John the Confessor

Saint John the Confessor was abbot of the Katharoi monastery, near Constantinople, and suffered torments in defence of the holy icons in the time of iconoclasm. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on 27 April by the old calendar, which is 10 May by the new. The Catholic Church commemorates him on 18 April.

He opposed the Byzantine emperor Leo the Armenian, who was introducing the iconoclast policy, and survived the torments he endured for the veneration of icons. According to a Serbian source, his mother was Saint Anna. The same source says that he suffered much at the hands of the emperors Leo and Theophilus and died in exile, around 832. Another source gives the year 839 for his death, so the year is not certain.