Biographical sketch

I II III IV V VI VII VIII Father John of Kronstadt, the son of the poor clerk of the village of Sura, Pinezhsky district, Arkhangelsk province, Ilia Sergeev, was born on October 19, 1829, in the most meager and sad circumstances. At first glance, the newborn baby seemed so weak and sickly that the parents, fearing for his life, hastened to immediately perform the sacrament of St. Baptism, at which they gave him the name John, in honor of the Venerable John of Rila, whose memory is celebrated on October 19. Of course, it never occurred to anyone who saw the child that this baby, who showed only weak signs of life and was between life and death for several days, would subsequently be destined by the power of his spirit to conquer the hearts of many millions of people. Soon after his baptism, baby John began to noticeably improve. Pious parents attributed this to the gracious action of St. The sacraments, and, as a result, imbued with sincere gratitude to God, with the very first manifestation of conscious life in the child, they zealously began to direct his thoughts to God and religious objects. “From early childhood,” says Fr. John, - 4-5 years old, and maybe less, my parents taught me to pray and, by their own example, made me a religiously-minded boy. My father took me to church all the time, and with all my heart I fell in love with public worship, especially choral singing.” The external living conditions, among which the future luminary of the Russian Church grew up, were the most severe. His father, burdened with a large family, suffered extreme poverty. The boy saw little joy in the life of the environment around him. Early on he became familiar with pictures of poverty, hopeless need, with pictures of grief, tears and suffering. These observations made him a focused, thoughtful, and introverted boy. At the same time, they instilled in him a deep love for all the poor, exhausted in the struggle with grief and need, and with the boy’s religious mood, they carried his thoughts to the Universal Comforter and Soother of all those who labor and are burdened. Constantly carrying the memory of God in his heart, John found in God both pleasure and happiness for his childish soul. Without chasing the games typical of childhood, he found pleasure in contemplating nature. He admired nature: every blade of grass, every flower and moth aroused in him every time submission to the greatness of the Creator of every creature. Subsequently, this love for nature, submission to the omnipotence of the Creator and reverence for Him were reflected in the pastoral teachings of John. Here is what, for example, he says in one teaching: “Wonderful is Your omnipotence, O Lord! As You said at the beginning, so to this day every grain, every sapling and tree obeys You! With the onset of spring, as soon as there is a sufficient amount of warmth for the development of plants, your soulless creature begins wonderful work in the modest unknown of the bowels of the earth, also on the stems and branches of trees, without noise, without knocking, correctly, gradually. Here they come into the light of God: not a single piece of grass, not a single leaf, not a single tree will go astray, will not forget the pattern (form) given to it, and look where it comes from: the grass on the ground, or the leaf on the tree unfolds, becomes wider and wider, larger and larger, and, finally, the bare earth is covered with a beautiful multi-colored carpet that attracts both the eye and the sense of smell; and the trees dress up in thick leafy clothing and cover their members. So everything is done picturesquely, elegantly on our land from these plants! And all this comes as if from nothing, according to one word of the Lord, spoken once and for all! And we, brethren, do not we arise into being from the same non-existence? What are we in the beginning - in the loins of our fathers 1? Isn’t it obvious through this that the Creator lets us know that in the beginning He brought everything from non-existence into being? Brothers, let us look at the plants and learn. How obvious and tangible is our Lord, our Almighty Father, in these plants! Every grass, every leaf, every flower seems to whisper to us: “The Lord is here!” Consider, brothers, the wise structure of plants and recognize God in them." In his sixth year, John, with the help of his father, began to learn to read and write; but despite all the boy’s diligence, reading and writing was given to him extremely slowly, about which he was deeply saddened. When the boy was nine years old, his father, with great difficulty, collected some funds from his poverty, and took him to the Arkhangelsk parish school. By this time, the boy had learned only with difficulty to sort through warehouses, and even then only in printed form. This preparation was too insufficient for him and his studies at school went no better than at home. Failures in his studies caused a lot of mental suffering and anxiety for the diligent boy. But most of all he suffered from the bitter consciousness that his father was wasting his last crumbs for him in vain. At school, John felt very lonely. There were many students, but for some reason they did not get along closely with the son of a poor rural sexton, who also did very poorly in science. The poor boy had one consolation: prayer. And he prayed often and fervently asked God for help in his studies. “And as I remember now,” Father John himself tells about himself, “one day it was already evening; everyone went to bed. I was the only one who couldn’t sleep; I still couldn’t understand anything from what had been said, I still couldn’t read well, I couldn’t remember or remember anything that was said. Such melancholy attacked me; I fell to my knees and began to pray fervently. I don’t know how long I stayed in this position, but suddenly it shook me all over... It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, as if the mind had opened up in my head, and the teacher of that day and his lesson clearly appeared to me; I even remembered what he was talking about. And it became easy and joyful in my soul. I have never slept so peacefully as I did that night. It got a little light, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my books, and oh happiness! I read much more easily, I understand everything, and what I read, I not only understood everything, but even now I can tell it. I no longer sat in class the way I used to; I understood everything, everything remained in my memory. The teacher gave me an arithmetic problem, I solved it, and they even praised me.” From that time on, John’s success in science improved every year, and upon completion of the course at the school, he was among the first students transferred to the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary. Life in the seminary did not present any special features for John: he continued to study well, behaved even better, and therefore, when in 1851 the young man graduated from the course as the first student, the local spiritual authorities sent him to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy at public expense. While still in the seminary, John lost his dearly beloved hard worker father, and his old mother was left without any means of subsistence. As a loving and caring son, John wanted to look for a place as a deacon or psalmist straight from the seminary in order to support his mother, but she did not want her son to be deprived of a higher spiritual education and insisted on his entering the academy, especially since this did not involve any costs. At the end of the summer of 1851, a young student at the Arkhangelsk Seminary, Ioann Sergeev, arrived in the capital to complete his education at the church of higher theological science, at the Theological Academy. Sacredly preserving the feelings of filial love, he first of all took care of his mother. Having enrolled as a student at the academy, he obtained correspondence from the academic board, with a fee of 6 rubles at first, and two years later - 9 rubles. per month, and sent all this meager earnings to his mother. In the era to which Ioann Sergeev’s stay at the academy dates, the life of its students was distinguished by the dominance of high ideal aspirations among them. Few of the students did not dream of some kind of feat for the benefit of the Church and the Orthodox faith. Particularly noticeable among them was the desire for missionary activity. Initially, a religiously minded young man, student Ioann Sergeev, was inclined towards this activity. At the end of the course, he was preparing to become a monk and go to distant countries - Japan or China - to spread the light of Orthodoxy there. John loved to dream about this future service of his during his solitary walks in the alleys of the academic garden. But Providence was pleased to show him a different field of activity. Once, shortly before the end of the course, John fell asleep after one of these walks and in a dream saw himself as a priest serving in the Kronstadt St. Andrew’s Cathedral, which he had never actually been to before. This dream deeply etched itself into the consciousness of the impressionable young man, who was accustomed to seeing in everything the providential action of the wisdom of God. Soon the dream came true with literal accuracy. In 1855, when Ivan Sergeev graduated from the academy with a candidate of theology degree, he was asked to marry the daughter of the archpriest of the Kronstadt Cathedral K.I. Nesvitsky, Elizabeth, and be ordained a priest of the same cathedral. John remembered his dream, considered it an indication from above and joyfully followed the path that Providence had so clearly shown to him. December 12, 1855 Fr. John performed his first priestly ministry in Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral. At the first meeting with his flock, Fr. John clearly saw that here, where the inhabitants of Kronstadt and St. Petersburg collided, he would have no less, and perhaps even more extensive field for selfless and fruitful activity for the benefit of Orthodoxy, than in distant pagan countries. Unbelief, heterodoxy, schism, sectarianism and religious indifference were here to such a strong degree that such a bright lamp of faith was needed, such as Fr. John, in order to serve as a joy to all true believers, a support to all who waver in the faith and a mentor to all who seek the truth Having celebrated the first liturgy in St. Andrew's Cathedral, the young shepherd addressed the people with simple, heartfelt and sincere words. “I am aware,” he said, “of the height of the rank and the responsibilities associated with it, I feel my weakness and unworthiness, but I trust in the grace and mercy of God, which heals the weak and replenishes the poor. I know what can make me more or less worthy of this rank and capable of passing this title. This is love for Christ and for you, my beloved brothers... Love is a great power: it makes the weak strong and the small great... This is the property of pure, evangelical love. May the Lord, who loves everyone, give me a spark of this love and ignite it in me with His Holy Spirit.” With the help of God's grace, these words, spoken from a sincere heart, soon turned into action. From the very first days of his ministry, Father John, one might say, forgot about himself, about his comforts, peace and all sorts of temporary earthly blessings. He devoted all his time to God and his neighbors. From the very first days of his ministry, he did not abandon the study of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, extracting from it edifications for himself as a person, a priest and a member of society. How carefully this study was, and how deeply he delved into the meaning of what he was studying, can be seen most clearly from the notes that he made in the margins of the books he read. Here, for example, are some of these notes: “Is it easy to have perfect love”? “Consider yourself worse than everyone else if you want to be perfect.” “Priest of God! Believe with all your heart, always believe in the grace given to you from God to pray for the people of God: may this great gift of God, with which you can save many souls, not be in vain in you; The Lord soon hears your heartfelt prayer for people and conveniently bows to the mercy of people, like the prayer of Moses, Aaron, Samuel, and the apostles. Atone for every prayer occasion - in church, when you perform a Divine service or sacrament, at home when performing