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made plural "years old" in paragraph 2
John was born in 454 in the city of Nicopolis in Pontus on the Black Sea into the family of a military commander named Enkratius and his wife Euphemia. As a young lad he began studying the [[Holy Scripture]] and developed a love for solitude and prayer. After his parents died in 471, John built a [[church]] with the inheritance his parents left him and dedicated it to the Most Holy [[Theotokos]].
After John became eighteen years of age he became a [[monk]] and began living an [[asceticism|ascetic]] life of fasting, prayer, and temperance at the church he founded. There he was joined by ten other monks. When John was twenty eight year years old, the people of Colonia requested the [[Metropolitan]] of Sebaste to make John their [[bishop]]. After his [[consecration of a bishop|consecration]], John continued his strict ascetic life style and influenced his relatives that included his brother Pergamios, an associate of the emperors [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] and Anastasius, and his nephew Theodore, an associate of the emperor [[Justinian]], to also live as Christians should.
In his tenth year as bishop, John was confronted with actions of the new governor Pazinikos, who was his sister Maria's husband. Pazinikos interfered with spiritual and ecclesiastical matters and caused unrest in the Church. Overwhelmed with worldly quarrels he could not handle, Bp. John abandoned his [[see]] secretly and traveled to [[Jerusalem]] while he tearfully sought from God a sign showing him where to live and find salvation. A bright star appeared, which led Bp. John to the [[Holy Lavra of St. Savas (Jerusalem)|Lavra of St. Savas]]. Hiding his episcopal rank, John was accepted into the community as a simple [[novice]].
