THE MOUNTAIN OF CROSSES ~ A PILGRIMAGE
THE MOUNTAIN OF CROSSES: THE ROAD TO GRABARKA—A PATH TO TRANSFIGURATION
A Pilgrim’s Recollections
Elena Nasledysheva
“To live a life is not simply to cross a field,” as the old Russian saying goes. It is a long and arduous journey in which man is a pilgrim traveling toward his own transfiguration. For all of us, like butterflies, will one day leave behind our earthly, perishable shell and pass into another form of existence. August always reminds us of the Transfiguration and of man’s journey toward God, toward the Unfading Light...
One memorable pilgrimage on foot—to the Holy Mountain of Grabarka, the foremost Orthodox shrine in Poland—helped me reflect upon this journey and understand and experience it more deeply. There stands a church dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord, as well as the Convent of Sts. Martha and Mary, founded in 1947. This mountain is distinguished by one special, perhaps unique, feature: the multitude of crosses brought there by pilgrims.
Every year in August, the Białystok region—its forests and fields, the picturesque Białowieża Forest, its towns and villages—is filled with spiritual hymns. They are sung by pilgrims. Overcoming exhaustion, the pain of blistered feet, heat, and rain, they make their way to venerate the Holy Mountain of Grabarka. The shrine lies in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, only about twelve miles from the border with Belarus. This is the Polish part of Polesia, known here as Podlasie.
Six Days on the Road to Transfiguration
That year, several sisters of mercy from the St. Elizabeth Sisterhood in Minsk set out for Grabarka together with a group of young people from Belarus. Some of those young sisters are now married and raising three or even five children; others have chosen the monastic path. But everyone still remembers that August…
Along the way, we made numerous brief stops at local churches or beside the wayside crosses found in every village. There we would serve a short moleben together with the local residents. The warmth and hospitality of the people of the Białystok region did so much to ease the hardships of the journey that our weariness invariably gave way to joy whenever we passed through another village or, at the end of the day, settled down for the night in the homes of local residents.
And the journey truly was difficult. For those of us accustomed to the comforts of city life, walking twenty or twenty-five miles a day seemed almost unimaginable! Yet in six days we covered nearly 125 miles—and came to understand, both in body and soul, what a true pilgrimage really is.
The experience one gains by overcoming hardships and trials is priceless; it cannot be found in books or borrowed from someone else. A sacrifice unto God are a broken spirit (Ps. 51:17). And I can say that, at that stage of my life, the journey to Grabarka became for me a path toward genuine contrition of heart: when you see your own weakness, when exhaustion of body and soul leaves you with only one way forward, only one means of enduring and not giving up—prayer.
The journey to Grabarka became for me a path toward genuine contrition of heart, when exhaustion of body and soul leaves only one way forward—prayer.
Throughout this pilgrimage, I saw an image of our journey through life, and my reflections on it became intertwined with the events of each day.
In the morning, when you are still full of strength after a night’s rest, your steps are light and your eyes delight in the beauty of nature. Then you remember childhood.
By midday, when your body begins to remind you ever more insistently of its weariness, drowning out all other thoughts and feelings, you think of the everyday struggles of adult life. How often along that road there are moments when it seems you have no strength left, when you feel that the next step will be your last and that you will have to stop—or simply collapse…
But to stop means to fall behind and be left alone. Then you begin to implore God for help, because your own human strength is no longer enough. Then you learn to pray in earnest. And a true miracle occurs: through some strength beyond your own, you accomplish what you seemed utterly incapable of doing, without even understanding how it is happening. Of course, some found the pilgrimage easier than I did, for everyone’s strength is different. Each person has his own experience, his own trial.
The pilgrims carry wooden crosses to leave on the Holy Mountain. Some are enormous—far taller than a man—while others are small enough for a child to carry. The entire summit of Grabarka around the church is covered with them, like a forest of crosses.
Each pilgrim’s journey ends by going three times around the Church of the Transfiguration at the summit of the Holy Mountain—and doing so on one’s knees. Some have tears in their eyes, others are smiling, but every face is remarkably radiant with spiritual joy.
When darkness falls, countless candles are lit on the slopes of the mountain, where thousands of the faithful, standing or sitting directly on the ground, take part in the evening service. Their warm, flickering light illuminates the church, the crosses, and the faces of the pilgrims. Let Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners also, through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to Thee, is heard again and again amid the darkness of the night. And these lights in the darkness seem like a symbol of thousands of hearts burning with prayer.
These lights in the darkness seem like a symbol of thousands of hearts burning with prayer.
On the night of the Transfiguration, on the Holy Mountain of Grabarka, countless people experience with all their hearts a profound sense of unity, something unforgettable and beyond words… Thousands confess their sins before God and receive Holy Communion.
