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 in spite of such an insignificant period from the moment of canonization, the saint is highly esteemed among believers, and it is generally accepted that he does not leave without help any of those who turned to him.
However, John of Kronstadt is known not only as a holy heavenly patron and protector. Prophecies - this is what made this man famous. During his life, the future saint was famous for his extraordinary insight. Those who communicated with him claimed that next to the priest they felt the grace and power emanating from him. John predicted many events that have already occurred. His prophecies come true literally before our eyes today, so you need to take them extremely seriously.
About family and study
John of Kronstadt, whose prophecies today is known to almost everyone, was born on October 19 (old style) in 1829 in the family of a clergyman. The father of the future saint, Ilya Mikhailovich Sergiev, served as a clerk in the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Sura. This 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 say now, with honors. Then they said - the first student. After this came the turn of the theological seminary of Arkhangelsk. Her future saint graduated from the second disciple, that is, not a round honors pupil. 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, in 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 the degree of candidate of theology. The dissertation, which John defended, was devoted to the theme of the Old Believers.
About the beginning of the ministry
During training, John was about to become a monk. The motivation for shearing this man was extremely unusual. He wanted to conduct missionary work, talk about Christ and convert the “wild people” of Siberia and America to faith. But he changed his mind and remained in the capital, and soon was sent to serve in Kronstadt.
The moment of the beginning of the ministry is curious enough, because the reasons why John did not become a missionary are not known for certain. There are two versions of this, both come from utterances and diary entries of the priest himself.
The first says that, while living in the capital, the future saint realized that people here know no more about Christ than the wild peoples living somewhere on the edge of the earth. And no less than savages, they need spiritual guidance.
The second version says that John Kronstadt made the decision under the influence of a vision. The prophecies of the future saint, according to this version, take their origin precisely from this event, which happened during the years of training at the capital’s academy. John saw himself in ceremonial vestments, serving in the St. Andrew's Church of Kronstadt.
Whatever it was, 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 deacon, and only a couple of days later he was ordained a priest of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kronstadt. John was 26 years old at that moment. In the cathedral, he served until his death.
About fame
All-Russian fame came to John during his lifetime. The first case of a miraculous recovery that occurred through the prayer of this priest occurred in 1867, February 19. The date is known for certain thanks to John's diary, in which he left a thankful note corresponding to the event.
This record speaks of healing by laying on hands through a prayer to the Lord of the youth Kostylev. Unfortunately, there is no record of what the youth was sick with or what he suffered from, both church and medical. Doctors, in principle, were absent in Kronstadt in the understanding that a modern person has. The city itself at the junction of the XIX and XX centuries was the place of expulsion of all rabble. People sent here from the capital were dysfunctional people leading an antisocial lifestyle and thereby embarrassed the peace of society, but did not commit any crime. That is, the flock of the priest was single mothers, drunkards, handymen, tramps and others. Of course, in Kronstadt there were people of other social strata, but the lower classes represented the overwhelming 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 room.
In 1883, a gratitude statement was published on behalf of a number of private individuals in a newspaper in the capital, called New Time. It described the activities of the priest, his spiritual strength, and the grace descending through the prayers of John. In modern language, after this publication, John "woke up famous."
By the 90s of the century before last, the priest's glory had reached such proportions that no matter where he came, he was always greeted by crowds of people. What is curious is the behavior of those who meet. It rather resembled the manner of conducting modern admirers of popular artists than parishioners in need of help. For example, when visiting Riga, the priest almost died, and his cassock was literally torn to pieces. Each of the crowd wanted to "snatch a piece for themselves." Annual visits to their homeland, to the village of Sura, were invariably accompanied by crowds of thousands. This led to the fact that John could not visit his house as ordinary people do. His trips required special measures to ensure the safety of the clergyman.
But this popularity was not only a negative side. Significant funds began to be donated to John, which, of course, went to charity. There is not a single reason to doubt the disinterestedness of a priest. After his death, there was no testament or money left.
About canonization
The canonization of John by the Russian Orthodox Church took place in 1990 in the guise of the righteous. However, this does not mean at all that it is revered as the holy righteous John of Kronstadt only from the 90s of the past century. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, this man was canonized in 1964. Honoring the priest began much earlier.
Even during his life, John was perceived by people as:
- miracle worker;
- prayer book - a person asking the Lord for others, whose conversion has special power;
- mentor;
- seer.
What is curious, during his lifetime, John of Kronstadt was never once called a prophet. His prophecies gained significance many years after his death. He was often called a seer, that is, a person who has a special gift that allows you to see through people or some kind of event - both past, present or future.
According to the definition of the Holy Synod of January 15, 1909, it was prescribed to perform an annual prayer commemoration according to John of Kronstadt. The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad in October 1929 ordered a special liturgy to be held in connection with the centenary of John of Kronstadt. For the first time, the question of being counted as a saint was raised in the middle of the past century, in 1950. This happened in the United States, and the initiator was Apollon Sollogub, a layman and public figure who has great authority in the Russian community.
