Saint John the Great was born in Bithynia in 752 AD in the village of Marikati. His parents were poor, and from childhood, he tended to the household cattle. From a young age, he showed love for God and often secluded himself for prayer. By the order of Emperor Leo IV, he was called to military service, where he served for 6 years, demonstrating courage and virtue.
Having renounced the world, he spent two years in a monastery, where he learned to read and memorized thirty psalms. He then withdrew to the desert for three years, spending his time in prayer and psalmody. He composed a prayer that has been preserved in the Orthodox Church: “My hope is the Father, my refuge is Christ, my protection is the Holy Spirit.”
After 12 years of ascetic life, he took monastic vows and spent three years in seclusion. He then went to the great ascetic George, where he learned the entire Psalter. Reaching a deep old age, he settled in the Antidion monastery and spent the rest of his life in seclusion there.
Saint John spent 70 years in asceticism and achieved high spiritual perfection, acquiring the gift of prophecy. He could rise above the ground during prayer, cross rivers, and free captives. Poison and fire did not harm him, and he freed the island of Phas from snakes. Foreseeing his end, he departed to the Lord on November 4, 846, at the age of 94.