And although the pilgrim encounters many hardships and inconveniences at Grabarka, and although the bustle of this world tempts him with the clamor of the market stalls at the very foot of the Holy Mountain, whoever has come here to pray and to offer unto God a broken spirit will, according to his strength, partake of the light of Tabor and depart renewed!
Why Grabarka Is the Mountain of Crosses
The history of the veneration of Grabarka is remarkable. In 1710, an epidemic of cholera broke out in Podlasie. According to tradition, the Mother of God appeared to an elderly man from the town of Siemiatycze. She told him that whoever made a cross and carried it to Mount Grabarka would be delivered from the disease. People carrying crosses climbed the mountain. The epidemic began to subside, and many of the sick were healed. When people in neighboring towns and villages learned what had happened, they too began coming to the holy place. Thus arose the pilgrimage tradition of carrying a cross to the Holy Mountain and leaving it there with prayers for healing and well-being.
Over the years, a remarkable “forest” has grown up on Grabarka—more than 10,000 crosses, each bearing names, prayers, and petitions: for health, for eternal rest, for family happiness, and for countless other needs known to God alone… It is a breathtaking sight.
People continue to come to this day. And they bring ever more crosses—large and small, simple ones and others adorned with colorful ribbons.
The greatest number of pilgrims—tens of thousands—gather at Grabarka for the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on August 19. And each year, young people make up the largest part of the gathering. Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians, Finns, Germans, and Orthodox faithful from various countries of Eastern Europe join the pilgrimage every year. Here the Orthodox Faith unites people of different nationalities living in different countries.
Along the pilgrims’ route are the unique churches of Białystok, while some routes pass through the ancient Supraśl Lavra, founded in the fifteenth century. Yet no less moving and memorable are the brief molebens served beside wayside crosses and the services held in village churches. Each rural church has its own distinctive history. Many survived the years of the Second World War, while others were destroyed and later magnificently restored.
Some pilgrims set out from Hajnówka, others from Warsaw. Some begin their journey in Sokółka, others in Białystok. For some, the pilgrimage lasts six days; for others, only one. All the participants in the processions meet on August 18 at the monastery on the Mountain of Crosses.
On August 19, four Divine Liturgies are celebrated at Grabarka, one of them by Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland himself. Great numbers of the faithful partake of Holy Communion. Priests hear confessions throughout the night, and confession can be heard in many different languages. It is truly a magnificent and deeply moving celebration!
Priests hear confessions throughout the night. Confession can be heard in many different languages.
The pilgrims making their way to Grabarka are very different. They are of all ages. Some have made such pilgrimages many times before and are deeply rooted in the faith, while others are undertaking the arduous journey for the first time. For some, the path to faith and to the Church has only just begun, and the pilgrimage to Grabarka gives them a new and unforgettable spiritual experience.
During a true pilgrimage on foot, with all its trials and joys and its atmosphere of prayer, one witnesses how all of this transforms people, inspires them, and strengthens their faith; how it unites people from different countries in a common aspiration—to become purer and kinder, and to draw closer to God and to one another.
Here the Orthodox Faith Is Preserved
The pilgrimage to Grabarka offers a wonderful opportunity to see how our brothers and sisters in the faith live in Poland, how they preserve the traditions of their forefathers and remain faithful to Orthodoxy in a different religious and cultural environment.
The local people welcome the pilgrims—or pielgrzymi, as pilgrims are called in Poland—with joy and reverence. After a brief prayer together, there is a generous meal. In the evening, the pilgrims are given supper and lodging in the hospitable homes of local residents. The care they show the pilgrims is deeply moving, sometimes to the point of tears. Some are comfortably well-off and give generously from their abundance, while others spend their last savings simply to welcome and give rest to the weary travelers making their way to venerate the holy place. Some may have nothing more to offer than a place where the pilgrims can dry their rain-soaked shoes, yet even this they consider an honor and a joy.
Here in Podlasie, one hears not only Polish, but also Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Trasianka, a mixed Belarusian-Russian form of speech. At times, Belarusian pilgrims can almost forget that they are abroad; it seems as though they are in some village in western Belarus, talking with their own grandmothers and grandfathers.
Ethnic Belarusians have lived in these lands from time immemorial. Almost all of them profess the Orthodox Faith.
The reason is that ethnic Belarusians have inhabited this region from time immemorial. Almost all of them are Orthodox Christians. According to official statistics, there are more than 500,000 native Orthodox Christians in Poland, although they make up only about one percent of the country’s population. The overwhelming majority of Poland’s Orthodox Christians live in the eastern part of the country. Through the vicissitudes of history and the upheavals of war, these people found themselves cut off from their historic homeland as the borders of the Polish state repeatedly shifted—sometimes westward, sometimes eastward.
