“Hearty faith is indispensable for man, because the light of our intellect is very limited, and cannot contain much mental light, while the Lord our God is Infinite Light, and the world is an abyss of His omnipotence and wisdom, whilst in us there is only, so to say, a drop of His power and wisdom, because only so much, and not more, can be contained of them in our perishable flesh.”
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John of Kronstadt was a Russian Orthodox archpriest and member of the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was a striking and somewhat unconventional figure in his personality but was deeply pious and immensely energetic. He was one of the most internationally famous and beloved Orthodox Christian clerics of his time.
He was born as Ivan Ilyich Sergiyev. From 1855, he worked as a priest in Saint Andrew's cathedral in Kronstadt. Here, he greatly committed himself to charity, especially for those who were remote from the church, and travelled extensively throughout the Russian empire. He was a member of the right Union of the Russian People, but did not commit himself politically. He was already greatly venerated at the time he died.
He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1964 and by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990. The second largest monastery of St Petersburg (by community size) is dedicated to John of Kronstadt.