The Early Life Of A Ukrainian Saint
Mikhail Maximovitch, who is pictured in this photo colorized by Klimbim, would become St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. The man who would become a modern-day saint, was born in Adamovka, which is in present day Ukraine, in 1896. He was a devout, though sickly child, and collected icons and church books, as the lives of saints captivated him; when he played, the toy soldiers would become monks, while fortresses would become monasteries. He was so pious that he inspired his French caretaker to convert from Catholicism to Orthodox Christianity.
Source: (Colorized by Klimbim).
From 1907-1914, he attended Poltava Military School because he wanted to serve his fatherland, and in 1918, he would earn a law degree from Kharkov Imperial University. After the 1917 revolution, he became very disappointed by human weakness and decided to dedicate his life to serving God. When his family went to Yugoslavia, they brought him to Belgrade in 1921 and he supported his family by selling newspapers. In 1925, he graduated from Belgrade University with a degree in theology. In 1926, he was tonsured a monk (his head was shaved to mark his entrance into a new spiritual stage. He was then ordained a heirodeacon and given the name of St. John, after St. John of Tobolsk, who was from the same family of Serbian origin as Maximovitch. In 1926, he was also ordained to the priesthood, and from that point on, would not sleep in a bed. Instead, he napped in a chair or knelt down in front of icons. He prayed a lot and ate only once a day.
His Work In China
He was passionate about his work with children. Source: (stjohnmemorialfund.org).
He worked from 1925-1927 as a religious teacher in the Gymnasium of Velika Kikinda. He began teaching in the seminary in Bitola in 1929, where he earned respect and devotion; his reputation continued to grow as he began to visit hospitals, praying with patients and administering communion. At night, while his students slept, he would pick up the fallen blankets in the dormitory and place them back on the sleeping students, making the sign of the cross over them. He was ordained a bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia; he was then assigned to the diocese of Shanghai.
St. John found an uncompleted cathedral in an Orthodox community which was divided along ethnic lines. He became involved in charitable organizations and founded an orphanage and home for children of indigents; he began with only seven, but the number could swell to 100, and when the Communists came, he helped the orphans flee, first to the Philippines and then to America. He also worked towards restoring unity in the community. He also became known for miracles connected to his prayer. As bishop during the Japanese occupation, he ignored the curfew in order to engage in his pastoral duties, but the Japanese did not harass him. He also refused to submit to the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was dominated by the Soviets; he was the only Russian hierarch in China to do so, and he was elevated to the Archbishop of China 1946.
Fleeing To America
Source: (Catalog of Good Deeds).
After the Communists took power, the Russian colony was forced to flee China, ending up mainly in the United States and Australia. Archbishop St. John traveled to Washington D.C. to ensure his community would be welcome. He was then assigned to the archdiocese of Western Europe in 1951, where he continued his charitable work. Then, in 1962, he was assigned to the see of San Francisco, where he found an unfinished cathedral, much like the one in Shanghai. He completed the building, the Holy Virgin Cathedral, but nevertheless, he became a target of political enemies, who sued him for alleged mishandling of finances related to the construction. He was exonerated, but the suit caused him much sorrow.
His Death
Working on the cathedral in San Francisco. Source: (saintjohnwonderworker.org/OrthodoxPhotos.com).
He died on July 2, 1966 while visiting Seattle. It was claimed that he had foretold the time and place of his death; there were other instances of his clairvoyance as well. His body was entombed in a sepulcher beneath the altar of the Holy Virgin Cathedral. On the 28th anniversary of his death, he was glorified, and his unembalmed relics are in a shrine in the cathedral’s nave. Because he is beloved around the world, portions of his relics are in Serbia, Russia, Greece, and South Korea, as well as a number of other international locations. His feast day is on the Saturday closest to July 2.Â
The photo at the top of this story was colorized by Olga Shirnina, aka Klimbim; you can see more of her work at her Flickr page.
