Archpriest Sergius Shchukin
We know that in pre-revolutionary Russia there were elders experienced in spiritual life who helped Orthodox people in matters of internal and even practical life. These were, for example, the elders of the Optina Hermitage, Elder Alexy in the Zosimova Hermitage near Moscow, Hieromonk Parthenius of Kiev, as well as Father John of Kronstadt, who is now canonized. But along with these, so to speak, all-Russian “figures,” there were other, less well-known elders in different parts of Russia. Not only monastics, but also members of the white clergy. Unfortunately, very little information has been preserved about these people. Therefore, I want to point out one little-known elder who ended his life under Soviet rule.
In Rostov-on-Don, a large commercial and industrial center, there was not a single monastery, or even a monastic courtyard. The nearest large monastery was two hundred kilometers away, in the Kharkov province - the Slavic Monastery on the Donets River. And yet, among the pastors of the parish churches of Rostov there was one spirit-bearing elder. Unfortunately, I do not have biographical information about Archpriest Father John Domovsky, since I learned about him in the very last years of his life.
I remember only one incident from the period of the “first revolution” of 1905. On the evening of December 19, when Father John was serving the all-night vigil in memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a bomb exploded near the Alexander Nevsky Church. Only the one who carried the bomb, a local worker, died from it. Those who were in the temple claimed that he first entered the crowded temple to throw a bomb, but did not dare to do so. Then, while walking along the church fence, he apparently slipped and fell. The bomb exploded, but no one else was hurt... Popular rumor attributed this outcome to the help of St. Nicholas and the prayers of Father John Domovsky.
While Father John was rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church, he did not enjoy such fame as after he retired shortly before the October Revolution. It is known, however, that another authority has an opinion about Father John - Father John of Kronstadt. One day he was invited to Rostov by a wealthy merchant Levanidova, who suffered from an incurable disease. Having arrived to her, Father John of Kronstadt, among other things, told her: “Why did you call me from so far away, when you have your own Father John here - Archpriest Domovsky...” They added to this that Father John of Kronstadt personally never met Archpriest John Domovsky .
Indeed, the fame of Father John Domovsky after the revolution was very great, and many turned to him for advice. Moreover, by the Providence of God he was saved from persecution by the new government. He did not show himself in any external activity, he only went to Sunday liturgies at the Alexander Nevsky Church and there, in the altar, he mostly sat on a soft chair. But the rest of the time, Father John was available to visitors, despite his very advanced age.
Father John's availability was made easier by the fact that after leaving the state, he lived in his daughter's house. Her husband was a famous doctor and received patients in the same house. And when someone came to their house, the servants asked: “Are you going to the doctor or to the priest?” - and led the visitor to the appropriate room.
It is quite clear that I cannot fully describe the spiritual help that Father John provided to those who turned to him, since many came to him secretly and did not talk about their conversations with him. There were many rumors about his wisdom and insight, but I will not dwell on them, I will only remind you that it was his advice that played a great positive role in the fate of Gennady and Marina (this incident is told in the 9th chapter of part 2 of the book: “When Marina came and explained her situation to Father John, he closed his eyes with his hand for a while, as if for prayer or reflection, and then said: “Don’t worry and pray to God. Everything will be cleared up by Easter.”
In conclusion, I will add a few lines about the death of Father John Domovsky. In 1930 or 1931, Father John died at the age of over 90 years. In those years, open funerals were still possible, and therefore seeing off the body of Father John revealed the veneration that he enjoyed in the city. Thousands of Orthodox people gathered at his tomb. It is impossible to say exactly how many of them accompanied him to the cemetery, but eyewitnesses said that the procession that walked through the entire city to the cemetery stopped tram traffic for three whole hours. The police could not do anything, and everyone waited until the crowds of people had passed. Orthodox people saw off their elder in such numbers as never gathered for any funeral of famous Soviet figures.
From the memoirs of Princess N.V. Urusova.
(“Mother’s cry of Holy Rus'.” pp. 243-245).
Still, I have seen more than just horrors in 25 years. I have written a lot about the wonderful mercies of God. The Lord saved some people of righteous life from violent death at the hands of the Bolsheviks. The greatest happiness and consolation were meetings and collisions with them.
While visiting Rostov to sell flowers, I heard about a wonderful 106-year-old elder, Father John Domovsky, who lived in Rostov in a separate small house. From morning to night, visitors came to him for advice and consolation. With him there was a clear miracle of God’s protection from the GPU. They came more than once, intending to arrest him, but the GPU, with its strength, both physical and satanic, could not do this.
Believers were always on duty, day and night, and a crowd instantly gathered near his house. Of course, without God's help it was impossible to resist Satan's power. The elder died in his cell in 1927, his death from old age.
