Presbyter
Saint John was born on September 3, 1873, in the village of Vasilyevskoye, Tver Province. He received his education at the Ostashkov Spiritual School and the Tver Theological School. In 1900, he got married and was ordained as a priest. He served in various churches, including the Spasskaya Church in the village of Spasskoye and the Znamenskaya Church in the village of Kholmets.
In 1932, local authorities began the construction of a night club on the site of the cemetery, which caused outrage among the faithful. Father John urged his parishioners to defend the holy place. In 1934, the authorities destroyed the church bells, which also had a profound impact on the people of the area. In 1935, the priest was arrested on false charges of counter-revolutionary propaganda.
During the interrogations, he rejected all accusations, asserting that his arrest was a persecution of the clergy. On October 13, 1935, he was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. He was sent to the Svir camps and then to the Karaganda camp, where he fell seriously ill. The Neomartyr John passed away on May 10, 1941, in the camp hospital and was buried at the cemetery of the Spasskoye section of the KarLag.
