John the God-⁠pleasing

Venerable John the God-⁠pleasing was a monk of the Kiev Caves Lavra in the twelfth century, the younger brother of Venerable Theophilus the Weeper. Almost nothing has been preserved about his life, but a profitable parable about humility and obedience is attached to him, preserved in the Kiev Caves Patericon. His relics rest in the Near Caves, beside those of his elder brother.

According to the Kiev Patericon, John was the younger brother of Theophilus, also a monk of the Caves monastery. When John died, he was buried in the cave, in the upper place, where Theophilus, as the elder, ought to have been buried. When Theophilus saw this, he began to reproach Mark the Gravedigger for placing the dead man in his place. Venerable Mark commanded John, the dead man, to rise and move to a lower place. This miracle with his brother moved Theophilus to repentance for his pride.

The sources do not agree about the day of commemoration. The Russian source gives 11 October and 11 January, and the Ukrainian one 28 September and 29 December, which are the same days on the old calendar. The akathist to all the venerable fathers of the Caves also speaks of him.