Riga, October 14, 2024
Photo: pareizticiba.lv
The Latvian Orthodox Church celebrated the 90th anniversary of the martyrdom of its beloved saint the Hieromartyr John of Riga over the weekend.
On the evening of Friday, October 11, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia and his vicars celebrated the All-Night Vigil in the Riga Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ.
Before the start of the services, a reliquary was placed in the center of the church, containing blood carefully collected 90 years ago at the site of the saint’s martyrdom. This holy relic is kept in the altar of the left side chapel of the Cathedral and is brought out for veneration by the faithful on the feast days of the Holy Martyr John.
St. John was brutally tortured and finally shot and set on fire while still alive on the night of October 12, 1934. No one knows who exactly killed the beloved Archbishop.
Photo: pareizticiba.lv
The next morning, the hierarchs celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast of St. John of Riga in the same cathedral.
The service was attended by pilgrims from all over Latvia who came to glorify their great intercessor. The service was celebrated in Latvian and Church Slavonic.
At the end of the Liturgy, a moleben to St. John was served, and a procession with the hieromartyr’s blood.
In his homily, Met. Alexander exhorted the faithful to turn to St. John in prayer, as he is known to work many miracles. Following the sermon, the faithful had the opportunity to venerate the holy relics of the hieromartyr.
In July 2023, the Latvian Church celebrated the 20th anniversary of the finding of St. John’s relics.
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