The Life of St. John of Rila
In 865, more than 100 years before St. Viadimir accepted
Christianity and the subsequent conversion of Kievan Rus', the saintly King
Boris I of the neighboring Bulgarian state embraced the Orthodox faith together
with his people. Through the apostolic labors of the renowned missionary
brothers, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Christianity became firmly rooted among
these western Slavs and began to bring forth fruit.
From this inaugural period of Bulgaria's Orthodox history, the
most highly esteemed saint is unquestionably the wonderworker St. John of Rila,
born shortly before the repose of St. Methodius in 885. His significance for
the Bulgarian Orthodox Church may be compared to that of St. Sergius for Russia
Like the Saint of Radonezh, St. John has been accorded, over the centuries, the
great love and devotion of his people. And not only Bulgarians, but Greeks and
Russians came to know and venerate him; he was the patron saint of one of
Russia's greatest luminaries, St. John of Kronstadt, who is also commemorated
on October 19. Although the Rila Monastery has long since been closed and
turned into a tourist attraction by the atheist communists, it is still
regarded as the most sacred shrine of Bulgaria, drawing many pilgrims who come
to venerate the incorrupt relics and entreat the prayers of this great
wonder-worker and spiritual hero of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
St. John was born in a village by the name of Skrino, near the ancient city of
Sredets (now Sofia). His parents, of Bulgarian ancestry, were God-fearing
people, and from an early age the Saint was disposed towards a life of piety
and good deeds. Some lazy villagers mocked his godly behavior, but the boy
learned to disregard their taunts.
Still in his youth, the Saint distributed his possessions among
the poor and went to a monastery where he became a monk. After mastering the
virtues of obedience and humility, he was graced with a divine vision whereby
he was led to an uninhabited mountain. There he built a small hut for himself.
Dressed only in a leather coat end sustaining himself
on wild plants, he spent his time in fasting, prayer, vigil and other ascetic
labors, preserving a golden silence which is, in the words of St. Isaac the
Syrian, the mystery of the future age.
The Saint's nephew, a child by the name of Luke, fled secretly
from his parents and came to his uncle, desiring to follow his manner of life.
The boy's father, discovering his son's whereabouts and incited by the devil,
went to the holy man and scolded him furiously, calling him an evil deceiver
and accusing him of stealing his son. He grabbed the boy out of the wilderness
and dragged him back into the world. Foreseeing that Luke would later most
certainly fall into the trap of the devil, the Saint prayed to God: Lord Jesus
Christ, see the sorrow of my heart and "show me a token for good" (Ps. 85:17),
for Thou hast said: "Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them
not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 19:14). And what
happened? After father and son had gone but a short distance-O Lord, Thy divine
Providence! --a snake bit the child and he died a quick and untroubled death.
His father, acknowledging his mistake, returned to the Saint in repentance,
while the Saint glorified God, knowing that by the temporary death of his body
the child' s soul had been saved from a future and eternal death.
The demons could no longer bear the Saint's ascetic labors. They
appeared one night in the form of robbers, beat him up and chased him away from
his place. Entering deeper into the wilderness of the Rila mountain; the Saint
made his dwelling there in the hollow of a big tree. By God's providence the
wilderness grew peas with which the holy hermit nourished himself for along
time. Once, some shepherds who had enjoyed the Saint's hospitality stole some
of the peas and went their way. But when they stopped to eat, they found the
pods empty. Ashamed of their misdeed, the shepherds returned to the holy hermit
and asked his forgiveness.
On another occasion there came to the Saint a man possessed.
When he was still a stadium's distance away (about 220 yards), he fell to the
ground, writhing and crying: "Fire burns me, I cannot go any further!" His
companions begged the holy man to say a prayer for him. The Saint did so, and
the man was loosed from his tormentors.
Seeking to avoid human glory, 'the Saint penetrated still
further into the mountain, to an unknown and nearly inaccessible place where he
settled in a cave under a high rock. The demons, continuing their harassment,
threw him down, but the Saint climbed onto his rock once again and finally,
with God's help, the demons disappeared. From then on an angel of God brought
him food every day, fulfilling the written word: "Man did eat the bread of
angels" (Ps. 77:28).