sacraments, prayers and molebens, everywhere and at all times, remember the salvation of the people of God and you will gain for yourself the great grace of God.” “It is good for me to pray for people when I receive communion worthily: then the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, my God, are in me, and I have great boldness before Him. The king is then in me, as in a monastery: ask for whatever you want. We will come to him and make an abode with her. Whatever you want, ask and it will be done for you.” “I am weakness, poverty, God is my strength. This conviction is my lofty wisdom, which makes me blessed.” Similar notes can be seen against almost every verse in the Bible. and places that are especially important for leadership in the matter of spiritual improvement are emphasized. From this it is clear with what pious mood Father John studied the sacred books, with what conscientiousness he tried to complete his knowledge necessary for a true spiritual shepherd, how deeply he delved into the meaning of what he was studying and, finally, how thoroughly he had to assimilate the Word of God. Along with the study of Holy Scripture, Fr. John set himself another duty to strictly fulfill - to perform the Divine Liturgy daily. For this voluntarily accepted duty, Fr. John is viewed not only as the fulfillment of the duty of priestly service, but as the highest school of his spiritual and moral self-improvement. Daring to begin the sacramental meal of the Body and Blood of Christ every day, he, as a deeply reverent person, directed all his strength towards the purification of his spiritual being through constant repentance and internal self-examination. Proof of the intense and tireless work on examining one’s inner being is the diary of Fr. John, which is further offered under the title “My Life in Christ.” According to Fr. John, in this diary he recorded his struggle with thoughts and passions, his repentant feelings for deliverance from temptations, sorrows and misfortunes. More details about this diary will be discussed below. From the very first days of his priestly ministry, Fr. John zealously took up the work of preaching. “On every Sunday and holiday,” he says, “I delivered in church words and conversations either of my own composition or the sermons of Metropolitan Gregory.” It remains to point out one more great and difficult task that Fr. John along with his pastoral title. This is direct communication with all the poor, outcast and unfortunate people, in the form of their instruction, admonition, consolation and, as far as possible, their material support. The young priest immediately attracted everyone's attention with his particularly zealous attitude to the duty of shepherding, and people began to flock to him seeking spiritual consolation. For his part, he himself went to the poor and helped them as best he could. Thus, little by little, the fame of Fr. John, - stories about the power of prayer and the feats of mercy of the new Kronstadt shepherd are passed on from mouth to mouth. Less than two years had passed before the sick, suffering, toiling, beggars, wives abandoned by their husbands, binge drinkers, etc. began to flock to his yard, and everyone asked Fr. John's prayers, help, blessings. Since the 60s, Kronstadt served as a place for the administrative deportation of citizens incompetent due to their depravity, mainly philistines, and various types of passportless people. These people were called “posadskys”. The city dwellers suffered a lot from them. It was not always safe to walk through the city streets at night, risking being attacked by robbers. It was to these morally lost, despised people that the loving shepherd turned his attention and often appeared in their midst. His appearance constantly brought with him an inexhaustible supply of fatherly instructions, mercy and consolation, and contributed to the moral upliftment of almost irretrievably lost people; warmed and softened the cold, hardened hearts of the prodigal sons. Being a poor man himself since childhood, he took to heart and subtly understood the need of these outcasts. When the news of his good deeds spread among the common people, a permanent resident of Kronstadt often had to witness such facts. Early in the morning, after mass, Father John, leaving the church, was surrounded by a group of poor people who were asking for help in various needs, mainly material: one needed a dress, another needed a few kopecks for food, a third’s boots refused to serve. Father John patiently listened to everyone and asked questions to some. The eyes involuntarily imagine his cheerful, spiritual figure, with a clear, piercing gaze fixed on the petitioner. “Are you not deceiving me, brother of Christ?” – Father John asks with warm love, but in a stern tone. “I don’t have much money, but you see how many people need help.” The petitioner began to assure him of the truthfulness of the words, and it ended with Father John, to the best of his ability, giving him money or going with him to the local market and there buying clothes, boots, and finally food, in a word, depending on what was most necessary for the petitioner at the moment. There were, of course, cases of deception, but then the deceiver, not being able to withstand the penetrating gaze of his benefactor, tried for a long time not to catch his eye. Thus began the loving, unprecedented activity of the current ruler of the hearts of all pious people who thirst for spiritual renewal. The humble altar server had to endure many trials. For Fr. John, many did not recognize the sincerity of his mood, mocked him for a long time, slandered him orally and in print, but these mockeries, reaching Fr. John, however, did not bring any confusion into his bright, pure soul. This is what he noted in the margins of the Gospel: “For the sake of Christ, the fools for the sake of their strange behavior and attitude towards their neighbors became the laughing stock of the whole world, but their deeds were such that the world was unworthy of them.” In 1857 Fr. John entered the Kronstadt City School as a teacher of law, and in 1862 he entered the Kronstadt Classical Gymnasium. With true joy, Fr. took upon himself. John this duty. Now he had the opportunity to lead children until adulthood, when a person, a future member of society, is finally formed from a child. The students of the gymnasium soon fell in love with their kind, pious mentor, father, as if they were their own father. It is difficult to express the sadness that all his students and the entire teaching staff of the gymnasium experienced when, after 25 years, he was forced to leave the teaching of law, due to his extensive activities and lack of time. To this day, among his former students, who occupy different positions in society, there is a feeling of boundless love, respect and gratitude for their former teacher of the law. As a teacher, Fr. John never resorted to those teaching methods that often take place in our educational institutions - that is, excessive severity, and sometimes even moral humiliation of the incapable. For Father John, the measure of his student’s knowledge was not grades, measures to arouse zeal - not punishment, not ridicule, but a warm, sincere attitude towards both the work and the students. He had no incapables; in his lessons, everyone, without exception, eagerly listened to every word he said; They were waiting for his lesson, his lessons were more like pleasure, relaxation, than duty, work. This was not a dry teaching, but a lively conversation, a fascinating speech, an interesting story. Father John did not assign lessons, did not give bad grades, did not cut marks in exams, but conducted “conversations,” and these “conversations” were deeply imprinted in the memory of his students for the rest of their lives. In his speeches addressed to teachers before the start of teaching, he explained this method of teaching by the need to give the state, first of all, a person and a Christian, relegating the issue of science to the background. One of his students remembers his beloved mentor in this way. “It was necessary to see with what animation, with what understanding and clarity Father John conveyed to us his knowledge of Christian teaching, with what genuine feeling he spoke about the suffering of the Savior. This is how his kind figure appears to the eyes, with a clear, loving gaze turned to us. And throughout our lives, the impression of this look and this love will not be erased from our memory.” There were cases when the pedagogical council of the gymnasium, having lost hope of correcting some lazy student, sentenced him to expulsion. Then Father John acted as his intercessor before his superiors, begged him not to subject the unfortunate man to such cruel punishment, vouched for his correction and always managed to persuade the council in favor of the guilty one, and then he himself began to correct him, advising and instructing him on the good path. Several years passed, and the child, who showed no promise, became a useful member of society. “In my memoirs,” says Mr. I-n, “I will exclusively focus on the bright and instructive teaching and teaching activities of my father, John. He, as a teacher of the law, educated several generations at the Kronstadt gymnasium, of which I was a student during the entire eight-year course. Thanks to him, many of us received the good principles of living faith.” “I entered the first grade of the gymnasium and in 187... Fr. John taught the Law of God in all eight grades. Thus, I immediately found myself from home to school under his religious influence. It should be noted that at home, due to the special conditions of my upbringing, I grew up before entering the gymnasium with almost no understanding of the elementary foundations of the Orthodox faith; I didn’t go to church, I never read prayers, although I knew them while preparing for the entrance exam to the gymnasium; finally, he did not have the simplest childhood fear of the name of God. And so, one incident in a lesson with Fr. John in the first grade immediately directed my childhood head towards knowledge, although still vague, of the name of God and the fear of Him. As I remember now, the priest comes into our class; We (up to 50 boys), as usual, approached one after another to his hand, and, having received a blessing from him, then stood up for prayer, after which the lesson began with some of those students who themselves volunteered to answer; then he began to call himself not according to the class magazine. The priest went straight to a famous student and asked his lesson. He finally approached my neighbor. When the latter began to answer, Fr. John, standing next to him at the desk, found himself with his back almost completely turned to me. Taking advantage of this, I began chatting with my second neighbor, from which I proceeded to showing him various “intricate” figures formed by one or another folding of the fingers and palms and which I had learned among the street boys. In the end I settled on one particularly indecent figure and was very pleased that it caused my companion to giggle. At this time I hear the father’s voice: Understanding very vaguely, however, the meaning of my prank, neither alive nor dead, I rise from my seat and follow the priest past all the desks to the pulpit. Here he began to ask me in a quiet, gentle voice what I had shown to my neighbor and what it meant. I showed him the same figure, but could not explain its meaning, and only said that the street boys taught me this. Then, Father, looking at me with his long, inquisitive gaze, until tears finally involuntarily appeared in my eyes, he asked me something like this: “Aren’t you afraid of God?.. Aren’t you afraid that He will punish you for your pranks in the lessons of His law?.. Look, don’t play pranks anymore, otherwise He sees everything.” I looked stubbornly down, remained silent, and finally began to sob, asking the priest for forgiveness. At this time the bell rang and the lesson had to end. Everyone stood up for prayer, and the priest ordered me to read first the Lord’s Prayer and the “Holy Trinity,” and then “We thank You, Creator” (usually read by the class attendants). After the prayer, he patted me on the head and, once again instructing me never to be naughty again, blessed me and left the class, surrounded by all my comrades, who again approached him for a blessing, This incident, I repeat, immediately made me (and maybe not just me) a boy who