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Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Mankind is like dogs, not gods - as long as you don't get mad they'll bite you - but stay mad and you'll never be bitten. Dogs don't respect humility and sorrow.
~Jack Kerouac
Dizzy is a female boxer puppy. She is not yet fully grown and is a little high strung, but is a wonderful pet.
Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.
— C.S. Lewis
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Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Photos by Francisco Montiel. Event hosted by Centro de Cultura Digital, Shutterstock, Frutos de Vida, Buñuelo Capuccino, Bopcakes #CMMX #CreativeMornings
I love this rose I planted a couple of years ago, it has a fantastic fragrance as well as being pretty. Looking this time at the details of the sepals around the bud. Such complexity in something so small.
The global theme for April 2015 was “Humility” and our speaker at Portland/CreativeMornings was Charlie Brown, CEO and Founder of Context Partners. We were hosted by PNCA and sponsored by Create Legal and 52 Limited, and Razorfish. With thanks to Pro Photo Supply for the photo & video gear.
Photo by Scott Larsen. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
I borrowed Ivy's trophy for Last Week's Envy picture, so it's very humble of me to give it back. (But not very humble to say that I'm being humble..)
Humility for 365 Days' Seven Heavenly Virtues Week.
Andrea di Bartolo
Active in Siena, 1389-1428
About 1400
Tempera on wood
56.2 x 38.4 cm
Purchase, John W. Tempest Fund
Inventory 1954.1099
Representations of the Madonna of Humility seated in a flowery context became quite popular in Europe in the fourteenth century as a private, meditational counter-image to the formal representations of the Enthroned Madonna, expressing one of her own attributes and alluding to the enclosed garden of her virginity. Few biographical details are known about this Sienese Master from whom we identify thirteen autograph panels of this Madonna of Humility. The Child clutches a goldfinch, an allusion to His Passion (goldfinches eat thorns). The rooster on the virginal robe suggests the Resurrection. These poignant references to His Death change the tenor of the painting from one of familial intimacy to that of pietistic reverence and reflection. The work maintains the lyrical and tender depiction of human relationships characteristic of the Sienese school, and the figure of the Virgin appears as an elegant silhouette, its treatment of surfaces more decorative than in Florentine painting.
Day 18: Humility
I really don't know what to say, most of the time. And that really sums up my life right now.
♪♬♩•*¨*•.¸¸Syukur Alhamdullillah. I've reach home safely....Humility is really important because it keeps you fresh and new.¸¸.•*¨*•♩♬♪
➺ Home Sweet Home ➳ My Humble Crib ➺ Champ20Ns Way.
ⓘⓩ.•.¸¸.•´¯`•.✿⊱✿⊱╮✿⊱╮❤M¡J❤ ✿⊱✿⊱╮✿⊱╮.•´¯`•.¸¸.•. ⓩⓨ™ ➳ Listening to The Book Of Souls by Iron Maiden
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.
Photos by Francisco Montiel. Event hosted by Centro de Cultura Digital, Shutterstock, Frutos de Vida, Buñuelo Capuccino, Bopcakes #CMMX #CreativeMornings
Saint John "the Russian" is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
He was born in a village in Little Russia, around 1690.
Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence.
His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer.
During the Russian-Turkish war (1711 – 1718) he was a soldier in the imperial army of Peter the Great of Russia.
At that time the then invincible Turkish military forces were advancing from victory to victory, spreading fear to all nations.
As a soldier, Saint John fought to defend his country, but having being nurtured by the springs of Orthodoxy through his Christian parents, he was appalled by the horror of war, the thousands of young men, women and children, and the elderly, left dead by the passing of the tempest of hostilities and the bellicosity of the enemy.
During the battles for the recapture of Azof on the northern coast of the Black Sea, Saint John, together with many thousands of his compatriots, was taken prisoner.
He was first sent to Constantinople (Istanbul), and from there to Prokopi near Caesarea of Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he was delivered to an Aga who maintained a camp of janissaries there.
He was tortured to deny Christ.
At Prokopi he was subjected to the scorn and hatred of the Turks for being a “kiafir”, that is an unbeliever of Islam, for which he was tortured.
He was beaten with sticks, kicked and spat on, and a red hot metal bowl was put on his head, burning his hair and scalp.
He was then thrown into the mire of a stable and made to live with the animals.
Saint John endured all his tortures with perseverance and remarkable bravery.
He said to the Turks:
“I have confidence, faith and love in my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, and none of these sufferings will separate me from His love.
As a prisoner I will obey your orders, and carry out my duties as a slave, but with regard to my faith in Christ the Saviour, you are not my masters – we ought to obey God rather than men.
