Hierarch John, Bishop of Suzdal

Hierarch John was consecrated bishop of the re-established Suzdal (and Nizhny Novgorod) see around 1340/1350 by the Patriarch of Constantinople, under Grand Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich. He established a hospital at the see, staffed by devout priests; he taught that "the greatest virtue is that done in secret."

He was falsely slandered by envious clergy and subjected to exile; he forgave his accusers, saying "Lord, do not count this against them as sin," after which, according to tradition, the slanderers were struck blind and later healed by him upon their repentance. Many healings occurred at his tomb after his death.

Around 1363, when Suzdal was absorbed into the Moscow Metropolia, he withdrew to the Bogolyubsky Monastery near Vladimir, where he reposed on October 15, 1373 (per other sources, 1372).

His feast is kept on the day of his repose — October 15/28; also on August 20/September 2, in memory of the translation of his relics (together with those of St. Theodore of Suzdal) into new silver reliquaries by Synodal decree in 1879.