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Saint John Maximovich: The Merciful and Confessing Bishoptranslated

July 2, 2026 · 1 min read

Lambros Skontzos, Theologian, writes

Russian Orthodoxy has to present a great cloud of saints, which adorns the hagiological firmament of our Church. We have a particular prominence of saints in recent years, when the Russian Church had entered its well-known historical adventures. One of the contemporary prominent Russian saints is Saint John Maximovich, Bishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, of the Orthodox Russian Diaspora.

He was born on June 4, 1896 in the village of Adamovka, Kharkov province in South Russia. His baptismal name was Michael. His parents were named Boris and Glafira and they were descendants of the famous aristocratic and pious Maksimovich family. In fact, one member of the family, Ioannis Maksimovich, was a famous Hierarch, Bishop of Tobolsk, who became a saint (he celebrates on June 10) and his honest relic remains incorruptible in the city of Tobolsk.

His pious parents raised him with faith in God and devotion to Orthodoxy. But even from a young age he showed an unusual love for God and a strong desire to live the church life. Although patient, she ate little and kept all her fasts...

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

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Константин Козлов

Tobolsk, or what? In our parish there is also a church in honor of St. John, and in his church the relics of the saint are kept. Is it really from there, from Tobolsk?

Elena Lungu

I know that the church in Sibiu was called Saint John of Tobolsk and that for 20 years it was the church of Saint John of Tobolsk, but I did not know that it was related to his family. What was the name of the church in Tobolsk where his father was the bishop?

Anca Dumitrescu

It's not St. John of Tobolsk, it's St. John the Russian, the church in Sibiu near the old city. Ioan Maximovici's father was a bishop in Tobolsk, but the church where he served was called St. John of Tobolsk, and in Sibiu it was dedicated to St. John the Russian because he was a priest in Sibiu before becoming a bishop.

Георгий Петров

Yes, precisely from Tobolsk, the relics of St. John of Tobolsk are indeed incorrupt there. We also have a piece of his relics in one church in Nizhny, they brought them several years ago. Has this church been standing in your parish for a long time or was it recently consecrated?

Ксения Соловьёва

Yes, the relics of St. John of Tobolsk are truly incorruptible, this is a great joy. We also have a particle in one of the churches in Nizhny, they brought it a couple of years ago, I remember how people stood in line after the service. What church is your parish in? Has it been there for a long time or is it new?