The Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt helps people not so long ago, in comparison with many other revered and canonized heavenly intercessors. This man lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. This means that prayers have been addressed to him for less than a hundred years. But despite such a short period from the moment of canonization, the saint is highly revered among believers, and it is generally accepted that he does not leave anyone who turns to him without help.
However, John of Kronstadt is known not only as a holy heavenly patron and intercessor. Prophecy is what made this man famous. During his lifetime, the future saint was famous for his extraordinary insight. Those who communicated with him claimed that next to the priest they felt grace and strength emanating from him. John foretold many events that have already taken place. His prophecies are coming true right before our eyes today, so you need to take them very seriously.
About family and studies
John of Kronstadt,whose prophecies almost every person knows today, was born on October 19 (according to the old style), 1829, in the family of a clergyman. The father of the future saint, Ilya Mikhailovich Sergiev, served as a deacon in the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Sura. The village is located near Arkhangelsk. John's father was not the only clergyman in the family. The grandfathers of the future saint also worked in God's temples.
The family did not live very richly. However, this did not prevent John in 1839 from entering the parish school of Arkhangelsk. He completed his studies, as they would say now, with honors. Then they said - the first student. After that, the turn of the theological seminary of Arkhangelsk came. Her future saint graduated as a second student, that is, not an excellent student. It happened in 1851.
In the same year, a talented, diligent and intelligent young man was sent to study at public expense in the capital, St. Petersburg. Thus, John found himself in a city that played a significant role in his fate. The future saint left the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg in 1855. He completed his studies with a Ph. D. in theology. The dissertation that John defended was devoted to the theme of the Old Believers.
On the beginning of the ministry
During his studies, John was going to become a monk. The motivation for this man's tonsure was extremely unusual. He wanted to conduct missionary activities, talk about Christ and convert the "wild people" of Siberia and America. But he changed his mind and stayed in the capital, and was soonsent to serve in Kronstadt.
The moment of the start of the ministry is rather curious, since the reasons why John did not become a missionary are not known for certain. There are two versions of this, both coming from sayings and entries in the priest's own diary.
The first one says that while living in the capital, the future saint realized that people here know no more about Christ than wild peoples living somewhere on the edge of the earth. And no less than savages, they need spiritual guidance.
The second version says that he made a decision under the influence of the vision of John of Kronstadt. The prophecies of the future saint, according to this version, originate precisely from this event, which happened during the years of study at the capital's academy. John saw himself in solemn church vestments, serving in St. Andrew's Church in Kronstadt.
Be that as it may, but after the ordination, the future saint was sent precisely to Kronstadt. In 1855, in the capital, in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, he was ordained a deacon, and only a couple of days later he was ordained a priest of the St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt. John was 26 at the time. He served in the cathedral until his death.
On becoming famous
All-Russian fame came to John during his lifetime. The first case of a miraculous recovery, which occurred through the prayer of this priest, occurred in 1867, on February 19th. The date is known for certain thanks to John's diary, in which he left a note of gratitude corresponding to the event.
This entry speaks of the healing by the laying on of hands through prayer to the Lord of the lad Kostylev. Unfortunately, there are no records about what the lad was ill with, what he suffered from - both church and medical. In principle, there were no doctors in Kronstadt in the sense that modern man has. The city itself at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was a place of expulsion of all rabble. Disadvantaged people were sent here from the capital, leading an antisocial lifestyle and thereby embarrassing the peace of society, but not committing any crime. That is, the flock of the priest were single mothers, drunkards, laborers, vagrants and others. Of course, there were also people of other social strata in Kronstadt, but the lower classes of society represented the vast majority. And it was to such people that the future saint gave all his time, helping them in everything, for example, he could stay with the children while their mothers worked in the laundry.
In 1883, in one of the capital's newspapers, called "New Time", a "Thanksgiving statement" was published on behalf of a number of private individuals. It told about the activities of the priest, his spiritual strength, about the grace descending through the prayers of John. In modern terms, after this publication, John "woke up famous."
By the 90s of the century before last, the fame of the priest reached such proportions that no matter where he came, he was always met by crowds of people. What is curious is the behavior of the greeters. It was more like the demeanor of modern admirers of popular artists than parishioners in need ofhelp. For example, when visiting Riga, the priest almost died, and his cassock was literally torn to pieces. Each of the crowd wanted to "grab a piece for himself." Annual visits to their homeland, to the village of Sura, were invariably accompanied by crowds of thousands. This resulted in John not being able to visit his home the way ordinary people do. His travels required the adoption of special measures to ensure the safety of the clergyman.
