Sviatohirsk Lavra honors memory of St. John the Recluse

The relics of St. John the Recluse were opened for veneration at Sviatohirsk Lavra. Photo: Sviatohirsk Lavra press service

On August 24, 2026, the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra commemorated St. John the Recluse of Sviatohirsk, the monastery’s press service reports.

The festal services began on the evening of August 23 with an All-Night Vigil in the Dormition Cathedral. After the Polyeleos, the shrine containing the relics of St. John was opened for veneration, allowing clergy and faithful to come forward and venerate them.

On the morning of August 24, the Lavra brotherhood celebrated the Divine Liturgy. During the litany for the departed, prayers were also offered for the recently murdered monk Varsonofiy. A blessing-of-water service was held after the Liturgy.

St. John the Recluse lived an ascetic life at the Sviatohirsk Hermitage in the 19th century and, soon after his death, came to be venerated by the faithful as a wonderworker. In 1995, he became the first of the Sviatohirsk ascetics to be glorified by the Church as a saint. His feast day is celebrated each year as one of the Lavra’s special observances.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a monk was brutally murdered and two others wounded at Sviatohirsk Lavra.

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