It was while the Saint was living in this cave that there came
to Sredets the pious Bulgarian king Peter. Having heard about the man of God,
the king sent nine hunters into the Rila wilderness to seek him out. It took
five days for them to discover his whereabouts. Receiving the Saint's blessing,
they told him of the king's desire to see him and: to have the pleasure of
meeting with him. As the men were hungry, the Saint offered them a loaf of
bread brought by the angel. Even after all nine were fully satisfied, half of
the loaf still remained. struck by this miracle,. the hunters returned to the
king and told him what they had experienced. The king decided to go to the
mountain himself to see the Saint. But the place was steep and craggy, and he
was unable to reach it. Only from afar did he see the high rock with the cave
where the Saint abode. A second time the king sent an invitation to the Saint,
but the latter was reluctant to abandon his silence. He only lauded the king's
piety and promised that they would see each other in the kingdom of God,
provided they brought fruits worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8). Saddened that his
plea had not succeeded, the king departed for his city. Later he sent the Saint
a gift of gold and fruit and wrote him the following letter:
"To my venerable Father John, wilderness dweller of Rila, from King Peter:
"Having heard about the God-loving nature of your Holiness and of your angelic
life, I desired to see your Reverence, hoping to receive great benefit from
converse with you. The vainglory of this world, with its pleasures and riches,
drowns us in the waves of the sea and, darkened by agitations and worries, we
cannot direct ourselves toward the light of true repentance. We therefore
desired to partake of some enlightenment from Your Reverence, Holy Father. But
I was deprived even of that grace on account of my many sins. I beg you,
therefore, send me some consolation and a message to cool the burning heat of
my sorrow, for you know, honorable Father, how the stormy turmoil of
temptations and agitations possesses the hearts of kings!"
The Saint received the king's gifts and his epistle, and sent
the following answer:
"To the pious autocrat of the Bulgarian Scepter, King Peter, from poor John:
"To accept all the gifts of your Majesty is not beneficial to
me, Therefore I retain only the fruit, praising your love. The gold must be
needed for your kingdom; it is of great harm to monks and altogether unsuitable
for ascetics for, even if they should have it, of what use is it to them?
"O King, if you want to inherit the heavenly kingdom, be meek
and easily accessible to your subjects, having these royal virtues, namely,
compassion and mercy! Through them your purple robe and crown of royal dignity
will glitter even more brightly. May all who enter and depart your Majesty's
palace be joyful. Avoid injustice and extortion. Keep death in mind as an
inseparable companion, and let sighs and tears be as your beloved children. Be
obedient to your Mother the Church of Christ, and honor her Patriarchs. And so
the King of kings, when He sees your humility, shall give thee of those good
things which He has prepared in the heavenly kingdom for those who love Him!"
The king, receiving this epistle from the Saint, kissed it and
read it repeatedly, enjoying it like some treasure and finding therein great
consolation.
There came to the Saint in Rile many brothers, begging him to
accept them in their desire to follow his divine way of life. With the increase
of these disciples, a church was built and a monastery. Through his prayers the
Saint guided many along the saving path to Christ and healed many who were sick
or possessed.
Having foreseen the end of his life, the ever-memorable Father partook of the
Holy Mysteries, then blessed his disciples and surrendered his soul into the
hands of God on August 18, in the year 916. The monks buried him there in his
cave.
Later, a sweet fragrance began to issue from the Saint's grave.
Thirty years after his repose his disciples opened the grave and found his
relics glorified with divine grace: they were incorrupt and full of fragrance.
Afterwards, the Saint appeared to his disciples and directed them to send his
relies to Sredets. There, many miracles took place which inspired the governor
Hrelyu, who venerated the Saint, to build a large monastery dedicated to the
Nativity of the Theotokos.
When the Hungarian king occupied Sredets, he took the relics and
transferred them to his city of Estergom. The bishop of that city insulted the
Saint, claiming that he could not find him listed in the ancient codices. He
was punished for his irreverence by becoming mute. Later the bishop repented.
With humility he approached the Saint's relics and his tongue was loosened. The
king, on seeing this miracle, embellished the reliquary with silver and gold
and returned it with honor to Sredets, After the pious Bulgarian king Ivan Asen
I had venerated the holy relics, he wrote to the archbishop who came together
with the entire clergy of the monastery. They transferred the relics to the
royal capital of Tirnovo where a church was soon built in honor of St. John. A
feast was later established on October 19, commemorating this transfer which
occurred in 1238.
When the Moslem Hagarenes captured the city of Tarnovo late in the 11th
century, the holy relics were transferred back to Rila Monastery. There they
are located to this day, issuing unspeakably sweet fragrance and healing those
who approach them with faith in the intercession of this God-bearina and
wonder-working saint of Bulgaria.