From June 27 to 29, celebrations were held at the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco to mark the 30th anniversary of the glorification of St. John, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, the Wonderworker. This was reported by the website of the Eastern American and New York Diocese.

On June 27, a prayer service with an akathist hymn to St. John was held at the cathedral. The service was led by Bishop Jacob of Sonora, with the participation of clergy from the diocese. The incorrupt relics of St. John were placed in the center of the cathedral. The service was attended by Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, Bishop Theodosy of Seattle, and the Most Reverend Alexander, former Bishop of Vevey. The choir of Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville performed the hymns.

On June 28, a vigil was held at the cathedral, and the main celebrations took place on June 29. The festive liturgy was led by Metropolitan Nicholas, with the participation of numerous clergy from the diocese.

In honor of the anniversary, the diocese also organized a meeting of altar servers who had served with Archbishop John during his tenure as head of the San Francisco Diocese.

St. John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Western America and San Francisco, was a missionary, clairvoyant, and miracle worker. In 1934, he became the Bishop of Shanghai, where he became the spiritual leader of the community of Russian emigrants who had fled to China after the revolution. In China, Bishop John was renowned for his aid to the poor and the healings that occurred through his prayers.

In 1950, St. John became the Bishop of Western Europe, and was later confirmed as "Archbishop of Brussels and Western Europe, Administrator of the Russian Orthodox Churches in China and the Philippines." In Western Europe, St. John served in temporarily rented churches, promoted the publication of Orthodox literature in European languages, and restored the veneration of saints who lived before the split between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. In the Russian Church, the memory of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco is celebrated on June 19 and September 29.

In 1962, St. John moved to the USA. His spiritual children, with whom he had once left Shanghai, petitioned for him to head the San Francisco Diocese. Under his leadership, the Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral was finally constructed in San Francisco. St. John died in prayer in his cell in 1965 and was buried in the crypt of the cathedral.

In 1994, a special commission discovered his relics to be incorrupt, and on July 2, 1994, ROCOR canonized St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco. His glorification by the entire Russian Orthodox Church was affirmed by the decision of the Bishops' Council on June 24, 2008.

Photo: Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia / synod.com