St. Herman Studios icon of St John The Wonderworker, St John Maximovitch, St John of Shanghai and San Francisco, St John goes by many names! St John is a 20th century saint and was Bishop of ROCOR. He served in many places but mostly in Shanghai and San Francisco. He is known for his deep asceticism refusing to sleep in a bed and spent his life serving the poor and orphans, starting many orphanages. He loved children!
When he was sent to Shanghai he established a cathedral, survived an assassination attempt, and established an orphanage in Shanghai! He held his parish together through a very tense time of war under Japanese occupation in Shanghai. During his time in Shanghai he became renown as a wonderworker and was attributed to many miracles. This would stay with him through the remainder of his life!
When the situation in China started getting more tense and bleak, St John moved his orphanage and his parish to the Phillippines. He then had his eyes on America and ended up in Washington DC. He sat on the steps of congress for days until a senator came out and asked what he was doing there? St John convinced the senator to pass a law to let homeless Russians to immigrate to the United States. Once he brought his flock and orphanage to the states he ended up in San Francisco where he became Archbishop of San Francisco and built the Holy Virgin Cathedral that since his repose has become a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians.
