monastery musings

Schema-Archimandrite John (Lewis, +2007)

      All his life, Schema-Archimandrite John was of tenuous health. From childhood he suffered with serious asthma. In his adult years, he developed COPD, diabetes, kidney cancer, fistula and many other afflictions. He attributed much of this to having been born on May 6/19, the feast of the Holy Prophet Job, and he patiently accepted it as God’s will. Every time he rose up out of a chair and pain shot through his body he said, “Glory to Thee O God, glory to Thee.” To his spiritual children, this was a motivation to continue in their own struggles, having this example of long-suffering and continued faithfulness to the Lord.

      During Holy Week of 2001, he was hospitalized with pneumonia. Whenever he was in the hospital, the caregivers became frustrated as he would not sleep but two hours in any 24-hour period. He would call …