Polish Belarusians cherish their faith and hold their national traditions dear. For this reason, they introduce their children to the Belarusian language and the culture of their ancestors not only at home but even in kindergarten. Schoolchildren attend catechism classes, and time is also set aside for the study of Church Slavonic. The festival of Orthodox church music in Hajnówka is widely known.
The largest centers of Belarusian culture are Białystok, Bielsk Podlaski, and Hajnówka. The sheer number of Orthodox churches in this region is striking. There are churches not only in the towns but in virtually every village—sometimes more than one. All are well maintained, either newly built or recently restored.
Since the early 1980s, the Polish Orthodox Church has experienced a period of revival, having been granted rights that enabled it to develop actively. In 1991, it received a legal status equal to that of the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox young people in Poland are particularly active, and it was therefore only natural that the Brotherhood of Orthodox Youth should be established in 1982. It was this brotherhood that revived the tradition of pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Grabarka.
Elena Nasledysheva
Translation by OrthoChristian.com
Pravoslavie.ru
8/25/2026
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HAMATOURA MONASTERY, LEBANON
HIEROMARTYR JACOB OF HAMATOURA AND HIS MONASTERY
Alexandra Kalinovskaya
October 13/26 is the feast-day of Hieromartyr James (Jacob) of Hamatoura, a saint of the early Church of Antioch. In the prayer to him there are the following words: “As a cedar of Lebanon groweth without fear of martyrdom and death, thou didst become a victor, O Father James. Thou didst conquer death in thy body when in humility thou didst control the passions and when thou wast burnt like incense as a sacrifice. Intercede with Christ to grant us great mercy.” Let’s take a closer look at this saint’s life and the glorious place he struggled in.
St. James lived a strict ascetic life in the second half of the thirteenth century on Mount Hamatoura in Lebanon. From time immemorial, this mountain has been known as a place of Orthodox asceticism. In 386 A.D., the Hamatoura Monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos was founded there. This monastery is one of the oldest in Lebanon and has been a center of spiritual enlightenment and monastic life for centuries. In the thirteenth century, the monastery was besieged and plundered by the Mameluke army.
The ascetic James, who later became its abbot, undertook the restoration of the monastery and monastic life in it after a period of desolation, making it a pearl of asceticism on the Lebanese land. Those who sought salvation and were spiritually thirsty started flocking to Hamatoura to quench their thirst by drinking its sweet spiritual water.
The fame of the holy abbot spread far beyond the mountain, reaching the Muslim conquerors. After returning to the monastery, they searched for the abbot in order to convert him to Islam. But the future hieromartyr steadfastly confessed faith in One Lord Jesus Christ. Enraged, the Mamelukes seized Fr. James along with several monks and took them to Tripoli. Over a year, the saint suffered severe torments, refusing to renounce the true faith. In the end, he was beheaded, and his tormentors intended to burn his body. But the faithful were able to pay a ransom to regain his remains. They were buried secretly at the monastery’s church, but for many centuries they were considered lost.
For centuries and until recently, a monk would appear to people near Hamatoura, helping them and healing them from physical and spiritual diseases. Sometimes he was heard singing in church. This monk was Hieromartyr James.
In 2008, during restoration work in the monastery several bodies with unnaturally broken bones were discovered in it. It became clear that they belonged to martyrs. Among them were the remains of a baby, whose bones exuded a delicate sweet fragrance. The remains of another martyr had signs of torture, burning, and beheading. This is how the relics of Hieromartyr James were found. The names of the baby and other martyrs of Hamatoura are unknown, but a special service dedicated to them was composed in the Church of Antioch.
But let’s look back to the beginning of the twentieth century, when the ancient monastery was invaded by the Turks once again. Most of its brethren were murdered, the buildings were ruined, and the monastery fell into decay. However, there is information about one of the surviving monks of Hamatoura of that time, whose name was also James. He left the ruined monastery and moved to live at a higher altitude in the mountains. He became famous among the Lebanese faithful for his piety, love and patience. The grace of God manifested itself through numerous miraculous healings from the water that he had blessed. Locals took this water to treat their children, as during the First World War various epidemics would devastate entire villages, and there was not enough medicine. Devout believers from the surrounding villages looked after the deserted monastery.
In 1974, in an effort to revive monastic life on Mt. Hamatoura, Fr. Philip (in monasticism, Isaac), known to the Orthodox world as Hieromonk Isaac the Athonite (1937–1998), became the abbot of the monastery. It was he who later wrote a famous book on the life of Elder Paisios the Hagiorite, being his spiritual son. The abbot of Hamatoura attracted several Arab youths seeking monastic feats. Among them was the future Archimandrite Panteleimon (Farah), who, in his turn, became a spiritual son of Hieromonk Isaac. At one time, they struggled together on Mt. Athos. It was there that Hieromartyr James of Hamatoura reputedly appeared to Fr. Panteleimon. He took this phenomenon as an indication to return to Lebanon and undertake the work of restoring this mountain monastery. Armed with the blessing of his father-confessor, he came back to Hamatoura.
