Last November, with the blessing of His Beatitude Sawa, Metropolitan of Warsaw and His Eminence, the Most Reverend Jakub, Archbishop of Bialystok and Gdansk, at the invitation of the Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Zwierki, Poland and with the organizational involvement of the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Three Holy Hierarchs in Bialystok, we hosted in Poland the travel of the reliquary of our father among the saints, 
St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco
“>John, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco. St. John is a contemporary saint who reposed in 1966, and whose shrine with his incorrupt relics is at the Holy Virgin “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Cathedral (USA). People from all continents make pilgrimages to San Francisco to honor the memory of this holy hierarch and to ask for his intercession before God (the life of St. John can be read on the Facebook page of the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Three Holy Hierarchs).
The relics of this saint, oftentimes called “the twentieth century St. Nicholas” for his selfless love for people, were accompanied by Archpriest Peter PerekrestovPerekrestov, Peter, Archpriest
“>Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, the Dean of San Francisco’s Holy Virgin Cathedral, and were venerated in Orthodox churches of Podlasie: Bielsk Podlaski, Bialystok, monasteries in Suprasl and Zwierki, and Hajnowka.
The services were followed by the screening of a new film about St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, “The Fragrance of Holiness.” The film was directed by Fr. Peter Perekrestov. The first part of the movie conveys the atmosphere of the Russian Empire of the early twentieth century, its spiritual component, with special attention paid to the image of an Orthodox ruler, the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, and his pious family. The film includes photographs from the childhood and youth of the future Archbishop John, the theme of the godless Bolshevik coup, the great exodus of the Russians, the life of Vladyka John in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, his formation on the path of monasticism and episcopacy, and his fruitful labors in many parts of the world, as well as historical footage (about ten minutes) of the saint himself. The last part of the film covers the Opening of the Relics, and Glorification of St. John Maximovitch”He is incorrupt! His relics are incorrupt!”
“>canonization of St. John in 1994, with footage of this historic event.
Following the movie screenings meetings, Fr. Peter answered questions, especially details about St. John’s life, Orthodoxy in America, the essence of Orthodox spirituality, and spiritual and social problems experienced faced by life in the modern world. He also shared his reminiscences of the opening of Archbishop John’s incorrupt remains in 1993 and some miracles—healing from cancer, infertility, help with contemporary problems—by prayers at the relics of Vladyka John.
Fr. Peter noted that there are currently fourteen Orthodox churches of various jurisdictions in San Francisco (with a population of 840,000), Divine Liturgies and the evening service cycle are served daily at the Holy Virgin Cathedral. At least twelve canonized Orthodox saints lived in or walked the streets of San Francisco, including the Holy future Patriarch Tikhon (Belyavin), St. Innocent (Veniamninov) of Moscow, St. Nicholas of Japan, the holy martyr St. Peter the Aleut and St. Nikolai (Velimirovic) of Ochrid.
He pointed out that in America today there is great interest in Orthodoxy, it is on the rise; even the Wall Street Journal has published a piece regarding this phenomenon. Orthodoxy is especially being embraced by young men, specifically during and after the pandemic of 2020–2022.One of the reasons is that young people for the first came face-to-face with death, their mortality. It became very evident how fragile human life is, and how material wealth is transitory and secondary, and has no answers. There are known cases of whole parishes converting to Orthodoxy in the so-called Bible Belt (thirteen states in the American south); new parishes, Orthodox communities are being established. What causes people to embrace Orthodoxy? According to Fr. Peter, it is primarily the result of God’s grace acting on the soul of a person who is genuinely searching for the meaning of life and truth. Previously, Orthodoxy in America was primarily treated as an ethnic religion: Russian, Greek or Serbian, Romanian… Over time this perception changed. Americans discovered Orthodoxy and recognized both its universality, historical authenticity, and unique spiritual richness. A great role in this process was played by the translation of countless Orthodox literature into English, the accessibility of information on Orthodoxy in the internet, and the missionary spirit and active religiosity that characterizes Americans. Americans have a habit of sharing the joy of embracing Christianity with those around them. Of all Christian denominations in the U.S., it is Orthodoxy that has recording the greatest growth in membership in recent years. Currently, a great percentage of Orthodox clergy in all jurisdictions are Americans converts. Orthodoxy has also been embraced by highly visible and well-known public figures. Services at Holy Virgin Cathedral are held in Church Slavonic and English. Fr. Peter regrettably noted that many Protestant denominations have made considerable compromises on issues of family, gender matters, priestly ordination, and other matters, “conforming” the Gospel to themselves, rather than themselves to the Gospel. This has plated a significant role in the growth of Orthodoxy!
