Presidential Library marks 195th anniversary of birth of John of Kronstadt

195 years ago, on October 31, 1829, John Sergiev was born. He would become the future holy and righteous John of Kronstadt, one of the most respected and revered ministers of the church. He was popularly known as the "great wonderworker".

John was born in Arkhangelsk governorate to a poor family. He was so weak at birth that his parents feared for his life and "christianized him on the night of his birth, naming him John". Miraculously, after the christianization, the baby began to recover and gain strength.

In the family of the future saint, there were many priests for three and a half centuries. John was raised in a spiritual atmosphere and knew the prayers and lives of the saints from childhood. He pleased his parents in everything, except for one thing - he found it difficult to read and write.

When his father, having collected the last funds, sent him to the Arkhangelsk parish school, John felt his helplessness - at that moment, he could barely distinguish the letters. This is what Ivan Loginov wrote in his book Father John Ilyich Sergiev, Archpriest of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt (1891).

John was one of the first to graduate from the parish school and then from the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary. He entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on the state's expense and saw his future as a priest serving in a cathedral he had never visited. Soon, his dream came true when he graduated from the academy in 1855 with a degree in theology and married Elizabeth, the daughter of Archpriest Konstantin Nesvitsky from Kronstadt's St. Andrew's Cathedral. He was then invited to begin his ministry in the very same cathedral where he had seen himself in his dreams.

From the very beginning of his ministry, John Sergiev was actively engaged in charitable work. He founded a House of Diligence, a workhouse with workshops, a school for the poor, and a women's almshouse. He also opened an orphanage and taught the Law of God in various educational institutions. In addition, he wrote books, teachings, and instructions, and found a kind word for everyone. According to the publication John Ilyich Sergiev of Kronstadt (1909), he rarely slept more than 3-4 hours a day.

Through the prayers of John of Kronstadt, miraculous healings and rescues of people took place in seemingly the most desperate situations, even when eminent doctors had given up. One of the first such cases is described in the book Father John Ilyich Sergiev, Archpriest of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt, written by Ivan Loginov (1891).

Illnesses were cured through prayer and the laying on of hands by Father John, both privately and in larger gatherings, and often from a distance - by letter or telegram requesting help. As Ekaterina Dukhonina wrote in her memoirs, "My nephew became ill at the age of 12, with measles complicated by pneumonia. Doctors had given him a death sentence, and it was expected every hour. I sent a telegram to father asking him to pray. Before we had time to receive an answer, the boy fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. His face brightened and the deathly pallor vanished. The doctor who attended him was astonished and said, 'Look, what good signs! He will probably recover.' Then a telegram arrived from father with the words, 'God is merciful - He will send healing.' From that moment, the recovery began."

John of Kronstadt talked about how God's healing gift was revealed to him during a meeting with priests in the city of Sarapul. It was printed in the Church Gazette magazine, No. 39, from 1904, which is available on the Presidential Library's portal.

After his death, people continued to seek out Father John for help and healing. This is evident in the book The Miraculous Power of the Prayers of Father John published by the St. Petersburg St. John's Convent in 1914. And today, his words spoken at a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, quoted in the Church Gazette from 1901, seem like a prophecy: "We have received a great gift from God, and if we hold onto this gift, we will be invincible."

To learn more about Saint John of Kronstadt, visit the dedicated section on the Persons of Russia collection on the Presidential Library's portal.