The work on the restoration of the monastery proved to be extensive and difficult. During the abbacy of Fr. Panteleimon, young people interested in monastic life began to flock there again. Thus a new monastic brotherhood was founded. Gradually, the monastery became a pilgrimage destination for believers, especially for young people, to whom the abbot paid special attention. He knew how to use the talents of his brethren and spiritual children to serve God.
As a disciple of Elder Isaac the Athonite, and after meeting St. Paisios the Hagiorite, he learned spiritual wisdom from them. Specifically, Fr. Panteleimon would say, “Modern people listen to news reports and read newspapers because they worry and seek solace. But they don’t find it there. Why not change our approach and read the Holy Scriptures? Then our minds, filled with Divine truth and stories about saints, will lift up to God and transform our lives into holy and spiritual ones filled with goodness and blessings… If we face problems, it means that we are on the path of the Lord. Let us not despair, for the evil one makes every effort to harm us. Let us rejoice and not be confused, for eventually God will shed His light to save us and illuminate our faithful and righteous path towards Him.”
Fr. Panteleimon also instructed those who came to him: “Let us walk before God in humility and simplicity, preparing ourselves for a joyful end, for meeting our Lord Jesus Christ, and for eternal life in His presence. Let us strive to develop the virtues that will allow us to be with God, and let us not seek any earthly pleasure. For earthly delights will bring no joy in Heaven.”
Nowadays, the monks of the Hamatoura Monastery, like their predecessors, strive to live ascetic life in prayer, performing various obediences, and asking the intercessions of the Mother of God for their salvation and for the salvation of the world. In addition to prayer, they cultivate olive and grape plantations, paint icons, make candles and incense, and engage in other monastic crafts. Their day begins at a time when the rest of the world is still in deep sleep—at three in the morning. Their private prayer is followed by the common prayer at four. The service is followed by a communal meal, and then all go to their obediences. At noon, the brethren get together again to pray jointly for the sick. Obediences continue until evening, and many of them involve manual labor. The monastery’s brethren deliberately preserve the tradition of manual labor of their predecessors, who lived long before the advent of technology. This is a voluntary spiritual labor on their part. In accordance with the monastery’s rule, the monks must devote some time daily to reading spiritual literature. The monks conclude their day by attending the evening service.
The main monastery church is dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Its walls are covered in some places with sixth-century frescoes in restrained tones. Other wall surfaces have already been frescoed in the same style in our time.
A large church in honor of the Archangel Michael stands separately from the main church. The remains of monks who struggled on Mt. Hamatoura in the past centuries are kept beside it. According to the tradition adopted from Mt. Athos, every reposed monk is first buried in full monastic vestments in the ground. Three years later, his grave is opened, his bones are collected and put into the ossuary. To this day, on Saturdays the brethren get together at this church to remember their departed fellow monks.
There is also a small natural cave in the rock behind the Dormition Church, which, after the uncovering of the relics of the martyrs of Hamatoura, was transformed into a church in honor of St. Paisios the Hagiorite.
The monastery also keeps several dozen manuscripts of the past centuries that have survived. The monastery is also known for its Byzantine music. During his lifetime, Archimandrite Panteleimon (†2021), the monastery’s father-superior, sang skillfully, setting an example to the brethren. The church services at the monastery are almost twice as long as those in Russia, and they approach the duration of those on Mt. Athos. On the feast of Hieromartyr James, multitudes of pilgrims come to Hamatoura. There are many young people among them, whom the brethren welcome and entertain in every possible way—a distinctive feature of the Church of Antioch everywhere.
Hieromartyr James of Hamatoura has been known in the Russian Church since a particle of his relics was transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese in 2010. Through his prayers, numerous miracles are performed. Both Christian and Muslim couples struggling from infertility come to the saint’s relics. And he helps both to conceive long-awaited children. Happy parents often name their boys James as a token of gratitude to the saint.
There is a well-known story of the rescue of a Syrian child from death. The boy’s family came to the monastery on the saint’s feast. While playing, the child slipped. Suddenly, someone grabbed him on the edge of a cliff, preventing him from falling into the valley. The boy said that he had been picked up by a monk who had appeared out of nowhere. His parents attribute the rescue of their child to St. James.
There was another episode of the saint’s help. When Archimandrite Panteleimon was on Mt. Athos, he visited the Vatopedi Monastery with a particle of his relics. That day, one of the monks of Vatopedi suddenly lost his voice. The abbot called this brother, blessing him with St. James’ relics. And his voice was immediately restored, which allowed him to resume his service, praising God.
