Moscow, November 25, 2021
Photo: azbyka.ru On November 20, an interview with Patriarch Kirill of Russia was aired on the Rossiya 1 TV station, timed to the Russian primate’s 75th birthday.
Among the many topics covered, His Holiness recalled an incident from his childhood that connected him with the great St. John of Kronstadt.
Pat. Kirill recalled a miraculous healing:
I was only a few years old when I became seriously ill with pneumonia. At that time, medicine wasn’t at the same level it is today, and such a serious disease as pneumonia very often ended badly. Everyone was very worried—both mom and dad.
We lived in a communal apartment, and I remember that there was a portrait of Fr. John of Kronstadt hanging over my bed. Mom took this portrait, gave it to me and said, “Pray, he will help you.” Just a few days later I felt good, and my mother said, “Now let’s go to Karpovka and thank Fr. John of Kronstadt.”
I remember well how I, wrapped in some warm shawls, went with my mother to Karpovka. We prayed near the wall, to which many Leningrad residents came at that time, and in my own words I thanked Fr. John for healing. There was always a policeman near where the people would pray, so we prayed in front of this policeman—at the wall that separated us from the tomb of Fr. John of Kronstadt.
This is the most vivid episode in my life that brought me personally into contact with Fr. John.
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