Venerable Jonah, praise and adornment of the city of Kyiv
Jonah of Kyiv. Lifetime photo
It’s amazing that this is said about earthly man: “on the Zverinetsky mountains there is a divinely luminous luminary,” “leading to the eternal Heavenly Fatherland,” “having an abundant source of tears, O servant of God, and great grace of tenderness, you watered your bread with tears, and dissolved your drink with weeping, from an excess of divine desire and love for the Lord.” This is exactly what the Akathist says to St. Jonah of Kyiv, marveling at the fact that the Most Holy Theotokos Herself appeared to the ascetic.
But it is also quite surprising that this man lived, in general, quite recently, left this land a little more than a century ago, and before that, almost the entire 19th century (he was such a long-liver!) walked through our cities, villages, roads, lived, perhaps say, among us.
He went to Sarov to the Monk Seraphim, with whom he was honored to live in obedience for eight years.
And if we experience lapses in spiritual memory, sometimes for decades, then miraculously its sprouts still make their way through the concrete and asphalt of oblivion. Few people know that on November 26, 2013, the Kremenchug city council named one of the city streets Ioninskaya - in honor of St. Jonah of Kyiv. After all, the baby John Miroshnichenko (that was the name of the saint in the world) was born in the suburbs of Kremenchug in the Poltava region, in the Kryukov settlement, and it was from here, by the way, that he later went to Sarov to the Monk Seraphim, with whom he was honored to live in obedience for eight years.
Ioninskaya Street, so far the only one in the world with this name, will, of course, lead to the temple. Or rather, it will begin with the temple. Since the main temple of the Kremenchug and Lubensky diocese is being built here - the cathedral in the name of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, and its address: st. Ioninskaya, 1. The brethren of the Kyiv Trinity Ionin Monastery, which was created by Father Jonah and about which we will talk below, expressed their intention to make a memorial sign in honor of the saint to install on Ioninskaya Street.
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Trinity St. John's Monastery
John Miroshnichenko was born in 1802 into the family of poor townspeople Pavel and Pelageya, did not receive an education, and learned the basics of reading from the Psalter and Book of Hours. (Our modern education would have such “primers!”) Vanya was a pious boy, and his path to the Sarov miracle worker was, of course, providential. Of course, we had to go a long way, to the Tambov diocese, but it’s much closer to Kyiv, not to mention Lubny and the Mgarsky monastery. But it was from Elder Seraphim that the young novice John learned how to create mental prayer.
Anyone who has a tendency to discern causes and consequences knows how intertwined our ascetics and their disciples are with spiritual ties, invisible inextricable threads. Therefore, with a joyful smile we greet the message that Saint Seraphim blessed John to go to the disciples of the revival of eldership in Rus' - St. Paisius Velichkovsky - to the Bryansk Beloberezh Hermitage. John arrived here in 1836, three years after the death of Father Seraphim. And seven years later he took monastic vows with the name Jonah.
The intense spiritual life for which the ascetic was drawn, and the talents developed with the fatherly assistance of St. Seraphim, allowed him to ascend to a high degree of “self-deepening and self-reflection.” The monk received a vision, which he interpreted as a command to take upon himself the work of building a new monastery on the Dnieper.
At first glance, the thought seems daring: we know how many famous monasteries in Kyiv have shone during the millennium of Orthodoxy, what spiritual lamps have been lit on the Dnieper slopes and hills and are shining to this day!
And so - by the will of Kiev Metropolitan Philaret - Father Jonah was transferred to the Kiev St. Nicholas Monastery, where seven years later, in 1858, he was ordained a hieromonk, and two years later he was transferred to the Vydubitsky Monastery, located today at the so-called Menagerie (Once upon a time ancient Russian princes hunted here). The place is most picturesque and, as we will understand later, fateful. There is a legend that the first enlightener of Rus', Apostle Andrew the First-Called, visited here. Since ancient times, on Zverinetskaya Mountain, people have seen pillars of fire reaching to the sky, and a large spill of water - “not running and standing like a wall of one and a half arshins in one place.” And in the memoirs of the Venerable Theophilus of Kiev, Christ the Fool for the Fool (who died in 1853), there is a story that on the way from the Kitaevskaya Hermitage to the Lavra, his bull stopped motionless on Zverinetsky Mountain, and the saint said: “There will be a great holy monastery here!”
Church history researcher Kiev Metropolitan Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov) called this area Russian Athos.
