St. John of Kronstadt

Saint John was born in the village of Sura in rural Russia in 1829 to two Russian Orthodox parents. His family led a simple and impoverished lifestyle, but they carefully raised St. John and his sisters in the Orthodox Faith, teaching them to pray and introducing them to Christ and the Saints from their earliest years. He experienced learning difficulties, rarely remembering his lessons and struggling to read. However, through sincere and fervent prayer to God, St. John received enlightenment from his guardian angel. He excelled as a student for the rest of his life, and teaching became a cornerstone of his ministry. After St. John was ordained priest in 1855, he initially wanted to serve as a missionary to Alaska, but God planted in him the desire to serve his native people in Russia, who needed a holy priest and teacher as much as the non-Christians of other lands. 

St. John was appointed as priest in the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Kronstadt, and after that dedicated his life in service to his people, especially the poor and needy. He visited the poorest in the city on foot, giving them money, food, and clothing – even the coats and shoes that he wore. Eventually, he built a ministry house in Kronstadt that provided free meals, elementary school education, a bookstore, religious instruction, carpentry and sowing workshops, and a host of other services. St. John also oversaw the construction of a church, a school, a sawmill and an orphanage in his native village. Most of all, St. John served the people through his prayer for them, his encouragement to them to attend Divine Services (he served the Liturgy every day), and his unwavering emphasis on repentance, Confession, and Communion for the renewal of life in Christians. Thousands of people would flock to him for blessings, counsel, and prayer, and he worked many miracles in his life through the grace of God. St. John, though married, had no children, but the descendants of his sisters continue to live in Sura and the surrounding lands. 

Learn more about the life of St. John of Kronstadt here.

Feast Day: December 20

1. St. John nurtured his spiritual life and developed intimacy with God even as he served the poor and his flock for hours on end each day. How can we, as “busy” students, nurture our relationship with God and our life of prayer in the midst of our responsibilities and activities? 
2. St. John changed his mind about being a missionary after he saw that the people around him needed guidance and spiritual shepherding. How can you show the people around you – friends, family, immediate communities, classmates – greater sacrificial love?
3. (From St. John’s journal, My Life in Christ): “In how many ways does not God rejoice us, His creatures, even by flowers? Like a tender mother, in His eternal power and wisdom, He every summer creates for us, out of nothing, these most beautiful plants. Let us enjoy them, not forgetting to glorify the goodness of the Creator, our heavenly Father; let us on our part, too, reply to His love by loving hearts.” What is something small in your everyday life that you can give thanks and praise to God for?