Deacon
Saint John was born on September 3, 1888, in Moscow, in the family of a clerk of the Taganka prison, Semyon Khrenov. From early childhood, he attended the Novospassky Monastery, where he began to sing in the choir and served as a reader during the services. In 1907, he graduated from the pedagogical institute but did not become a teacher, instead working as an accountant at the Taganka prison and later at the Moscow Merchant Bank. In 1911, he married Yevdokiya from a pious family. After the nationalization of banks in 1917, he worked in state institutions in Moscow. After the closure of the Novospassky Monastery, he began attending the Church of the Forty Martyrs, where he was offered to accept the diaconate. In 1921, Bishop Ilarion of Vereya ordained him to the diaconate. He also led the Sunday school at the church. In the early 1930s, he was summoned by the OGPU and was offered to work as an agent, to which he replied that he could not do so, as he was a deacon. In 1937, he was arrested, and during a search, a certificate of his ordination was found. During interrogations, he confirmed that he bore the title of deacon and did not wish to renounce it, not admitting guilt in counter-revolutionary activities.
