Wondrous stories of St. John the Russian

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Wondrous stories of St. John the Russian

~The Cane

As you enter the church of Saint John the Russian you will see hanging before the shrine of the Saint, like a spoil of victory, a simple and poor gift: a walking stick (cane). It belongs to Maria Siaka, an old lady from the village of Frenaro near Ammohostos in Cyprus.

For 18 years she had been a hunchback (from osteoporosis) and bent so over that her face was but a short distance from the ground. On August 11th, 1978 relatives of the old lady, together with some hundred Cypriots, brought her to the church of Saint John. They lifted her up to enable her to venerate the Saint’s holy and uncorrupted body. Looking at the blessed relic the old lady wept and beseeched St. John to grant her a little divine help for the remainder of her life. St. John saw the grandeur of her soul, her grief and also her deep faith. At that moment, before the eyes of everyone there, it seemed that an invisible arm seized her shoulders with tremendous power and slowly began to unfold her body. Her spine creaked and returned to its original form; the old lady stood upright!
Her fellow villagers wept, the bells of the church rang, prayers of thanksgiving were offered by all the Cypriots who could not hold back their tears. Anyone who has had the fortune to be present when a miracle occurs can understand this!
Finally, the voice of the old lady was heard: “What can I give you my young man, my Saint? I am poor… I will give you my walking stick which I will not be needing for the rest of my life.”
The daily papers of Nicosia, Cyprus reported: “Maria Siaka, after her pilgrimage to the church of Saint John the Russian in Greece, can now, after nearly 20 years of being bent (over) double and seeing only the ground, (now) sees the faces of her fellow villagers. Thanks to the miracle of the Saint she is restored and completely well.”

~An Escape from Bandits

In 1878, Fr. Andrew, a monk from the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, made a pilgrimage to Prokopi (Evia, Greece) to pray before the relics of St. John. When he arrived he venerated the Saint with great joy, and remained in the village for some time. On his way to Constantinople he travelled with six coaches of Turkish merchants from Anatolia, also on their way to the capital. As they reached a rutted and desolate part of the road, the monk's coach and one other slowed down to avoid mishap, while the rest went on ahead. Suddenly, a young man on a red horse appeared on a low hill near Fr. Andrew's coach, waving his hand and shouting, “Turn back! Robbers have captured your companions!” As soon as he sounded the warning, he vanished from in front of their eyes.

The two coaches immediately turned back, and although pursued by the robbers, they escaped unharmed. Fr. Andrew hastened to the nearest village, where he continued his journey in the company of Turkish soldiers. At a country inn where they spent the night, he met his former merchant-companions, who told him that the thieves had not only taken their money, but even their clothes, and they were amazed that the last two coaches had escaped unharmed. Fr. Andrew related the appearance of the youth, and they all glorified God, understanding that it was the Saint himself who had saved the monk after his pilgrimage to Prokopi.

~Healing a Child’s Cancer

There are some amazing entries in the records of the recent miracles performed by St. John the Russian. They include a salvation from shipwreck and multiple healings of hopelessly sick and possessed people. It has long been noticed that Saint John has a special love for children. Of all the miracles performed through the Saint’s prayers, the most striking and delightful are the numerous cases of his grace-filled assistance to sick children in healing cancer, treating the paralyzed, restoring the possessed to their right mind and returning drug addicts to a healthy life.
It is not only the Orthodox Greeks that receive help from St. John. A miraculous incident occurred in Russia in 1998.
A long-awaited daughter was born into a young family of Orthodox Muscovites. After a few months, the parents’ joy was replaced by pain and great sorrow. The girl was diagnosed with blood cancer. For 3 years the mother and the child hardly left the hospital. Together with all the relatives, the girl’s parents prayed for her health. They had tried all the treatment methods available in Russia, but all were in vain. The girl was dying. Then the parents were advised to undergo a bone marrow transplant operation as a last resort. The operation cost several tens of thousands of dollars.

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