Section 05: San Francisco

The final episcopate of St. John (1962–1966): his transfer to the see of San Francisco at the plea of his old Shanghai flock, who had resettled there; the cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” whose construction the community’s financial quarrel had frozen; the accusations of concealing financial irregularities, the civil lawsuit, and the 1963 trial in which he was fully exonerated; the completion of the cathedral in his lifetime and its 1977 consecration; and the crypt beneath its altar that became his shrine — the church raised amid division made the reliquary of the bishop division tried.

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

Section Contents

• The Cathedral Dispute — the 1962 transfer at the Shanghai flock’s request; the stalled “Joy of All Who Sorrow” cathedral and the divided parish; the accusations of concealing financial dishonesty; the civil lawsuit and the 1963 trial ending in full exoneration; the church-political dimension; and his documented sorrow at being tried by his own.
• Completion of the Cathedral — his finishing of the frozen construction in his lifetime; the cathedral as the largest of ROCOR’s six, with its five gold domes and the frescoes of Archimandrite Kiprian; the 1977 consecration after his death; his daily-Liturgy ministry of 1962–1966; and the crypt that became his shrine.

How to Use

• Read The Cathedral Dispute first for the human and church-political drama of his last years — the lawsuit, the trial, and his sorrow.
• Read Completion of the Cathedral for the building itself, its consecration, his final ministry, and the crypt — the resolution of the dispute in stone.
• The period ends with his repose in Seattle in 1966, treated in Section 09 — Canonization and Legacy.

See Also

• Paris and Brussels — the Western European years from which he was transferred in 1962
• Repose and Relics — his death, burial beneath the altar, the 1993 examination, and the open shrine
• Asceticism and Wonderworking — the rule and the wonders of his San Francisco years
• Orthodoxy Guide — St. John of Shanghai (summary) — the verified summary entry, consistent on the cathedral dispute and the 1963 trial

References

• Mileant, Bishop Alexander. The Life and Miracles of St. John (Maximovitch). orthochristian.com/54575.html.
• “John of Shanghai and San Francisco.” Wikipedia.
• “St. John of San Francisco.” ACROD. acrod.org/orthodox-christianity/articles/saints/stjohnofsanfrancisco.
• Holy Virgin Cathedral, San Francisco. “History.” sfsobor.com/history.php.
• Perekrestov, Archpriest Peter (ed.). Man of God: Saint John of Shanghai & San Francisco. San Francisco: Holy Virgin Cathedral / Nikodemos, 1994/2015.

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Part of the St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco Reference Compendium.