John of Suzdal

Saint John was bishop of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod in the fourteenth century and reposed on 15 October 1373 at the Bogolyubovo Monastery. The Russian Church canonized him among the hierarchs. He is commemorated on 20 August, the day of the translation of his relics, and on 15 October.

The sources about him are few and contradict each other; nothing is known of his family, or of the time and place of his birth or tonsure, and the circumstances in which he came to the see of Suzdal and left it are unclear. He was consecrated bishop by the patriarch of Constantinople, at Nizhny Novgorod, at the wish of Prince Constantine Vasilievich, in 1350.

Saint John is known for his love of the poor and the sick. For the poor he interceded with the princes for lower taxes, and for the sick he set up almshouses and hospitals. He took great care for the enlightenment of the pagan Mordvins with the Christian faith. One day, during the Divine Liturgy, Prince Boris Konstantinovich of Suzdal saw an angel of God serving together with the hierarch.

After Suzdal was joined to the Moscow metropolia, Saint John received the schema and withdrew to the Bogolyubovo Monastery, where he lived in quiet and reposed in peace on 15 October 1373. Many healings were attested at his tomb.

On 20 August 1879, by decision of the Holy Synod, the relics of the holy hierarchs Theodore and John were moved to new silver reliquaries, made through the zeal of the people of Suzdal, and in honour of this a feast was established. In 1998 their relics were taken from the Nativity cathedral to the church of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God in Suzdal.