But such popularity was not only a negative side. John began to donate significant funds, which, of course, went to charity. There is not a single reason to doubt the unselfishness of the priest. After his death, there was no will or money left.
About canonization
The canonization of John by the Russian Orthodox Church took place in 1990 in the face of the righteous. However, this does not mean at all that it has been revered as the holy righteous John of Kronstadt only since the 90s of the past century. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, this man was canonized in 1964. The veneration of the priest began much earlier.
Even during his lifetime, John was perceived by people as:
- miracle worker;
- prayer book - a person who asks the Lord for others, whose conversion has special power;
- mentor;
- seer.
What is curious, during his lifetime, John of Kronstadt was never called a prophet. His prophecies gained significance many years after his death. Hisoften called a seer, that is, a person who has a special gift that allows you to see through people or some events - both past, present or future.
According to the decision of the Holy Synod of January 15, 1909, it was prescribed to make an annual prayer commemoration for John of Kronstadt. The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad in October 1929 prescribed a special liturgy in connection with the centenary of John of Kronstadt. For the first time, the question of canonization was raised in the middle of the past century, in 1950. It happened in the United States, and the initiator was Apollon Sollogub, a layman and public figure with great authority in the Russian community.
About the attitude towards prophecies
It is not known if the priest himself considered himself a prophet. However, it is established for certain, thanks to the entries in John's diary, that he took dreams very seriously. The priest considered them important, giving these meanings:
- temptation;
- evidence of sin, allowance;
- teachings;
- prophecies;
- denouncing something.
A curious entry about a dream, made in October 1908. John describes living pigs that he dreamed of, wrapped in dough. The priest understands the meaning of dreams as a denunciation of gluttony. In his diary, he writes: "These pigs are you, glutton."
John did not leave direct prophecies, this term refers to his reasoning and understanding of visions, their description.
Ohthe book "My Life in Christ" and other writings
During the life of John of Kronstadt, many of his works were published, more than fifteen, taking into account individual short appeals, for example, the answer to Count Tolstoy and spiritual texts, such as akathists.
Gained the greatest fame of all the works, authored by John of Kronstadt, "My Life in Christ" - a book that examines a number of philosophical and spiritual issues related to the spiritual development of the individual. The full original title of this work is as follows - "My life in Christ, or minutes of spiritual sobriety and contemplation, reverent feeling, spiritual correction and peace in God." The title reflects everything that John of Kronstadt tells about in this work. "My life in Christ" defines the Lord as the creative and life-giving Thought. John argues that his contemporaries offer empty prayers, not having even a small idea of Christianity in their hearts. The priest expresses concern that through such indifferent prayers people may lose Christianity in general, lose its understanding.
This book is the main work of John of Kronstadt, but does not contain prophecies. Although many researchers draw logical relationships between the assessment of the level of spirituality of the priest's contemporaries with the separation of the Church from the state that occurred after the revolution. Given that John did not leave direct prophecies, such as in the writings of Nostradamus, it is quite possible that there is some truth in these interpretations.
Firstdraft sketches for this book date back to 1863, and this two-volume work was first published in 1894. The book was reprinted several times and was very popular.
Prophecies about the future of Russia
John of Kronstadt did not leave a prophecy about Russia as such. As predictions, various statements of the priest are perceived, uttered both in sermons and to the world.
"Return, Russia, to your holy, immaculate, salvific, victorious faith and to the Holy Church - your mother - and you will be victorious and glorious, as in the old believing time," said Priest John.
During the life of the clergyman, no one took this passage from the sermon as a prediction. Skeptics even today argue that we are talking only about the situation in society that developed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
However, other predictions of John of Kronstadt about the future of Russia are beyond doubt. For example, he described such a phenomenon as freedom of religion. He spoke about Christians who had forgotten about their traditional culture and absorbed someone else's, but taking from it not the best, but the worst. He spoke of rampant arbitrariness and heresy. About people who do not have a spiritual core at all, but behave according to circumstances, change their identities, are hypocrites. He spoke about pastors leading people away from the true understanding of the essence of Christianity, about idolatry and about the fact that the “purse” issue will exceed other values. What is this, if not a description of the state of the country at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union? He also spoke about the grinding of people and their egoism, about the desire forboasting and flaunting material possessions.
