St John Maximovich

Born Michael Maximovich in the Kharkov region of Russia, he fled the revolution to Serbia, where he was tonsured a monk and ordained. In 1934 he was consecrated bishop of Shanghai, where he built a cathedral, founded an orphanage for hundreds of abandoned children, and became famous for severe asceticism: he served the Liturgy daily and never slept in a bed. When the communists took China he shepherded his refugee flock to a camp on the Philippine island of Tubabao and personally lobbied Washington until they were admitted to America. He later served as archbishop in Western Europe, honoring ancient local saints of France and the Netherlands, and finally in San Francisco, where he completed the great cathedral of the Joy of All Who Sorrow. Countless healings were attributed to his prayers in his lifetime. He reposed in 1966 in Seattle before the Kursk icon of the Theotokos and was glorified in 1994; his relics rest in San Francisco.