Trinity Church today
Even today, Kiev residents love to bring guests here on vacation, since the “New Botanical Garden in Pechersk” is located everywhere here (not to be confused with the one near the university!). On May days, magnolias and lilacs are rampant here, the bushes of which extend everywhere, but especially on the descent to the Dnieper, from the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. John to the ancient Vydubitsky. Everyone here walks, if not soars, between the lilac bushes - various, for every taste - elated, blessed, joyful. Now, thank God, almost everyone remembers and knows that this territory in former times belonged to the Trinity Monastery, which was devastated during the years of Russian darkness. Today here you can not only smell lilacs, lie idly or meaningfully on the grass, blow soap bubbles, spin colored windmills, chew ice cream, but also pray in the temple - by the way, pilgrims are allowed into the botanical garden for free.
And if you go through the main garden entrance, the first thing you will encounter is a temple in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity. In the 1930s, a children’s colony was located on the territory of the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. John, and subsequently the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, established here, used, as was customary then, the temple as a warehouse for building materials, and later as a laboratory.
Rev. Jonah of Kyiv. Icon
There is so much to be found in the holy city of Kyiv! - that’s why the demonic forces always attack him as fiercely as they do today. There is the Lavra with caves, and Kitay-gorod with caves (not even all the people of Kiev have been there!), and St. Sophia of Kiev, and St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Temple, and St. Cyril’s Church - but there are not enough fingers on two hands to list all the holy buildings, but the monastery of the Venerable Elder Jonah, who lived for more than 100 years, enjoys special love among Kyiv pilgrims.
Probably also because here, on this Dnieper slope, Jonah was twice honored with a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos with the host of saints standing before Her. You will be lucky: you will be able to venerate the reliquary in which the relics of the Venerable Jonah rest, and find among the flowering cherries and magnolias the black Granite cross, installed in 1996 on the very holy place where the Mother of God appeared to the Elder Jonah in a pillar of fire.
And, having passed through the reigning fragrant lilac, you will be able to descend between huge fir trees to the ancient Vydubitsky monastery. Self-captured today by schismatics-Filaretites, but not losing its centuries-old beauty, erected between 1070 and 1077 by the Kyiv prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, and which became the family monastery of Vsevolod’s son - Vladimir Monomakh - and his descendants.
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The cell stood unharmed, and nearby in a pillar of fire he saw the Mother of God with a host of saints.
The Holy Trinity Jonah Monastery on Zverinetskaya Mountain was founded by the Monk Jonah as a monastery of the Vydubitsky Monastery. They say this: “Having decided to build his cell on the mountain, Jonah took two monks - Hilarion and Gabriel - under his spiritual care. Hilarion built a little brushwood hut, in which he began to live with Gabriel. And late in the evening, after monastic labors and long prayers, Father Jonah joined them, remaining all night. On March 1 (14), 1861, going out onto the porch of his cell in the monastery, he saw a radiance and a fire on the mountain. In fear, Jonah's father ran to save his brothers. But as he approached, he noticed that the flames that engulfed the brotherly chicken did not cause them any harm. The cell stood unharmed, and nearby in a pillar of fire he saw the Mother of God with a host of saints.”
The Lady touched the head of the ascetic and announced: “My grace will remain here forever. I will constantly visit this place, and many will be saved here. Many will come to this monastery, you accept them all, despising no one - all are children of God.” After these words, the Lady retreated and became invisible, and traces of Her feet remained in the snow.
Granite Cross at the site of the vision of St. Jonah of the Virgin Mary
And a year later, on March 9 (22), 1862, everything repeated itself exactly. This time the Mother of God told Jonah something amazing: that he was only “a rake, an ax, an instrument chosen by the Lord for wondrous and holy deeds.” The disciples found the shocked old man in the morning - sitting in deep snow. He told about what he saw, but asked to keep the secret. After the monastery was established in 1910, a church was erected on this site, destroyed by atheists in 1934, and in 1996 a memorial cross was erected by new monks. If you are in the Ionian monastery, worship this place.
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The people were drawn to the ascetic Jonah, whose fame spread everywhere. Both the people of Kiev and those who came here from afar were looking for an opportunity to receive advice and instruction from the elder, to be his spiritual children.
The feat of eldership of the Monk Jonah is considered the pinnacle of monastic work; the ascetic truly taught the 20th century the saving doctrine of smart work. And there were legends about the healing power of Father Jonah’s prayers. And since the doors of the elder’s cell were always open, it is no wonder that every year up to half a million pilgrims came to the monastery, which popular rumor already called “the monastery of Father Jonah,” from all over Russia.
Among the many spiritual daughters of Father Jonah was the wife of the then Kyiv governor-general, Princess E. Vasilchikova, who donated a lot, contributed and helped the elder, especially in the construction of the Trinity Monastery.
