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JOHN THE ALMSGIVER BECAME A MODEL OF CHARITY

[Above: Detail from imaginary portrait (painted c. 1505) of Saint John the Merciful (aka Almsgiver) by the Master of the Holy Kinship (Kraków). Photo by Mathiasrex Maciej Szczepanczyk / public domain, Wikimedia.]


CERTAIN PEOPLE seemed raised up for their times. John son of Epiphanius, born around 560 in Cyprus, was one such. When he was about fifteen, he had a vision of a maiden whose face outshone the sun. She stood by his bed. When he inquired how she dared enter his room, she declared she was the first daughter of the King.

If you will have me as a friend, I will lead you into the presence of the King. For no one has as free access to Him as I have. For I caused Him to put on man’s nature on earth and bring salvation to men.

When John awoke and reflected on the meaning of the dream, he realized the maiden must have been either Compassion or Love, for those were the virtues that caused God to send Christ for our redemption. That vision determined him to live a life of compassion.

However, this did not immediately prompt him to enter the church. His father, who was governor of Cyprus, ordered him to marry and he obeyed. His first instinct was to practice a celibate marriage, his hagiographers say, but a stern rebuke by his father-in-law caused him to fulfill the duty of a husband. He and his wife had a number of sons, but all died young and his wife did, too. John then entered a monastery. His kindness, encouragement, sweet disposition, learning, and love won him a noble reputation throughout the Middle East.

Thus when the Patriarchy of Alexandria, Egypt, came open, the city’s residents clamored for his appointment. Perhaps his relative Nicetas, friend of Emperor Heraclius, had some bearing on the choice.

John immediately showed himself generous, giving his own belongings to the poor, embracing personal poverty, and earmarking the entire revenues of his see to succor the needy. That is how he got the nickname “Almsgiver.” He found a substantial fund in the church treasury and lavished it upon the needy. Among his immediate actions was to register over 7,000 destitute Alexandrians whom he fed daily. During the Persian invasions, he helped many refugees and funded repairs on Jerusalem’s Church of the Sepulcher that the Persians sacked in 614.

Some of the acts attributed to him seem a mismanagement of church resources. For instance, he allowed a thief to repeatedly steal church silver and bought it back each time the crook stole it, saying he would see who tired of the game first. He would rather risk being too generous than offend Christ with stinginess.

He was not a stiff person. When churchgoers left service to gossip outside, he joined them, saying a shepherd should be with his flock. After a couple instances of this, the church folk were shamed into remaining for the entire service. He also involved himself in many activities that moderns would assign to the secular state. For instance, he regulated weights and measures, worked to reduce taxes, and established poorhouses, hostels, and hospitals. He purchased slaves to liberate them.

In those days, the Monophysites, who deny the two natures of Christ, dominated Egypt and much of the Middle East. Through his love, charitable outreach, and teaching, John brought many back to Orthodoxy. Just how Orthodox he himself was is questionable: he denied that Jesus suffered while on the cross.

In 619, when the Persians invaded Egypt, Nicetas was unable to rouse the Alexandrians to defend their own city. He fled and took John with him. Informed in a vision of his impending death, John the Almsgiver went home to Cyprus. On this day, 11 November 619, he died. Soon recognized as a saint, he inspired the Order of Hospitallers, now officially titled the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta.

Dan Graves

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Almsgiving is a discipline that serves our fellows. For more about character-strengthening disciplines, watch Celebration of Discipline at RedeemTV

Celebration of Discipline can be purchased at Vision Video

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