American Orthodox Saints

An online Synaxaristes including martyrologies and hagiographies of the lives of the Orthodox Church's saints. All Forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.

Which Saint Do You Personally Venerate The Most?

Saint Juvenal the Hieromartyr (†1796)

0
No votes

Saint Peter the Aleut (†1815)

0
No votes

Saint Herman of Alaska (†1837)

1
7%

Saint Jacob of Alaska (†1864)

0
No votes

Saint Innocent of Alaska (†1879)

0
No votes

Saint Alexis Toth (†1909)

2
14%

Saint Raphael of Brooklyn (†1915)

0
No votes

Saint John Kochurov (†1917)

0
No votes

Saint Tikhon (†1925)

0
No votes

Saint John of San Francisco (†1966)

11
79%
 
Total votes: 14

Justin Kissel

Post by Justin Kissel »

It is probably not a good idea to pick favorites with saints or say that one is greater than another

Too true! Though such arguments (e.g., which of the three hierarchs was greatest) can make for interesting visions/dreams ;) I agree with what you're saying, though; and I think I can agree with the part about Saint John having so many different saintly qualities "all wrapped into one," so to speak. Hieromonk Damascene even wrote on this a bit in The Orthodox Word (Vol. 37, No. 6; November/December 2001; pp. 271-273), which I can type in to the forum if anyone is interested.

Justin

PS. Thank you for sharing the story of the knife! :)

Savva24
Member
Posts: 180
Joined: Sat 14 June 2003 10:25 am

Post by Savva24 »

Paradosis wrote:

," so to speak. Hieromonk Damascene even wrote on this a bit in The Orthodox Word (Vol. 37, No. 6; November/December 2001; pp. 271-273), which I can type in to the forum if anyone is interested.

)

I am very interested, Please do.

Nicholas

Justin Kissel

Post by Justin Kissel »

"Perhaps the most remarkable thing about St. John's life is that he manifested in himself so many different kinds of sanctity. Itr was as if, through the intense study of the Lives of the Saints that he had undertaken in his early years, he had internalized and made his own the whole realm of Orthodox sanctity, in all its varied froms. He was a ture student of the Saints, one who sought to follow in their footsteps, and thus to follow in the footsteps of Christ. By living like the Saints, he became one of them.

Let's look at some of the varied forms of sanctity that could be seen in Archbishop John:

  1. He was first of all a great ascetic in the tradition of the monastic Saints of old, such as St. Macarius the Great, St. Pachomius the Great, and others.

  2. He was a clairvoyant reader of hearts, and one who could identify and name people he had never seen before. Englightened by the Gorace of God, he could hear and answer people's thoughts before they expressed them. He also foretold the future, including the time of his own death. In this way, he was very much in the tradition of the great monastic elders of the past, especially the clairvoyant Russian elders such as those of Optina Monastery.

  3. He was an almsgiver in the tradition of St. Philaret the Almsgiver, St. John the Almsgiver, etc. We have seen how he sacrificed himself for orphaned children, going himself into dangerous slums and houses of prostitution in order to rescue children from starvation or unhealthy environments. He was constantly giving to and working to help the needy. He himself wore clothing of the cheapest Chinese fabric. He often went barefoot, sometimes after having given away his sandals to some poor man.

  4. He was a hierarch and theologian, a Church writer and apologist who defended the Church against error, much in the tradition of St. Athanasius the Great, St. Gregory the Theoloigian, and others. Besides his many published sermons, rich in theological content, he wrote valuable theological treatises in order to defend traditoinal Orthodox teachings which were being undermined in modern times. One of these works, in which he presents the Orthodox teaching on the Mother of God in contrast to Protestant and Roman Catholic distortions, has been published in English. He also wrote an extensive essay pointing out the fallacies of the modern teaching of Sophiology.

  5. He was an apostle, evengelist and missionary to new lands, in the tradition of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St. Nahum of Ochrid, and others. When he was in Western Europe, he worked hard to establish indigenous Orthodox Churches in France and the Netherlands: churches made up of the native peoples of these lands who had converted to the Orthodox Faith. He understood that the Orthodox Church is universal, and he said that the Orthodox Gospel of Christ must be spread throughout the world. Later, when he came to America, he instituted English Liturgies in addition to Slavonic Liturgies, in a Cathedral that had only known Slavonic Liturgies. he blessed and supported our newly begun St. Herman Brotherhood, which was dedicated to bringing Orthodoxy to the English-speaking world.

  6. He was a healer and miracle-worker, in the tradition of St. Martin of Tours, St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, and others. Through his prayers, he healed people of almost every imaginable malady; and he continues to do so after his repose.

  7. He was a loving and self-sacrificing pastor, in the tradition of St. John of Kronstadt and all the other hierarch and priest Saints of ages past. So great was his love that everyone felt that he or she was his 'favorite'. He was overflowing with self-sacrificing love for his flock, and for those outside his flock as well, such as a dying Jewish woman whom he suddenly healed with the words 'Christ is Risen.'

  8. He was a deliverer of people from captivity, in the tradition of St. Moses the God-seer and St. Paulinus of Nola. As we have seen, he brought 5,000 Orthodox believers out of Communist China and into freedom in America.

  9. Finally, he was to a limited degree a fool-for-Christ in the tradition of Saint Andrew the Foor-for-Christ and others. He could not be a fool-for-Christ in the full sense of the term, since this would compromise the dignity of his hierarchal office. And yet at many times he did things which were at odds with the ideas of the world, and thus he evoked censure from people who did not see him for what he was: a man of God. He was criticized, for example, for going about barefoot, and for wearing a collapsible cardboard mitre that had been lovingly made for him by his orphans." - Hieromonk Damascene, The Orthodox Word, Vol. 37, No. 6 (2001), pp. 271-273

Xenia1
Newbie
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu 6 February 2003 12:31 am

Post by Xenia1 »

I am a recent convert; the only one I know much about is Fr. Seraphim Rose. I venerate him each day and ask him to pray for me. As I learn more about Orthodoxy, I'm sure I will come to know more of the the American saints. I love Fr. Seraphim Rose. I have asked him to intercede for me on a certain matter, with remarkable results!

-Xenia

Savva24
Member
Posts: 180
Joined: Sat 14 June 2003 10:25 am

Post by Savva24 »

Paradosis,

Thank you for typing that out for all of us; I was very edified by reading it. And I would love to hear more stories and tidbits about the American saints you love from you or anyone else who wants to share.

in Christ,

Nick (Savva)

User avatar
Julianna
Member
Posts: 384
Joined: Fri 23 May 2003 4:12 pm
Location: Schnectady
Contact:

Post by Julianna »

I'd also add that everyone doesn't consider Fr. Alexis a saint

Image

Miriam
Member
Posts: 184
Joined: Sat 2 August 2003 5:59 pm

Post by Miriam »

Julianna wrote:
I'd also add that everyone doesn't consider Fr. Alexis a saint

I find that although you may not consider someone a saint, it's always good policy to respect the beliefs of others. That way when you demand respect for your beliefs...the respect is more easily forthcoming.

Post Reply