On Sunday, July 28/August 10, 2025, the Monastery of Chozeba in the Holy Land hosted solemn celebrations in honor of Saint John the New of Chozeba, a 20th-century Romanian ascetic revered for his humility, strict monastic discipline, and gift of working miracles. The event was reported by the official website of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.

The festive All-Night Vigil was presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. Concelebrating with him were Archimandrite Ioan from the Romanian Patriarchate, Archimandrite Amphilochios, Archimandrite Chrysogenos, and other clergy. The liturgical chanting was performed by the monastery brotherhood’s choir, joined by guest chanters from the Church of Greece, including renowned protopsaltes Christos Stavros, Ioannis Stavros, Nikolaos Bouzas, and Athanasios Stavros.

Archimandrite Konstantinos, abbot of the monastery, addressed the faithful with a sermon during the service, warmly welcoming the Patriarch and all participants. He emphasized the spiritual significance of Saint John’s life, noting how the saint—despite his extensive education—lived in extreme simplicity, devoted to prayer, fasting, and love for Christ.

Born in Romania in 1913 as Ilie Iacob, Saint John embraced monastic life in 1933 at the Neamț Monastery. In 1936, he moved to the Holy Land, where he lived at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, then by the Jordan River, and finally in a cave near the Monastery of Saint George of Chozeba, where he reposed in 1960.

His incorrupt relics were discovered in 1980, drawing increasing veneration. The Romanian Orthodox Church canonized him in 1992, followed by the Jerusalem Patriarchate in 2015, establishing July 28 as his official feast day.

Today, Saint John the New of Chozeba is honored as a model of prayerful endurance, humility, and unwavering fidelity to Christ.