ARCHBISHOP
JOHN
The tomb of the unembalmed remains of Archbishop John in San Francisco
presents pilgrims with a bizarre and miraculous sight. Inside, a Gospel
Book (Editor's Note: a bishop or
priest is always buried with the holy Gospel), rests, virtually
disintegrated; a blessing cross in the Archbishop’s hand has corroded,
an icon is heavily deteriorated, and the vestments of the archbishop
(who reposed in 1966) are mildewed and falling apart.
The relics - the body - of Archbishop John,
however, are found to be totally incorrupt. His skin was white an soft,
and upon lifting out his body it was found to be very light due to
dehydration but was totally intact. Those who came forward to venerate
the relic discovered that they exuded a sweet fragrance.
Exposure of a body to amount of moisture that
deteriorated metal and other objects would surely caused rapid
decomposition. There is thus no basis to argue that Archbishop John’s
body had undergone some sort of mummification.
The incorruptibility of a saint's relics is a sign
of God's special favor and grace. It is also a testimony of the eternal
blessedness that awaits the elect of God. It is clear from Holy
Scipture (read in the Old Testament the 2nd book of Kings 2:14., and
13:21, and in Acts 19:12) that God has manifested miracles through His
saints, from ancient times even to our own age.
What better description could be found to portray
the essence of a man whose love for Christ drew him to such heights of
spiritual perfection that he enkindled the faith of thousands from East
to West? The life of Archbishop John Maximovitch demonstrates more
vividly than any words that true Christianity far exceeds the bounds of
human "goodness". Here is a shining reflection of the supernatural love
of God which works miracles, a living proof that the burning faith of
the early Christian saints still warms the earth at a time when the
love of many has grown cold.
Archbishop John did not isolate himself from the
world, but he was not of this world. First and foremost he was man of
prayer. He completely surrendered himself to God, presenting himself as
a "living sacrifice" and he became a true vessel of the Holy Spirit.
His work continues even now today.
This holy man of God was born 4 June, 1896 in the
province of Kharkov in southern Russia. At baptism he was given the
name Michael. As a child he was serious for his years and he later
wrote: "From the first days when I began to become aware of myself, I
wished to serve righteousness and truth. My parents kindled in me a
striving to stand unwaveringly for the truth, and my soul was
captivated by the example of those who had given their lives for it."
Shanghai, 1934
Following the desire of his parents, he entered law
school in Kharkov. He was naturally gifted student but spent more time
reading Lives of Saints then attending academic lectrues. "While
studying the worldly sciences," he wrote, "I went all the more deeply
into the study of the science of sciences, into the study of the
spiritual life."
After the Revolution in Russia, he was evacuated
together with his family to Belgrade where entered the faculty of
theology at the University. In 1926, a year after his graduation, he
was tonsured a monk and given the name John, after his own distant
relative who was a canonized saint in Russia and he was known as St.
John of Tobolsk (Archbishop John was buried with an icon of his saintly
relative). In November of that same year, he was ordained hieromonk (a
priestmonk). Soon he became a teacher at the Serbian Seminary of St.
John the Theologian at Bitol. More than once the bishop of that diocese
would say, "If you wish to see a living saint, go to Father John."
Ascetic
It was his own students who first became aware of
Vladika's great feast of asceticism. At night they noticed that Vladika
would stay up, making the rounds of the dormitories and praying over
the sleeping students. "Finally, it was discovered that he scarcely
slept at all, and never in a bed, allowing himself only an hour or two
each night of uncomfortable rest in a sitting position, or bend over on
the floor, praying before icons." This ascetic feat he continued for
the rest of his life, bringing his body "into subjection" according to
the holy Apostle Paul, "But I discipline my body and bring it into
subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should
become disqualified" (I Corinthians 9:27).
At the age of 38 he was elevated to the episcopate
and sent to Shanghai. There he restored Church unity, took an active
interest in the religious education of youth, encouraged and
participated in various chairitable organizations, founded an orphange,
and himself gathered sick and starving children off the streets. He
always wore clothing of the cheapest Chinese fabric and often went
barefoot, sometimes having given his sandals away to some poor man.
Vladika celebrated Holy Divine Liturgy and received Holy Communion
daily, as he did for the rest of his life.
Wonderworker
In Shanghai it became evident that Vladika John was
not only a righteous man, but a true ascetic, a man of prayer and a
wonderworker. "Once in Shanghai Vladika John asked to the bed of a
dying child, whose case had been called hopeless by the physicians.
Entering the apartment, Vladika John went straight to the room in which
the sick boy lay, although no one managed yet to show him where this
was. Without examining the child, Vladika immediately 'fell down' in
front of the icon in the corner, which was very characteristic of him,
and prayed for a long time. Then, assuring the relatives that the child
would recover, he quickly left. And in fact the child became better
towards morning and he soon recovered, so that a physcician was no
longer needed."
