John of Tobolsk
Saint John of Tobolsk | |
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Metropolitan of Tobolsk | |
Born | 1651 Czernihow Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth |
Died | 10 June 1715 Tobolsk, Siberia |
Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
Canonized | 1916 by Russian Orthodox Church |
Feast | 23 June [10 June O.S.] |
Patronage | Siberia |
John of Tobolsk (Russian: Иоанн Тобольский; 1651–1715) was born as Ioann Maksimovich Vasilkovskiy (Russian: Иоанн Максимович Васильковский) in Nieżyn, in the Czernihow Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was the only one of the seven sons of Maksym Wasylkowski Maksymowicz to enter the service of the Eastern Orthodox Church, in which he was appointed manager of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra by 1678. As Bishop Theodore of Uglich wanted someone to succeed him of presiding over Chernigov, he appointed John as Archimandrite of the Eletsky Monastery in 1695. Bishop Theodore of Uglich reposed in 1696 and John became Archbishop of Chernigov.[1]
During his pastorate in Chernigov, John distinguished himself by operating a spiritual academy, writing prose and poetry inspired by faith, and inspiring faith in others. His most famous work is "Iliotropion" (Russian: Илиотропион, meaning "Sunflower"),[2] which he translated and adapted into Slavonic and Russian from the original Latin of the German Jesuit priest Jeremias Drexel. In the early 21st century, it remains the standard work on theodicy among the Eastern Orthodox.[3]
In 1711, he was made Metropolitan of the Siberian city of Tobolsk, taking the place of Metropolitan Philotheos who wished to carry out missionary work among pagan tribes in remote places.[4]
John died peacefully in 1715, inside his quarters while at prayer. John was honored as a saint in Siberia by longstanding local veneration. His canonization was supported by Rasputin.[5] In 1916 the Russian Orthodox Church officially glorified (canonized) him for veneration throughout the church. His feast day is June 10, the anniversary of his death.[6]
John of Tobolsk is the namesake of John of Shanghai and San Francisco, whom is his distant relative.[7][8]
References
- ^ "St. Theodosius, archbishop of Chernigov". Retrieved 7 March 2025.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Monastery, Holy Trinity. "The Sunflower". Holy Trinity Publications. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ Athanasou, Nicholas. "The Sunflower by St John of Tobolsk". Greek Orthodox Christian Society. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ "St. John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk". Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ The Times History of the War. The Times. 1917. p. 461. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "Saint John Maximovitch, Metropolitan of Tobolsk". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ "St. John of Tobolsk – June 10 – The Archives of Orthodox America". Retrieved 2025-03-07.
- ^ "On the Feast of Saint John". Saint John Orthodox Church. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
External links
- Iliotropion by St. John (in Russian)
- St John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk Orthodox icon and synaxarion (in English)