I visited him twice, and a wonderful reverence emanated from this old man, ancient in years, but always young in spirit. For the most part, he lay on his bed and received visitors without getting up, dressed in a cassock. Sometimes he got up and approached the corner with the newcomer, where a mass of icons and many lamps hung above a table covered to the bottom, where he performed divine services. He was tall, not bent at all, and it seemed that he could be used to paint a picture depicting the Apostle. The first time he received me and talked without getting up, and the second time he stood up and prayed in the sacred corner. When he released me, blessing me, and I was already out the door, he began calling me back by name. I returned, he was still standing in the corner, he was wearing an epitrachelion. He put his hands on my head and silently prayed for several minutes, then slowly blessed me with a large cross with the words: “From impudent death.” I realized that he had removed from me something terrible that threatened me, visible through his insight. More than once I have been in conditions of what seemed like inevitable death, and I always remember these words and blessings from him. When I was with him for the first time, the serving nun let me in while he had not yet released the other woman. She didn't just cry, she sobbed, begging him for something. I couldn't help but hear the conversation, because... I was right there, and he didn’t tell me to move away; it was probably necessary for me to become even stronger in my feelings and opinions towards the communists. “Father, I love him, I have several children from him, how can I leave him? This is my husband! - she said. And he answered: “Leave it and go away, a believer in God cannot be the wife of a communist.” So she left in tears under his ban, and in his last words he told her: There will never be forgiveness for this.”
Prayers to John the Russian for healing from illness
Keeping faith can sometimes be difficult. But the lives of saints help people understand that even in the most difficult moments one cannot renounce the Lord, and then the Almighty will be kind to them. So, we can see from the example of the righteous life of John the Russian how prayer helps and how to live life with humility, piety and firmness of faith.
History of John the Russian
Preacher John the Russian was born in Little Russia in the 17th century. Taking part in the Russian-Turkish war, he was captured and sold into slavery to the commander of the cavalry.
Captured Christians were usually converted to Islam, but Saint John of Russia was steadfast in his faith: “Neither threats nor promises of wealth and pleasures can you turn me away from my holy faith.
I was born a Christian, I will die a Christian.”
At first his treatment in captivity was cruel, but over time his righteous life began to earn people's respect. The owner invited him to live as a free man, but righteous John refused. He continued to work in the stable, where he prayed alone at night, strengthening his faith in God.
Three and a half years after his death, his relics were discovered incorrupt and transferred to the church.
How do prayers to St. John the Russian help?
The day of veneration of John the Russian is celebrated on June 9.
On this day, it is customary to ask for forgiveness from relatives and those who hold a grudge against you. This is also the time to visit the temple in honor of John the Russian and offer prayers to him.
Sincere prayer to John the Russian will help you:
- forgive offenses;
- gain confidence in everyday activities;
- stop ethnic and religious strife;
- strengthen in the Orthodox faith;
- get rid of diseases.
Prayer for work
O all-blessed confessor of Christ and great wonderworker John, treasure of Euboea, praise to the Greek country and kinsman of the Russian people! In the Hagarian captivity, you firmly endured the cruel beatings and burning of hair for Christ, but with your piety, the deeds and miracles of the faithful, you greatly strengthened you, you softened the unfaithful and enlightened them, and after your death you shone with countless miracles and healings.
We, O servant of God, have such great boldness towards the Lord, but we, the needy, have such warm compassion, as we do not tolerate and see us in severe illnesses or severe sorrows, and for this reason, even those who are not called upon, quickly come, healing bodies and souls, casting out demons , converting those who have gone astray, and especially driving away all illness and sorrow from small children.
Behold, even now our sins are burdensome and our souls have been worn away by debilitating sorrows, our bodily strength has become impoverished, and how can we resist despondency and more painful sadness, if not you yourself, the Holy One of God, rise up for us and take up arms against our enemies with grace! Ask, with your prayers favorable to the Lord, for those suffering from bodily ailments, complete healing, and for all, saving patience and gratitude; turn away sorrows, demonic slander and temptations; However, as much as the Lord allows, teach us to bear it wisely for cleansing; But enlighten us in the darkness of ignorance and oblivion of God’s existing commandments, instruct us to unswervingly do the will of God, resolve spiritual infertility, grant purification, sanctification and enlightenment to our souls; May we, together with you, glorify the All-Good God and the Most Pure Mother of God through your all-powerful intercession forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to Saint John the Russian for children
Oh, holy newly-minted servant of God, John the Russian! Having fought a good fight on earth, you have received in heaven the crown of righteousness, which the Lord has prepared for all who love Him. In the same way, looking at your holy image, we rejoice at the glorious end of your life and honor your holy memory.
You, standing before the Throne of God, accept our prayers, servant of God (names), and bring them to the All-Merciful God, to forgive us every sin and help us against the wiles of the devil, so that we may be delivered from sorrows, illnesses, troubles and misfortunes and all evil Let us live piously and righteously in this present world and through your intercession we will be worthy, even though we are unworthy, to see good things on the land of the living, glorifying the One in His saints, glorifying God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Prayer to John the Russian for healing
One of the main prayers offered to this saint is the prayer to John the Russian for healing from various diseases. History knows many miraculous cases when requests addressed to this Saint were fulfilled, and the person quickly recovered.