began to believe in God with a childish mind and soul and fear His name. In general, I remember many examples of how, through short, usually sharp, abrupt, but always sincere edification, Fr. John knew how to touch the most living chord in a spiritually undeveloped and often already spoiled young organism and heal the latter, healing one or another moral wound in it. In the fifth grade we had a certain M., a young man, about 16 years old, extremely lazy and spoiled. We studied the Catechism. During one of the lessons, dedicated to the first member of the creed, the definition of God as Spirit, suddenly in the middle of the lesson M. gets up from his seat and sharply declares to the priest that he refuses to recognize this definition. There was deathly silence in the class. “An atheist! A fanatic!” Father John suddenly snapped, piercing M. with his sharp and persistent gaze. “Aren’t you afraid that the Lord will deprive you of your tongue for your foolishness? Who brought you into the world?” “Father and mother,” I answered in a dull voice. "And who produced the light itself? Who created everything visible and invisible?" “Pray, children,” the priest then addressed the whole class: “pray with all zeal and faith!” At the end of the lesson, M. was called to the priest in the teachers' room. What he talked about with M. face to face remained unknown to us; but we saw how excited and shocked M. came out into the classroom after this conversation, which had generally noticeably changed since that day. We did not always even study successfully in the sense of preparing lessons, although we did not lose anything from this, since sooner or later, for the exams, we had to take a certain course of our program. Meanwhile, unnoticed by us, faith in God, faith in people, faith in everything good was formed and developed in us under the influence of the simple and warm, sincere edifications of the good priest, faith in everything that is good, that faith that is capable of carrying even a weak person on its mighty wings from the most severe and stormy adversities of life. All his sermons and edifications, marked precisely by the sincerity of his tone, some special cordiality, his immediate spiritual unity with his listeners, with his remarkably expressive, clear and alien to any dryness of reading, sank deeply into our soul and touched us, just as they now touch the crowds of people attracted to the venerable priest by the desire to receive a blessing, edification or teaching from him. In his lessons, Father John usually asked, first, those who themselves declared their desire to answer the lesson, and one had to see with what zeal and expressiveness these “challengers” tried to answer him. For such answers, the priest gave the highest score, “five plus,” and sometimes you felt completely satisfied and, as it were, spiritually transformed, having earned this mark that accompanied the priest’s gracious word: “Thank you, good child!” The priest devoted the second half of his lessons to reading the lives of saints or the Bible (the latter especially in high school). These readings interested and occupied us so much that we usually asked for these books to take home with us. And oh. John always brought with him many separate lives in reserve, which were immediately snapped up. The boy carefully hid such a book in his backpack, and in the evening, having learned his lessons, he gathered his family and read it aloud. “Father! I read the life of St. Martyr Paraskeva,” the boy said a day or two later: “Now give me another book!” In general, and I am deeply convinced that many of the students contributed their good religiosity, instilled in us during the lessons of Fr. John, home and undoubtedly should have influenced their younger ones, at least their brothers and sisters.” The parents of the students highly valued the priest as a teacher of the law and had feelings of deep gratitude towards him for the exceptionally good direction that he was able to instill in his students. Proof of these feelings can be the following address, presented on the day of the 25th anniversary of Fr. John in the Kronstadt gymnasium. “Highly venerable and respected shepherd and mentor John Ilyich! This marks 25 years of your new, especially important service to the state and society and, in particular, to us, the fathers and mothers of the children whom you, as a teacher of the law at the Kronstadt classical gymnasium, guided on the path of spiritual enlightenment. You didn’t teach the children dry scholasticism, not a dead formula. You expounded texts and sayings to them, you did not demand from them lessons memorized only by memory; on bright, receptive souls you sowed the seeds of the life-giving Word of God. Many children have passed through your holy school. Many of your students stand at various degrees and titles in the service of the Tsar and the Fatherland; many of them are still growing up and preparing to enter the public field, and all of them, inspired by you and your holy communication with them, remember your love, instructions, your lessons, and all, blessing you with reverence, remember those unforgettable hours that they spent with you. You, without noticing it yourself, with your fiery love for God and endless mercy for your brothers - people, lit the torch of true knowledge of God in your disciples with your living words, and with your holy example and mercy filled their young hearts with the fear of God, faith, hope in God and love for Him and their brothers... May our gratitude, fathers and mothers, be like a peaceful prayer to God for you, may He pour out on you from His all-holy throne as much spiritual joy as you have given us consolation in our children, in their good behavior and successes.” Putting into the hearts of his young listeners the principles of a truly Christian life according to the commandments of Christ and, in particular, the good seeds of love and obedience to parents, Fr. John himself represented the ideal of obedience, submission and tender filial love. Already being a priest, a teacher of morality not only for children, but for a flock of thousands, he constantly turned to his mother for advice, although she was an illiterate woman, therefore, according to the concepts of many of modern children, she could not give any advice. The extent to which his obedience to his mother extended and how highly he valued her advice is shown by the following incident. One day, at the beginning of Great Lent, Father John fell seriously ill. The doctors announced that the patient would certainly die if he did not immediately stop eating lean food: nutrition was the first condition, and yet the patient did not even want to take fish. “You will definitely die if you don’t eat meat,” they tell him. - Okay, I agree, but I will first ask my mother’s permission. - In the Arkhangelsk province. – Write as soon as possible. On the instructions of Father John, on the same day they sent a letter to his mother with a request to send her blessing to her son as soon as possible to accept light food during Lent. A week passed, then another. The patient is getting worse. Finally we get a letter from my mother: “I am sending a blessing, but I do not allow you to eat savory food during Great Lent under any circumstances.” Father John met the answer with complete submission and was even apparently pleased with the refusal. - So, won’t you eat meat? – the doctors asked him. “Of course I won’t,” Fr. calmly answered. John. - The will of God. Do you really think that I would exchange my life for the blessing of my mother, for the commandment of the Lord: “Honor your father and your mother?”... Despite, however, the doctors’ predictions, the health of Fr. John's condition did not worsen, and he soon completely recovered. Father John's mother visited him several times. She died on July 8, 1871 and was buried in the city Kronstadt cemetery. The townspeople treat her grave with great respect. In 1880, admirers of Fr. John, a beautiful chapel was built over the grave of his mother, in which those who often come to Father John serve memorial services for the deceased. The tasks assigned by Fr. John based his activities, namely: the study of Holy Scripture in connection with personal moral self-improvement, preaching and works of mercy and charity during his almost half a century of pastoral activity received the most ideal implementation. Presenting this realization is the most important task of anyone trying to depict the life of Father John. His biography will be very sparse in external facts from his personal life, since Fr. Actually, there is no John. He lives exclusively for society, for his neighbors, while his personal life is alien to any earthly interests. His thought, apparently, hovers far from everything in which ordinary people believe earthly well-being. It is usually difficult to penetrate into the inner, spiritual world of an individual person, and even more difficult to comprehend the process of his moral growth from strength to strength. But in relation to Father John, all those interested in his highly moral, truly Christian character are placed in different conditions. As noted above, throughout his entire pastoral activity, Fr. John kept a diary. It is enough to read this diary carefully to get an idea of ​​the great, serious and arduous work of the spirit that took place and is happening in Fr. John. Here his personality is reflected as in a mirror, and one cannot help but pay tribute to this bright, highly moral personality. Here you can trace in detail the path Fr. John on the path of moral self-improvement and how deeply he studied the Holy Scriptures. The latter was assimilated not only by his mind, but also by his heart, and therefore his entire diary bears the stamp of solemnity and inspiration characteristic of the sacred scriptures. The arguments of Fr. are remarkable. John about the word of God, unparalleled in the strength of respect for it and the depth of faith in its effectiveness. This is how Father John himself defines the meaning and character of the “Diary”. “My power is made perfect in weakness,” says the Lord, “and where sin abounds, there grace abounds,” says the great apostle. This power and this grace of the Lord in me, weak and sinful, abounded in all the days of my life, from early youth to the present day, and manifested themselves tangibly in the wonderful illumination of my soul with the light of repentance and prayer, in tenderness of the heart, and pure hot, life-giving and sweet tears that cleansed the filth of the heart. I always tried to perform home and public worship with a clear and deep understanding of its meaning, with a strong and ardent feeling, with peace in my soul. But there are strong enemies of prayer: firstly, our worldly passions and the principalities and powers of darkness, the spirits of wickedness in high places, about which the apostle speaks in his epistle: “Our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities and powers of darkness, with the spirits of wickedness in high places.” With these all-evil enemies of prayer and all truth, I had to wage an unequal, persistent and cruel struggle to the death and to the death from the very beginning of my priestly service, because the priest, by his very rank and title, is God's warrior, clothed in the full armor of God for a constant, invisible battle with the invisible legions of evil spirits, attacking sooner or later the armorer of Christ's faith with flaming arrows his malice, with the subtlety, cunning, speed and strength of his centuries-old fallen spiritual strong nature. But since the priest is also fallen, sinful, multi-passionate, easily vulnerable from different sides of his inner life, and this is his weak side or weak sides when waging a spiritual struggle with the rulers of the darkness of this age, then from the very beginning of my priestly service I had to pray intensely to the Lord of hosts, as I pray now, that He, the all-merciful One, will teach my hands to the militia and my fingers to the invisible battle, stubborn, bitter abuse. And I was not left helpless in this saving battle: I raised my eyes, full of tears, to him, from where help always came to me, although often not suddenly and not soon, due to my former inexperience in previous temptations in prayer. With constant internal temptations, I had to constantly turn my spiritual eye inward in order to discern attacks from invisible enemies, and thus accustomed myself to almost constant spiritual