Chicago, October 7, 2024
Photo: domoca.org
The relics of St. John Kochurov, one of the American saints and the first martyr of the Bolshevik yoke in Russia, will soon be displayed in the Chicago cathedral that he built during his ministry in America in the 19th-20th centuries.
The hieromartyr’s feast on October 30-31 will be especially festive this year, as a portion of his relics will be presented and enshrined in Holy Trinity Cathedral, which was commissioned to be built by St. John in 1899 and consecrated by St. Tikhon of Moscow in 1903.
This is the first time that relics of St. John will be available for veneration in the cathedral, reports the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of the Midwest.
“This is an incredible moment for our Cathedral and Orthodox Christians throughout Chicago as it is the first time that St. John’s holy remains will return to Chicago and permanently be available for veneration,” said cathedral dean Fr. Alexander Koranda.
Fr. Alexander Koranda before the relics of St. John Kochurov. Photo: domoca.org
After his martyrdom in 1917, St. John was buried below St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo, Russia. The cathedral was destroyed in the 1930s and not rebuilt until 2006, during which the relics of St. John were believed to have been discovered.
Earlier, during the canonization of St. John in 1994, it was promised to His Eminence Archbishop Job of Chicago that were his relics to be discovered, a portion would be gifted to America. After an extensive complex of anthropological studies, it was confirmed that the relics belong to St. John, and a portion were gifted to His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of Chicago during a pilgrimage to Russia this past summer.
“We know and can even feel the presence of St. John here at the Cathedral, but having him physically present, and having his bones—the bones that he offered in martyrdom to Christ—will leave a profound effect on those who pray at this holy temple,” said Fr. Alexander.
St. John’s relics will be processed to Holy Trinity Cathedral for veneration at the All-Night Vigil on October 30. The hierarchical Divine Liturgy will be celebrated the following day.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
