John of Rila

Venerable John of Rila is the first great hermit of the Bulgarian people and their heavenly protector. He lived in the tenth century, struggled in asceticism in the Rila mountains, and founded there the monastery that bears his name and keeps his relics to this day.

Life in the wilderness

He was born around the year 876 in the village of Skrino, in the valley of the Struma, to devout parents. After their death he gave his inheritance to the poor and received the monastic habit. Seeking stillness, he withdrew to desolate places, living first in a cave and then, according to tradition, in the hollow of a tree, feeding on plants and spending his days in fasting and prayer.

At last he settled in the Rila mountains, in a cave hard to reach. The fame of his holy life spread, and disciples gathered around him who wished to follow his example. From this community grew the Rila Monastery.

The tsar and the hermit

Tsar Peter I of Bulgaria wished to meet him and came into the mountains to see him. The hermit, guarding his humility, would not meet him face to face, and the two bowed to each other from a distance. The tsar sent him gifts, but John returned the gold, advising him to use it for the needy.

Before his death he left his disciples a spiritual testament, urging them to love, obedience and freedom from possessions. He reposed on 18 August 946.

Relics and veneration

His relics, found incorrupt, were moved to Sredets, today Sofia, then taken for a time to Hungary and brought back, and later laid in Tarnovo, the capital of the Bulgarian tsardom. In 1469 they were returned to the Rila Monastery, where they rest to this day.

He is commemorated on 19 October, and the Church also remembers the return of his relics to the monastery on 1 July and his repose on 18 August.