Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt.
The teachings and instructions of St. John of Kronstadt are filled with love and faith, and now they sound just as if he were speaking directly to us of the twenty-first century:
Why did the Lord give me life? So that I would turn with my whole heart to God, for my purification and correction. Remember this and correct yourself.
Why does the Lord add day after day, year after year to our existence? So that we would gradually tear away and cast aside the evil from our souls (cf. Is. 1:16)—each person his own, and take on a blessed simplicity; so that we would, for example, become like meek lambs, like simple babes.
Our earthly life should be a constant hope in the Lord under all circumstances, for we and everything we have is from the Lord.
On the eve of the commemoration of St. John of Kronstadt, Pravoslavie.ru asked its readers to share their own stories of miraculous help from this great saint. OrthoChristian.com gladly reproduces them here in English, with thanks to those who responded. If any of our English language readers have more stories to tell about how St. John of Kronstadt answered their prayers, we encourage you to send them to us in the commentary section below.
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Elena Tryastsyna, parishioner of the Monastery of St.
John, St. Petersburg
“The boy is absolutely
healthy!”
St. John of Kronstadt.
However, on the morning of the third day, when the infant was brought to me for feeding, he was burning up. His temperature was very high, and he had lost a critical amount of weight from dehydration. When the doctor was making her rounds, she informed us that several newborns in that department had the same diagnosis. It seems there were about six. An emergency!
All the infants were immediately given IVs. It is difficult to convey with words what I was feeling. It seems that time had stopped. I couldn’t lie down; I walked up and down the long corridor and prayed. My husband was due to come that afternoon. Knowing that I would not be able to tell him about what was happening in words, I wrote him a letter in advance and gave it to my him with the request that he go without delay to the St. John Monastery, to our father confessor, and ask him to pray to Father John of Kronstadt.
My husband went right way. How the time dragged! The next morning there were the doctor’s routine rounds. The doctor explained to the worried mothers that their children are better, and that they needn’t fret too much; but about my son—she was silent.
My heart froze. I asked her myself how my son is. The doctor answered, “Mama, there must have been some mistake with your son. It can’t be explained any other way. The boy is absolutely healthy. His weight and temperature are normal. They will bring him to you now to breastfeed.” Glory be to God!!!
This is only one of the many incidents of prayerful help from Father John of Kronstadt to our family. It would be impossible to count them all. There are things too personal to entrust them to paper. But it is all in my memory, and thankfulness for it is in the hearts of everyone in my family. We bow deeply to our holy Father and thank God!
Oksana A.
“My son just can’t learn
languages”
Greetings, editors! My son Ivan was having a very hard time in school. One day in a conversation with grandma I complained that my son “just can’t learn languages”. She said that she would pray for Vanya to St. John of Kronstadt. I also prayed (only a few times and doubting, at that—forgive me Lord) to the saint for help to my son in school.
Well, in the third grade he finally got an interest in English, and his quarterly grades went up in Russian and English. Holy Righteous Father John of Kronstadt, pray to God for us! Pray to the Lord to strengthen our faith!
* * *
Tatiana
“I looked at his icon and prayed for help
however I could”
Several years ago, I and all my family had to deal with a serious problem of mine: drug addiction. This addiction happened because of extreme sports, when I unthinkingly received traumas and broken bones.
The Krutitsa Patriarchal Metochion, where the St. John of Kronstadt Center is located. Photo: Igor Sobolev / Sobio.ru/
My best friend, who sensed that I had problems but did not fully know what they were, simply gave me a link to the “St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Center for Care of Souls”. At that moment, everything inside of me was resisting treatment and healing. To be more precise, it seemed to me that it was nothing serious, only a stage of growing up. Only later did I understand how great is God’s mercy, His love, and His constant care for our salvation!!! Probably it is impossible for us to imagine it to the full extent.
I kept the link, and after some time, with God’s help, I came to this center. At that time I knew nothing about St. John of Kronstadt. I simply sat in the Center’s reception room, looked at the icon, and prayed for help however I could.
Then something inside me changed, and I recognized something important—my shame, and God’s mercy! Afterwards began a long and torturous struggle with the evil inside of me. Every time I prayed to God and the saints to give me strength just to make it to the church. I am very grateful to the holy patron of the St. John of Kronstadt Center, that by his prayers there are specialists and church servants working there, saving hundreds of people and families. It is a miracle!
Now everything is well for me. I have married, and our marriage was sanctified in the church. I have a wonderful job as a speech therapist. My husband and I are expecting a baby.
Believe in the prayers of the holy Fathers! God’s mercy is enormous beyond comprehension!
* * *
Evgenia
“I prayed to be granted a
child”
Two years ago, I and my husband made a pilgrimage on the New Year to St. Petersburg, where I prayed at the relics of St. John of Kronstadt that we be granted a child.
The Monastery of St. John, St. Petersburg.
When I returned to Moscow, I realized that I was pregnant. Now we have a son, Ivan. Glory be to God!!!
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Archpriest Vladimir Gamaris
“The atheists backed off”
St. John of Kronstadt.
That night I had a dream. I saw our altar, and I was standing near the Holy Throne. Into to the altar with energetic steps came St. John of Kronstadt, then knelt and prayed. He gave me a few words of support and encouragement and left the altar. After taking Communion the next morning, I went to my bishop. I felt that the well-planned and organized provocation by the enemies of the Church had failed. Everything was crashing down on them. The atheists backed off, my bishop smoothed over the problems with the plenipotentiary council and defended me. I was twenty-eight at the time, and my wife was nineteen…
I have no doubt that the Lord protected me at the prayers of Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt. Therefore, when we had a son in 1984 we named him John.