O great servant of God, holy righteous John the Russian, who shone forth in the lands of Assia through your life equal to the angels, through your zeal for the Lord and your deeds in confessing the faith of Christ, the city of Neoprocopion and the whole land of Hellas is a bright adornment, a God-protected country of ours, its people and all over the world living as an Orthodox Christian. help and strong intercession! We thank the Lord, who is marvelous in His saints, who unshakably confirmed you in the true faith, who strengthened you in standing for its confession and gave a good end to your laborious feat, and who showed many and great miracles to us through the multi-healing cancer of your relics. Now, standing before the Heavenly King, ask Him to deliver all the cities and villages of our country and the land of Hellas from famine, cowardice, filth, fire, deadly diseases, from foreign invasions and internecine wars. Help everyone who travels, who is sick, who is in captivity, who suffers in sorrow and persecution for the holy Orthodox faith. Unite all Orthodox people with love for Christ our God and the Church of His Saints, grant us the spirit of love and peace for the fraternal unity of all the faithful. Pray to the Lord to give us the spirit of repentance and contrition for our sins and with His omnipotent grace to help and strengthen us in the fight against passions and lusts, to grant us the spirit of humility and meekness, the spirit of brotherly love and kindness, the spirit of zeal for God and the salvation of our neighbors. Remember us, sinners, who pray to you: heal the suffering and sick, comfort the grieving, give quick help to the needy, and ask for a Christian end of life that is painless, non-shameful, peaceful and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ for all who honor and love you. Be our helper and protector for salvation, so that through your prayers we may be honored in this and the future to glorify God in the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4
From the land of your captivity / calling you to the heavenly villages, / the Lord will keep your body safe and healthy, / righteous John, / for you, caught in Russia and sold to Asia, / in the middle, aha You lived piously in spite of the Ryan’s wickedness in a lot of patience/ and, having sowed here with tears,/ reap there with unspeakable joy.// Moreover, pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Translation:
From the land where you were in captivity, the Lord, who called you to the Heavenly settlements, preserves your body unharmed and gives healing, righteous John, for you, taken from Russia and sold to Asia, lived piously in the midst of the Muslim heresy with much patience and, having sowed here with tears, you reap there with unspeakable joy (Ps. 126:5). Therefore, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Troparion, tone 4
He who called you from the earth to the heavenly abodes/ preserves your incorruptible body even after death, holy one,/ for you were brought like a captive to Asia,/ to become like Christ.// For this reason, pray to Him to save to our souls.
Translation:
He who called you from earth to the heavenly abodes preserves your body incorruptible even after death, holy one, for you were brought as a captive to Asia, where you became like Christ. Therefore, pray to Him for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion, tone 8
In honor of your memory, holy one, Russia rejoices in you, having raised you in piety, and Asia rejoices in your healing power, even though the narrow path has passed through suffering captivity and fasting deeds “Thou hast appeared an honest vessel of God’s grace, / for which thou hast asked and to us, your admirer, let us call you: Hail, John, name of grace.
Translation:
On the day of your revered memory, holy one, Russia, which raised you in piety, rejoices over you, and Asia rejoices in your healing relics, where you walked the narrow path (Matthew 7:14) of suffering captivity and fasting exploits, you appeared as a venerable vessel of God’s grace, Ask it also to us who honor you, so that we cry to you: “Rejoice, John, who is of the same name with grace.”
“HIS SOUL WILL BE INSTALLED IN THE GOOD, AND HIS SEED WILL INHERIT THE EARTH...” Father John Domovsky
At the Armenian cemetery in Rostov, not far from the Church of St. Karapet, among the graves forgotten by time, one stands out, well-groomed, overshadowed by a wooden cross painted with fresh blue paint, and with an icon lamp next to a simple tomb. On the cross is an enamel photograph of an old man with a handsome beard, a soulful, deep gaze, and the inscription: “Archpriest John Domovsky. Rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Nakhichevan-on-Don.”
Father John Domovsky was called “father”, “elder”. He lived in Nakhichevan-on-Don on 2nd Georgievskaya street, 16 (now Rostov-on-Don, Komsomolskaya street, 20). The family moved here from Mariupol in 1907. Father was 65 years old at that time, and his youngest daughter Varvara came with him. The eldest daughter Anna remained to live in Mariupol (later a kindergarten was located in their house).
Father John's mother (also Anna) died before the family moved to the Don. Father John wanted to go to a monastery, but his daughters dissuaded him.
It is reliably known that in 1914 Fr. John Domovsky served as rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Nakhichevan (the temple was located on the corner of the Second Cathedral and Leo Tolstoy Square).
As recorded in the Diocesan Book of the Ekaterinoslav Diocese for 1914: “The Alexander Nevsky Church is stone, built in 1897. Double-throne. The second throne was consecrated in the name of the holy righteous Anna - the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Parishioners: 1336 males and 1346 females. There is no church land. Clergy: 2 priests and 2 psalmists. Rector: Archpriest John Alekseev Domovsky - 74 years old. Graduated from the Theological Seminary. Priest since 1866. Order of Anna, 2nd class since 1910. Temple address: Nakhichevan on Don.”
According to the memoirs of E. N. Sakhadzhieva, a wide, flat staircase led to the temple. There was a fountain in front of the temple; thick linden trees grew in its corners, emitting a wonderful aroma when they bloomed. The temple was later blown up (after the death of Father John), and in its place a five-story building was built, on the 1st floor of which there was a “Cultural Goods” store.