However, John of Kronstadt's vision of the future of Russia and the world is not hopeless. The priest argued that the revival is inevitable, and people will turn to the Lord, return to the destroyed temples and begin to regain spirituality. Moreover, these statements referred to the situation in the world in general, and not only to what would happen within Russia. The priest spoke simply about his country: “I foresee the restoration of a powerful Russia, even stronger and more powerful. On the bones of the martyrs, as on a strong foundation, a new Russia will be erected.”
About the prophecies about the end of the world
The prophecies of John of Kronstadt about the end times are a topic for controversy among modern theologians, philosophers and other people who are not indifferent to this issue. To clarify why this topic is controversial, it should be noted that the prophecies about the end of the world are understood to be the text of a book called “On the beginning and end of our earthly world. The experience of revealing the prophecies of the Apocalypse.”
This is not the prophecy of John of Kronstadt about the Apocalypse, the book does not mention when and how the days of mankind will end. This is not a decoding of the text of the Bible, and not an interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew, which the priest liked to quote in his sermons. This work is a reflection on what is happening with people, the state, power, and that religion and science do not oppose, do not compete in the struggle for the human mind, moreover, the dogmas of faith do not at all contradict the discoveriesscientists.
The book discusses the theories of Kant, Laps and others. Analogies are being drawn, and very convincing ones. For example, the "pitch darkness" described in ancient texts, according to this book, is nothing but the black space surrounding the Earth.
John of Kronstadt literally did not make prophecies about the end of the world. When they talk about such a prediction, they mean the reflection in the book about what the end of times described in the Bible might be. The sacred ancient texts speak of a fiery catastrophe. John of Kronstadt connects this description with the probability of a planet colliding with some cosmic body, for example, with a comet. And other signs of the end of the world - with the consequences of this catastrophe. The clergyman was not an astronomer or a physicist, and he wrote his book at a time when even science fiction writers did not even imagine the possibility of flying into space. Therefore, this work really has a prophetic content.
Did the priest predict a revolution?
This is an extremely difficult question. On the one hand, every word in a sermon or entry in a diary can be interpreted as a prophetic vision of John of Kronstadt. The year 1908, which was the peak of the preaching activity, was extremely specific. As his contemporaries describe: something terrible was in the air, it was palpable. In nature, a similar phenomenon can be observed before the onset of a thunderstorm.
In the year of his death, John spoke a lot about the fate of the country, about the weakness of the authorities, about weakness in the field, spiritual poverty and other similar concepts. And he also talked about whatwill lead the state and the people to what is happening in society. John talked about freedom and what it is. He spoke about the difference between true freedom and arbitrariness, anarchy, confusion. In his notes and speeches there really is something that can be considered a prediction of the revolution.
But on the other hand, many people spoke about the inevitability of a social explosion between 1905 and 1917. The priest did not leave a direct prophetic text. However, his description of the inevitable, which is not difficult to find in any of the sermons of 1908, in a Life based on diary entries, very accurately describes the revolution and its consequences. Although there is no mention of the removal of crosses, the looting of churches, the civil war and other details.
Where and what to pray to John?
The most famous church of St. John of Kronstadt is located in St. Petersburg, in the Kirovsky district. This is a very interesting place. Construction of a small church began in 1990. The temple is small and surprisingly bright, as parishioners note, there is not a single shaded area in it. Despite the fact that the church building was built relatively recently, there are many believers in its hall, and the atmosphere is saturated with a special energy.
Another well-known church of St. John of Kronstadt is located in the homeland of the saint, in the village of Sura near Arkhangelsk, within the walls of the local convent. In Moscow, churches are located in Cheryomushki, Domodedovo, Mytishchi, on Kronstadt Boulevard. Quite a lot of churches were built in his honor throughout Russia and abroad, including Kyiv, Hamburg, San Diego.
The relics of the saint are in St. Petersburg, in the Ioannovsky Monastery, on the embankment of the Karpovka River. As for prayers, it is customary to turn to John with requests for:
- recovery;
- distraction from alcoholism and drug addiction;
- getting rid of poverty;
- send prophetic dreams.
Of course, this does not mean that the saint is not prayed for other needs. John of Kronstadt helps everyone who turns to him with sincere faith and hope for solving life's problems.
