Section 02: Shanghai

The Shanghai episcopate of St. John (1934–1949): his arrival to a divided Russian community of some fifty thousand refugees, the unity he restored among its ethnically fractured parishes, the completion of the great cathedral of the Mother of God “Surety of Sinners,” his daily Liturgy and diocesan building, his leadership through the Japanese occupation, and — at the heart of it all — the St. Tikhon of Zadonsk orphanage and the works of mercy by which he became known as a living saint to Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike.

Tradition: ROCOR (glorified 1994; Moscow Patriarchate veneration affirmed 2008)

Section Contents

• Bishop of Shanghai — arrival in late 1934; the divided parish situation and how he resolved it; the completion of the “Surety of Sinners” cathedral; daily Liturgy and diocesan administration; ministry to the Chinese and to Serbs, Greeks, and Ukrainians; and his leadership of the Russian community through the Japanese occupation, including his assumption of the headship of the Russian colony after the assassination of the émigré committee’s leaders.
• Orphanage and Pastoral Care — the St. Tikhon of Zadonsk orphanage (from 1935); his gathering of sick and starving children from the streets; the hospital, psychiatric-hospital, and prison ministries; the barefoot almsgiving; and his reputation among the non-Orthodox — each pinned, where the sources allow, to its named witness.

How to Use

• Read Bishop of Shanghai first for the diocesan and historical frame — the see, the cathedral, the war years.
• Read Orphanage and Pastoral Care for the works of mercy and the eyewitness accounts of his sanctity at street level.
• The period ends with the 1949 exodus treated in Section 03 — Tubabao and the Exodus.

See Also

• Belgrade and Tonsure — the consecration of 1934 that sent him to Shanghai
• Tubabao Refugee Camp — the 1949 exodus of the Shanghai flock
• Orthodoxy Guide — St. John of Shanghai (summary) — the verified summary entry

References

• Mileant, Bishop Alexander. The Life and Miracles of St. John (Maximovitch). orthochristian.com/54575.html.
• Rose, Fr. Seraphim, and Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky). Blessed John the Wonderworker. 3rd rev. ed. Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987.
• Perekrestov, Archpriest Peter (ed.). Man of God: Saint John of Shanghai & San Francisco. San Francisco: Holy Virgin Cathedral / Nikodemos, 1994/2015.
• Orthodox Church in China archive. orthodox.cn.