Until 1918, Father John Domovsky taught the Law of God at the Nakhichevan Women's Gymnasium (now School No. 13 on Svobody Square). Russian girls studied with him, and the Armenian girls were taught by an Armenian priest in the Armenian language. Among the priest's students were two future secret nuns - Sergia and Tatyana. Both ended their lives in the Pukhtitsa Monastery (Estonia).
Recalling her years of study at the Nakhichevan Women’s Gymnasium, nun Sergia writes: “I graduated from the Nakhichevan Women’s Gymnasium with a medal. This was a gymnasium in Nakhichevan on the Don, in which the Law of God was taught by the perspicacious elder Father John Domovsky. Father John of Kronstadt spoke about him to those who came to him from the south of Russia: “Why do you come to me - you have your own Ivan.” Sometimes the schoolgirls were not ready to answer a lesson on the Law of God, they asked their teacher to tell them something from the Holy Scriptures, and the priest recounted biblical events to them so impressively, as if he himself was a participant in them.”
People continuously walked to the house of Father John on 2nd Georgievskaya, carts arrived, visitors went to the priest for spiritual advice, consolation, and healing.
Through the prayers of Father John, cases of healing occurred repeatedly. The priest healed with prayer, holy water and the image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
In some cases, the names of those healed are known. For example, Raisa Danilova was healed from nervous attacks by the priest. She began to have seizures after 1918, when in front of her eyes a revolutionary crowd tore a man to pieces (he turned out to be a priest).
Parishioner of the St. Alexandria Church Alexandra Morozova recalled the healing of her aunt, Angelina, who broke her arm. The broken arm was very painful, swollen and red. Angelina, crying, turned to her father. He prayed, made the sign of the cross on his sore hand and said: “Go, Angelina, your hand is healthy.” And indeed, the tumor immediately disappeared, and the fracture was no longer there.
Among those healed were people completely unknown to the priest, as well as his direct relatives. The described case dates back to 1920. It was then that an epidemic of typhoid fever broke out in Rostov. Father John’s granddaughter Marusya also suffered (her mother was Father Anna’s eldest daughter). At that time she was only 11 years old. The temperature rose very high and delirium began. The situation was critical. “The priest prayed in his cell, took the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, with which he healed the sick, brought it to Marusa and said: “If you can, look and pray.” By morning the temperature subsided and recovery began” (according to the memoirs of E. N. Sakhadzhieva).
They asked the priest for spiritual advice on what to do in this or that case, and he answered with wise insight. As a child, Tatyana Nikolaevna Bereslavich visited the Domovskys’ house. Her mother Klavdia Timofeevna took her there with her. She came to seek advice about her husband's upcoming gall bladder surgery. “The small house in which Father John received people was located in Nakhichevan. Directly from the street we found ourselves in a small room (cell). Father seemed to me thin, white, and seemed to glow all over. He stroked my head and told my mother: “Don’t be afraid. Let him do the operation. Everything will be fine". And everything came true through the elder’s prayers.”
Moreover, the priest often foresaw future events and advised them to take one or another life step, protecting them from danger. So, he advised his spiritual daughter Yulia to take her daughters away from Rostov. Julia did not listen to his advice, and as a result a tragic story happened. A young cadet fell in love with her youngest daughter Tatyana and sought reciprocity, but to no avail. This circumstance led him to despair, and one day he shot Tatyana and shot himself. Julia bitterly repented of her disobedience, but it was too late.
Another evidence of the priest’s foresight. Father John's spiritual daughter Julia had two sons. The eldest ended up in the Caucasus in the first years of Soviet power, and the younger in France. He was on a training voyage, and then a revolution happened. The captain, students and crew ended up abroad. Julia turned to Father John for advice, since she had not heard from her sons for a long time. Father John prayed fervently in front of the icons and said: “Whoever is in the Caucasus, pray for repose, and whoever is in France, pray for health.” That’s how it was: the eldest was killed in the Caucasus, and the youngest, Mikhail, lived for a long time in France and shortly before the war returned to Rostov: he could not stand being in a foreign land, he was very homesick for his homeland.
Some visitors came to the priest out of simple curiosity. But the priest guessed their secret thoughts and desires. So, one day two Komsomol members came to him to “chat.” Father John poured tea into their glasses and said: “Chat as much as you want.” Komsomol members fell to their knees and asked for forgiveness.
One of Father John’s spiritual children spent a long time persuading his student son, an unbeliever, to go to Father John. He went, but along the way he thought: “If Father John is really perspicacious, then let him guess the name of Saint Tryphon.” Enters the cell. He sees the priest standing at the window and repeating: “Tryphon, Tryphon, Tryphon.” The young man was ashamed of his unbelief and soon began a new life. Another memorable episode took place in the priest’s house. The great-granddaughter of Father John G.N. Kurbatova-Savitskaya remembered him.