When asked about a tendency that has been particularly evident in Poland in recent years—the absence of young people at the Divine services and participation in the Mysteries and Orthodox education, Fr. Peter replied: “Who among you here present can honestly say that they have seen their fathers praying at home before the holy icons, saying a prayer and giving a blessing, as the head of the family should, before meals? Who among you has seen your mother standing on her knees before icons and a vigil lamp, in deep and tearful prayer? Who has seen both your parents ask each other for forgiveness and fully prostrate before their spouse? Don’t reply in a visible fashion, only in your minds. The problem is that our children see a different reality in the home church, other clear messages and priorities; they see that parents take great measures to ensure comfort, cleanliness, a healthy diet, take care that their children have proper dance, music, sports, classes, find the best schools for them, make sure they are well-dressed and attractive… Is there such care and serious attention to spiritual duties, where in all this is the daily expression of true love for God? After all, when someone loves someone, that love needs to be expressed often, tangibly, internally and externally, consistently, sacrificially… We make sure that our children are not late for school or lessons and practices—conscientious parents take that seriously. When a child says: ‘I don’t want to go to school’, do we reply: if you don’t want to, then stay at home, when you turn eighteen, then you will decide whether to go to school or not? Children and teens put up with their parents’ weaknesses, but they don’t stand for hypocrisy: a lot of words, and little true actions… Quarrels happen in every home, but if children see their parents’ faith, their repentance and reconciliation and prayer, when they truly celebrate Orthodox holidays together, with a real awareness of a living God present in the home church, and not just formal rules, then they truly see and know that Orthodoxy is the way of life in the family, one’s first and real identity.
When our home is an oasis of love and faith, then our children will be drawn to return there as often as possible, because they will feel safe, understood and loved there. In his wonderful little booklet, the Archpriest Sergei Chetverikov How to Cultivate and Preserve a Child’s Faith (in Russian) analyzes the question of what keeps our children in the Church, and close to the Church. Perhaps reading the Gospel from a young age? No. Young children will oftentimes treat the Gospel as a ‘fairy tale’, so to speak, and then when they grow up, it is for them not the Book of Life, and they do not continue their interest in God’s Word and presence in the Orthodox Church. What is important in order not to lose our children? Everyone wants to return home, where there is family warmth, where there is love, where there is laughter, where there is living faith. Young people also need to have Orthodox friends, to attend social gatherings with other Orthodox young people, to be in community, to be together, to know that as Orthodox they are not alone. It is important for Orthodoxy to become part of a young person’s identity, so that he/she come to the Orthodox Church not out of compulsion, because that is what their parents want, not out of ‘traditional” habit or duty, because his parents are Orthodox, or Greek, or Russian, or Romanian… But the person himself should want it, should be “born again” for conscientious Orthodoxy. We parents, you might say, plant a tree, water it, but the growth is given by God. There should come a moment in a person’s life when he himself understand that his own identity is to be a Christian, and we should not use force…. Such a turning point can be an illness, the death of loved ones, maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend who goes against the current, takes prayer, fasting and the faith seriously. St. John used to organize dance evenings for young people so that young Orthodox people would spend time together, get to know each other, form bonds and ultimately—Orthodox families. There was a study done a few years ago to determine where the happiest people live and what makes them happy. It turned out that a person’s sense of happiness is not influenced by material prosperity or a warm climate. The happiest people turned out to be those who have large families, live in close-knit communities that help each other, and have a large number of holidays. We have or can have all this in the Orthodox Church!”
The visit of St. John, the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, in his holy relics was a great spiritual boost for our Orthodox communities in Poland. There was also another special blessing during Father Peter’s stay in Podlasie: the granting, with the blessing of Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, of a small relic of St. John to the Holy Spirit Church in Bialystok.
The Orthodox Church Brotherhood of the Three Holy Hierarchs would like to thank the clergy and faithful of the Warsaw and Bialystok-Gdansk Dioceses of the Polish Orthodox Church for their support and prayerful participation in all the services during St. John’s visit, in his relics, to Poland.
O holy father and hierarch John, pray unto God for us!
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