The incident shocked the sovereign: “The prayers of the new monastery saved me from death, and Russia from a terrible shock.”
A remarkable story deserves special attention when Princess Vasilchikova, having secured the support of Moscow Metropolitan Philaret, went to St. Petersburg to work on the new Kyiv Trinity Monastery. They say that at some fateful moment, Emperor Alexander II, tired of palace bickering, intrigue and opposition to the Kyiv initiative, postponed the resolution of this issue. And it was then, during a walk in the Summer Garden, that the terrorist Karakozov shot at the emperor almost point-blank. And - by! The incident shocked the sovereign, who saw God’s providence in the connection of events: “The prayers of the new monastery saved me from death, and Russia from a terrible shock.” The monarch signed the petition submitted by Princess Vasilchikova to establish a new monastery.
Princess E. Vasilchikova
In 1871, the construction of the stone Trinity Church with two chapels was completed. On November 28, Metropolitan Arseny of Kiev consecrated the altar of the southern chapel in the name of the “Three-Handed” icon of the Mother of God: Father Jonah especially revered this image, kept it in his cell, and over time the icon was placed in the Trinity Church behind the right choir. Even during the life of the saint, many miracles were performed in front of this icon through prayers. On July 23, 1872, the main altar was consecrated in the Holy Trinity Church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity.
Many marveled at the wise management and caring nature of Father Superior Jonah. Donations poured in in abundance, the monastery strengthened and prospered.
The monk was also appointed abbot of the revived ancient Mezhigorsky Holy Transfiguration Monastery, with elevation to the rank of archimandrite.
In May 1896, a bell weighing 1,150 pounds (at that time the largest in Kiev) and several “small” ones, 57 pounds each, arrived from Moscow to the Kiev Trinity Monastery, cast at the Samgin bell factory, for which a temporary wooden bell tower was built. And today every guest pays attention to the unusual modern bell tower of the Ionian Monastery.
For the last two years of his life, the ascetic suffered from an incurable serious illness, from which he fell ill after 1901. Despite the complete loss of physical strength, he received suffering pilgrims almost until his death.
“When you finish the second cross, the Lord will call you to Himself. Arise, serve and work for Him!”
The elder himself will describe a spiritual event that happened to him in the 98th year of his life, when the brethren had already come to say goodbye to the seriously ill man: “When I was about to depart into endless life, and it was in 1897, in April, on the 23rd, at night , at the 4th hour, the Lord was pleased to show me new mercy. I was lying on the bed in the dark. And then someone bright and clear appeared in my cell, came very close to me, blessed me with the sign of the cross and said: “The Lord will grant you health, help, protection and His Divine grace, so that you may serve Him in His holy Church. Here is the cross that you built and completely completed it. But the other cross, which you started, you have just begun its construction and you need to work hard and finish it just as carefully as the first. When you finish the second cross, the Lord will call you to Himself. Arise, serve and work for Him."
Trinity Cathedral of the Ionin Monastery in winter
The frail old man will then collect considerable funds to complete the construction of the stone building and bell tower!
But the years of physical life on earth have their limits. On the night of January 8-9, 1902, the hieromonk serving in the Trinity Cathedral, pronouncing the litany, could not remember the health of Archimandrite Jonah - something was bothering him. This was the time of the death of the righteous man.
The hundred-year-old ascetic Jonah (he was tonsured into the schema like Peter), “in the land of Russia, a wondrous and merciful wonderworker,” was escorted on his last earthly journey by numerous admirers.
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Zverinetsky Icon of the Mother of God
Let's talk about the subsequent life of the monastery. In 1918, the monastery miraculously survived the powerful explosion of the ammunition depots located on the Menagerie. As it turned out later, both the tragedy itself and the salvation of the monastery were predicted by Jonah himself. In 1934, the monastery was closed, the monks were dispersed or repressed, and it was then that a botanical garden was created on the territory of the monastery. After the resumption of the monastery in the 1940s, it was soon abolished again.
They remembered that the priest, when he was called a martyr, used to answer: “No, after death I will be a martyr.” The elder’s strange statement was clarified decades later. In 1966, from the Trinity Church, which was turned into a warehouse, the relics of the ascetic Jonah had to be transferred to the Zverinetsky cemetery - in the same cypress coffin that the saint made for himself during his lifetime and in which he was laid to rest. But before that, the sacrileges of the relics were beheaded and deprived of their right hand. There were also eyewitness accounts, young employees of the botanical garden, who noted that the old man in the coffin looked like he had just died, talked about his hands and white beard.
The return of the relics of St. Jonah to the Ionian Monastery took place in the fall of 1993, two years after the resumption of the monastery.