During the Civil War, two Red Army soldiers were assigned to stay at the priest’s house. Knowing that this was a priest's house, one of them, nevertheless, blasphemed all the time. It got to the point that he allowed him to boldly say to the priest: “If there was a God, then after such words I would be speechless.” Father John looked at him silently, and he was speechless. He fell to his knees crying and began pointing at his neck (asked for baptism). After baptism he spoke again. But such visitors were in the minority. By the way, visitors were chosen and brought to the priest by the holy fool Emelyan, who lived at the house. He looked out in the crowd for the one most suffering, in his opinion, and, supporting him by the elbow, led him into the house. And he didn’t let some of them on the threshold at all, threw stones at them and shouted: “But I won’t let you in, slanted ones!”
By the end of the 20s, the triumph of godlessness came: many churches in Rostov and Nakhichevan were closed. Believers began to gather in the priest’s house. On Sundays and holidays, divine services were solemnly and decorously performed in his cell. An akathist was also served to the Great Martyr Barbara; Father John wrote the notes of the chorus and alleluaria with his own hand, as well as the notes of the spiritual chant “Holy God” (this happened in 1929). He also led the choir he created. After the service, the priest delivered a sermon, and then talked with everyone individually, calling his interlocutor “baby.” “Cell” was the name given to the small room that Father John occupied in the house. In the holy corner there was a large icon case with a lamp, and on the table in front of the icon lay the Bible. Nearby stood a modest bed covered with a dark blanket. In addition to the bed, there was a chest and a grandson’s desk in the cell. The room was elongated, with one window and a separate entrance. Father said that a lamp should always be lit in the house. During the years of devastation, there was no lamp oil, and the priest blessed, in the absence of it, to pour ordinary kerosene into the lamps. And surprisingly, there was no smell of kerosene at all, and no fires occurred.
The flow of believers near the priest’s house aroused suspicion on the part of the Cheka, and one day the priest was taken away for interrogation. From the memoirs of O. Litvinova: “Left alone with the investigator, Fr. John said: “I’m not leaving here anywhere, but you need to be home now.” The investigator chuckled, but still went home and found the following picture: the wife was doing laundry in the kitchen, and dinner was being prepared on the primus stove on the balcony. The balcony door was open, and his son was sleeping in a cradle nearby. The wind blew the door curtain towards the primus stove, it caught fire, and when the investigator entered the room, the flaming curtain was approaching the cradle. If he had been a minute late, a fire would have been inevitable. Returning to the office, the investigator said: “Go home, father, no one will touch you again.” In this miraculous way the Lord saved His saint.”
His daughter Varvara lived in the house with the priest with her husband Ivan Yakovlevich Kurbatov, a famous surgeon in Rostov (he worked at the Mariinsky Hospital on the 14th line). Ivan Yakovlevich Kurbatov came from the clergy. His father, Yakov Ivanovich, served as a priest in the Voronezh diocese, and the doctor himself, before receiving his medical education, studied at the Voronezh Theological Seminary. Varvara Ivanovna and Ivan Yakovlevich had two sons: Georgy (born December 31, 1907) and Nikolai (born in 1923). In addition to them, three novices lived in the house: Anna Antipovna, hunchbacked Dunya and Ulyana. A frequent guest in the house was the priest’s spiritual daughter Vasilisa Zakharovna Kovalenko.
Vasilisa Zakharovna’s grandson, priest Nikolai Balabanyan, recalls: “When Fr. John was no longer able to perform services, the grandmother asked to bless her and, as she said, “secretly hoped to receive some kind of icon from the priest.” And he looked at her and, smiling, said: “I bless you, baby, but it’s not time yet.” And then one day, when my grandmother came to Fr. John, he blessed her and gave her his photo with the inscription: “In prayerful memory of Vassa Zakharovna Kovalenko. Mitred Archpriest Fr. John Domovsky." Unfortunately, this inscription has faded over time, as it was made in ink, and it can only be partially seen with a magnifying glass. And once again, just before his death, Fr. John presented a photograph where he is depicted sitting at the table in his cell. Grandmother always remembered, cried and said: “I, a sinner, wanted an icon, but dear father knew what was needed: memory and prayer were needed.”
Father knew about his death in advance. He said: “I will die in Lent. And since I won’t miss Easter, I’ll break my fast now.” And he also added that he would be buried twice.
Father John Domovsky died on March 9, 1930, a month and three days short of his 88th birthday.
Many people came to see the priest off on his final journey: admirers and spiritual children, disciples. The funeral service for the priest was conducted by His Eminence Bishop Seraphim, Archbishop of Rostov and Taganrog, who was subsequently exiled to Solovki and ended his journey in Ulyanovsk.
The priest was buried at the Sofievsky cemetery, in the crypt of the Alexander Chapel. But when the cemetery was closed (in its place now there is a former radiator named after Chentsov, and the Labor Reserves stadium), Varvara Ivanovna and Vasilisa Zakharovna (their own daughter and spiritual) went to all authorities for a long time asking for reburial. They allowed me to rebury him, but they made a promise that no one would know about it.
The coffin with the body of Father John was transported at night. When the coffin was loaded onto the ditch, it cracked, and incorrupt arms and legs became visible, but they did not dare to open the coffin.
