Hand painted icon of Saint John of Kronstadt, made in Mount Athos, on natural wood. The icon is delivered in a wooden box.
Father John (Ivan) Ilyich Sergiev was born on October 18, 1829 A.D. on the same day that we celebrate the memory of Saint John of Rila (Bulgaria). At the age of 22, he graduated with praise from the theological seminary of the Archangelsk parish school and then received a state scholarship for the theological Academy in Petersburg. Soon, however, his father passed away and John was forced to work for a meager salary, so that he and his mother could live. John then was sent as a priest at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew the First in Kronstand, on the island of Kotline in the Gulf of Finland, which was a place of exile. In this place, people lived far from the way of Lord, but John, together with his wife Elizabeth Konstantinovna, managed to become a paradigm of Christian life and lead thousands to Christianity. Saint John conducted great missionary and educational work. In December 1908 A.D. Saint John of Kronstadt became seriously ill and passed away at the age of 80.
