Icon of Blessed Basil (left) and Blessed John of Moscow, Fools for Christ, 17th century (Andrei Rublev Museum, Andronikov Monastery, Moscow).
John of Moscow also known as Blessed John the Fool for Christ was a 16th-century Russian saint. He was born on the outskirts of Vologda in Russia. He was considered a wonderworker in Moscow and spent his youth as a labourer in a local saltworks and as a water-carrier. John made his work a spiritual discipline in conjunction with a strict commitment to fasting and personal prayer.[1]
Eventually he relocated to the community of Rostov, where he began his exploit of holy foolishness for the sake of Christ.
He wore chains with heavy iron crosses, and on his head was a heavy iron cap, for which they called him "John Big-Cap". In Moscow he went barefoot and almost naked in even the most severe frost, and he foretold the great misfortunes for Russia, the Time of Troubles and the incursion of the Poles, saying that "in Moscow will be many visible and invisible devils."[2]
John is said to have spoken the truth without fear, even to those of the highest social or political status such the Czar of Russia himself, Boris Godunov.
Before death St. John indicated for himself a grave at the Pokrov church on Rva, afterwards called the Cathedral of Basil the Great. Having prepared himself for the grave, he removed the chains and showered himself with water three times. Before his death (+ 1589) the blessed one displayed the gift of healing. He was venerated at Moscow as a great wonderworker and seer. On June 12, 1672 his relics were uncovered, resting beneath a crypt in one of the chapels of the Cathedral of Basil the Great. The Service and Life were preserved in manuscripts of the seventeenth century.[3]
Blessed John of Moscow is commemorated 3 July by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at over 13 million...
A Moscow mule is a cocktail made with vodka, ginger beer and lime juice, garnished with a slice or wedge of lime, and a sprig of mint. The drink, being...
The Principality ofMoscow or Grand Duchy ofMoscow (Russian: Великое княжество Московское, romanized: Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye), also known simply...
The city ofMoscow gradually grew around the Moscow Kremlin, beginning in the 14th century. It was the capital of the Grand Duchy ofMoscow (or Muscovy)...
The Prince ofMoscow (Russian: князь московский, romanized: kniaz moskovskii), later known as the Grand Prince ofMoscow (великий князь московский, velikii...
Moscow State University (MSU; Russian: Московский государственный университет, romanized: Moskovskiy gosudarstvennyy universitet) is a public research...
The Battle ofMoscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km (370 mi) sector of the Eastern...
The Moscow Metro is a metro system serving the Russian capital ofMoscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki...
The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists...
David Raphael Moscow (born November 14, 1974) is an American actor, producer and activist. He is best known for his role as young Josh Baskin in the 1988...
they place on the delivery of each requirement; it is also known as MoSCoW prioritization or MoSCoW analysis. The term MOSCOW itself is an acronym derived...
the Wonderworker ofMoscow; or Blessed Vasily ofMoscow; Russian: Василий Блаженный, Vasily Blazhenny) is a Russian Orthodox saint of the type known as...
MoscowMoscow In the early hours of November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho...
of the ROC is the Patriarch ofMoscow and all Rus'. The Christianization of Kievan Rus' commenced in 988 with the baptism of the Rus' Grand Prince of...
such as Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow University of Civil Engineering, Moscow Chemical Institute, Moscow Communication...
The Moscow trials were a series of show trials held by the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938 at the instigation of Joseph Stalin. They were nominally...
The Moscow rules are rules-of-thumb said to have been developed during the Cold War to be used by spies and others working in Moscow. The rules are associated...
Anna Vasilyevna ofMoscow (Russian: Анна Васильевна; 1393 – August 1417) was a Byzantine empress consort by marriage to John VIII Palaiologos. She died...
known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (Russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, romanized: Igry XXII Olimpiady) and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (Russian: Москва...
1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch ofMoscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009. Prior to...
1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince ofMoscow and all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler...
Prince ofMoscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1353 to 1359. Until that date, he had ruled the towns of Ruza and Zvenigorod. He was the second son of Ivan...
This article lists the metropolitans and patriarchs ofMoscow, spiritual heads of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1308, there have been 59. The Russian...