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Svetlana Tvirko
“They wanted to amputate my
mother-in-law’s leg”
In 2012 I was studying in St. Petersburg during for five days. The first day after my lesson I went to the St. John Monastery, where I had never been before. I wanted very much to do so in order to visit the grave of Father John.
My mother was supposed to go the next day for medical testing, and the doctors expected the worst. My mother-in-law was also in the hospital. She was seventy-six at the time. They wanted to amputate her leg—it was gangrenous and turning black. I was very upset and afraid for her. I was also worried for my husband—how would he take it if she would not live through the amputation?
Monastery of St. John, St. Petersburg. Photo: AlexDarkside / photosight.ru
I came to the grave of Father John and begged, begged, begged. In the morning I phoned my mother after her tests and she said there was no cancer, but she would have to get treatment. Ten days later when I returned, my husband told me that his mother had been released from the hospital: the gangrene was gone, and the doctors, so to say, had managed… Glory to God for all things!!!
Now I know that Father John helped us. His icon that had been touched to his grave is always before my eyes. Holy Righteous Father John, pray to God for us!
* * *
Priest Evgeny Tsyplenkov
“One day I read an article against Father
John”
This happened at the dawn of my priestly service in 2002.
I had heard of the miracles that occurred after prayer to Righteous John of Kronstadt, and venerated him as a saint.[1] It was important to me that he had lived not long ago, and there were still eye-witnesses living. But one day I read an article written by a person who was against his canonization… My onerous thoughts about that article occupied me from the end of evening services and all through the night.
In the morning I was to serve the Liturgy, but I was completely exhausted by these thoughts and my insomnia… What kind of prayer could I have? However, it was impossible to cancel the services. In a state of total anxiety I vested before the Proskemidia, when someone called me out of the altar.
An elderly woman was asking for me. “Father, my family has a little religious book, but no one seems to need it. No one reads it, and they use it as a hot pad for frying pans; it’s all dog-eared, and I think this must be a sin. Please take it!” I took the book in my hands and it really was dog-eared: the cover was stained so bad you couldn’t read the title, the spine was torn off… I opened it and saw: Archpriest John Sergeyev. My Life in Christ… The Liturgy seemed to pass by in a breath.
* * *
Olga
“I asked Father to bring my son to
reason”
St. John of Kronstadt.
I was then making my first steps to the faith, and wasn’t even baptized yet. I prayed in whatever way I could. Then suddenly in my consciousness the name of St. John of Kronstadt came up, and I started asking him to bring my son to reason. Immediately the phone rang: my son asked forgiveness and said that he was already in the taxi on his way home. This incident helped strengthen my faith. And I have very warm feeling for Father John.
* * *
Maxim Zlobin
“I received not only an icon, but also the
saint’s blessing”
I experienced a small miracle, but it meant very much to me. About a year ago I began praying to St. John of Kronstadt to help me find an icon of him. The thing is that I have a great veneration for this great saint, but out of forgetfulness and the cares of life, for several years I could not find an icon of him.
Well, in just a few weeks my friend called me suddenly and said that he wanted to give me an icon… of St. John of Kronstad. And it was not only an icon—on the reverse side was a photograph of the saint with his own signature: “I bless you in the name of the Lord. Archpriest John Sergeyev, January 28, 1904.”
So, I received not only an icon, but also the saint’s blessing. That is how swiftly St. John of Kronstadt answered my prayer.
* * *
Natalya
“And the whole world became
beautiful”
In 2007 I was leaving my job, and I walked out of the building after meeting with the personnel manager all bent out of shape. The St. John Monastery was located nearby, and I walked over there, stood by the sepulcher, cried at the grave of Father John, and left feeling very upset.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the relics of St. John of Kronstadt in the monastery in St. Petersburg. Photo: Patriarchia.ru
I had only just thought about what others had written—that no one leaves Father John without consolation—when at that very moment everything changed. The sun came out from behind the clouds, everything was shining, and my soul felt very good--peaceful, quiet, calm, light; and the whole world around me became beautiful.
All the necessary papers and signatures for my departure were collected in two days without the slightest hindrance. When the personnel manager received it he was greatly surprised and admitted that this had only happened with one other person in his memory. He apologized to me and was very polite.
* * *
Natalia, Berlin
“St. John of Kronstadt sent you that
book!”
I will tell you how St. John of Kronstadt sent a book to my mother. Once some books were brought to our church and I purchased a large number of them immediately. About a half a year went by from the time I had begun reading one of them entitled, Life, Miracles, and Instructions, about St. John of Kronstadt. I began to read it and was so displeased with myself for not buying one for my mother. I’ll explain: I normally buy books in twos—one for myself and one for my mother, or rather my parents (father also reads them). It only now hits me that my father’s name is John!
So, I was reading and regretting—the book is thin, I can’t copy it, I won’t be able to buy it because they’ve all been sold. The next time I came to church I saw that book on the shelf by the entrance. I went up to pay for it and everyone jumped on me: where did I find it? Many were asking for that book, but all copies been sold long ago.
I told the priest and he said, “Oh, St. John of Kronstadt sent you that book!” I was overjoyed! I sent a letter telling them that the book was from St. John of Kronstadt and sent it together with the book to my parents, who live in the Ukraine. St. John of Kronstadt is my most beloved of all saints; he helps us continually.
Holy Righteous Father John, pray to God for us!
[1] Righteous John of Kronstadt was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1964, and by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990.
