Sainted John, Bishop of Suzdal'

Commemorated on October 15

Sainted John, Bishop of Suzdal', entered one of the monasteries of Suzdal' in his youthful years. For his virtuous and humble life, the saint was made the first bishop of Suzdal' and Nizhegorod in 1350. Bishop John merited a great mercy of God: during the time of Divine Liturgy the Suzdal' prince Boris Konstantinovich saw, how an Angel of God attended the saint. Saint John was known for his love towards the destitute and the sick; for the poor he interceded before the princes about an amelioration of taxes, and for the sick he built poor-houses and hospices. The saint was much concerned about enlightening the pagan Mordvians with the Christian faith. After the annexation of Suzdal' to the Moscow metropolitanate, Saint John took the monastic schema and withdrew to the Bogoliubsk monastery. He lived there in seclusion and died peacefully. Numerous miracles were witnessed to at the grave of the saint.