I Will Not Leave You as Orphans

According to the New Calendar, today (September 27) is the Feast of St. Sabbatius of Solovki, also known as St. Savvaty. This name is also borne by a contemporary elder: Hieromonk Savvaty (Ageev) of St. Demetrios Monastery in Framingham, MA. To honor Geronda on his name-day, we would like to recount the story of how he was visited—and miraculously healed—by St. John of San Francisco.

Fr. Savvaty’s journey began in June 2017 during a car trip from New York to Massachusetts. Dozing in the passenger seat, he was unaware that a sudden brake to avoid a collision had caused severe internal injuries. Despite feeling unwell—weak and perpetually thirsty—he embarked on a pilgrimage to Russia, followed by a visit to his parents in Irkutsk. 

There, his condition deteriorated rapidly. On July 28, he lost consciousness at his parents’ home due to a ruptured spleen and 50% blood loss. As he later recounted, a mysterious voice urged him to resist the urge to sleep and to fight his weakness. Regaining consciousness in an ambulance, he learned his heart had stopped for a minute; he had been revived only by an adrenaline injection.

In the hospital, Fr. Savvaty endured intense pain and multiple clinical death experiences, during which he found himself in a beautiful, forest-like realm without direct light or shadows, a place filled with meaning and understanding. In these out-of-body experiences, he conversed with monks who offered profound spiritual guidance. When he questioned why such misfortune had befallen him, the monks gently corrected him: “You should not be asking ‘why’ this happened, but ‘for what purpose.’” 

They explained that his suffering was permitted “to understand someone else’s pain and to be more merciful to others.” The monks emphasized that Christ Himself endured unimaginable pain during His Passion, shedding blood and suffocating on the Cross without aid, whereas Fr. Savvaty received extensive medical care. His suffering, they revealed, was a divine pedagogy to deepen his empathy for others and to comprehend the sacrificial love of Christ for humanity. “Pain cleanses a person and teaches humility,” they told him, underscoring the purifying role of trials in the Christian life.

Fr. Savvaty longed to remain in that radiant realm, but the monks refused, citing his spiritual shortcomings: “In your current spiritual state of mind—a state of vanity, conceit, arrogance, pride, and self-justification—that was impossible.” They instructed him to return to the world and amend his weaknesses, a call to repentance and spiritual renewal that aligns with the Orthodox emphasis on continual metanoia, or transformation of the heart.

Following a successful surgery, Fr. Savvaty faced another life-threatening ordeal in the post-surgical ward. On the second day, he developed bilateral pneumonia, suffering chills, fever, and an inability to breathe or call for help. In this moment of despair, a priest in a gray cassock appeared, later revealed to be St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. Sitting at Fr. Savvaty’s bedside, St. John held his hand and spoke with him through the night. 

“I needed to stop my involvement in all the controversies and polemics regarding contemporary theological and spiritual issues,” Fr. Savvaty recalled St. John advising. The saint urged him to abandon social media disputes, refrain from self-justification, and cease arguing or condemning others. Instead, St. John instructed, “A monk should constantly pray—not only for his close ones, but also for those who are against us.” This guidance reflects the Orthodox ideal of kenotic love, which seeks the salvation of all, even adversaries, through prayer and humility.

St. John’s presence was not merely comforting but lifesaving. Fr. Savvaty noted, “Without Vladyka’s help, that night could have been my last on earth.” Miraculously, he survived eight hours in a critical state without medical intervention, a recovery that baffled the attending doctors. St. John’s intercession sustained Fr. Savvaty through this trial, embodying the Orthodox conviction that the saints actively intercede for the faithful.

This story is adapted from Geronda’s own words, which (thank God) have been recorded by St. Dumitru Monastery.

It's fitting that St. John, who had a special love for orphans, took this dying pilgrim into his care. This is one of the many ways in which Vladyka resembled Christ, who said: "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18).  And his warning—not to allow "controversies and polemics" to distract us from a life of prayer, fasting, and good works—is applicable to all of us.

May God grant Fr. Savvaty many years!

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, St. Savvaty of Solovki and St. John of San Francisco, have mercy on us O Lord and save us!

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