John the Russian

(Russian: Иоанн Русский) (1690 – May 27 (N.S. June 9), 1730) is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence. His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working; there are traditions that this saint particularly helps sick children and those who suffer from cancer. The relics of Saint John re interred in the Church of Saint John the Russian in Prokopi in Euboea, Greece. His right hand is in the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon on Athos. By the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow in 2003-2004 a small wooden church of St. John the Russian was erected in Moscow, in Kuntsevo district, a larger stone one was built nearby later and consecrated in 2016. In Novosibirsk, Russia the lower side chapel of the church of Our Lady of the Sign is also devoted to St. John the Russian. There is also a small private wooden chapel (tsasouna) of St. John the Russian in Viljakkala (Ylöjärvi municipality) in Finland.