On Tuesday, 26 May, on the eve of the feast of Saint John the Russian, the New Confessor, a Festal Poly-Hierarchical Vespers was celebrated at the Holy Pilgrimage Church dedicated to the Saint in Prokopi, Evia.
At the gracious invitation of the local Hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Chalkida, the service was presided over and the homily delivered by His Eminence Metropolitan Bartholomew of Polyani and Kilkis.
In his sermon, Metropolitan Bartholomew referred, among other things, to three defining characteristics of Saint John the Russian: his uncompromising faith, his humility which attracted the grace of God, and his holiness which conquers even death.
“The Venerable Saint,” he noted, “although a slave in body, was free in soul because he had offered it to Christ, and thus became a Saint. Though he lived in a stable, he became a dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. Though he was a humble captive, he has become a source of consolation for hundreds of thousands of people. May he intercede for the whole world!”