contemplation and secret prayer and constant gratitude to the Lord for the help sent down to me in spiritual war; for with the help of God I always, in the end, emerged victorious from it, although at the beginning of my ministry I was often defeated by the cunning and cunning of ethereal enemies. Given this nature of my inner life, the Lord often granted me wonderful inner insights and bright thoughts regarding prayer in general and various subjects of faith and Christian life; and I tried not to let them pass without special attention and wrote them down in my diary. Thus, over the course of thirty-five years, I compiled many handwritten notes on these subjects, which I dare to offer, in extracts, to the attention of the respectable public. These are the most fugitive, flying notes, written anywhere, either in pencil or ink. I ask you not to punish me for what was written for myself, and not for showing to anyone.” But despite these modest reservations, “flying notes” seems to be a deeply instructive, unparalleled work of its kind. “The thoughts and feelings depicted in the diary,” says priest S. Strakhov, “are addressed either to the Lord God Himself (in the form of prayers) and to one’s self (in the form of conversations with oneself), or to other persons (in the form of instructions, as if excerpts from preaching works). They relate to various subjects of faith and morality and have important theoretical significance. Deep thoughts are expressed by Fr. John about the providence of God, about the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, about the relationship between members of the heavenly and earthly churches, about the prayers of saints, etc. But this is not enough. Diary of Fr. John is of great importance; this is a school of spiritual life. This is because the author speaks about the phenomena of spiritual life not only as a person to whom “through education by the sciences” the Lord “revealed all the riches of faith and nature and human reason, abundantly revealed His truth and His righteousness” (p. 1), but also moreover, as a person who had rich spiritual experience. From here, for example, thoughts about prayer or the grace-filled gifts of communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, etc., receive special meaning. In setting them out, Fr. John often points to his own experience and exclaims: “truly from experience!” In the reader of these thoughts, should not the desire be kindled to at least partially achieve that spiritual life that is depicted by Fr. John from experience, to enjoy the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit, to experience the sweetness of Holy Communion. Mysteries, etc. and for this, work on your own soul, using the tested ones. John's remedies (deep attention to oneself, self-examination and prayer)? And we think that the venerable shepherd himself, mainly for the sake of arousing in others a thirst for spiritual life, allowed his intimate diary to be published. Confessing the grace of God, by which he was awarded “minutes of spiritual sobriety and contemplation,” he confessed this so that God, the source of spiritual life, would be known by other people. He concludes with the following prayerful words: “Be known by Your other people, just as You appeared to me, O Lover of Mankind!” “The peculiarity that distinguishes this wonderful diary,” says one of the articles in the “Theological Bulletin” for 1892, is that reading it lifts and elevates our spirit with a living and strong revelation of the high and moral significance of man as the image of God; by revealing the goal to which every rational being must strive and which is likeness to the eternal, highest ideal of perfection; revealing the obstacles placed on this path by the enemies of salvation; revealing the duty of compassion and condescension to every person who is in error and carried away by passions - sometimes a voluntary, and sometimes an involuntary victim of opposing invisible forces. Great examples of asceticism were called forth in their time by the Christian faith, but now a different kind of asceticism is required, not asceticism, not retiring into the desert for solitary feats of prayer and contemplation, but people are needed who, living among people like themselves, would shine for them with their lives, with their living, gracious words, saving them from false directions, extracting them from the darkness of delusions and immersion in sensuality, turning them to the light of truth, goodness, peace, love, spiritual prosperity, directing everyone to the kingdom of eternal love, peace and bliss. Diary of Fr. John can be well understood and assimilated by the soul only by those who are akin in spirit to the faith of Christ, and not by those who will read it out of curiosity, as news for personal entertainment, without the participation of the heart, without sufficient acquaintance with spiritual language and without distinguishing it from ordinary human speech. When you read the diary, you feel that the person who wrote it was in a state of special inspiration, which you will not find in many other works of spiritual literature and, to such an extent, you will hardly find it in even one of the works of modern press. Inspirational word from Fr. John can produce a miraculous effect on people who are able to penetrate it and assimilate all its spiritual beauty; it can truly open the world to those who will take it heartily.” In addition to the Diary, generally known under the name: “My Life in Christ” and published in parts in the form of numerous collections and brochures under various titles, in addition to a huge number of speeches, words and teachings, published either in full collection, sometimes in groups in collections, sometimes separately in brochures, Fr. John wrote many deeply edifying reflections and notes in periodicals. His literary activity continues continuously to this day. Such, for example, are a number of articles that have not yet been completed in the Russian Pilgrim under the general title: “Christian self-consciousness.” So, from the time of his first major work: “On the Cross of Christ, in denunciation of the imaginary Old Believers,” - an essay presented (while still at the academy) for obtaining the degree of candidate of theology, Fr. John does not give up his pen and, fully armed with rich spiritual experience and theological knowledge, uses it as one of the powerful means for planting the holy faith and good life among the reading public. Turning to the preaching activities of Fr. John cannot help but see that in this area he is an extraordinary person. His speech, however, is simple, artless and, on the surface, does not sparkle with the pearls of oratory, as the venerable preacher himself knows about. But when he speaks, some special power is felt in every word, as a reflection of the strength of his spirit. His sermons are certainly convincing, his word ignites the listener’s own thought and, as it were, forcibly leads it along the path of thinking about saving truths and the moral improvement of the inner man. Like the Greek philosopher Socrates, Fr. John does not preach, does not put his teachings into other people’s brains, but “helps to give birth” to his own good thoughts in the mind of the listener, calling out their heads. And this method leads to the most excellent results. That is why after almost every sermon to Fr. Several listeners come to John to resolve their confusion and ask for additional clarification. The good shepherd willingly gives them and often spends two or three hours in conversation. A crowd will immediately gather around him, wherever he is, and listen and follow the teaching. “Well, think, figure it out,” Father John says affectionately, “well, take the example of your neighbor.” And now he will tell some parable, obvious to everyone, and through analogy he will lead the doubter to the truth. One day there was talk about the existence of God. - Father! The Bible talks about the origin of the earth and man. And if you take science... “Don’t use science to criticize the Bible,” the shepherd interrupts sternly. – We can only believe in God, and not prove His existence. He who believes does not require proof, and if you want to prove it, where is the faith? “But learning is light, father.” - Light, great light. But tell me, do you light a lamp during the day? Or, if you come at night to admire the starry sky, will you bring a candle? It will disturb you, but both a lamp and a candle are light... - So, father... I would be glad to believe, but I can’t. “And I can’t, and we all can’t.” Faith is given to those who ask for it. You say you want to believe, so ask. Turn your gaze to heaven, forget earthly things and ask the Heavenly King... It happened that after such conversations, the person arguing appeared after some time, joyful, radiant... Father, and I received faith. And how easy, how good! The whole world, it seems, would embrace; It’s like a weight has been lifted from my soul! – Thank God and remember what vows faith imposes on you. Without works, faith is dead; one must love God, and whoever says that he loves God but hates his brother is a liar, according to the testimony of the Apostle John. One day to Fr. A peasant approached John asking how he could pray for his brother, who was killed during a fight, without confession, with anger in his heart. “Pray for all Orthodox Christians,” answered the shepherd, Such answers will be given by Fr. John in almost all cases when people turn to him with questions: for whom and how to pray? But Fr. John does not refuse prayer not only to Christians of other confessions, but even to Jews and Mohammedans. One day a Tatar whose wife was dying approached him. “Father,” he says, I heard that your God is stronger than our Allah; through your prayer, a neighbor’s child recovered; pray for my wife... Father John knelt down and began to read a prayer; the Tatar beat himself on the chest and repeated the words of the prayer. They prayed for about an hour and when they rose from their knees, tears glistened in the Tatar’s eyes. After his wife recovered, the Tatar and his entire family were baptized. In 1859, “Catechetical Discourses” by Fr. John, in which he presented to his flock in a publicly accessible form the basic tenets of Christianity. This was followed by a number of publications of teachings spoken by Fr. John: “On the Most Holy Trinity”, “On the Creation of the World”, “On the Providence of God”, “On the Beatitudes of the Gospel”, etc. Several years ago Fr. John began publishing the complete collection of his words, teachings and conversations. They comprised thirteen issues, some of which were already in their fourth edition. Currently, these sermons have been published in the first three volumes of his complete works. The most popular conversations, which have already gone through many editions, are “On the Most Holy Trinity”, “On God the Creator of the World”, “Conversations on the Beatitudes of the Gospel”, etc. In the introduction to a whole series of conversations about. John says: “With God’s help, we will expound to you, brothers, the most important teaching in our faith - the dogma of the Holy Trinity. Although there are among us who know this teaching well, who do not demand, but who teach them; but there are very few of them: there are incomparably more who know what is bad, even less than what is bad, and the servant of St. the altar must teach everyone the teaching of faith clear and distinct. And for those who know well, it is not superfluous to repeat in memory the teachings of faith familiar to them, just as it is not superfluous to constantly see light with your eyes or inhale or exhale air, because our teaching is even more necessary than visible light and air. Remember God, says St. Gregory the Theologian, more necessary than breathing. So, for everyone, the doctrine of God is necessary. Therefore, we will speak as if everyone here were equal in the degree of knowledge. But, before we expound on the initial, royal and blessed Trinity, we will say, brethren, a few words about the importance and incomprehensibility of this teaching and about the humble simplicity of faith with which one must listen to it. