John the Merciful

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Saint John the Merciful (also known as John the Almsgiver, John the Almoner, John V of Alexandria, and Johannes Eleemon) was the Melkite Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century (from 606 to 616). He was born at Arnathus. He was the son of Epiphanius, governor of Cyprus, and was of noble descent; in early life he was married and had children, but his wife and children soon died, and he entered the religious life.

On the death of the Patriarch Theodore, the Alexandrians besought Emperor Phocas to appoint John his successor, which was accordingly done. In his youth John had had a vision of a beautiful maiden with a garland of olives on her head, who said that she was Compassion, the eldest daughter of the Great King. This had evidently made a deep impression on John's mind, and, now that he had the opportunity of exercising benevolence on a large scale, he soon became widely known all over the East for his munificent liberality towards the poor. One of the first steps he took was to make a list of several thousand needy persons, whom he took under his especial care. He always referred to the poor as his "lords and masters", because of their mighty influence at the Court of the Most High. He assisted people of every class who were in need. A shipwrecked merchant was thus helped three times, on the first two occasions apparently without doing him much good; the third time however, John fitted him out with a ship and a cargo of wheat, and by favourable winds he was taken as far as Britain, where, as there was a shortage of wheat, he obtained his own price. Another person, who was not really in need, applied for alms and was detected by the officers of the palace; but John merely said "Give unto him; he may be Our Lord in disguise." He visited the hospitals three times every week, and he freed a great many slaves. He was a reformer who attacked simony, and fought heresy by means of improvements in religious education. He also reorganized the system of weights and measures for the sake of the poor, and put a stop to corruption among the officials. He increased the number of churches in Alexandria from seven to seventy.

John is said to have devoted the entire revenues of his see to the alleviation of those in need. A rich man presented him with a magnificent bed covering; he accepted it for one night, but then sold it, and disposed of the money in alms. The rich man "bought in" the article, and again presented it to John, with the same result. This was repeated several times; but John drily remarked: "We will see who tires first." It was not John. Another instance of his piety was that he caused his own grave to be dug, but only partly so, and appointed a servant to come before him on all state occasions and say "My Lord, your tomb is unfinished; pray give orders for its completion, for you know not the hour when death may seize you." When the Sassanids sacked Jerusalem in 614, John sent large supplies of food, wine, and money to the fleeing Christians. But eventually the Persians occupied Alexandria, and John himself in his old age was forced to flee to his native country, where he died.

He died in Cyprus somewhere between 616 and 620, and his body was moved to Constantinople, then in 1247 to Venice, and later to Budapest by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. Now his body lies in the St. John the Merciful Chapel in the St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava. A biography was written by his contemporary Leontios of Neapolis.

There is a church dedicated to him in Venice (Chiesa di San Giovanni Elemosinario).

[edit] External links

• http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/November/Nov-12.html#john
• http://www.rocor.org.au/stjohntheforerunnerchurch/saints/nov-week2.html
• http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj68.htm

Preceded by: Theodore I

Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria 610–619

Succeeded by: George I

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.