The second burial place of the priest was the Armenian cemetery. The funeral service was repeated. This was done by Abbot Alexy Melnikov. Subsequently, he was removed from service for the funeral service for Father John's son-in-law, surgeon Ivan Yakovlevich Kurbatov. Hegumen Alexy every day at 4 p.m. for many years came to the priest’s grave and performed his prayer rule there (he died on December 14, 1981).
“When I die, come to my grave, I will help you,” said Father John Domovsky.
The flow of people coming for prayerful help to the priest’s final resting place does not dry out.
Archpriest Ioann Alekseevich Domovsky
John Alekseevich Domovsky was born on March 30, 1840. in the village of Pokrovskoye, Ekaterinoslav province and district (now Dnepropetrovsk region) in the family of a deacon. Having graduated from the Ekaterinoslav Theological Seminary (July 15, 1865), a year later he was ordained a priest and on August 30, 1866. appointed rector of the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Vasilyevki, Slavyanoserbsk district.
A year later, his zeal was noted by the church authorities: “For his zeal for the temple of God, an Archpastoral blessing was given from the Most Reverend Plato.” During his service in the rural parish, Father John managed to gather and train a good parish choir, so that in 1875. he was “transferred to the city of Yekaterinoslav to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration... and appointed regent of the Bishop’s Choir.”
In Yekaterinoslav, his service began as a teacher of the law, a teacher of the Orthodox faith, in the 1st and 2nd grades of the diocesan girls' school.
Subsequently, Father John held various positions in the diocese: member of the Construction Committee for the construction of a hostel and hospital at the Theological School (1875), member of the censorship department (1875-89), teacher of the law at the City Three-Class School (1882), member of the Guardianship of the Poor spiritual rank. In the Diocesan Gazette of the Ekaterinoslav Diocese 1882-1898. There are numerous references to the charity of Rev. John Domovsky.
Archpriest John Domovsky is listed on the lists of the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, opened at the Ekaterinoslav Seminary since 1883-84, that is, almost from the very beginning of its existence, and in 1893-1894 he is already mentioned as an honorary member.
Archpriest John Domovsky was a member of the Orthodox Missionary Society committee for many years. It is noteworthy that this committee consisted of approximately equal parts from the classes: clergy, peasants, townspeople, a small part - nobles (in 1893 there were 108 people in the society in total). In the fifth issue of the Diocesan Gazette dated March 1, 1893, Prot. John is mentioned as having made one of the largest contributions. He and 10 other priests donated a total of 1,236 rubles. Fundraising was not the fraternity's main focus. Extensive missionary work: publishing books and leaflets, teaching aids, active anti-sectarian activities, including public debates - this is only part of the work covered in the press.
Fr. did not only do charity with money. John. June 19, 1877 a charity spiritual concert was given by the choir of bishops' singers, the conductor of which was the regent of the choir of the Cathedral Father John, the artists of the St. Petersburg Opera I.V. Matchinsky and E.Ya. Sokolova. The collection from the concert for the Red Cross amounted to 274 rubles. 40 kopecks to care for sick and wounded soldiers. For 12 years of unpaid service in the society for the care of the poor, priest John Domovsky in 1893 received the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree.
Since 1883 he was entrusted with auditioning and selecting readers and singers for the diocese. In 1886 O. John was appointed keymaster of the cathedral. Here he conducted “extra-liturgical interviews” with the people. In 1888 he was awarded the pectoral cross. Since 1889 was in charge of training psalmists. In 1892 Priest John Domovsky was appointed teacher of the law and confessor to the Russian Red Cross Society in Yekaterinoslav and a member of the board of the Seminary, then a supernumerary member of the consistory.
In 1893 Priest John Domovsky traveled together with the ruling bishop to the Rostov-on-Don district. A detailed story about visiting the Don region. John placed it in the Diocesan Gazette.
September 15, 1896 Father John “According to the request, he was temporarily moved to the St. Sophia Church in Nakhichevan-on-Don.” Two and a half months later, he was appointed rector of the newly built Alexander Nevsky Church in Nakhichevan-on-Don.
Since April 1897 Father John began teaching the Law of God at the Catherine's Girls' Gymnasium and labored in this field until 1918.
He enjoyed great love among the clergy, especially among the people - for his accessibility and for his attention to the performance of church services, which were always magnificent and solemn,” this is how one of his altar servers, later a deacon, spoke of the priest. “The exploits of Father John were: special humility, his love for everyone, from the authorities to the smallest, serving in the temple; the peace he brought to the clergy.”
To the rank of archpriest Fr. John was erected on June 13, 1899. In 1914 For services to the Orthodox Fatherland, the priest was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree, and, soon, the Order of St. Anna, 2nd degree. In 1916, Father John retired, remaining the honorary rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church (at the moment the temple has not been preserved, the territory where the temple was located is within the city of Rostov-on-Don).
It’s worth telling about Fr.’s family. John. He and his wife, Maria Iosifovna (born in 1848 or 1849), had four daughters: Zinaida (born about 1870), Anna (born about 1873), Anastasia (born about 1875) and Varvara (born about 1886). Anna and Anastasia were married to priests, Zinaida to a veterinarian, and they lived in different cities. However, after the war (possibly World War I), Anna became a widow and moved with her father with her 2 daughters. Varvara always lived in her father's house, in 1904. She graduated from the Catherine Gymnasium, then married Ivan Yakovlevich Kurbatov, later a famous surgeon at the Mariinsky Hospital.
