John (Krestiankin)

Father John (Ioann, Иоанн, secular name Ivan Mikhaylovich Krestiankin, Russian: Иван Михайлович Крестьянкин; April 11, 1910 - Feburary 5, 2006) - archimandrite of the Pskov-Caves Monastery of Russian Orthodox Church.

He was born in 1910 in the town of Oryol as an eighth child in the family of Mikhail and Elizaveta Krestiankin. The name Ioann was given to the boy in honour of Saint Ioann of Desert. His letters and theological works are well known and widely published in Russia and some other countries. Many cases of Fr. John's clairvoyance and wonderworking were recorded.

In 1950 John was arrested by Soviet authorities for his pastoral service and sentenced for seven years of labour camps. He was freed in 1955.

Father John Krestiankin was a spiritual father and confessor for many Orthodox parishioners, providing religious instructions and guidances on various aspects of faith and Christian life within Orthodox Church.

Among his most famous books are "The Experience of Preparing a Confession", "Sermons, Thoughts and Congratulations", "Reference Book for Monastics and Laymen", the compilation "Letters of Archimandrite Ioann (Krestiankin)".

John Krestiankin died in 2006 at the age of 95 years.

Bibliography

• The Experience of Preparing a Confession ("Опыт построения исповеди")
• Sermons, Thoughts and Congratulations ("Проповеди, размышления, поздравления")
• Reference Book for Monastics and Laymen ("Настольная книга для монашествующих и мирян")
• A guide to confession, part X, from talks by Archimandrite Ioann Krestiankin, Orthodox America, by Nikodemos Orthodox Publication society

References

• "May God Give You Wisdom", The Letters of Fr. John Krestiankin, "Pravoslavie.RU" Orthodox Portal, February 2007
• Fr. John (Krestiankin) Recollections of a spiritual son
• «Несвятые святые» и другие рассказы. М.: Сретенский монастырь, ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2011 (in Russian).
• "Our faith", Father Ioann Krestiankin, "Orthodoxy and the World" (Pravmir.com) Portal, February 2006.
• "About Archimandrite John Krestiankin" by Archpriest Mikhail Pravdoliubov. from pravoslavie.ru