Stealing Ukrainian Saints

The Case of St. John of Tobolsk

The sunflower is Ukraine’s National Flower but not just because it is beautiful to behold. This flower is a national symbol and has been for many years. Ukraine is the top world producer of sunflower oil which is a staple of the local diet. If you have never had extra virgin sunflower oil on a salad, you are truly missing out on a culinary experience. I am going to Gaffigan on you here: Wait, why’s he talking about sunflowers? I thought this article was about stolen Ukrainian Saints? St. John of Tobolsk is famous for writing a book called the Heliotropion (Latin) Helianthus (Greek) which are translated as “The Sunflower”. This work is still considered the standard and most prominent one regarding theodicy within the Eastern Orthodox Church. Theodicy basically refers to why God allows the manifestation of evil in the world. Thus, it would almost be required reading for understanding the war on Ukraine.

Tobolsk is a city in Siberia that was conquered in 1582 by Yermal Timofeyevich under Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Ivan the Terrible). Originally, the city was a Tatar city just like Crimea. St. John of Tobolsk was not from Tobolsk. He became known as St. John of Tobolsk only because he was made Metropolitan of Tobolsk in 1711. Siberia is part of the Russian Federation that was acquired by conquest much like many other regions of what is now “Russia”. The Russian Orthodox Church claims St. John of Tobolsk as their own and they elevated him to the level of Saint.

St. John’s original name was (Ivan) John Maximovitch. He was born in the city of Nezhin in 1651. Wikipedia states that the city was located at that time in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Most Russian sources state the John was born in the city of that name in Central Russia or the Russian Empire. If you look at a map, Nezhin is in Ukraine and pronounced as Nizhyn. The city is located in the Chernihiv Oblast (Region) and was originally referred to as Unenezh when it was first mentioned in 1147. In 1147, there was no Russia, in fact there was no Muscovy (Moscow). At that time, the kingdom that existed and ruled was that of Kyivan Rus located in what is now Kyiv, Ukraine. (Maybe we’ll talk about what the Ukrainians refer to as the greatest theft of all history in another post).

Thus, we have established that St. John of Tobolsk was born in what is Ukraine and what originally was Kyivan Rus. St. John of Tobolsk is therefore Ukrainian and not Russian. Maybe you think the case is not strong enough? Ok. We have more evidence to present. John Maximovitch was the eldest of seven sons and was sent to the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv which was established in 1615 as an Orthodox Theological School known as the Kyiv Brotherhood School. Now, the history of the school itself is fascinating but that would just be too much of a digression. A significant link to note is that the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy merged with the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra School in 1632. What’s most important is that John Maximovitch graduated from an academy in Kyiv, Ukraine.

In 1680, John Maximovitch was tonsured a monk at Kyiv Perchesk Lavra (Kyiv Caves Monastery). This monastery was established in 1051 by Anthony of Kyiv or Anthony of the Caves, a monk from Mt. Athos who was also, well Ukrainian, having been born in Chernihiv around 983 A.D. in Kyivan Rus. You may see in the news that the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is still occupied by monks and clergy associated with the Patriarch of Moscow and that Ukraine is attempting to reclaim it as its own. So, the thieves are still in residence thus making our case stronger concerning St. John of Tobolsk (once a thief, always a thief). St John served in the Pecehersk Lavra for many years before being appointed Bishop\Archimandrite in the Chernihiv Monastery of the Caves. This monastery was also established by St. Anthony of the Kyiv and was originally known as Eletsky or Yelets Monastery. The monastery’s royal founder was Sviatoslav II Yaroslavich, the Grand Prince of Kyiv from 1073 through 1076. Moscow and Russia did not exist when these monasteries were founded.

St. John started his work, The Sunflower” while at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and completed it in Chernihiv. He also established a school modeled on Kyiv-Mohyla Academy while serving there. St. John was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan and was sent to Tobolsk in August 1711. He died there on June 10, 1715. Thus, born in Ukraine, served in monasteries for most of his life in Ukraine and spends four years in Russia to become St. John of Tobolsk.

St. John of Tobolsk’s case is just one among so many. A son of Ukraine who is stolen from his homeland and made to be Russian. This is now still occurring here in the War on Ukraine. Children are being taken, indoctrinated in false Russian history and taught that Ukraine does not exist as a country. The thieves of Muscovy have been doing this for some 500 years or more. Does this help you understand why Ukraine is fighting the way it is? Do you see how important it is for Ukraine to retain its cultural, geographical and religious history?

Now, in conclusion, clearly, St. John of Tobolsk is a saint of Ukraine and not Russia. Here is my personal note on the matter. I bought “The Sunflower” at the one-year anniversary mark of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine because Great Lent was about to begin (a time when we do more intensive spiritual reading) and because I wanted to understand why God let this happen to Ukraine. Now, having read about ¾ of the book, I have a better understanding it and I have it from a true son and Saint of Ukraine.

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