. The payment he received for teaching the Law of God at the local Kronstadt Realschule (Real School) he kept for himself, and from it he donated to those whom he deemed necessary.
Over time, the fame of the great luminary spread so widely that huge crowds of people began to flock to him, and such a large number of letters and telegrams came to his address that the Kronstadt post office was forced to organize a special department to handle his correspondence. People wrote to John not only from various parts of the country but also from abroad. To carefully review all these messages, he had to resort to the help of secretaries.
Along with those seeking soul-saving benefit, material funds also flowed to John. One can only guess at the amounts of money that came into his disposal: he immediately donated them to charity, distributed them to the poor. It is said that sometimes, when he was handed an envelope, he would immediately, without opening it, give it to someone else.
Throughout all the years of his priestly service, Fr. John celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral almost every day, and for the last 35 years of his life, he served daily (for the last time on December 10, 1908).
Father John rose very early. Upon rising, he began to prepare for the Divine Liturgy. When he went to the temple, he was met by crowds of believers, eager to receive his blessing. The poor were also present there, whom he would give alms.
At Matins, Father John himself read the canon, thoroughly and attentively, attributing great significance to this reading. Before the start of the Liturgy, Confession took place. Over time, due to the huge influx of people, both locals and pilgrims, who wished to confess specifically to John of Kronstadt, he was forced to introduce the practice of general confession into his practice (according to various estimates, St. Andrew's Cathedral could accommodate 5-7 thousand people). It is said that this sacrament made an indelible impression on the participants and witnesses. Inspired, shaken by the pastoral word and zeal, people loudly shouted out their sins, including the most vile ones, repented aloud, as if not ashamed of the witnesses crowding them from all sides. It is claimed that as a result, the believers genuinely experienced a feeling of liberation from the burdensome weight of sin. The service was characterized by a unified, fervent, prayerful impulse.
Approximately seventeen years into his pastoral service, the Lord granted Father John the opportunity to organize a special institution in Kronstadt — the "House of Industry." On this occasion, he issued an appeal to the people, proposing to carry out this godly work through joint efforts. The appeal was published. The response was sincere and widespread. The foundation of the building was laid on August 23, 1881, and the opening took place on October 12, 1882. Gradually, the activities of the House of Industry expanded, positively impacting the interests of various social groups and strata. The House of Industry housed: workshops, a soup kitchen, a school, shelters, a library, and a reading room.
The role of John of Kronstadt regarding women's hermitages and monasteries is also worthy of admiration. In particular, with his direct participation, a women's community was founded in his native village, as well as in St. Petersburg on Karpovka. He supported many monasteries, contributing to their expansion, blessing the entry of sisters into them, and serving in the monastery churches.
Due to the nature of his pastoral activity and the call of his Christian heart, Father John regularly visited St. Petersburg, attending to those in need of care and the sick. To fulfill his service to God, he also traveled to remote corners of the Russian Empire. Contemporaries noted the special healing power of his prayers for the sick, his gift of healing. Furthermore, John was granted by God the gifts of miracles and foresight.
Tens of thousands waited with reverence and the fear of God for their beloved father in various places of his probable appearance. When he rode in a carriage, people were ready to rush to him even while it was moving. They were not stopped even by the fear of being broken or maimed. When Father John traveled on a steamer, believers ran along the shore after the steamer, many kneeling. Moreover, the saint earned respect at the royal court. Another man, it would seem, might have broken under the pressure of the sudden fame or become proud. But not Father John, a true warrior of Christ, a lover of God. Just as temptations through attacks and slander could not break his steadfastness, so the temptation of fame could not blacken his meek, humble disposition.
Illness and the Last Days of the Earthly Life of Father John of Kronstadt
The time of his demise was revealed to Father John in advance. Towards the end of his earthly life, he was subjected to physical illnesses and began to weaken. He was tormented by severe pains, which sometimes subsided during the celebration of the Liturgy. On December 10, 1908, Father John, gathering his will and strength, celebrated his last Liturgy. In the last period of his earthly life, he received Communion daily at home. On December 20, 1908, at 7:40 AM, the saint's heart stopped; he peacefully fell asleep in the Lord and joined eternity.
The Spiritual Legacy of the Pastor
During his priestly service, Father John delivered an innumerable quantity of sermons and left many written instructions. He is rightfully considered one of the best church writers.
In his moral compositions, Father John assures us of the necessity of sincere faith, love for God and neighbor, arranging life in accordance with the way of life of Christ, and unceasing spiritual struggle with sinful passions and vices (see on this subject: My Life in Christ; Homilies on the Beatitudes). The truth of the moral teaching presented to us, Father John confirmed with his life, through the feat of pastoral and general Christian endeavor.
In the theological works of John of Kronstadt, the most diverse themes of the Church's doctrine are revealed: about God; about the Salvation of man; about the veneration of the Cross (see: On the Cross of Christ), the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints; about repentance and prayer.