Presbyter
Saint John was born on September 11, 1879, in the village of Filippkovo, Vladimir Province. After finishing the church-parish school, he moved to Moscow in 1892, where he trained as a cook and worked in a restaurant. In 1920, Patriarch Tikhon ordained him as a deacon. He served in the Trinity Church and was a member of the parish council.
On July 24, 1923, he was arrested by the OGPU and imprisoned in Butyrka prison, where he was interrogated regarding his opposition to the Renovationists. Due to lack of evidence, he was released on September 24, 1923. In 1925, he was ordained as a priest. He served in Moscow until 1936, after which he was forced to leave the clergy and lived in the Yaroslavl region.
In January 1938, while preparing to attend his niece's wedding, he was arrested again. The investigation accused him of anti-Soviet agitation, but he did not confess to any wrongdoing. On March 15, 1938, the NKVD troika sentenced him to death by shooting. Priest John was executed on March 25, 1938, and buried in an unmarked grave at the Butovo firing range near Moscow.
