Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco (; born Mikhail Borisovich Maximovitch, ; June 4, 1896 – July 2, 1966) was a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (), also called Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR, or Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Pat ...

who is

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. He is also referred to as St. John the Wonderworker and St. John Maximovitch.

Life

Early life

Mikhail Maximovitch was born in 1896 in the village of Adamovka of the

Izyumsky Uyezd Izyumsky Uyezd (; ) was one of the subdivisions of the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Izium (Izyum). Demographics At the time of the Russian Em ...

of the

Kharkov Governorate Kharkov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From 1765 to 1780 and from 1796 to 1835 the governorate was called Sloboda Uk ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(in present-day eastern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). Growing up, he collected

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...

and church books, and indulged heavily in the reading of the

lives of saints A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

. As a child, he converted his French caretaker from Catholicism to

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

. Maximovitch attended Poltava Military School from 1907 to 1914. Later, he attended and received a degree in law from Kharkov Imperial University in 1918. He studied and attended church in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, where he was inspired by

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Antony Khrapovitsky Metropolitan Anthony (, secular name Aleksey Pavlovich Khrapovitsky, ; 17 March (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) 1863 – 10 August 1936) was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire, the Metropolitan of Eparchy of Kiev ( ...

to deepen his religious understanding. He later recalled that the local monastery had become more important in his life than secular institutions.

Yugoslavia

John's family moved to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and brought him to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1921. In 1925, Maximovitch graduated from

Belgrade University The University of Belgrade () is a public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Krag ...

with a degree in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. To support his impoverished family, he sold newspapers. In 1926, he was

tonsured Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

and ordained a

hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and all other Churches that follow Byzantine Rite is a monk who has been ordained a ...

by Russian Metropolitan

Anthony (Khrapovitsky) Metropolitan Anthony (, secular name Aleksey Pavlovich Khrapovitsky, ; 17 March ( O.S.) 1863 – 10 August 1936) was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire, the Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia, who after the defeat of Gen ...

, who gave him the name of John after his distant ancestor,

John of Tobolsk John of Tobolsk (; 1651–1715, born as Ioann Maksimovich Vasilkovskiy (, , ''Ivan Maksymovych Vasylkivskyi'') was a teacher, writer and clergyman of Ukrainian Cossack origin, who served as the Orthodox archbishop of Chernihiv and Novhorod-Siv ...

. Later that same year, he was ordained to the priesthood by Russian Bishop Gabriel (Chepur) of

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

. After his ordination, John reportedly stopped sleeping in a bed and only ate once a day. For several years, he worked as an instructor and tutor in

. He worked as a religious teacher in the Gymnasium of

Velika Kikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; ) is a city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia. The city's urban area has 32,084 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 49,326 inhabitants. The city was founde ...

between 1925 and 1927. In 1929, the

Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church () serves by Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Church constitution as the executive body of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod consists of five members: four bishops and the List ...

appointed him as a teacher of the seminary in

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

under principal

Nikolaj Velimirović Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић; – ) was a Serbian Orthodox prelate who served as Bishop of Ohrid and Žiča from 1920 to 1956. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator, h ...

. His reputation grew as he began to visit hospitals, in which he cared for patients with prayer and communion.

Shanghai

In 1934, he was ordained a bishop of the

by Metropolitan Anthony and assigned to the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. In Shanghai, John found the uncompleted Saint Nicholas' Church and an Orthodox community deeply divided along ethnic lines. He became involved in local charitable institutions and later founded an orphanage and home for children of the destitute. He worked to restore church unity and establish ties with local Orthodox Serbs and Greeks. Miracles reportedly began to be attributed to his prayers. As a public figure, it was impossible for him to completely hide his

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

way of life. During the Japanese occupation, he routinely ignored the curfew in pursuit of his pastoral work. Being the only Russian hierarch in China who refused to submit to the authority of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-dominated

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, under

Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow Patriarch Alexy I (Alexius I, , secular name Sergey Vladimirovich Simansky, ; – 17 April 1970) was the 13th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) between 1945 and 1970. Life Born in Moscow to a noble ...

, he was elevated in 1946 to archbishop of China by the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

of the

. When the Communists took power in China in 1949, the Russian enclave was forced to leave, first to a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

on the island of

Tubabao Tubabao is an island off the southeastern point of Samar. It is one of the islands comprising the town of Guiuan in the province of Eastern Samar, in east central Philippines. The island is located close to the town centre. During World War II ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and then to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Maximovitch traveled to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in order to ensure that his followers would be allowed to enter the US under

refugee status A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

Western Europe

In 1951, John was assigned to the Archdiocese of Western Europe with his see first in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, then in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. His work in compiling the lives of saints introduced numerous pre-

Schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

Western saints to Orthodoxy, where they continue to be venerated.

San Francisco

In 1962, John was reassigned by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church Abroad to the see over

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He found a divided community and an uncompleted cathedral. Although he completed the building of the

Holy Virgin Cathedral The Holy Virgin Cathedral, also known as Joy of All Who Sorrow (), is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in the Richmond District of San Francisco. It is the largest of the six cathedrals of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which has over ...

and brought some measure of tranquility to the community, he was slandered by political enemies, who filed a lawsuit against him for alleged mishandling of finances related to the construction of the cathedral. He was eventually

exonerated Exoneration occurs when the conviction (law), conviction for a crime is reversed, either through demonstration of innocence, a flaw in the conviction, or otherwise. Attempts to exonerate individuals are particularly controversial in death penal ...

. Deeply reverent and interested in

John of Kronstadt John of Kronstadt or John Iliytch Sergieff (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ; 1829 – ) was a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Archpriest#In Byzantine Christianity, archpriest and a member of the Most ...

, Maximovitch played an active role in the preparation of his canonization in 1964.

Death and veneration

On July 2, 1966 (June 19 on the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

), John died while visiting

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. He was entombed beneath the altar of the

, which he had built in San Francisco. It is dedicated to the Theotokos, Joy of All Who Sorrow, and the cathedral is located on

Geary Boulevard Geary Boulevard (designated as Geary Street east of Van Ness Avenue (San Francisco), Van Ness Avenue) is a major east–west thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, United States, beginning downtown at Market Street (San Francisco), Market ...

in the Richmond district. In 1994, he was glorified on the 28th anniversary of his death. His

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...

relics occupy a shrine in the cathedral's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. In the Russian Church Abroad, Maximovitch's

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is celebrated on the Saturday nearest to July 2. Portions of his relics are located in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, and other countries.

References

External links

Virtual tour of Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco
(location of some of his relics)
Saint John The Wonderworker Church
* ttp://www.sfsobor.com/ San Francisco Russian Orthodox Cathedral Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow"*St John of Shanghai parish Belfast, Northern Ireland: https://stjohnofshanghaibelfast.org/ {{Authority control 1896 births 1966 deaths People from Donetsk Oblast People from Izyumsky Uyezd 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 20th-century Christian mystics Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia American saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Chinese saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox mystics Eastern Orthodox theologians Eastern Orthodox saints from Ukraine Ukrainian Orthodox bishops Christianity in Shanghai Christianity in San Francisco Religious leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area People from the Russian Empire of Serbian descent Russian expatriates in the Philippines White Russian emigrants to Yugoslavia White Russian emigrants to China White Russian emigrants to the United States National University of Kharkiv alumni University of Belgrade Faculty of Orthodox Theology alumni Christian miracle workers Eastern Orthodox saints

Life

Early life

Yugoslavia

Shanghai

Western Europe

San Francisco

Death and veneration

References

Further reading

External links