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is so important that in the Christian faith there is no more important and lofty teaching than this; and all other human knowledge related to our earthly life and not related to faith, if taken together, in comparison with the knowledge of the one God, worshiped in the Trinity, is the same as a barely noticeable point, because God is the source of all wisdom and knowledge and the knowledge of God in the Holy Trinity is eternal life for rational creatures. Without the confession of the Holy Trinity there is no Christianity.” Speaking about faith in the mysteries of God, Fr. John notes: “Where are there no secrets? Man is a mystery to himself, both in his soul and in his body. Whoever has satisfactorily explained, for example, how the human soul is connected to the body, how they mutually influence each other, how sleep restores human strength, etc. This means, first of all, a person must believe his own secrets. There are countless secrets in the nature that surrounds us: man knows so little in comparison with what he does not yet know, despite the successes of the natural sciences, that each of us must humbly admit, together with one of the ancient sages, that we only know that we know nothing. Man must study the word of God. Ignorance, as one should, of the Divine Trinity on the part of a Christian would be both insane insolence and ingratitude. Every subject knows, even by name, his king, knows about his power, power and strength; reveres his special one; the benefactor often and with pleasure remembers and speaks about his benefactor. Even an ox knows his owner, and a donkey his master's manger. How can we not know that over all people and over the whole world is the power, kingdom, power and glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? How can a person who has received from the Holy Trinity all the gifts, from life to the stream of air he inhales, not remember often and with due reverence about his Triune Benefactor?” Speaking about the education of youth, Fr. John gives advice: “Let the children remember more often the Son of God, who knows no other will than the will of the Father; let them learn to obey their parents in everything, if the will of their parents is legal, and to always honor them as our intermediaries in the Divine gift of life. Nevertheless, fathers and children, husbands and wives, elders and youth, let us worship the Trinitarian Divinity: the Son in the Father with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit proceeding from the Father and resting in the Son.” John especially ardently and often preaches about mercy and goodness to others. “The first Christians, that is, those who lived under the apostles and after them, had everything in common: the rich and wealthy voluntarily donated their property and money, and what they collected was kept by the leaders of the church, who used it to support the poor, widows, orphans, the sick, the strange, those imprisoned and other needy people. “We have a kind of treasury,” writes one church teacher: “everyone every month, or whenever he wishes, contributes to it as much as he can and as much as he wants.” These alms are used for the food and burial of the poor, for the maintenance of children who have lost their parents, for the elderly who no longer leave the house and cannot work, to alleviate the lot of the unfortunate shipwrecked... Having among ourselves one heart and one soul, can we renounce the community of property? Finally, this should serve as an important incentive to charity, because it is very useful for the benefactors themselves: for it strengthens in them the sense of philanthropy and returns to the giver with an increase.” Poverty or lack of funds is not an excuse for those who do not want to do charity. “Instead of a great gift, bring zeal. Have nothing? Comfort with a tear. Great healing for the ill-fated, when someone regrets him from the bottom of his heart; misfortune is greatly alleviated by sincere condolences... This is what reason, the law, our own experience, and the fairest of people teach us. To whom and how should alms be given? Jesus Christ says: “Give to everyone who asks you”; This means that one must help and do good to everyone, without making any distinction about persons, status, origin, or religion. Mercy should be shown to everyone who is truly in need, for they all have the same right to regret and look at our hands in the same way as we look at the hands of God when we ask for something, and it is much better to extend a hand to the unworthy, rather than, for fear of meeting the unworthy, to deprive the worthy of a good deed. One must help not out of vanity and love of fame, not out of a desire for gratitude and reward, but disinterestedly, to please God and out of love for one’s neighbor. Almsgiving, infected with the disease of vanity, is no longer a matter of mercy, but boasting and hard-hearted. Almsgiving is not just about giving money, but about giving with a Christian sense of charity. One must do charity and help voluntarily, willingly, sincerely, cordially, with respect and unfeigned love for the poor, without any indignation, annoyance or contempt.” About the existence of the spiritual world Fr. John spoke in many conversations. Let's give a short excerpt. “Let us understand why some people say that there are no angels. Because they do not see evidence of their existence, and simply do not want to believe; they want to see, touch, in a word, experience everything; meanwhile they do not see or touch them. These are people who are guided even in faith by feelings that are lower in nature. But in this case, the very blindness of such people in some way proves that angels actually exist. Thus, a blind man does not see the sun, moon, and stars that decorate the sky and illuminate the earth, but this lack of vision only proves that he is blind. The luminaries shine regardless of whether he sees them or not. Likewise, the existence of angels does not depend, of course, on whether we see them with the eye of faith, or, since we do not want to rise above the dust from which we are created, and do not see anything further than the earth, therefore we ourselves do not notice traces of the existence of not only light spirits, but also, perhaps, much more. Some people have so darkened their spiritual eyes that they do not even believe in the spiritual sun, which enlightens and revitalizes everything. But this, brethren, is a serious illness of the soul, spiritual blindness. Let us ask holy and pious people about the angels, and they will prove to us, clear as day, the existence of the spiritual world. However, whoever wants to be convinced of the invisible world of spirits from the visible will not be left without assurance from this side either: all that is needed is attention. From man to blade of grass, everything testifies to the invisible.” The following are excerpts from the sermons of Fr. John is revealed in the author by their deep theological knowledge combined with firm faith and truly Christian love, conquering the hearts of the listeners. This love for people is revealed with particular strength from the numerous teachings of Fr. John on the Beatitudes. Here he talks at length about the entire system of Christian moral teaching, talks about humility, meekness, kindness, chastity, purity of heart, etc., but most of all about the queen of virtues - mercy and beneficence. Many conversations are also devoted to the defense of the Orthodox Christian faith against materialists, rationalist sects and various non-believers. In some of his sermons, Fr. John reveals, along with theological knowledge, an acquaintance with natural science, and has great respect for the exact conclusions of science. Regarding the charitable activities of Fr. John, then, gradually growing during his 47-year pastoral ministry, it has now reached colossal proportions. Every year hundreds of thousands of rubles pass through the hands of Father John, and he gives all this money to those in need, without refusing a single poor person, while he often does not leave himself an extra ruble “for tomorrow.” It happened that Fr. John, unable to provide financial assistance to those who turned to him, gave them his things. Of course, the money distributed by Fr. John, do not constitute his personal funds, but flow to him from wealthy people, thanks to the latter’s confidence that the respected shepherd, who devoted his entire life to serving his neighbors, knows better than anyone how to use them for a good deed. Father John gives charity both privately and especially through the charitable institutions he has established. Every day early in the morning, when Fr. John goes to St. Andrew's Cathedral for Matins; a whole crowd of beggars of both sexes and all ages, numbering from five hundred to seven hundred people, is already waiting for him near the cathedral: this is “the army of Fr. John,” as the Kronstadt residents call the beggars. These are the very renegades of society - the “posadskys”, among whom the respected shepherd began his charitable activities from the first days of his priesthood. The distribution of alms begins. St. John divides those gathered into dozens, and gives each ten a certain amount to be divided among the persons included in this ten; In this case, each beggar usually receives from 5 to 10 kopecks. Sometimes the distribution is not made by Fr. John, but entrusts it to one of the church guards. Then in the cathedral, at the end of the service, Father John often goes to the pulpit and gives the petitioners money, in accordance with their needs, and sometimes quite large sums are awarded. Fr. dried up many tears of widows, orphans and helpless poor people. John, with the timely help he provided, saved many people from a fatal outcome, kept them from debauchery, and returned them to the path of truth. Unmercenary o. John does not even know the differences between people, helping everyone in the name of Christ. Adhering to the view of the late Metropolitan of Kyiv Plato, who said that “our earthly partitions do not reach to heaven,” John also helps non-believers. As one of the characteristic features of Fr. John, it should be pointed out that in matters of charity he carefully avoids any publicity and often he himself does not know how much he donated where, following the Savior’s commandment that the left hand should not know what the right hand is doing. But without refusing anyone who asks, Fr. John attaches a higher importance to charity, not individual charity, which is mostly insignificant and does not always justify the goal, but public charity, which, without a doubt, is able to bring more abundant and favorable fruits. Therefore, even in the first years of his priesthood, he had the idea of ​​​​building an institution that would make it possible to receive help not as alms, but as a reward for work, giving the opportunity to earn money for basic needs, at the same time preventing the moral decline of the poor, which alms, which often serves as the cause of parasitism, could never give. And so in 1882 Fr. John fulfilled his cherished desire to establish a “House of Diligence” in Kronstadt. Currently, the House of Diligence includes the following institutions: 1) Hemp workshop, in which up to twenty-five thousand people work during the year; 2) a women's workshop, which at the beginning consisted of two departments of fashion and seamstress, later expanded by the addition of a new department - embroidery and linen labeling; 3) a shoemaker's workshop, in which boys are trained in shoemaking under the guidance of an experienced master; 4) a public canteen, which serves lunches for a small fee, and on holidays free lunches are held for several hundred people; 5) overnight shelter, charging 3 kopecks for overnight accommodation; 6) charity for poor women, free; 7) free outpatient clinic; 8) folk readings with vague pictures, which are held on Sundays and holidays and consist of an explanation of the Gospel, as well as generally useful essays on Russian history and literature; 9) free primary public school; 10) evening manual labor classes; 11) women's handicraft class; 12) free children's library at primary school; 13) public free reading room; 16) a shelter for orphans and day care for visiting children; 17) a second shelter for minors of both sexes; 18) house of mercy named after Fr. Ioanna, which serves as a summer cottage for children of the refuge (country shelter); 19) the house of St. Andrew's parish trusteeship, where, in addition to everything listed, cash benefits for the poor of several {?