Today, the relics of St. Jonah rest openly in their original place in the crypt on the right side of the Holy Trinity Church. The crypt containing the relics of St. Jonah, placed in a white marble shrine brought from Greece, was restored and painted. Blessed is the one who had the opportunity to venerate this shrine - in a cozy, wonderfully decorated with frescoes and inscriptions, a low niche in the basement, under the temple.
And the old coffin of the ascetic is displayed separately in the temple; it contains the undecayed funeral vestments of the ascetic.
On November 22, 1995, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Jonah was canonized.
The Zverinetsky place of spiritual asceticism, abundantly decorated in modern times with lilac-magnolia blossoms, is undoubtedly overshadowed by the earthly and heavenly presence of the Kyiv righteous man. And through his prayers, too, Kyiv has not yet fallen into the final abyss and remains on the edge of the abyss.
“Reverend Father Jono, pray to the Holy Trinity to save our souls!”
Prayers
Troparion for repose, tone 4
Like the radiant sun that rose from the ends of the earth/ you appeared today at the last day/ like the prophet of the same name/ to raise people to repentance./ Likewise, the Most Pure One herself from sleep To the mother of saints you have appeared many times, / By her command a monastery was created in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity. To Neizha, having boldness, / pray to the Reverend Our Father Jono, / / grant us mercy and forgiveness of sins on the Day of Judgment.
Kontakion for Death, Tone 2
You have enriched us with the grace of God/ and you have informed us of good deeds,/ having appeared with the title, Jono, saint of Christ God./ In prayers and fasting, you have been filled with the gifts of God’s Spirit/ and He is a banisher of illness // and a protector of our souls.
Troparion for Glorification, Tone 8
Today your memory shines upon us, more glorious, / like the sun, illuminating the world with its radiant rays / and driving away the darkness of the night of evil spirits from us. / Today the heavenly powers of the saints, angels and the souls of the righteous/ mentally triumph, rejoicing./ Today we, sinners, fall, We pray:/ Father Reverend Jono,/ Pray to Christ God unceasingly*/ to save the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity,// both the city and the people who kindly worship you.
Kontakion for Glorification, Tone 8
As an equal to the incorporeal, / you surpassed all the likes / through fasting labors and vigils of prayer, the wise Jono, / thus you received from God to heal ailments and drive away demons, / and that For the sake of our cry: Rejoice, Father, like Jono.
Troparion for the Transfer of Relics, Tone 4
By the return of your relics/ your monastery is enriched,/ and your church, having received it, is enlightened/ and, adorned, calls the faithful with joy/ your luminous one to brightly celebrate the day,/ Come, you who speak, // and receive the graces of the gift.
Kontakion for the Transfer of Relics, Tone 8
(Similar to: Taken:)
You were the heir of the fathers, like them, / following their life and teaching, / custom and abstinence, prayer and standing. / With them, having boldness in the Lord, / forgiveness of sins and salvation Ask for this to those crying out to you: Rejoice, Father Jono.
Magnification for the transfer of relics
We please you,/ like our Father Jono,/ and we honor the discovery of your celibate and honorable relics.
Famous predictions
Jonah believed that earthly life is only a laconic glimpse of the existence of the human soul. Life is given in order to learn and gain the necessary experience, and then stand before God.
Therefore, all his prophecies are based on faith in divine power; first of all, the elder relied on the spiritual component. What he predicted:
- Jonah gave information about the fall of Rus' during the reign of the king. He believed that people “in power” would be overcome by pride, they would be corrupted by vices, and they would forget about spirituality. As a result, they will be understood by divine punishment after the death of the physical body
- The elder recommended pacifying the body: practicing asceticism, praying and ending giving in to pride, so that later you would not have to pay for your sins “in fiery hell.” He argued that only humility and patience will heal the soul
- Jonah foresaw the tragic actions in Ukraine. This fact forces our contemporaries to listen to the predictions of the seer. He was often visited by people holding the highest positions. Ministers and presidents expected the predictions. But Jonah did not become proud; he also accepted ordinary people. His love and blessings were enough for everyone
- He also managed to predict the coming of war. This prediction shocked and amazed everyone, so it came true with breathtaking accuracy
The elder claimed that the Mother of God herself was helping him, who “asked” to leave her in the Holy Dormition Monastery. Therefore, he never wanted to leave there, although he was invited to serve in Athos, Laurus and Jerusalem.
Quite a lot of mind-blowing stories have come down to our times from people who personally visited Elder Jonah. They say: this man's prophecies are constantly being realized.
Watch the video with the predictions of Elder Jonah about love, the king and the meaning of life:
