Confessor John (Ivan) Leontievich Letnikov was born in 1860 in the village of Protopopovo, Kolomna District, Moscow Province. For many years he assisted his father-in-law, a merchant, in matters of trade and in everything related to the church. Later Ivan Leontievich himself became a timber merchant and owned a sawmill. After the October Revolution he was forced to hand over the mill to the Soviet authorities.
For twenty-five years Ivan Leontievich served as churchwarden of the Trinity Church in the village of Protopopovo.
On September 26, 1929, the priest of this church, John Kalabukhov, was arrested. At a meeting of the parish council it was decided to convene a general assembly of the faithful, which would adopt a resolution petitioning the authorities for the release of the innocent clergyman.
After the parish meeting, Ivan Letnikov, along with several members of the church council, was arrested. During interrogation Ivan Leontievich admitted no guilt whatsoever. He was sentenced to three years of exile in the Northern Region. Confessor John reposed in exile on October 25, 1930, in the city of Arkhangelsk.
Confessor John Letnikov was numbered among the saints as one of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia on May 7, 2003, by a decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Days of commemoration: October 25 (October 12 according to the Old Style), in the Synaxis of the Saints of the Arkhangelsk Metropolis, the Synaxis of the Saints of Moscow, and the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
