Russian Orthodox John of Kronstadt

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Little_Boy_Lost said:
I have been reading snippets of ‘My Life in Christ’ by John of Kronstadt over the last year or so and I really love them. But I was troubled to find this page questioning his piety. I was hoping to hear what people thought of Saint John and the allegations leveled against him by this author. Thanks!

oldbelievers.wetpaint.com/page/Oddities+of+St.+John+of+Kronstadt
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The Russian “Old Believers” are the ones that question St. John’s Piety. They believe that the whole Russian Church lost grace when Patriarch Nikon introduced reforms into the liturgy a few hundred years ago. Therefore they can’t accept St. John because their bias is that there could not be a saint in the Russian Church since the time that it lost the grace of the Holy Spirit. What they say of St. John has some elements of truth to it but they take it to the point of extreme exaggeration.
 
JohnVIII said:
The Russian “Old Believers” are the ones that question St. John’s Piety. They believe that the whole Russian Church lost grace when Patriarch Nikon introduced reforms into the liturgy a few hundred years ago. Therefore they can’t accept St. John because their bias is that there could not be a saint in the Russian Church since the time that it lost the grace of the Holy Spirit. What they say of St. John has some elements of truth to it but they take it to the point of extreme exaggeration.
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The Old Believers are not the only ones to question the canonization of St. John of Kronstadt. The Greeks and Bulgarians had something to say about it as well. I’ll see if I can find the article with citations.
 
What are some of the things “Questionable” about saint john that have some merit of truth to them?
 
The only issue that came up with St John of Kronstadt that would have any “merit” was his relationship with his wife.

It is simply not true, however, that he married to obtain a parish position. He married because that is the rule in the Orthodox church - those who wish to serve in parish positions MUST be married, if not, they become monastics. (And when a priest’s wife dies, it is often the case that the priest will receive monastic tonsure).

This issue was looked at by the Russian Synod very closely (John of Kronstadt was not only wildly popular among the laity, he was appointed a chaplain to the Tsar himself). They pronounced in his favour and I don’t have the details, but take the Synod’s decision at face value.

That a number of his followers did some unorthodox things - this was all without his blessing and approval. He was a miracle-worker and thousands came from all over to hear him speak, and to receive his blessing. I myself met a very old Russian lady whose father was cured of cancer by St John of Kronstadt while the holy man was still alive.

The Old Believers are also strongly against other Saints, such as St Dmitry, Metropolitan of Rostov, who was an uncompromising enemy of Old Believer practices and wrote much against them, their two-fingered Sign of the Cross and the like. St Dmitry, as a Hierarch, had the responsibility to warn people about those the Church considered schismatics, and so he did. St Maria of Paris, a Russian nun who died at Ravensbruck, wrote an article questioning the Old Believer’s views as well.

Alex
 
What was his relationship with his wife like? Did she feel unfulfilled and distanced from him? I take it they never had sexual congress.
 
I did. But I wasn’t sure how much of that was exaggeration or distortion by the author of the article who wanted to present a negative image of john of kronstadt. At least it seemed that way to me. So most of the information regarding him and his wife are true in that article?
 
John of Kronstadt did, in fact, follow in the footsteps of other priests who got married because that was the rule of the Orthodox Church - non-monastic priests working in parishes were obliged to be married.

He didn’t see a brother/sister relationship as a terrible hardship as did his wife. He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary for his day (and indeed St Basil the Great in his Asketicon suggests that a man, let alone a priest, could leave his wife to become a monastic even if she doesn’t agree with his decision. There are married priests in Greece and Russia who have done this (and who visit their wives and families ever so often).

I don’t agree with that, and I don’t think many people today would. But to single out St John for criticism because of what was prevalent in his time (and in certain Orthodox countries, in ours too), is just unfair, to my mind at least.

Alex
 
The accusation that article made against him seem like petty heresay. I personally wouldn’t listen to anything that “Old Believers” have to say.
 
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