About Relation to Prophecy
It is not known whether the priest himself referred to the prophets. However, due to the entries in John's diary, it was established for certain that he was extremely serious about dreams. The priest considered them important, giving such values:
- temptations
- testimony of sin, acquiescence;
- teachings;
- prophecies;
- exposing something.
An interesting recording of a dream made in October 1908. John describes the living pigs who have dreamed him, wrapped in dough. The priest understands the meaning of a dream as a denunciation of gluttony. In the diary he writes: "These pigs are you, gluttony."
John did not leave direct prophecies, this term refers to his reasoning and understanding of visions, their description.
About the book “My Life in Christ” and other works
During the life of John of Kronstadt, many of his works were published, more than fifteen, taking into account individual short addresses, for example, the answer to Count Tolstoy and spiritual texts such as akathists.
She 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 formation of personality. The full original name of this work is “My life in Christ, or minutes of spiritual sobriety and contemplation, reverential feeling, spiritual correction and peace in God.” The title reflects everything that John of Kronstadt narrates in this work. “My life in Christ” defines the Lord as a creative and life-giving Thought. John argues that his contemporaries offer empty prayers, without even a small idea of Christianity in their hearts. The priest expresses concern that through such indifferent prayers, people may lose Christianity as a whole and 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 assessing the level of spirituality of contemporaries of the priest with the separation of the Church from the state that happened after the revolution. Given that John did not leave direct prophecies, such as in the works of Nostradamus, it is quite possible that there is some truth in these interpretations.
The first draft drafts for this book date back to 1863, and this two-volume work was published for the first time in 1894. The book was repeatedly reprinted and was very popular.
About the prophecies about the future of Russia
John of Kronstadt did not leave prophecies about Russia as such. Various predictions of the priest, uttered both in sermons and in the world, are perceived as predictions.
“Return, Russia, to the holy, immaculate, saving, victorious faith of yours 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, this passage from the sermon was not perceived by anyone as a prediction. Skeptics even today argue that we are talking only about the situation in society at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
However, other predictions of John of Kronstadt about the future of Russia are not in doubt. For example, he described such a thing as freedom of religion. He spoke of Christians who had forgotten about their traditional culture and absorbed someone else's, but who took 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, hypocrites. He talked about shepherds leading people away from a true understanding of the essence of Christianity, about idolatry and that the issue of "wallet" would 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 talked about shredding people and their egoism, about striving for boasting and displaying material wealth.
However, the vision of the future of Russia and the world by John of Kronstadt is not hopeless. The priest claimed that rebirth is inevitable, and people will turn to the Lord, return to the destroyed temples and begin to regain spirituality. Moreover, these statements related to the situation in the world in general, and not only to what will happen within Russia. The priest simply said 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, new Russia will be erected. ”
About the doomsday prophecies
The prophecies of John of Kronstadt about recent times are a topic for debate 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 mean the text of a book called "On the beginning and end of our earthly world." The experience of discovering 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 neither a transcript of the text of the Bible, nor an interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew, which the priest loved to quote in his sermons. This work is a reflection on what happens to people, the state, and the authorities, 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 contradict the discoveries of scientists.
The book examines the theories of Kant, Laps and others. Analogies are drawn, and very convincing. 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 did not make literal 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 can be. The sacred ancient texts speak of a fire disaster. John of Kronstadt associates 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 disaster. The clergyman was not an astronomer or physicist, and he wrote his book when the possibility of flying into space was not even suggested by science fiction writers. 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 a diary entry can be interpreted as a prophetic vision of John of Kronstadt. The year 1908, which was the peak of preaching, 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 start of a thunderstorm.
In the year of his death, John spoke a lot about the fate of the country, about the weakness of power, about local weakness, spiritual poverty and other similar concepts. And he also talked about what the state and people will bring to what is happening in society. John talked about freedom and what it is. He spoke of the difference between true freedom and arbitrariness, anarchy, and confusion. In his notes and speeches there really is what can be considered a prediction of revolution.
But on the other hand, many spoke between 1905 and 1917 about the inevitability of a social explosion. 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 the 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 temples, civil war and other details.
Where and what to pray to John?
The most famous church of John of Kronstadt is located in St. Petersburg, in the Kirov region. This is a very interesting place. Build a small church began in 1990. The temple is small and surprisingly light, as the 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 special energy.
Another famous 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, temples are located in Cheryomushki, Domodedovo, Mytishchi, on Kronstadt Boulevard. A lot of churches were built in his honor throughout Russia and beyond, including Kiev, Hamburg, San Diego.
The relics of the saint are located in St. Petersburg, in the John Monastery, on the embankment of the Karpovka River. As for prayers, it is customary for John to make requests for:
- convalescence;
- distraction from drunkenness and drug addiction;
- getting rid of poverty;
- the sending of prophetic dreams.
Of course, this does not mean that the saint is not prayed for other needs. John of Kronstadt helps everyone who addresses him with sincere faith and hope in resolving life problems.