My Life in Christ: The Spiritual Journals of St John of Kronstadt
(My Life in Christ has been read by millions, making it on...)
My Life in Christ has been read by millions, making it one of the most beloved modern works of Orthodox Christian spirituality. In this new edition, the English translation has been thoroughly revised and freshly typeset to make St John's own words more accessible to today's reader. The bite-sized reflections draw the reader into the author's profound spiritual experience and love for Jesus Christ and the Church.
Season of Repentance: Lenten Homilies of Saint John of Kronstadt
(Each year the journey to the radiant feast of Pascha begi...)
Each year the journey to the radiant feast of Pascha begins anew, entering the season of repentance known as Great Lent. The homilies presented in this modest volume, from one of the spiritual giants of the Orthodox Church of Russia, can both encourage and inform in this struggle of the Fast.
Ivan Ilyich Sergiev, known to his contemporaries as Fr. John of Kronstadt, was the most revered figure of the Orthodox Church of Russia in the half-century leading up to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. In 1964, the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia formally glorified him as a Saint. St. John of Kronstadt is best known through his spiritual journal My Life in Christ, which has been read by millions.
Background
St. John was born as Ivan Ilyich Sergiyev in a northern village of Sura, near the White Sea, in the Russian Empire on 31 October (19 October old style) 1829. His parents were very poor but were very dedicated to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. His neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him.
Education
When John was 10 his parents were able to raise some money and send him to parochial school in Arkhangelsk. However, the boy initially had an extremely difficult time with his studies: he worked days on end, but still failed to keep up.
While writing about his life he recalled once, it was evening, when everyone had already gone to bed. "I could not sleep; I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything of what I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and prayed. I don't know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. It was like a veil had fallen from my eyes, it was as if my mind had been opened up, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and the lesson he was teaching; I also recalled what he had talked about and understood what he meant. I felt so light and joyous inside." He later entered the seminary there, finishing at the top of his class in 1851. After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary and after seminary to the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg (a great honor at that time).
Throughout his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity and that only one path - the path of humble love - leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. He also thought a great deal about Jesus' death on the cross at Golgotha and tearfully pitied people who did not know Jesus Christ; he wished to preach to them about His death and resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ's flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns.
After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. It was in this frame of mind that he prepared to receive holy orders and enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1885, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to St. Andrew's Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, "I made myself the rule of being as sincere as possible in my work and of strictly watching myself and my inner life."
He conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in the way of Christ so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis.
At that time the government exiled murderers, thieves, and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to dugouts and basements to visit with many of these exiles. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them.
From the beginning, he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, "Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot." He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to "support the poor morally and materially." These appeals touched the hearts of many and Fr. John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian Brotherhood Guardianship of Apostle Andrew the First Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people.
In 1857 he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, "If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with boredom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives." To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul.
When speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, "You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you."
John of Kronstadt labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping all those in need with whom he came in contact. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on January 2, 1909. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood.
(Each year the journey to the radiant feast of Pascha begi...)
Religion
John's greatest fame, however, was not as a philanthropist or a pedagogue but as a man of prayer. He was sought by people of all classes and religions from all parts of the Russian empire and beyond as an intercessor before God. From early in his priestly career he began the unprecedented practice, even for monastics, of celebrating all of the Orthodox church services every day, including the eucharistic liturgy. He did so with great fervor and devotion, spending long hours at the altar praying for those who begged his intercession. He often added his own words to the official church prayers and always insisted that the thousands of people who thronged to his church each day participate fully in the worship by receiving Holy Communion. To make this radically innovative practice possible, Ioann further instituted public confession whereby the crowds of penitents openly acknowledged their sins before all while the praying priest walked about the church bestowing absolution and offering counsel.
Ioann, who had come to be known as the "all-Russian pastor," was violently attacked by his detractors for his radical practices, and only the protection of the tsar kept him from becoming the object of punitive action. His spiritual diary, My Life in Christ, is a classic of contemporary Russian Orthodox spirituality.
Politics
John established philanthropic agencies such as the Home for Constructive Labor, which provided free schools, workshops, training centers, libraries, counseling services, medical care, and food, for people of all ages.
After the revolution of 1905, John became an ally of Russian far-right radicals and was an honorary member of several right-wing organizations, such as the Union of the Russian People.
Views
Fr. John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account not only of his own deeds but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and the salvation he was responsible. To him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people "The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian."
Quotations:
"How will it be with us in the future life, when everything that has gratified us in this world: riches, honors, food and drink, dress, beautifully furnished dwellings, and all attractive objects - how will it be, I say, when all these things leave us - when they will all seem to us a dream, and when works of faith and virtue, of abstinence, purity, meekness, humility, mercy, patience, obedience, and others will be required of us?"
"Every man on earth is sick with the fever of sin, with the blindness of sin and is overcome with its fury. As sins consist mostly of malice and pride, it is necessary to treat everyone who suffers from the malady of sin with kindness and love. This is an important truth, which we often forget. Very often we act in the opposite manner: we add malice to malice by our anger, we oppose pride with pride. Thus, evil grows within us and does not decrease; it is not cured - rather it spreads."
"For you cannot conquer evil with evil, just as you cannot put out fire by fire, but only by water."
"Watch whether your heart agrees with, everything that your tongue pronounces."
"Our self-love and pride manifest themselves especially in impatience."
"If God does not leave a blade of grass, a flower, or a small leaf of a tree without His good providence, will He leave us?"
"Forgive those who trespass against you, so that God may forgive your trespasses, incomparably greater than the trespasses of others against you."
"Dislike, enmity, or hatred should be unknown amongst Christians even by name. How can dislike exist amongst Christians? Everywhere you see love, everywhere you breathe the fragrance of love. Our God is the God of love. His kingdom is the kingdom of love."
"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
"The only requirements of our soul are righteousness, holiness, truth, love, mercy, meekness, kindness, peace, spiritual freedom, or the grace of God in the heart. These treasures give life to our whole being, and are eternal."
Personality
In his younger years, John of Kronstadt was high-strung, physically weak, overworked, and radically committed to his life of study, prayer, ascetic discipline, and spiritual struggle.
Physical Characteristics:
John of Kronstadt was of average height, his movements were impetuous and abrupt, he was very cheerful for his age and looked younger than he was.
Interests
education
Connections
When John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. Saint John of Kronstadt was a married priest, who lived with his wife in virginity.
A Prodigal Saint: Father John of Kronstadt and the Russian People
Rarely are we privileged to see the making of a saint, but it is just what this book gives us for John of Kronstadt (1829-1908), a major figure in the religious life of Late Imperial Russia. So popular was Father John during his years of ministry that Kronstadt became a pilgrimage site replete with peddlers selling souvenir photographs, postcards, and commemorative mugs.
2000
Saint John of Kronstadt
This biography of the great miracle-worker Saint John of Kronstadt, whose "My Life in Christ" is a spiritual classic known throughout the Orthodox world and beyond, was written by I.K. Sursky, who both knew Saint John personally and collected many eye-witness accounts of him for his biography.