Исцеление дворянина Близнецова

“I, the undersigned, Dimitry Panteleimonovich Bliznetsov, a nobleman of Smolensk province, Dukhovshchinsky district, village of Kolentyev, on May 20, 1911, arrived at the Ioannovsky Monastery, in St. Petersburg - on Karpovka, to venerate the holy remains of dear Father John of Kronstadt and ask for his fervent prayers before God for healing from the terrible rheumatism, which tormented me for 22 years. I stayed in St. Petersburg for two weeks, attending morning and evening services every day in the Ioannovsky Monastery, spending most of my time at the dear tomb, and on the first day at the tomb of Father I received complete healing, so noticeable that I forgot about the terrible pains, which had hitherto been very painful. Over many years, I became so accustomed to my illness that for a long time I did not believe my luck, fearing the return of terrible pain. But thanks be to the Lord and dear father! – 9 months have passed since the day of my miraculous healing and I again came to my dear Father to bow down to thank him at the place of healing and tell the world about this miracle, since then, both out of joy and at the same time from the distrust explained above, I did not tell anyone, although there were, as usual, many people praying near the miraculous tomb. The rheumatic pains were so unbearable - and the further, the more terrible - that I shed streams of tears every day. Not a month passed without them driving me into a frenzy and complete unconsciousness. I stopped treatment from doctors about three years before the miraculous healing, due to the complete hopelessness of easing my suffering with medical help. And I was treated, in addition to the district doctors in Dukhovshchinsk, by Feldman, Maklashevsky and recently by Kutuzov, also in Moscow by famous people, but due to the brevity of my stay there and not saving prescriptions, I don’t remember their names. And so, being in such a bleak, hopeless situation, I placed all my hope in God’s mercy and decided to go to my dear priest in Kronstadt. But then they tried to dissuade me. Only 2.5 years after his blessed death, after reading a book that was brought to us with a description of the miracles performed through his prayers, I finally fulfilled my long-standing dream of visiting the priest. This is the true story of my illness and miraculous healing at the dear tomb. I testify to the truth of everything shown here in the terrible name of the Lord who punishes perjurers. Nobleman Dimitry Panteleimonovich Bliznetsov.”