Solemn celebration of Saint John the New of Romania at the Holy Monastery of Chozeva (PHOTOS)

On Monday, 10 August 2026, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of Saint John the New of Romania at the Holy Monastery of Chozeva.

On this day, the whole Church, and particularly the Church of Jerusalem, recalls the fact that Saint John the New came from his homeland to the Holy Land and lived in the monasteries of the desert of the Jordan in holiness and extreme asceticism, in prayer and fasting. He received pilgrims from Romania and Greece for confession and spiritual guidance, sending letters and composing works of great spiritual edification, most of which were translated into the Greek language. He accepted from the Patriarchate the order of the priesthood and spent most of his life at the Holy Monastery of Chozeva, where he also reposed. God deemed him worthy of the gift of foreknowledge, and moreover of the incorruption of his venerable relics, which are preserved at the Monastery of his repentance. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem entered him into its calendar of Saints in the year 2016.

In his honour, Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos presided over the all-night vigil, being addressed by the Hegume and restorer of the Monastery, Archimandrite Constantine,…