St. James prays for us in the hustle and bustle of the modern world. His example calls us to a fruitful spiritual life and struggle, so that we can bear spiritual fruits. We would like to conclude the story about this saint and his wonderful monastery with instructions of Archimandrite Panteleimon, its former abbot: “Let us focus on the life to come. When we cling to Christ, we lift upwards to eternal life. The love of God brings us to Paradise, where we will rejoice in our time with Christ provided that we love Him and abandon everything to follow Him... Belonging to Christ means walking the path of purification and hardships. On this journey, we deny ourselves and devote ourselves entirely to the service of God. Every day we must bear our cross, imitating Christ in His self-denial, fortitude, love, sacrifice, and preaching. And by walking in this way with Him, we will attain the Kingdom of God.”
Alexandra Kalinovskaya
Translation by Dmitry Lapa
Sretensky Monastery
10/26/2025
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PAT. KYRILL OF MOSCOW CONDEMNS UKRAINIAN STRIKE ON CHURCH
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has condemned a Ukrainian drone strike on a church during a service in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic.
The attack occurred on Sunday at the Epiphany Cathedral in Gorlovka, according to a statement on the Moscow Patriarchate’s website.
Metropolitan Mitrofan of Gorlovka and Slavyansk was wounded and treated at the hospital, the local diocese said. Protodeacon Roman Stepin and two volunteers with the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission suffered minor injuries.
“An enemy drone attacked people during prayer, once again demonstrating the lack of principle and flagrant cynicism of those who directed this criminal attack,” Kirill said.
Ukraine has intensified its deep-strike campaign in Russia in recent months amid battlefield setbacks. Moscow has described the strikes as acts of terrorism, pointing to drones and missiles hitting apartment blocks and other civilian targets.
Russia has said it is retaliating with missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian weapons factories, logistics centers, and infrastructure supporting the military.
Last week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia will “respond proportionately to emerging threats” from Ukraine.
Source: RT News
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ST. JOHN THE ROMANIAN (THE CHOZEBITE)
St. John (Iacob) was a holy hesychast of our days, who struggled for twenty-four years in the Holy Land, in the Jordan Valley and in the desert of Chozeba (also spelled Choziba). This blessed bearer of Christ was born on July 23, 1913, in the village of Crăiniceni, Paltiniș commune, Botoșani county, into a family of pious peasants Maxim and Ecaterina, and was their only child. In Holy Baptism, he was named Ilie, and at home he was called Iliuță. Six months after his birth, his mother fell ill and died, and the baby was left in the care of his paternal grandmother, Maria Iacob, who cared for him like a true mother for ten years.
In 1916, when little Ilie was three years old, his father died at the front. In 1923, his grandmother also passed away, leaving Ilie an orphan, deprived of the comfort of his loved ones. He was then taken in by his uncle, Alecu Iacob, who had six children of his own at home. Between 1926 and 1932, young Ilie studied at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Gymnasium and the Dimitrie Cantemir Lyceum in the town of Cozmeni near Chernivtsi.
In the summer of 1933, he entered the Neamț Monastery. On April 8, 1936, he was tonsured a monk with the name John (Ioan), and in November of the same year, along with other monks of the Great Lavra (as the Neamț Monastery is often referred to), he set off to venerate the Holy Sepulcher. Afterwards, he settled permanently in the Holy Land, where he struggled in the brotherhood of the Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified (the Mar Saba Monastery) in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
On September 14, 1947, Metropolitan Irinarch ordained him hieromonk at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; he was subsequently appointed abbot of the Romanian Skete of St. John the Baptist on the Jordan River. After five years of obedience, together his disciple, Monk Ioanichie (Pârâială), he withdrew into the desert of Chozeba in the vicinity of Jericho. There they struggled in St. Anne’s Cave in the Valley of the Chorath Brook, for eight years.
On August 5, 1960, at the age of forty-seven, St. John (Iacob) departed to the Heavenly abodes and was buried in the cave where he had led an ascetic life. Twenty years later, on August 8, 1980, his body was found incorrupt in the grave.
On August 15 of the same year, with the blessing of Patriarch Benedict I of Jerusalem, his relics were translated to the nearby Monastery of St. George the Chozebite and now rest at the church alongside other holy relics.
Deeds and Sayings
This venerable man was chosen by God from his mother’s womb for the Heavenly Kingdom, for from infancy he was manifestly blessed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, being in all things meek like a lamb, humble, silent, zealous for holiness and patient in temptations both internal and external. Then, prayer with tears worked incessantly in his mind and heart. His mother Ecaterina was guided by Christ to lead a blameless life and give birth to her only son on earth, for shortly after giving birth she departed to the Heavenly abodes.
For Blessed Ilie, who was orphaned in infancy, God was a father and the Church a spiritual mother, while his humble grandmother Maria, a widow, raised him and protected him with prayer and love until he was ten.
