On July 2, the feast day of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the miracle worker, the parish of St. John in Santa Maria (Davao Occidental Province) in the Philippines celebrated its patronal feast.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the secretary of the diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), and the cleric of the diocese, Priest John Mahinay.
After the Liturgy, the clergy performed a glorification of St. John.
Previously, Priest Silouan Thompson from the USA served in this parish for a long time. He gave the parish a particle of the saint’s relics.
St. John of Shanghai is venerated as the patron saint of the Philippines. He is the only saint who has visited here.
In 1949, Bishop John arrived on the island of Tubabao, where five thousand Russian emigrants evacuated from Shanghai found temporary refuge. The Bishop spiritually nourished the Russian camp and selflessly cared for the flock entrusted to him by God. Saint John walked around the island daily and protected the island from seasonal typhoons with his prayers and the sign of the cross. When the Russians expressed concerns at the first signs of an approaching typhoon, the Filipinos themselves remained completely calm, saying: “As long as your holy man walks around our island, nothing will happen to any of us.”
