A saint's day
St John the Silent
Also called St John the Hesychast
St John, born in Nicopolis in Armenia, was made Bishop of Colonia at twenty-eight, but weary of worldly quarrels he secretly left his see, and a bright star led him to the Lavra of St Sabbas near Jerusalem. There he hid his rank and served as a humble novice until the Patriarch gave him leave to live in silence. He spent sixty-six years at the Lavra, read hearts, healed the sick, and reposed in peace at the age of 104.
The dates
- Kept on
- 3 December (16 December on the Old Calendar)
- Next, New Calendar
- Next, Old Calendar
The New Calendar (the Greek, Antiochian, Romanian and Bulgarian churches, the OCA and most converts) keeps fixed feasts on the church date; the Old Calendar (the Russian, Serbian and Georgian churches, Jerusalem and Mount Athos) keeps them 13 days later. Pascha and the feasts that follow it are kept on the same day by both.
How the day is kept
Orthodox Christians pray to him for the healing of the sick, for the deliverance of the tormented and for rescue from sudden destruction, as even in life he rescued those who called on his name.
Greek usage calls him John the Hesychast.
Name days
These names keep their name day on this feast:
The saint
Icons for the feast
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