} rubles are issued annually. A bookstore was also established, and vegetable gardens were established to supply various institutions of the House of Industriousness with vegetables. Having examined these guardianship institutions, someone V.M. says: “I saw a whole city full of the most vigorous, varied and meaningful activity.” Guardianship workers belong to all classes of society, from the highest to the lowest. There are no divisions between them. Here all the people have merged into one family and work together in harmony. The need and grief of all people are the same and the goal of all humanity is the same. Guardianship workers perform the great, holy work of charitable and educational assistance, without worrying about any party scores. They do good to everyone: “both educated and uneducated, people of Orthodox and non-Orthodox confession.” The hand of the giver does not ask the one who is in need about his views and beliefs, but helps the one in need. And she helped many of those who did not have good feelings towards Orthodoxy, and now have a different attitude towards it. “I am resurrected in heart and soul,” after talking with Fr. John, said one Russian enlightened person holding an important post. And there are many such resurrected people in cities and villages, and it is through their contributions that shelters and schools are born, decrepitude is healed, youth is enlightened, all those who have shivered for years from physical and moral cold are warmed up. But it was not suddenly that the House of Industriousness reached a truly flourishing state. It took a lot of work for its respected founder to build it until he reached its present state. In 1881, on August 23, in the presence of the Highest Persons, the foundation stone of the “House of Diligence” was completed. It was decided to build it in memory of the late Emperor Alexander II in Bose, and this idea gave impetus to public charity. From all sides, from more or less wealthy individuals, donations began to flow in for the good cause, so that the total amount in a short time increased to such a size that it became possible to complete the construction in the same year. But then a terrible misfortune befell a good deed. In one of the many neighboring houses, a fire broke out in the dead of night, immediately engulfing several buildings and threatening the “Dem of Industriousness.” The fire brigade showed up and actively defended the neighboring houses. Father John, going out into the street, saw with horror that the brainchild he had cherished for so many years was ready to perish. Then he immediately turned to police chief Golovachev, who was at the fire, with a request to pay attention to the danger threatening the charitable institution, but his request was not respected, and both the “House of Diligence” and other buildings that belonged to the guardianship turned into piles of ash. But nothing could ever crush or shake the energy of Fr. John. He took the disaster that befell him for nothing more than a test sent from above, which he expressed in his sermon one of the next days; but how outraged he was by the refusal to help in the fire can be seen from the way he, with unusual harshness, denounces the indirect culprit of the disaster. “So again disaster and grief have befallen us,” he addresses the parishioners; - it was not an external enemy that attacked us with fire and sword, but an internal, secret enemy, armed with the full armor of abomination and corrupt friendship and complete indifference in the misfortune that befell us, the indifference, I say, of people who are appointed for this purpose and exist to serve public safety; Yes, the evil hand of shameless night vice deliberately started a fire and caused great disaster, and to whom? - mostly to the poorest residents of our city, who were neglected in the care home.” At the end of his bold denunciations, he expresses his usual hope in the goodness of God, saying: “Who knows... maybe this disaster was allowed by God, among other things, in order to awaken public charity and through it to relieve and comfort some, and to make others, through alms, worthy of great mercies and have mercy on them.” His hopes were justified. The insurance premium saved the business, donations from all sides increased, so that on October 10, 1882, the “House of Industriousness” was solemnly consecrated. But neither the quick success in fulfilling a heartfelt desire, nor the solemn atmosphere that accompanied the accomplished fact could erase Fr. John of the difficult feelings and moral torment that he experienced on the disastrous night of the fire of the buildings of St. Andrew's parish trusteeship. In a lengthy speech spoken on the day of consecration, he says among other things: “Wonderful is the arrangement of this house by the grace of God. The construction began in the spring of last year, with insignificant funds at first, but with God's help and the help of good people it was completed in rough form on three floors. In the fall, it burned down in a former fire along the street where it was built, as did the wooden care home along with it. It was regrettable, it was painful to see these godly institutions in flames...” It is impossible to pass in silence the generosity and kindness with which the venerable shepherd treated his enemy in the matter of charity - police chief Golovachev, who later found himself in the dock for various unseemly deeds. O. John had to attend the trial as a witness in his case. Golovachev and his defenders, fearing the testimony of Fr. John, lost all self-control. But, to everyone’s surprise, when the interrogation began, Fr. John did not say a single word about Golovachev’s crimes; on the contrary, he tried to point out as many of his good, useful deeds as possible. The prosecutor remarked to this that a witness in court is obliged to tell the truth, without hiding anything. Then Fr. John, his eyes flashing, objected loudly, firmly and clearly: "I speak in the priesthood." The consequence of these words was the refusal of the prosecutor and defense attorneys from further questioning. Father John, greatly agitated, but as usual meek and affectionate, left the courtroom. Currently, the “House of Diligence” has its own house church, in the name of St. Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. Before establishing this church, Fr. John again experienced a lot of all kinds of troubles from his enemies and obstacles from different sides, but the Lord rewarded his patience with the fact that the new church soon became extremely rich in both the sacristy and church utensils. And donations are constantly pouring in. In 1888 Fr. John managed to lay the foundation for the now rebuilt three-story stone house, intended for an overnight shelter. On May 19, 1891, the foundation stone was laid for the third building: the “Hospital House,” built according to the thoughts of Fr. John. The purpose of this institution is to give poor people shelter when they come to Kronstadt for advice and prayer from Fr. John. The hospice house, a huge building – four floors, was built in the courtyard of the “House of Diligence”. The prayer service before the laying was performed by Fr. John and the first stone at the foundation of the building was laid by him. In addition to these charitable institutions, it was established on the initiative of Fr. John rescue station on the Oranienbaum coast, which is under the Highest patronage of the Empress. On the device of this station about. John put in a lot of work, in which he was greatly assisted by the secretary of the water rescue society A.A. Kostin. The station was consecrated on November 23, 1891. The benefits of the “House of Diligence” built in Kronstadt are so undoubted that its consciousness caused imitation in St. Petersburg, Moscow and many other cities of Russia. In conclusion of his speech on charitable activities, Fr. John, one cannot help but cite a wonderful review of her from a German newspaper. Here's the review: “Love o. John's approach to people and his self-sacrifice know no bounds. Having fulfilled his most important pastoral duties, he immediately turns to the countless masses that flock to him from all over the vast state to find help, consolation and hope from him. Such huge donations flock to him from believers, reaching 300,000 marks per year. But this noble man does not keep any of this to himself, so that with complete justice we can say about him that he feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. He has no time for lunch or rest: he is tirelessly busy. He strengthens the sick with prayer, he saves the poor from hunger, he restores the fallen and comforts the unfortunate. And the numerous charitable institutions that he organized speak loudly of his nobility. Thanks to energy and initiative, workshops have sprung up on a large scale and are saving many people. You need to be in Russia (in Kronstadt) to fully understand what it means if I say that in winter, after navigation, thousands and thousands of families wander, begging, suffering from cold and hunger and without shelter. How many of this mass died every year from such need or fell deeply morally. And if this sad picture has now disappeared from the streets of Kronstadt, then this is the work of this Russian miracle worker alone and exclusively. What all charitable institutions were unable to achieve, he alone accomplished. He brought work to these unemployed, wandering masses and introduced them to a new life. In one House of Industry, many thousands of people work every year when they do not find anything to do in the harbor. In the orphanage, which he founded, every year thousands of children are partly cared for and partly kept. He also founded overnight shelters, people's canteens, people's reading rooms and a hospital for incoming patients, which is maintained at his own expense. And yet, this is not all that this amazing husband does and has done, before whom mocking lips should be closed.” Without a doubt, the charitable activities of Fr. John discovers in him a great Christian love for people and the powerful strength of his spirit, conquering the hearts of people who have the opportunity to donate from their wealth. But the greatness of Fr.’s soul is revealed even more. John, if we pay attention to his pastoral activities. O. John is a priest not only of Kronstadt, but of all Russia. His name is known in every corner of Russia, and everywhere this name is pronounced almost with reverence. Portraits of Fr. John can be found both in luxurious offices and in peasant shacks. They are hung in a place of honor, where a common man hangs only those who are dear to him. From Siberia, from the Caucasus, from the shores of the White Sea and from the Crimea, people come to Kronstadt to see the good shepherd, ask for his prayers, pray with him and ease their souls. “I have made it a rule for myself to be as sincere as possible about my work,” says Fr. John in his autobiography. And he did not deviate from this rule throughout his life. Every day, invariably and irresistibly, he comes early in the morning to St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Matins begins. Does Fr. himself perform the morning service? John or another regular priest - he invariably performs the singing and reading of the prescribed stichera and canon on the choir himself, and not a single stichera, not a single verse of the canon is skipped, but everything is read. The clear, sharp voice of Fr. John, sincerity and confidence in what is read, enthusiasm makes a strong impression, especially when reading the canon. During Matins in the cathedral, letters and telegrams from St. Petersburg begin to be received with an invitation to come and pray for the sick or suffering. Father John goes to the altar several times and immediately reads them; He puts some letters aside for reference during the trip, and after reading others, he immediately prays fervently before the Holy Altar. Matins usually ends around 7 and a half o'clock in the morning. The liturgy begins. Is it the next one? John or not, he performs the early liturgy himself. Sometimes, however, he performs divine services either in the Duma church attached to the cathedral, or in the Church of the “House of Diligence.” Liturgy of Fr. John prays with special reverence, withdrawing entirely within himself, as if unaware of anything around him, for the sick and mourning... They sing “Cherubic.” The great exit takes place: at the usual entrance of the clergy into the altar, Fr. John, realizing the importance of the coming moment, usually leaning over the throne, sheds heartfelt tears of repentance. After communion, Fr. John immediately changes in the eyes of those present: his face, illuminated by some extraordinary light, becomes animated, and his whole figure takes on a particularly cheerful appearance, full of life, spirit and strength. By the grace of Christ the power of God is made perfect in his weaknesses. During the liturgy, up to several hundred prosphoras are usually taken out. At the end of the liturgy, a prayer service is constantly performed, during which hundreds of notes about the sick are again submitted. As is known, Christians of the first centuries partook of the Holy Mysteries, if not daily, then certainly on every Sunday. With this in mind, Fr. From the first days of his priesthood, John began to invite adults to more frequent repentance and communion than was usually customary. Therefore, almost every day, after liturgies, he has to confess and administer the Holy Mysteries to adults, especially those who come from St. Petersburg and other cities to speak. In previous years, when there were still relatively few visitors, Fr. After the liturgy, John always confessed several dozen people individually and then communed the Holy Mysteries. Nowadays, there are such a mass of people who come that, given his versatile and enormous activity, there is no way to confess individually, and therefore the respected pastor is forced to resort, after reading the rules of confession and edifying teachings, to general confession and communion. There are usually from 200 to 500 people or more of confessors and communicants, and several thousand per fast. After the communion of the confessors, Fr. John reads the newly received telegrams and a mass of pleading letters, which set out various needs, starting with statements about the lack of funds for travel to the village, etc. Finally, it was all over in the church... Once again surrounded by a crowd waiting for Fr. John, he goes out into the street, gets into the prepared carriage and, without stopping home, goes to prayer services, visits the sick and visitors. Since there are too many visitors to Kronstadt, especially during Lent, and staying in the few hotels is not always convenient, several enterprising people keep apartments for visitors. There are up to 20 such apartments in the city, and all of them are crowded with visitors. Not everyone has time to live in Kronstadt, and some don’t even have the means, and therefore Fr. John tries to satisfy everyone every day by visiting all these apartments. Upon arrival at each of them, a general prayer service is usually served first, and then sometimes a separate one. Again, the tireless shepherd prays for everyone with spiritual zeal and heartfelt passion, forgetting that he has not eaten anything since yesterday and has not had time to replenish his strength. Again, requests for assistance, for help, for advice, for prayer are pouring in... Again, a generous, with the help of God, an inexhaustible hand, on the one hand, receives, and on the other, distributes, and a loving heart again instills peace in restless souls. The detours are over. It's time to think about rest. But oh. John forgets about him. Having stopped home for a minute to change his cassock, he is already in a hurry: in the summer to board a ship leaving for St. Petersburg, and in the winter - along the ice to Oranienbaum on the railway to get to the capital. Both at the steamship pier and at the station, the inevitable crowds of petitioners and those wishing to at least “just take a look at the priest…” are waiting for him again. The crowd of his Kronstadt admirers cordially bid farewell to the good priest, sending wishes for a safe journey. The steamer is setting sail. And here he has no peace. Someone, without having had time to talk and consult with Fr. John in Kronstadt, does it here, and again the tireless worker lavishes material and moral benefits. Finally, he goes to the “wheelhouse” of the steamer, runs through the newspaper, then, folding his arms on his chest, walks around, intently praying or thinking about something, then sits down on a bench and, with a smile, peacefully falls asleep in a quiet, peaceful sleep. The journey from Kronstadt to St. Petersburg is short: only 1.5 hours; meanwhile, not yet reaching several miles to St. Petersburg, Fr. John, cheerful and cheerful, as if renewed, is already walking around the ship again... On the St. Petersburg pier, long before the arrival of the steamer Fr. John, a new crowd of admirers awaits, eagerly fixing their gaze on the approaching steamer Fr. John "Dear"... Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Fr. John, before stopping at the Ioannovskoe metochion of the Sursky Monastery, which he established, goes to pre-designated addresses, and gives preference to difficult patients, especially those in need of holy communion, having with him spare Holy Gifts for this purpose. Due to his kindness, he does not refuse to attend various family and social celebrations. Many families are expecting Fr. Joanna at home. Usually on this day there is a commotion in the morning with revival and cleaning, as before the holidays. And as soon as someone utters the magic word “oh. John,” as the news of his arrival spreads with incredible speed throughout the entire street, and in a few minutes a crowd grows in front of the house, and the same crush occurs as at the steamship pier. A carriage is approaching. The desired guest quickly jumps out of the carriage, trying to slip past the crowd as quickly as possible and get to the appointed apartment; with the same amazing ease and speed he runs up the stairs. When entering an apartment, he usually addresses its inhabitants with the words: “Peace to this house”; if he is invited to a sick person, then his first question is: “Where is the patient? Take me to him." After resting a little and asking his family about their marital status, he immediately went into the room prepared for prayer. Kneeling and secretly praying, he addresses those present with an invitation to pray. “Let us pray,” he said: The Lord said to His disciples: where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them, and there are many of us gathered here, and if we have gathered with faith and love, then He is undoubtedly present among us. So, friends, according to your faith, may it be done to you!” And setting an example for others, he begins to pray fervently, kneeling, sometimes with tears. Having read the Gospel and performed the blessing of water, he ends the prayer service by inviting those present to venerate the cross and sprinkling them with holy water, and, in the absence of sprinkler, sprinkles it with a branch taken from some indoor plant. After sitting for a while, talking with the patient, comforting him, reassuring him, without refusing the offered meal, he hurries to another place, making his way with even greater difficulty through the doubled crowd to the carriage. Similar trips, with similar meetings and prayers, continue until late in the evening... It is difficult to describe the joy that occurs after his visit in every family, because in the presence of the good shepherd, those around him are imparted the same firm faith in the goodness of the Creator that Fr. John carries within himself, and this faith as a result produces good fruits. The prayer of Fr. is artless and simple. John, but his faith in the Redeemer is strong. How simple, affectionate and courteous Fr. John is with the poor, and he is the same in rich houses and in the chambers of dignitaries, without carrying in himself a shadow of partiality. In general, for Fr. John, everyone is equal, rich and poor, well-dressed and ragged, giving and asking, nobleman and tradesman, Fr. John one honor, one place: In winter, after traveling around St. Petersburg, Fr. John goes to the Baltic station, where again a crowd of people is waiting for him. Pressed from all sides, he barely makes his way into the carriage, not forgetting to give money to those in need. A mass of letters is thrown at the open window; the train starts moving; O. John stands at the window and, encouraged by expressions of gratitude and good wishes, blesses the crowd with a friendly smile, sending the words: “Farewell, brothers, goodbye, my dears, goodbye, friends... God bless you...” Before the first, until the second station, he reads letters, and then, right up to Oranienbaum, he usually sleeps. This is how Fr.’s day passes most of the time. John. But where would Fr. John, no matter how he spent his time, in any case, he devoted all of himself and all his time exclusively to God and his neighbors. From early morning, as we have seen, until late at night, he either performs divine services, or prays with people, visits the sick, who through his prayers often receive healing 2, travels to private houses, to hotels, to all corners where visitors who want to see him stay. To some, he brings a word of consolation, approval, guidance, to others, along with this, material assistance. It belongs entirely to the people. A general, engineer, scientist, speaker, minister, returning home, ceases to be a general, scientist, speaker, minister. Each of them at this time devotes himself to family, acquaintances, innocent entertainment, and hours of relaxation. U o. This never happened to John. Returning home after long and tedious work, he finds a lot of people wanting to see him, dozens of new urgent invitations, thousands of letters and requests. Each of us, who has our own corner and home, has a certain hour to refresh ourselves with food. But oh. John comes home for breakfast or lunch maybe a few times a year. Where does he have lunch? Everywhere and nowhere, always and one might say never. Due to the multitude of visitors, he can never set an hour for visiting and almost never gets to attend any supper. Therefore, he has to patiently be content with little. There he will eat some fruit, here he will drink a glass of tea, here he will eat a piece of bun or cookie. It often happens that during the whole day he does not have to eat properly. But he does not seek this, being completely content with the little that God sends him here or there during the day. Surprisingly little sleeps about. John. It is not even always the case that 3–4 hours of deep night a day belong entirely to Fr. John. Quite often he spends them in a railway carriage, in a carriage, and sometimes he does not sleep at all. And he has to endure this labor not for just one day, or several days, but for whole months, years, decades. Despite, however, such works, Fr. John, who has reached almost 75 years of age, is fresh, youthful, strong and vigorous, like a person aged 40–50 years. Fr. has undertaken and is undertaking quite a lot. Ioani traveled to different cities and villages of Russia, carrying with him his charming and beneficial influence. He often travels to the capital, he has been to Kyiv, Kharkov, Novgorod, visited many Volga cities and every year he travels to his native Arkhangelsk province. Speaking about the powerful influence of Fr. John on Russian society, one cannot remain silent about the attention that Fr. John from the side of the Russian Royal House. It can be said that not a single outstanding event in the Imperial Family took place without his participation. So, in 1894 he traveled to Livadia, where he often visited the sick Tsar-Peacemaker and was present at the last minutes of his life. By the will of the Sovereign Emperor, he took part in all the sad ceremonies of transporting the body of the late Sovereign Emperor from Livadia to St. Petersburg, transferring it from the Nikolaevsky station to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, funeral services and burial in this cathedral. On November 14, 1894, by the Highest will, he was present at the celebration of the sacrament of marriage of Their Imperial Majesties, in the large church of the Winter Palace. On November 14, 1895, he was present at the sacrament of baptism of the first-born daughter of Their Imperial Majesties, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, in the Church of the Winter Palace. On May 14, 1896, by the will of His Majesty, he was sent to Moscow to attend the sacred coronation and anointing of Their Imperial Majesties and had the good fortune to be a participant on that day in the service of the divine liturgy in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. For his zealous labors and generous charity for the benefit of the Church and society, Fr. John always enjoyed special attention