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Archbishop John's Unspoken Affects
As Eugene was later to write, however, such miracles were not remarkable in themselves: "All this can easily be imitated by false miracle-workers.... In the case of Archbishop John, those who have come to believe through him have been moved not first of all by his miracles, but by something that moved their hearts about him."
Eugene heard stories of the Archbishop's profound compassion, of how in Shanghai he had gone to the most dangerous neighborhoods to rescue neglected children from brothels and abandoned ones from garbage cans; of how emotionally scarred children, closed in upon themselves after witnessing the brutalities of war and revolution, would blossom out at a word from him; of how he would always visit people in hospitals, after which believers and unbelievers alike would be healed through the grace that flowed from him; of how hardened criminals would suddenly and inexplicably weep when they saw him making the rounds of their prisons, though they had never set their eyes on him before; of how, wherever he was, he had a practice of making rounds all night long, stopping before people's rooms to bless and pray for them as they slept unawares.... (p.199)
Archbishop John's Attraction was His Love
Archbishop John needed to give Eugene few instructions and explanations. Eugene internalized the spiritual image of the Archbishop, whom he perceived as a reflection of Christ Himself; and he was to carry this image throughout his life as a source of guidance. In later years, when he beheld this image most clearly after long experience as a Christian, he was to write: "If you ask anyone who knew Archbishop John what it was that drew people to him, and still draws people who never knew him, the answer is always the same: he was overflowing with love; he sacrificed himself for his fellow men out of absolutely unselfish love for God and for them. This is why things were revealed to him which could not get through to other people and which he never could have known by natural means. He himself taught that, for all the 'mysticism' of out Orthodox Church that is found in the Lives of the Saints and the writings of the Holy Fathers, the truly Orthodox person always has both feet firmly on the ground, facing whatever situation is right in front of him. It is in accepting given situations, which require a loving heart, that one encounters God." (p.200)
How Archbishop John Blessed the Brothers for their Labors
The first step the new Brotherhood took was to ask Archbishop John;s blessing upon its labors. When the Archbishop heard about the brother's proposal for a bookstore, he was careful to make them understand that the success of their work depended not on his blessing, but rather on their own effort and on God. Thus, in response to Glebs request for his archepiscopal approval, he simply wrote:
Dear Gleb,
Your intention is clearly good and the cause is good. You must exert all your effort for its realization. I am asking God for His almighty help. If it pleasing to God, then it will go forward. May the Lord bless you.
With love,
Archbishop John
August 28, 1963
St. Moses the Ethiopian and St. Job of Pochaev (p. 259)
Obedience in Light of Law, Rules and Canons
"If by obedience, by faithfulness to the letter of the canons, or by any other good in itself, the spirit of a man is crushed and is extinguished, then there is something terribly wrong. Vladika Artemon has already accused us of a tendency to 'disobedience' and 'self-will' ? and, while admitting that we are in all ways sinful, we can only say that in the present case these accusations are beside the point. Before such virtues have any meaning, they must have a place in a definite context, in a common task, in a fruitful work. Such a context would be, for example, ...an established working monastery such as Jordanville; in our case, the context is The Orthodox Word and our missionary printing labors, which for seven years now we have followed with great labor and sacrifice, in everything being obedient to the Church and to each other, so that never did one of us exercise his 'own will,' obeying rather each other and the common task that united us. Without this we would never have survived; but with this and the blessing of Vladika John we have survived this long and now called by the Church to expand our work and bring forth greater fruit." (p. 418-419)
St. John Maximovitch's Celebration of St. Augustine
Even the later Orthodox confessors against Latin innovations (St. Photius of Constantinople, St. Mark of Ephesus) had called Augustine ?great,? ?holy,? and ?blessed.? And in our own day, Archbishop John had showed special reverence for him, commissioning the writing of a special service in his honor and celebrating it every year. (p. 849)
The Empirical Theology of Archbishop John Maximovitch
For Fr. Seraphim the authority of [The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God] by Archbishop John was similar to that of St. Symeon's homilies, since Archbishop John himself had direct mystical contact with the Mother of God. (p. 852)
