Kronstadt, Russia, October 30, 2020
A similar monument was blessd in Voronezh last year. Photo: tv-gubernia.ru
On Sunday, the feast of St. John of Kronstadt, four monuments of the great wonderworker will be blessed at the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt to then be sent to Orthodox communities in Los Angeles, Australia, Abkhazia, and the village of Sura in the Arkhangelsk Province of Russia where the saint was born.
The gifts are timed to the 30th anniversary of the canonization of St. John by the Russian Orthodox Church and the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, reports polit.ru.
This is the continuation of a large campaign that began in Voronezh in February 2019, when the Common Cause and Under the Protection of the Virgin foundations sent monuments of St. John to Hamburg, Germany, and Washington, D.C., to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in honor the 190the anniversary of his birth, the 110th anniversary of his repose, and the 55th anniversary of his glorification by ROCOR.
The monument was also unveiled at the Washington cathedral in honor of the 70th anniversary of its founding by St. John (Maximovitch).
The artists for the new sculptures were inspired by the monument in the garden of the memorial museum-apartment of St. John in Kronstadt where he is sitting in a chair, receiving guests.
They also took inspiration from one of St. John’s prophecies: “On the bones of the martyrs, as on a solid foundation, will Rus’ be erected anew—after the old model, strong in its faith in Christ God and the Holy Trinity; and it will be, according to the testament of Grand Prince Vladimir, as a unified Church…” Following the catastrophes of the 20th century, prophesied by St. John, the sculptors seek to strengthen the dialogue of various Orthodox communities around the world about faith and the future.
In addition to sending monuments to St. John throughout the world, the sculptors also hope to build a church in his honor in Africa.