Old people in the saint’s native village recount that every day his grandmother carried him to nursing mothers for breastfeeding and kept vigil over him day and night until the boy began to speak. And in the summer, setting off for field work, she would put the baby boy into a knapsack so that his head was visible, heave it onto her back, make the sign of the holy cross, and walk with a prayer on her lips and tears in her eyes. There she would seat him in the shade beneath a tree and leave him until sunset. Then she would put him back into the knapsack and carry him home. After feeding the baby boy, she would put him to sleep beneath the holy icons, while she would pray and make prostrations until late at night, according to ancient sacred custom.
The child was gifted with a bright mind, did well at school and brought his grandmother much joy. Over time, the eldress began teaching him prayers, frequently took him to church and asked him to read the Psalter to her, as she was illiterate. Sometimes she would tell him to read the Passion of the Lord to her, while she wept and made full prostrations. The child once asked her:
“Mother, why do you cry so much when I read about the Passion of our Lord?”
And the eldress answered him:
“My darling, you don’t know what tragedy befell our family. I’m not your mother! She departed to the Lord when you were only six months old, and your father was killed in the war when you were three years old. I’m your grandmother, and your grandfather has long been in heaven. Widowed, I wanted to enter a convent, but when you were left an orphan, I gave up that plan in order to raise you. And I cry because I’m old, and after my death you’ll be all alone in this world and an orphan. But have faith in God, always pray to Him, flee from sin and remember us. If you do this, the Mother of God will protect you, and you will avoid many dangers. And in life I can’t wish anything better for you than to become a priest and glorify Christ!”
At the age of twenty, he graduated from the lyceum and, since he was gifted with a bright mind by the grace of Christ, friends and relatives tried to persuade him to study theology and later become a priest. But his conscience and his heart inspired him: “No, I want to become a monk!” And so one day, while working in the field and being tormented by doubts, he began to pray to God to reveal to him what to do. And the saint heard a loud voice from above: “The monastery.” From that moment on, he lost his peace, for the Holy Spirit kept calling on him to go to the monastery as soon as possible and dedicate his life to Christ.
One Sunday in the summer of 1933, when the village youth were joyfully gathering for a wedding, Ilie, God’s chosen one, venerated the icons in tears at the Crăiniceni church, kissed his parents’ crosses at the cemetery and, bidding farewell to his relatives, departed to be betrothed to Christ in the brotherhood of the Neamț Monastery.
On seeing him, Bishop Nicodim, the Abbot of the Lavra (the Neamț Monastery), wondered:
“Why have you come to the monastery, Brother Ilie?”
“Father Abbot, I wish to become a monk, mourn over my sins, pray for my parents who brought me into this world, and unceasingly glorify God.”
“You have chosen a good path, Brother Ilie. If you have humility and obedience, love prayer, and do all that is good, you will easily overcome the temptations of this world and be numbered among the saints in Heaven.”
“So may God help me, Your Eminence Father Superior!”
“Have patience in everything, nourish yourself with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, and follow the life and advice of the devout spiritual fathers and ascetics of the Neamț Monastery brotherhood. Go to the church, bow before the wonderworking icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Patroness of this monastery, and then I will entrust you to the obedience of Father Iov (Job), the monastery apothecary and the most spiritual monk of our brotherhood. Follow, to the best of your ability, his life and advice, do not miss church services and carry out your obedience at the monastery library.”
For three years, Rassophore Monk Ilie served his novitiate under the Venerable Iov (Burlacu), striving to imitate his austere ascetic labors, fasting, stillness, humility, poverty and unceasing prayer. At the library he put all the books in order, read many instructions of the Holy Fathers and gave good counsel to the young novices, so that everyone found benefit on seeing his zeal, wisdom and labors, and he was loved by all in the brotherhood of the Great Lavra.
The abbot and the spiritual fathers noticed his zeal for Christ, and on April 8, 1936, on Holy and Great Wednesday, Rassophore Monk Ilie (Iacob) was tonsured a monk along with ten other brothers, receiving in the tonsure the name of St. John the Baptist. Two great prophets, Elias and John, the leaders of the eremitic life of the Old and New Testaments, became his teachers, fathers and intercessors in his monastic feats. Both called on him to follow their lives, including fasting, prayer, and virginity, inspiring him to go to the Holy Land—to the great hesychasts of the Jordan Valley. St. Elias the Tishbite transmitted to him the zeal for defending the True Faith and called him to the spiritual ascent of Mounts Carmel and Sinai. And St. John the Baptist inspired him to go to the monasteries of the Holy Land and taught him to call everyone to repentance and to boldly denounce sin—which the future saint did throughout his life in the magnificent poems and instructions that he has left behind.
Wounded by Christ’s love for the Life-Giving Tomb in Jerusalem and for the desert life there, in the autumn of 1936, the humble monk John (Iacob) partook of the Divine Mysteries, venerated the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in church, asked for forgiveness and the blessing from the elder and all the brethren, and set off forever for the Holy Land, protected by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which inflamed his heart with Divine love.
