Venerable John the Clairvoyant

Life

He was a carpenter until his twenty-fifth year, and then, driven by an irresistible desire for unceasing prayer, he withdrew to the desert, where he lived until his death, that is, until his ninetieth year. Though bodily, he was as though bodiless. He could see into the heart of every man who drew near him, and could discern his name and his desire and thought. He foretold to Emperor Theodosius the outcome of his battles; he gave prophecies to generals, to monks, and to all who had need to know what was hidden for them in the darkness of coming days. A certain prince begged him to receive his wife, who had a great desire to see him. The holy man was unwilling to satisfy idle curiosity, but appeared to the prince's wife in a dream just as he was. And when the wife described the vision, her husband confirmed that it was indeed the saint's likeness. He instructed every visitor in humility, as the foundational virtue, always citing examples from life of how pride had brought many lofty characters to ruin and led them into grievous sins. He endured great attacks from evil spirits. Once Satan appeared to him with a multitude of demons in the guise of radiant angels. And these pressed him to bow down to Satan, deceiving him that it was Christ. But he answered wisely: "To my King Jesus Christ I bow down every day; if it were He, He would have no need to demand that I bow down to Him now in particular." After these words, all the evil power vanished like smoke. He died peacefully, kneeling in prayer, in his ninetieth year.