from the Royal House, spiritual and secular authorities and institutions. All awards, both spiritual and secular, were received by Father John “for his excellent and diligent service and the performance of his duties.” So, he was awarded: a legguard (1860), a purple-velvet skufya (1861), a purple-velvet kamilavka (1866), a gold pectoral issued by the Holy Synod, a cross (1870); for diligent service to the Church of God in 1895 he was awarded the highest archpriestly award “club”; from the Bulgarian Prince Ferdinand he received a diamond cross on a gold chain, and finally, in 1898, “for over 40 years of diligent service in the clergy” he was made a mitered archpriest. He received the blessings of the Holy Synod, included in his service record, twice: in 1870 and 1889. Father John has the following orders: St. Anna 3rd and 2nd Art. (1878 and 1883), St. Vladimir 4 and 3 tbsp. (1887 and 1891) and St. Anna 1 tbsp. (1896), Bulgarian order 2nd class. with star and cross (1899). In addition to the dark bronze and gold crosses from St. Synod, the hero of the day received the same, with precious jewelry: from the Cabinet of His Majesty (1894), from Kronstadt admirers (1880), from St. Petersburg admirers (1880) and from St. Petersburg merchants and other capital admirers (1884). Father John has the insignia of the following societies: the Imperial Russian Society for Water Rescue: silver (1891) and gold (1893), the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society for wearing around the neck (1893), the Society for the Restoration of Orthodoxy in the Caucasus, the insignia of St. Nina 3 tbsp. (1891), the same 2 tbsp. (1893), the Kholm Orthodox Holy Mother of God Brotherhood, gold badge 1st class, as well as many diplomas and patents from various charitable institutions in both capitals and other cities of Russia. Activities of Fr. Joanna has long aroused deep sympathy and gratitude from representatives of the Church and society, as well as spiritual and secular journalism. In reviews about Fr. John depicts in bright colors the great importance for Orthodox Russia of such a luminary as the respected shepherd, and presents the outstanding features of his remarkable character, which conquers the sympathies of not only Orthodox Christians, but also those of other faiths. The late Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia, His Eminence Platon, in a conversation with one noble person, expressed himself about Father John this way: “Thanks be to God! The Lord gave deep grace to Father John of Kronstadt.” The late His Eminence Nikanor, Archbishop of Kherson and Odessa, in one of his teachings to the Odessa flock, at the end of his days, says: “The most amazing sign of the times, Father John of Kronstadt. After all, they are eager to receive him everywhere, from the basement to the gilded chambers. This is not enough. He cannot and does not have time to read all the letters and telegrams sent to him, which fill entire baskets. He does not have time to satisfy the most basic needs of food and rest. When he approaches St. Petersburg from Kronstadt, crowds of people always know and are waiting for him on the pier; they know in advance and are waiting for him in every part of the city, at every house where his arrival is expected. When leaving the closed carriage, when leaving the houses to the carriage, they tear it to pieces in order to accept its blessing, risking both it and themselves being crushed in the crowd of people. His prayerful help is expected and asked not only in Russia, but also abroad. And his prayerful help, always simple on his part, not directly promising anything miraculous, is sometimes amazingly miraculous. The very faith in Father John of Kronstadt of all classes of St. Petersburg, and indeed of all parts of Russia, is truly amazing, even miraculous. And such a simple, unsophisticated person, but a true believer in the effectiveness of the power of God, is still a priest today. “That icon is miraculous,” said the deeply wise high priest of the Russian Church, a 90-year-old elder, “that is powerful to arouse faith in its miraculousness.” The power of this profound saying can also be applied to Father John of Kronstadt. Yes, he is a miracle worker by the very fact that he aroused strong faith in the miraculous power of God, working in human weakness and in our faithless days. “Isn’t this a sign of the times? Who could have thought 20 years ago, in the 60s, that St. Petersburg would so agreeably express its faith in the almighty miraculous power of God, revealed before our eyes in human weakness? And yet, this is a fact, a fact that testifies to a turn in the slope of the people’s spirit.” On one occasion, His Eminence Theophan gave such a review of Fr. John: “As for Fr. John of Kronstadt, then I am sure that he is truly a man of God. And you will not be wrong if you are convinced of the same. His books are good. Here are the bright thoughts of the soul living in God. Read them while crossing yourself.” The rector of St. Isaac's Cathedral, P. A. Smirnov, speaking in the presence of several Church hierarchs and dignitaries, at a meeting of the St. Petersburg brotherhood in the name of the Most Holy. Mother of God (in his speech about the Pashkov heresy, which has recently spread so much in the capital), said the following about Father John of Kronstadt: “If the power of the enemy is great, then the power of God is infinitely powerful. Near St. Petersburg itself, on the path from where the leader of the heresy came to us (Lord Redstock, from whom the Pashkov heresy was later formed), a shepherd with a special gift of prayer and healing appears. A simple and kind, most sincere person, he acts on those who come to him precisely and only as a priest, by those means that the Church indicates: by performing prayers before St. icon and sprinkling of blessed water, reading the word of God and the word of pastoral edification, fasting and fasting, confession and teaching of St. Mystery - and the grace of the priesthood assimilates everything that the merciful Lord does through it. And before our eyes the events of the Gospel and Apostolic history are exactly repeated: crowds of people surround everywhere the faithful bearer of Divine grace, healing the weak, and do not give him rest for a single hour, as they once did to the disciples of Jesus. This most humble shepherd is a living and powerful denouncer of the proud sectarian superstition.” This is what Professor S. says, by the way, in his book dedicated to the stay of Fr. John in Kyiv: “We can say that for almost the whole day Fr. John is in a state of greatest mental excitement, which appears either in the form of prayer without words, then in the form of a sublime mood bordering on prayer, then, finally, in the form of a mental experience of the highest ideals. We can say that that elevated mood that occurs in an ordinary person occasionally, in exceptional moments, in Fr. Joanna is regular and doesn't leave it during the day. Father John appears to be an ordinary person only in moments of extreme fatigue or while eating; at all other times of the day, he is in a state of animation and lives the fullest, broadest ideal life that is possible for a person. The main, visible character trait of Fr. John is composed of humility, meekness and the greatest love for man; These qualities are inseparably linked with affection in relationships with people and charm that exceeds all expectations... All this is written on the face of Fr. John, and everyone who even sees this man for the first time believes and trusts.” “It’s not the crowd that’s looking for him,” the professor says confidently, refuting the statements of Fr. John - who claim that his influence is strong only on the crowd, but people of all education and all ages. You will see an educated person, a laborer, a teacher, a professor and a student; you will see adults and children, gentlemen and their servants, humble workers and fallen women, you will see sick, corrupt and criminal people. You will meet here different religions, different nationalities. Leads everyone to Fr. John has the same feeling. It forces people who arrived in carriages to get out of the carriage and stand next to an ordinary, gray man; it lifts a fallen woman out of the mud and makes her human. In the presence of Fr. John, the conscience of the most evil, savage person awakens, and the best, ideal sides of their character are refreshed and revived in all corrupt people.” Speaking like this about Fr. John, the professor finds it necessary to touch upon the opinion that the infatuation with the Kronstadt shepherd is a psychopathic, fashionable phenomenon. The representative of science calls this opinion unfounded and downright frivolous. “The observations,” he says, “that we were able to make regarding the mood of the masses showed exactly the opposite. We saw no sign of hysteria anywhere, there was no noise; there was unusual self-control. The passion of the masses has the property of vigorous, healthy mental revitalization. People seek consolation or healing from moral evils. For many years Fr. John was an intermediary in giving this or that help. But in recent years its importance has increased, expanded and gone far beyond its original limit. Now this is not just a shepherd of the Kronstadt church, but a common prayer book, a healer, a folk hero, a common patron and adviser, a common father-father (“he is a father for everyone” - the words of a peasant I heard). He is the most famous and popular person in Russia. All manifestations of feeling in Fr. John are distinguished by their extraordinary depth and completeness, exceeding ordinary limits. His insight and subtlety with which he recognizes the mental state of a person is absolutely exceptional. His very health is in complete harmony with his spiritual abilities. Despite his years, he is fresh, cheerful, and tireless. Kindness, meekness and friendliness are imprinted on his face and in his entire appearance, and it is quite understandable that people want to see Fr. John, “look” at him. This desire undoubtedly reflects the need to see this exceptional true person, to see and learn. He educates society in word, deed, and personality. He is a living bearer and preacher of ideals, spending 15–20 hours every day, either in church, or in the open air, or in many meetings.” “How great is Fr. John? – asks the famous writer A.V. Kruglov answers: “Miracles,” others say. I do not deny this, for indeed God works miracles through His chosen one. But this is not what makes him great, this is not where his strength lies. Chrysostom taught beautifully, saying that miracles are lower than works and quoted the words of Jesus Christ to the 70 disciples: “Rejoice not in this, that the spirits obey you, but in the fact that your names are written in heaven.” “What confirms our life?” he asks: “miracles or good behavior? Of course, the latter. Love is the true miracle,” concludes Chrysostom. Father John is great precisely because he affirms our life with his life, being a true apostle of the teaching of love...” In days of doubt, and lies, and sacrilege, When the crazy world is bathed in blood, He preaches brotherhood of different tribes, And his speech is full of gospel love, Disinclined to vain and unnecessary debates, He comes - a disciple of the crucified Christ - To all the broken, mourning and sick, To all those who weaken under the weight of the cross, And, penetrating deep into the soul with an inquisitive eye, Grieves with the sad, rushes to help the sick... He is our ascetic prophet, Shining like a beacon in this dead night! In conclusion of this essay, we consider it not superfluous here, by the way, to recall what was once said about the venerable priest in the “Russian Pilgrim”: “The priest who influenced the turn in the slope of the national spirit cannot be a random phenomenon: he is a mysterious force put forward by God’s Providence to indicate to the Russian people, confused by the unbelief of recent years, the paths along which they should march in their spiritual development and in their striving for some great ideal predetermined for them by Divine Providence.” Cases of miraculous healing through the prayers of Fr. John is extremely numerous. Descriptions of some of them appeared in a timely manner in the columns of the time press, and a significant part of these descriptions are collected in the book of S.I. Tsvetkova: “Father John Ilyich Sergiev (Kronstadt) and the miraculous power of his prayer.” M. 1897