19 days ago

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St. John Maximovitch, Archbishop of Shanghai & San Francisco
(Commemorated June 19 [o.c.] / July 2 [n.c.])

(Childhood)

Michael Maximovitch, the future St. John was born June 4, 1896 in the southern Russian village (present day Ukraine) of Adamovka in the Kharkiv province to God-loving aristocrats Boris (+1954) and Glafira (+1952) Maximovitch. He was baptized with the name Michael, receiving the Holy Archangel Michael as his Heavenly patron. The Maximovitch family includes in its family tree the illumined teacher and writer, St. John (Maximovitch) of Tobolsk (+1715), for whom the future St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco had a fervent devotion. In his youth, Michael was sickly and had a poor appetite, but he was zealous for the spiritual life, especially for the Divine Services. He was educated at the Poltava Military School (1907-14), the Kharkiv Imperial University, from which he received a law degree (in 1918), and the University of Belgrade, where he completed his theological education in 1925. He and his family fled their country for Serbia during the Bolshevik Revolution. There, he enrolled in the Department of Theology of the University of Belgrade. In 1926, he was both tonsured a monk and ordained a hierodeacon by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev (later the first primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) in the Milikov Monastery. Metropolitan Anthony tonsured him with the name John after St. John of Tobolsk. Later in 1926, Bishop Gabriel of Chelyabinsk (+1933) ordained him hieromonk on November 21, 1926 on the Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple. After his ordination to the priesthood, he began a particularly active life of ministry wherein he both taught at a Serbian high school and, at the request of local Greeks and served the Divine Services in Greek. It was at this time that he met St. Nikolai (Velimirovich) of Zica (+1956) and St. Justin Popović (+1979), both of whom had a great love for John. As his humility and closeness to God became increasingly apparent, the bishops of the Russian Church Aboard resolved to consecrate this man of prayer a bishop. Hieromonk John was consecrated bishop on the Feast of the Day of the Holy Spirit, May 28, 1934, in Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade with Metropolitan Anthony serving as principal consecrator. (In Shanghai) He was then assigned to the Diocese of Shanghai. Upon arriving in Shanghai, Bishop John began working to restore unity among the Orthodox Christians of different ethnicities and jurisdictions. In time, he worked to build a large cathedral dedicated to the Surety of Sinners Icon to the Mother of God, with a bell tower and large parish house. In the slums of Shanghai, there were cases in which dogs would devour baby girls who had been thrown into garbage cans. When the newspapers announced this, Archbishop John told Mrs. Shakhmatova [the headmistress of the St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Orphanage that he founded] to go and buy two bottles of Chinese vodka–at which she cringed in horror. But her horror increased when he demanded that she accompany him into these very slums, where it was common knowledge that grown-up people would be murdered. Fearless as ever, the young Bishop insisted on going there, walking through dark alleys in the worst neighbourhood. She recalled what horror seized her heart when they, in the darkness of night, walked and encountered only drunkards, shady characters, and growling dogs and cats. She held the bottles in her hands, following him with trepidation, when suddenly a growl was heard from a drunken man sitting in a dark doorway and the faint moan of a baby was heard from a nearby garbage can. When the Bishop hastened towards the cry, the drunkard growled in warning. Then the Bishop turned to Mrs. Shakhmatova and said, “Hand me a bottle.” Raising the bottle in one hand and pointing to the garbage can with the other, Blessed John, without words, conveyed the message of the proposed sale. The bottle ended up in the hands of the drunkard, and Mrs. Shakhmatova saved the child. They say that that night he returned to the orphanage with two babies under his arms. This fearlessness, however, had not been aired without a deep inner struggle. He was intensely active, constantly praying and serving the daily cycle of services, while also visiting the sick with the Holy Gifts. In order to avoid praise, he would act the fool, exhibiting some qualities of foolishness for Christ. In 1946, Bishop John was elevated to be Archbishop of Shanghai by Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky) (+1965) and the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad.
Video-source: https://youtu.be/i3vVg7p1WXQ
Confession and Communion

Canon of Preparation for Holy Communion - http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/prayerbook/cancomu.htm
Preparatory Prayers for Holy Communion - http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/prayerbook/praycomu.htm
Self Examination Before Confession - https://antiochian.org/regulararticle/602
Prayers After Confession - https://antiochian.org/regulararticle/603

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English Channel – Theology and Contemporary Issues