Vladika John loved to visit the sick and if the
condition of a patient would become critical, he would go to him at any
hour of the day or night to pray at his bedside. There were cases when
patients would cry out to Vladika in the middle of the night from the
hospital beds, and the end of the city Vladika John would come without
even calling him by phone.
Man of Prayer
When the coming of the communists, the Russians in
China were forced once again to flee, most through the Philippines. At
one time 5,000 of the refugees were living in an Internaltional Refugee
Organization camp on the island of Tubabao, located in the path of
typhons.
When the fear of typhons was mentioned by one
Russian to the Filipinos, they replied that there was no reason to
worry, because " 'your holy man blesses your camp from four directions
every night.' They referred to Vladika John, for no typhoon struck the
island while he was there."
In trying to resettle his flock in Christ our Lord,
Vladika John went to Washington D.C. (he visited with Father
Constantine at the Russian Orthodox Cathederal of St. John the Baptist,
who later became Bishop Constantine, who recently reposed in the Lord),
knowing Bishop Constantine myself, he told me this story about Vladika
John's presence in Washington at the Cathederal: Vladika John had a
meeting before the house senate, to appeal for the Russian refugees,
and he had to be at that meeting at a certain hour, Bishop Constantine
told me, however the pious Vladika John said he would go to the meeting
after he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, once the Liturgy was over, he
went to the Senate on behalf of the Russian refugees, and he was late!
Once the little of stature holy man Vladika John entered the Senate
they had already moved on to another agenda, being Vladika John did not
arrive on time. Everyone in the Senate stood up out of respect for they
had noticed a holy man of God had entered the room, and then wanted to
hear his appeal on behalf of the Russian refugees in the Philippines.
After Vladika John gave his report before the Senate Committee, the
refugees were able to come to America and live in San Francisco,
California, under the supervision and direction of Vladika John. All of
the Russian refugees through the intervention of Vladika John
miraculoulsly able to come to America - including his orphange, in
which he later established in San Francisco, and became known as St.
Tikhon Orphange.
In 1951 Vladika John was sent to Western Europe as a
Bishop. Here too his reputation for holiness spread - and not only
among the Orthodox. In one of the Catholic churches of Paris, a priest
strove to inspire his young people with these words: 'You demand proofs, you say that now there
are neither miracles nor saints. Why should I give you theoretical
proofs, when today there walks in the streets of Paris a saint - St.
Jean Nus Pieds (St. Jon the Barefoot).'
Alive after Death - repose in the Lord
On 19 June (2 July new style), 1966, during a
Archpastoral visit to Seatte, Washington with the wonder-working Kursk
icon of the Mother of God, Vladika John peacefully gave his soul to the
Lord to whom he had served so faithfully during his earthly life. I
learned this account of the blessed repose of Vladika John: after
Vladika John served Holy Divine Liturgy, a parish member asked Vladika
to serve a 'Memorial Service', in which he did, then after a light meal
in the Church hall, he went to rest in a private room provided for him,
(but it's really not known if he actually rested), suddenly someone
heard a noise from his room, and Vladika John was found on the floor
before the holy icon of the Mother of God of Kursk. Without any doubt
Vladika John gave his sweet soul to the Lord to whom he served so
faithfully during his earthly life.
His unembalmed body was flown to San Francisco,
California where for six days it lay in the cathedral in an open
coffin, it was said that His Eminence Metropolitan Philaret (reposed in
the Lord, 21 November 1985), wanted to attend the funeral service in
San Francisco, and Vladika Philaret was at the time in New York, due to
the fact that Vladika Philaret had at the time heart problems, it was
not suggested that he fly to San Francisco by plane, and so instead
took a train, this of course delayed the funeral for the newly -
reposed Vladika John. However this did not matter because even when
Vladika Philaret arrived at the Joy of All Who Sorrow Russian Orthodox
Cathederal in San Francisco, for the funeral, Vladika John had no sign
of decay, and it was said that Vladika John looked pure, and that a
sense of spiritual beauty was felt when anyone approached his coffin
during his funeral at the Church.
From the first day of the vigil it was apparent that
this was to be no ordinary farewell to the newly departed in the Lord
Vladika John, not even for a Hierarch (a bishop of the Orthodox
Church). There was a sense of being present at the unfolding of a
mystery: the mystery of holiness, that still exist until this day.
"Those present were devoutly convinced that they had come to bury a
saint."
Since the reposed of Vladika John many of the
faithful called him Blessed John, and for these many years his tomb or
sepulcher (Blessed Vladika John was buried under the Church of the
Cathederal of the Joy of All Who Sorrow, in San Francisco, California,
on Geary, Blvd.), had been a place for pilgrimage for thousands and
thousands of Orthodox Christians throughout the world, before his holy
Canonization on 2 July, 1994.