On arriving in the Holy Land, Monk John first of all came to Golgotha and venerated the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord. Then, having partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, the blessed soldier of Christ walked all over the Holy Land, following in the footsteps of the Lord and his holy patrons, Elias the Tishbite and John the Baptist. At first, he led an ascetic life alone in a cave in the Jordan Desert, then he joined the brotherhood of the Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified in the Kidron Valley, where there were several Romanian hesychasts. In this ancient Lavra, St. John struggled until the summer of 1947.
Here the soldier of Christ John acquired the gift of tears and the prayer of the heart. Here he endured severe warfare and trials from demons, for the evil spirits could not bear the fact that he unceasingly prayed and praised God. Here he was tonsured into the great schema and here too he overcame his invisible enemies through strict and prolonged fasting, exhausting night vigils, the victorious sword of prayer and the shield of humility. As a result, he became so free from passions that he endured all hardships with joy, felt an immense compassion for all creation, and never feared demons, illness, or death.
In the brotherhood of St. Sabbas’ Lavra, St. John performed obediences as a librarian and an infirmarian. At night he stood at services in church, and during the day he worked at the monastery hospital, caring for the sick. He also visited sick monks and hermits in their cells, bringing them food, and treated soldiers wounded in the war who were brought here from the front. He dressed their wounds and comforted all of them with love, while in his heart he ceaselessly prayed and lived by Christ.
On the recommendation of Archimandrite Victorin (Ursache), the Superior of the Romanian Mission in Jerusalem, St. John (Iacob) was ordained hieromonk and for five years served as abbot of the Skete of St. John the Baptist on the Jordan, founded by the Romanian Patriarchate. Here he added new, eremitic ascetic labors to his previous feats, and endured numerous temptations from demons. His rule of life was as follows: during the day he ate nothing until sunset and unceasingly offered up prayers in his heart, while with his hands he labored in the garden to sustain the skete and lovingly received Romanian and foreign pilgrims who came there. At night, he celebrated the prescribed services in church, heard pilgrims’ confessions, and for a few hours retreated for stillness into a cave on the banks of the Jordan, from which he would return in the morning to the skete with a radiant face.
Burning with love for Christ, in absolute silence and prayer, Blessed Abbot John, together with his disciple Monk Ioanichie, withdrew in the autumn of 1952 to the desert of Chozeba in the vicinity of the Monastery of St. George the Chozebite.
Initially, they struggled for several months in the brotherhood, and then settled permanently in St. Anne’s Cave in the Valley of the Chorath Brook, where other hesychasts also lived as hermits, in order to spend the final years of their lives in prayer alone and communion with Christ. St. John struggled here for over seven years, but no one, not even his disciple Ioanichie, knew all his ascetic feats—they were hidden in God and in the inmost recesses of his heart. For his disciple saw only the saint’s outward labors, such as: all-night vigils, the chanting of the daily cycle of services, the zealous celebration of the holy services at the cave chapel, the reading of sacred books, the translation of the Patristic works, and the composition of spiritual poems for pilgrims who visited him in the cave.
But the feats he performed in his heart, his hidden tears, his struggle with thoughts and evil spirits, his spiritual meditations on things above, and the warmth of the Holy Spirit that set his heart ablaze for Christ’s sake, were seen by God alone, Who accepted them as a burnt offering from St. John the Hesychast, unknown to any mortal.
His disciple recounted the following regarding the ascetic life of this holy hesychast:
“Throughout his illness, he never once groaned or even sighed, but endured everything with serenity and joy. He kept a strict silence, never laughed, prayed unceasingly with his heart, and with immense strength endured pain and worldly privation. He adhered to a rigorous daily routine and fasting, and took the bare minimum of food and drink required merely to sustain life; he deeply loved stillness (hesychia) and solitude, resolutely defended the True Faith, tradition and sacred canons, and always kept his mind fixed on Jesus Christ crucified on Golgotha. He neither thought about nor cared to know anything of this earth. His body, mind, and heart were passionless, ‘dematerialized’, and mysteriously united with God through prayer and the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Fr. Ioanichie, his disciple, also recounted:
“St. John foresaw the day of his repose and inscribed it on the wall of the cave. Once he had passed away, I dressed him in a cassock, placed the great schema on him (for he was a schemamonk of the Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified), placed an epitrachelion on his chest and laid him on a bast mat. Then I lit three wax candles and an icon lamp, and notified the Abbot of the Monastery of St. George the Chozebite, Archimandrite Amphilochios, with whom he was very close. By his order, the monastery bells tolled for three days, and a litiya was served in the cave.”
