Orel, Russia, June 16, 2021
Photo: orel-eparhia.ru
Three years of work culminated on Thursday, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, with the festive opening of Russia’s first monument to Archimandrite John (Krestiankin), the famous elder of the Pskov Caves Monastery, in the city of Orel.
The rite of consecration was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon of Orel and Volkhov on the territory of the St. Nicholas Church in the city 225 miles southwest of Moscow, reports the Metropolis of Orel.
Fr. John (Krestiankin) is one of the most beloved elders of the Russian Church of recent years, affectionately known as the “All-Russian elder.”
The monument was made based on a photograph of him and funded by donations from Orthodox believers and a charitable foundation. The opening ceremony was attended by local authorities and people who were blessed to have known Fr. John during his lifetime.
Photo: orel-eparhia.ru
The future elder was born in Orel on April 11, 1910, and it was there that he grew up in the Church, serving as an altar boy, and later as a novice and subdeacon to St. Seraphim (Ostroumov), Archbishop of Orel. The Orel Eldress Nun Vera (Loginova) blessed him to live in Moscow and foresaw that he would meet her in Pskov in the distant future. He was also deeply affected by Athanasy Saiko, the Fool-for-Christ of Orel.
In February, the Pskov Diocese and the Pskov Caves Monastery began to prepare materials, documents, and testimonies for the eventual glorification of Fr. John among the saints.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