Having settled in the suburbs of Rostov - Nakhichevan-on-Don, May 27, 1908. Father John bought a house, which was located 10 minutes. walk from the temple. According to archival data, Fr. John was widowed between 1902 and 1912. It can be assumed that the move to a new house was connected precisely with the death of Mother Maria and the desire to change the situation.
Probably, even before the revolution, a community in the early Christian spirit began to take shape in this house. Its core consisted of part of Fr.’s relatives. Ioanna - the family of Varvara Ioannovna (she and Ivan Yakovlevich had two children - Georgy and Nikolai), Anna Ioannovna with two daughters, Maria and Olga. In addition, the priest had several adopted daughters (or pupils) - Nadezhda (a gypsy), Shurochka, Anna (and possibly others) and novices - the perspicacious Anna Antipovna (date of death 1956; she is buried to the left of Father John’s grave) , hunchbacked Dunechka, Ulyana, Matryona Gavrilovna (“Baba Motya”). For some time now, the holy fool Emelyan, who also had the gift of clairvoyance and foresaw the approaching death of people, lived in the house for Christ’s sake. He selected the priest’s visitors: whom he let in, whom he sent away. The priest’s closest spiritual children were also in the house – deacon of the Annunciation Greek Church Father John Popandopulo, Vassa (Vasilisa) Zakharovna Kovalenko and others.
The history of Father John’s pastoral and spiritual exploit is closely connected with the discovery of the icon of the Mother of God, which the Rostovites called “Unexpected Joy,” although from the point of view of iconography it was a copy from the Kazan icon. According to the testimony of Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov), who, when he was the ruling bishop of the Rostov diocese, collected evidence about Fr. John of Domovsky and Father John brought this icon as a gift. After some time, they bring in a possessed woman: her hands are tied. She was wild. They ask Father John to serve a prayer service on the donated icon. He wiped it and took it to the middle of the temple. And when a prayer service was being served, the demon-possessed woman fought, writhed, and screamed. At the end of the prayer service, Father John said: Untie her hands! But those who brought her said: Father! She will kill everyone! Father John himself began to untie her hands. The woman began to pray, feeling completely healthy. This miracle had a strong effect on Fr. John and everyone present. From that day on, the sick came and came from the region every day and received healings. The clergy and people began to notice how the icon was being renewed: the face of the Mother of God became visible, and gradually the face of the Infant God appeared. The artist Cherepakhin observed this. He himself was surprised by this phenomenon. And he prayed in front of this image. Since the time this icon appeared, the temple began to be expanded, and it has already become a cathedral. Many people received healing from the icon of the Mother of God, people came and thanked for the mercy they received from the shrine. “Often, Father John was asked to come to the house with his cell icon of the Mother of God to serve a prayer service; people had various sorrows, for example, there was a quarrel between the spouses, even to the point of divorce, but through Father John’s prayer everything went away,” recalled the priest’s pupil. In the Yekaterinoslav Gazette for October 11, 1915, there is a note by priest V. Mikhalevich about the veneration of this icon in the Alexander Nevsky Church. It is described that this icon is “placed in a special icon case with a mass of lamps and candles”
According to the memoirs of Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) (+1961) “In 1916, Father John retired, leaving the position of rector of the church, with the intention of spending the last years of his life in the monastery,” “but the elders did not bless him, they said: You need to be in Rostov - to console and pray for people.” “And so until the death of Fr. John prayed with the people in his cell.” From time to time he continued to serve in the church. His house became a kind of “monastery in the world,” where spiritual work was constantly going on. “...the chapel was the holy of holies of the house - it was Fr. John. …. There was amazing peace and quiet in the chapel, the air was always clean. The icons made the greatest impression on me. We also had icons in our house, it was familiar to me. Icons about. John were amazing. Among the icons in the cell was the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, in front of which Father John healed the sick. When I entered the chapel, my soul felt light and I wanted to do something good. My little soul was filled with delight, and this feeling has not been lost. It's with me. My mother warned me to behave quietly in Father John’s house, but there was no need to do this - Father John’s chapel had such a calming effect on me.”… This is how the priest’s service was remembered by his contemporaries: “For advice, for prayer, for People came to him for healing from illness; they came from afar, from other cities. Early in the morning people gathered at his house. The entire street was lined with carts, drays, and carts. People sat on sidewalk curbs waiting to be received. As a girl, going out of the gate, I saw that the entire street was lined with carts. They came to him from afar for healing.”
“My mother and I often went to the temple of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. Father John served there. One day, after the Liturgy, when everyone was approaching the cross, a woman approached Father John and spat in his face. Father John raised the cross over her head and began to pray. She spat all over his face!.. Suddenly a rude male voice rang out: “I’ll only leave through you on the fortieth day.” Then we learned that the priest prayed for forty days for the woman and cast out a demon from her.”
Until the end of his days, Father John lived in Rostov-on-Don, constantly receiving people in need of pastoral advice and help.
