Today Metropolitan John celebrates his name daytranslated

With the blessing of Metropolitan John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol, June 23 is the day of remembrance of St. John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk and All Siberia, the miracle worker - the heavenly patron of Metropolitan John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol (Popov). Holy Belogorye congratulates its Archpastor on his name day* and wishes him mental and physical strength and the help of the All-Merciful God in his tireless labors for the good of Holy Belogorye. *Name Day is the day of remembrance of the saint in whose honor a person was named at baptism or in whose honor he was tonsured a monk. The word comes from the ancient Slavic “namesake”, “namesake”. “In February 1985, the future Metropolitan John, and then Sergei Leonidovich Popov, moved from his native Irkutsk five and a half thousand kilometers to distant Kursk. With the blessing of Bishop Juvenal (Tarasov), the Irkutsk resident bore the obedience of his personal secretary and cell attendant. At this time, novice Sergius (even his name was now pronounced differently) had a fateful meeting with the famous Belgorod elder. The Lord granted the future Metropolitan of Belgorod and Starooskol to sing and read during the tonsure of the great prayer book, Archimandrite Gennady...