Regarding St. John (Iacob)’s funeral and the miracle that occurred then, his disciple relates the following:
“On the day appointed for the funeral, the monastery abbot, Fr. Amphilochios, came with several monks and hesychasts who lived as hermits nearby in the caves of the Rouba Desert. They walked up the stairs into the cave, and at ten o’clock on Saturday, August 7, the elder began the funeral service. And suddenly the cave was filled with the birds of the desert, to which St. John used to give breadcrumbs every day. But now they had not come for food—they were sent by God to honor St. John, to mourn him, and accompany his body to the grave.”
Elder Amphilochios related this as follows:
“The birds prevented us from performing the funeral service, flying over our heads, extinguishing candles, closing books, flapping their wings over the saint’s body, and settling on him—on his head, his chest, and his legs—with each wailing in its own way. They didn’t want food; they needed their father, their benefactor, whom they had lost. After the service was over, we laid him to rest in a grave in the cave where other hesychasts had already been buried before, and covered it with a board lid. Only then did the birds fly away and disperse. Then we brought earth, made a clay mortar and sealed the boards to the grave, where the saint rested until August 1980.”
From the day of his burial, the grave of St. John (Iacob) stood almost completely forgotten for twenty years in St. Anne’s Cave. His disciple Ioanichie moved to the Monastery of St. George the Chozebite. Only on certain days, or when Romanian pilgrims came, would they—accompanied by the disciple—ascend the stairs up to the cave, light candles and an icon lamp on his grave, cense, celebrate vespers in the cave, serve a litiya for the departed, ask the great hesychast for help, listen to a brief account of his life as retold by the disciple, strike the semantron, and descend from the cave with tears in their eyes, saying:
“How great the ascetic feat of St. John (Iacob) was!”
In the summer of 1980—on August 8—Orthodox pilgrims led by a Greek Archimandrite who had once lived as a hermit near St. John the Chozebite ascended to St. Anne’s Cave, offered up prayers and kissed his grave. Then the archimandrite recounted:
“I struggled here, not far from this cave, and I deeply loved Father John (Iacob), who was my spiritual father. Afterwards, I went as a missionary to America and knew nothing of him for over twenty years. And then one night he appeared to me in a dream and said, ‘If you want to see me, come to St. Anne’s Cave in the desert of Chozeba and you will see me.’ A month has passed since I saw him in that dream, and I have been restless ever since. That’s why I came to speak with Father John, my spiritual father and friend. I didn’t know that he had departed to the Lord. And now my soul will not find rest until I open his grave to kiss his venerable, much-labored body!”
The abbot of the Lavra, Fr. Amphilochios, reluctantly gave his blessing to open St. John’s grave in the cave. When it was opened, a wondrous fragrance emanated, filling the cave and the hearts of all those present. The saint’s body and vestments were intact, giving off fragrance of holiness. He looked as though he had just fallen asleep. Then everybody fell to their knees and cried out with tears:
“Glory to Thee, O Lord, for this great miracle! The Venerable John the Romanian is a saint!”
Then his holy relics were kissed and censed, candles were lit and the troparion was chanted:
“In thee, O Father, was preserved with exactness what was according to the image; for thou didst take up the cross and follow Christ. By so doing, thou didst teach us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away; but to care for the soul, since it is immortal. Therefore, O Venerable John, thy spirit rejoiceth with the angels.”
And so, having received a particle of the saint’s vestments as a blessing, the pilgrims departed in peace, and his relics remained in the cave until August 15.
Fr. Ioanichie, his disciple, related that on the eve of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the abbot of the Lavra brought a wooden coffin up into the cave and, together with the other hieromonks, placed his holy body—which was completely incorrupt and fragrant—into the coffin and censed it. On August 15, the patronal feast of the Monastery of St. George the Chozebite, several hierarchs, priests and monks, both Romanians and Greeks, arrived along with numerous Orthodox pilgrims. Then, amid the ringing of bells, the holy relics were brought down from the cave and translated in cross procession to the church of the Great Lavra, where they were placed next to other holy relics. Then forty Divine Liturgies were celebrated so that God might reveal the holiness of his relics. Thus, seeing that his body remained intact and untouched by decay even after this, everyone honored him as one worthy to shine among the Holy Fathers.
Subsequently, several Christ-loving believers made a new ebony coffin for him and placed the precious treasure inside it. Since the summer of 1980 and to this day, countless pilgrims—Romanians, Greeks, Cypriots, Serbs and people from other countries—have been flocking here to venerate him and beg for his blessing and help in the struggles of this life before the relics (glorified by God) of this new saint of the Orthodox Church, who became widely known under the names of St. John the New Chozebite or St. John (Iacob) of Neamț.
His numerous letters and spiritual poems are read with reverence by believers today and lead them on the path of salvation.
Holy Father John, pray to God for peace, for the people you came from, for the monasteries and believers, for the salvation of all the faithful and those who seek the Lord!
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