“My aunt, Tatyana Nikolaevna Bereslavich, as a child, was with her mother Claudia Timofeevna at the elder’s - her father was seriously ill, and the doctors advised him to remove the gallbladder. Everyone in the house was very afraid of this operation. “The small house,” Tatyana Nikolaevna recalled, “in which Father John received people was located in Nakhichevan. Directly from the street we found ourselves in a small room (cell). Father seemed to me thin, white, and seemed to glow all over. He stroked my head and told my mother: “Don’t be afraid. Let him do the operation. Everything will be fine". And everything came true through the elder’s prayers.”
During the years of post-revolutionary persecution of the Church and church unrest caused by the “renovationist” schism, Fr. John of Domovsky was the “rule of faith” for the clergy and people.
In the autumn of 1922 A diocesan congress of clergy and laity was held in Rostov. At first, the delegates were offered for adoption a program of reforms of Church life that completely coincided with the renovationist one. However, during its discussion, many expressed disagreement on certain points. Priest Alexei Trefilyev generally anathematized the congress on behalf of the “ESSAC Union.” (i.e. the so-called Apostolic Church, discussed below), accusing him of renovationism.
But, in the end, the congress, on many of the most radical points, rejected the reform program and did not enter into communion with the Living Church. Father Alexey Trefilyev reconciled with the members of the congress. Thus, the majority of the clergy, having rejected renovationism, took a wait-and-see attitude, because the situation was too unclear and contradictory. At the request of the defenders of Orthodoxy, a letter from Protodeacon Dimitry Novochadov was read at the congress, in which he explained his refusal to serve in the Cathedral, occupied by renovationists. Among other things, he refers to Fr. John: “If the Parish Council wants to know the truth, it deigns to invite Archpriest Fr. John of Domovsky, a well-respected shepherd, and let him judge, after listening to both sides, who is right... If the Parish Council does not want this, then it means that it does not want to know the truth, the holy truth, but wants to follow the blind leaders who will lead themselves and their followers into a hole where I don’t belong...”
In addition, Fr. John Domovsky was the spiritual father of Bishop Zechariah (Lobov), glorified by the Jubilee Council of Bishops in 2000. Even these small episodes are enough to present the image of Fr. John as the inspirer of resistance to renovationism on the Don in 1922-1924, i.e. from the very beginning of its spread within the Don and Rostov dioceses.
When part of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was transferred to the Renovationists, Father John stopped visiting him and ordered “that after his death his ashes should not be carried past the cathedral, which was done.” He called on the Orthodox “not to visit churches occupied by renovationists, not to accept priests from renovationists into their homes. It is known that Fr. John was interrogated several times by the OGPU; one of these interrogations was associated with the miracle of Fr. John. When he was called to the investigator, the priest strongly recommended that he immediately go home, because. he is really needed there. The investigator believed Father John and went home, where, as it turned out, due to a primus stove left unattended, a curtain caught fire and the fire miraculously did not have time to spread to the cradle with the child. After this incident, the investigator returned to Fr. John and said: “Father, go home, no one else will bother you.”
Father John died in 1930 and was buried at the former St. Sophia Church; and subsequently his ashes were transferred to the “Armenian” cemetery, where he rests at the present time. He predicted that his ashes would be buried twice, which came true.
In the book of Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) “Notes of a Bishop,” Fr. A chapter entitled “The Rostov Saint” is dedicated to John, where the biography of Father John and the story of his lifetime and posthumous miracles are given in some detail. There are numerous other testimonies about the posthumous miracles of Fr. John Domovsky.
After the death of Fr. John, people constantly went to his grave, the clergy of Rostov-on-Don served a requiem service quite regularly. In particular, this is reflected in the document “Information about especially revered places, miraculous icons and klikushes in deanery districts, individual parishes of the Rostov diocese.” This document contains the following entry: “In the Proletarsky district of the city of Rostov-on-Don, in the former Armenian cemetery, there is the grave of the priest Domovsky John, who died in 1929, who is highly revered by believers - a “saint.” This grave is cared for all year round, a lamp is lit, and in the summer months many believers—women—gather near this grave.” It is also noted here that the clergy of Rostov-on-Don conduct funeral services at the grave of Father John.
Of particular interest are the notes of Irina Nikolaevna Pavlyuk, a parishioner of the Holy Ascension Church in Rostov-on-Don. She described in detail how in 2007-2010. The reconstruction of the tombstone of his grave and the arrangement of the adjacent territory were carried out by the efforts of parishioners of Rostov churches, ardent admirers and admirers of the memory of Archpriest John Domovsky. This story tells how incredibly successfully, without having practically any material means, these modest workers, who relied entirely only on the mercy of God and the prayerful intercession of Fr. John Domovsky, managed to create a marble tombstone, install an artistically crafted grave cross, and a forged fence.
In 2002, a book dedicated to Archpriest John Domovsky, “In eternal memory there will be a righteous man,” was published.
Currently, people's veneration of Fr. Joanna not only did not weaken. But it intensified even more. Active work continues to collect materials about the life and feat of Fr. John Domovsky, material is collected about miracles and healings performed through the prayerful intercession of Archpriest John Domovsky, memorial services are regularly held at his grave.