I am ready to suffer greater and more terrible torments and even that death rather than deny my Christ.”
Thus Saint John accepted the hardships of his life – the tortures, living with the animals in the stable, which, he said, reminded him of the stable in Bethlehem, his spiritual self-discipline: fasts, vigils and prayer- and this acceptance and his way of life so impressed his tormentors that they ceased their brutality, and instead of “kafir” they gave him the epithet of “veli”, which means saint.
One day, at a banquet of the Aga’s officers at Prokopi, Saint John miraculously sent with an angel of the Lord a copper plate of food to the Aga in Mecca where he had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed. T
he food was hot when the plate appeared before the Aga, and he ate it.
On the Aga’s return to Prokopi three months later, at a similar banquet held in honour of his safe return, the Aga showed the officers the very same plate engraved with his family emblem.
This miracle, accomplished by the grace of God, completely quenched the hatred of Saint John’s Turkish masters: their brutality was overcome by spiritual radiance.
Throughout his harsh and difficult life Saint John had the support and consolation of prayer, vigils, prostrations, and of the Holy Mysteries which he partook of unbeknownst to the Turks.
Receiving Holy Communion every Saturday was his greatest refreshment and sustenance.
On the last day of his life, the 27th of May 1730, he sent for the priest who brought him Holy Communion concealed in a hollowed-out apple which he received for the last time there in the stable.
His temporary captivity and sufferings had come to an end: as soon as he had partaken of the Holy Gifts, the wondrous Saint John passed on to the life of eternal exultation and blessedness.
The priests and Christian notables from Prokopi were given permission by the Turks to take his body for burial.
Surrounded by censers and candles, they carried it on their shoulders, accompanied by Turks and Armenians as well as Christians, to a grave in the Christian cemetery.
There, with deep devotion, their eyes streaming with tears as if he were their lord and master the body of the former slave and servant was consigned to the mother earth
One night in November of 1733, the old priest who every Saturday had listened to Saint John tell of his sufferings and tortures and who had given him Holy Communion, saw him in a dream.
Saint John told the priest that, with God’s grace, his body had remained entire and uncorrupted as it had been when laid in the grave three and a half years before, and that it should be exhumed so that it would remain with them as a blessing of God for evermore.
The priest hesitated and then, by the grace of God, a heavenly light, like a pillar of fire, was seen illuminating the Saint’s grave.
The Christians opened up the grave, and what great wonder the body of the Saint was found entire, uncorrupted and redolent with a divine fragrance that it still has today.
With spiritual gladness and devotion they took this divine gift of the holy relic in their arms and transferred it to the church where Saint John himself had spent so many nights in prayerful vigil.
On that day, over two hundred and fifty years ago, his holy body entered the liturgical life of the Church of Christ.
In one of the domestic conflicts and quarrels between the Sultan of Turkey and Ibrahim of Egypt, the Sultan’s delegate, Osman Pasha, set fire to the holy relic of Saint John’s body as an act of revenge against the Christians.
Amid the flames the Turks saw the body begin to move and, terrified, they abandoned their unholy act and fled.
The next day the Christians dug amongst the charcoal and ashes and found the body still entire and although blackened by the smoke and fire it was pliant and fragrant.
His shrine became a great centre of pilgrimage, towering above all others in central Cappadocia.
Andrea di Bartolo
Active in Siena, 1389-1428
About 1400
Tempera on wood
56.2 x 38.4 cm
Purchase, John W. Tempest Fund
Inventory 1954.1099
Representations of the Madonna of Humility seated in a flowery context became quite popular in Europe in the fourteenth century as a private, meditational counter-image to the formal representations of the Enthroned Madonna, expressing one of her own attributes and alluding to the enclosed garden of her virginity. Few biographical details are known about this Sienese Master from whom we identify thirteen autograph panels of this Madonna of Humility. The Child clutches a goldfinch, an allusion to His Passion (goldfinches eat thorns). The rooster on the virginal robe suggests the Resurrection. These poignant references to His Death change the tenor of the painting from one of familial intimacy to that of pietistic reverence and reflection. The work maintains the lyrical and tender depiction of human relationships characteristic of the Sienese school, and the figure of the Virgin appears as an elegant silhouette, its treatment of surfaces more decorative than in Florentine painting.
about anything you've done; you ought to keep going and find something better to do. "
David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard.
So happy 50th birthday to me, today. And to about 200,000 other people on this planet of almost 7 billion. I hope you all feel as happy, healthy, engaged and loved as I do today!