Russian Church Canonizes Married Priest, Establishes Feast for Miraculous Icon
Synod honors Righteous John of Rostov and the Rostov Tenderness Icon in major liturgical additions.
MOSCOW — The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, during its latest session, canonized Archpriest John Domovsky (1844–1930) for local veneration in the Don Metropolitanate and established the feast of the wonderworking Rostov Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God, according to Patriarchia.ru.
Righteous John of Rostov will be commemorated annually on February 24/March 9, the day of his repose, and August 27/September 9, the anniversary of his reburial in 2020. The feast of the Rostov Tenderness Icon was set for March 19/April 1.
A married parish priest known for his pastoral zeal, love for the poor, and spiritual gifts, St. John served faithfully through the upheavals of war and revolution. Even in retirement during the 1920s, he continued ministering, drawing thousands seeking confession, healing, and consolation. His spiritual legacy, including miracles of healing and clairvoyance, has inspired devotion since his repose.
The Rostov Tenderness Icon gained renown following a miraculous healing in 1911, when a 10-year-old girl in Rostov was cured of epilepsy after the Mother of God appeared to her in a vision. The icon’s glorification was led by Bishop Joseph (Petrovykh), the future St. Tikhon of Moscow. Prayed before by figures such as Tsar Nicholas II and his children and Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the icon was venerated even during Soviet persecution and remains a focal point of pilgrimage and intercession in contemporary Russia.
Previously, UOJ reported that Fr. Dimitrios Gagastathis (+1975), a married priest and the father of nine daughters, had been officially canonized by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
