On October 12 (September 29 on the Julian Calendar) we commemorate Saint John (Pommer), Archbishop of Riga, martyr under the Communist yoke, who reposed in the Lord in 1934.
Hieromartyr John Pommer was born on January 6 (19), 1876, on the Ilzessala farm in Prauliena parish, to a family of Orthodox Latvian peasants. His parents were simple, pious and devout Christians. Holy Orthodoxy entered the life of the Pommer family during the time of his great-grandfather, despite strong resistance and cruel persecution from German landowners. Every day and every period of work in this family began with prayer. The whole family gathered together, the father read a chapter from the New Testament, the children sang and read prayers. And in general, this family loved to sing church hymns. The seasons were counted not by months, but by church holidays. Constantly helping his parents with farm work, the youth John grew up strong and physically resilient. At the same time, he was distinguished by his thoughtfulness, thirst for knowledge of the Word of God and was a dreamy nature. He studied diligently and behaved well.
By God's Providence, the poor village boy was faced with ten years of study in distant Riga. In August 1887, John Pommer was enrolled in the Riga Theological School, and after graduating, in 1891, he entered the Riga Theological Seminary.
John spent all his free time in the library. His comrades respected him for his brilliant abilities and willingness to help, for his heroic strength. When it was his turn to read at the service, John read with feeling and prayer.
In 1900, John entered the Kyiv Theological Academy. There is no doubt that the shrines of Kyiv had a beneficial effect on the pious young man.
During his years of study at the academy, his determination to dedicate his entire life to serving the Church of Christ grew stronger. The future ascetic of the Latvian land was blessed on the path of monastic life by the great prayer-book and miracle-worker of the Russian land, St. Righteous John of Kronstadt. In 1903, at the age of 27, John Pommer took monastic vows, on September 23, 1903, he was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon, and on July 13, 1904, to the rank of hieromonk.
In 1904 he graduated from the Theological Academy with honors and a candidate of theology degree. While studying at the Theological Academy, Hieromonk John directed the singing of the academic choir.
Serving God in the priesthood was for him a constant feat of confession and following the chief shepherd Christ, who said about His shepherds: "... I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: No servant is greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you also; if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also... You will be driven out of the crowds; but the hour will come, that whoever kills you will think that he is doing service to God... In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world" (John 15:19-20, 16, 2:33).
On September 26, 1907, Hieromonk John was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by the Archbishop of Vologda, where he held the position of inspector, and the following year he was appointed rector of the Lithuanian Theological Seminary and abbot of the Vilnius Holy Trinity Monastery.
Being an excellent preacher, Archimandrite John put a lot of effort into raising the art of preaching to the highest level, personally listened to the sermons of his students, gave valuable instructions and explanations. He paid great attention to the splendor of the church and monastery.
Archimandrite John conducted religious processions to rural parishes with the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. A huge number of worshipers took part in the religious processions. Fervent services, prayerful and clear reading, beautiful sermons deeply penetrated the souls of the Orthodox people. The power of faith, hope and love was kindled in the hearts of people.
Archimandrite John was unusually simple in his communication with people, and his sympathy for the needs of the poor people was amazing: no one "left him empty and inconsolable." Archimandrite John, following Christ, contained in his heart the needs of the oppressed and destitute. He was especially loved by the Russian and Belarusian poor, who received work, protection and support through him. This is the true essence of a Christian pastor, who makes no difference between a slave and a free man, a Greek, a Jew or a representative of any people.
On March 11, 1912, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, a council of bishops headed by Metropolitan Vladimir of Moscow and Metropolitan Flavian of Kyiv consecrated Archimandrite John as a bishop and appointed him to the city of Slutsk as a vicar of Archbishop Mikhail of Minsk.
In 1912, Bishop John performed his episcopal service in Odessa, and after the death of Archbishop Dimitri of Kherson in 1913, he was appointed to Taganrog to the newly opened Priazov diocese (1913-1917).
The time of severe trials and tragic upheavals of the First World War and the hard times of 1917 had arrived.
The merciful love of Bishop John extended not only to his flock, but also to those suffering outside the fold of the Orthodox Church. Compassionate and effective aid to refugees from Galicia not only alleviated their suffering, but also attracted many of them to the bosom of the Orthodox Church.
As a result of the revolutionary upheaval of 1917, the new leaders raised the most severe persecution against the Church. The enemy of the human race has from ancient times raised a special persecution against archpastors and pastors, hoping to scatter the sheep of Christ's flock by striking the pastors.
On September 7 (20), 1917, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon appointed Bishop John to serve in the Tver diocese, where peaceful church life had been disrupted. Assisted by God's help, the wise archpastor quickly established church life.
Seeing Bishop John as a kind and wise shepherd, the Patriarch elevated him to the rank of archbishop, appointed him Archbishop of Penza and Saransk, and sent him to heal the schism and heresy. The diocese was in a very difficult situation. The local clergy, like a flock without a shepherd, were confused, and some priests even deviated into schism. The heretical schismatics seized the Penza Cathedral and the main churches.
Archbishop John arrived at his new place of service in Penza on Tuesday of Holy Week 1918, and the first episcopal services already attracted the hearts of the people of God to the Bishop.
The Lord preserved the righteous man for further confession and guidance of the sheep of His flock. And the severe trials and confession feat only strengthened the spiritual strength of the bishop. In this we see the great providence of God for the Orthodox people of the Latvian land, who endured much suffering and persecution for the Orthodox faith.
The state of the Orthodox Church of Latvia in those troubled times was sad. Not recognized by the state, it was given over to plunder. The flock was scattered, and Orthodoxy was persecuted. Orthodoxy was predicted to soon end.
During the years of the First World War and the revolution, Orthodox theological education was destroyed in Latvia, the Riga Theological Seminary was taken away. The Riga cathedra was widowed: there was no archpastor. After Latvia gained independence, the question of the position of the Orthodox Church in Latvia became acute. Those in power did not agree with the position of the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The state of the country's churches was sad. Plundered and devastated during the occupation and civil war, they were in disrepair. Iconostases were smashed, icons were desecrated, crucifixes were thrown into the trash, the Riga Cathedral was ravaged. The tin from the domes of churches was removed to repair the institutions... Not a single Orthodox church escaped these troubles. One after another, the best Orthodox churches were seized. The Riga Convent was also under threat of closure.
In the Riga Orthodox Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, some wanted to create a pantheon-tomb of national heroes, while others thought to raze it to the ground.
The Latvian clergy and laity, like a flock without a shepherd, experienced with deep sorrow the widowhood of the Riga cathedra and the unsettled state of Orthodoxy in the state, but what can the church people do without their archpastor?
Pious pastors and laity turned to His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon with a humble request to bless Archbishop John (Pommer), who had earned love through his steadfastness in faith and confessorial feat, to care for the Latvian flock.
Bishop John healed the schism in the Penza diocese, and the Patriarch appointed him Archbishop of Riga and blessed his departure to Latvia, but the Penza clergy and laity did not want to let go of their deeply beloved bishop. And only in view of the persistent requests of the Latvian flock, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon gave his final consent to Archbishop John's departure to Latvia, honoring him with a letter of gratitude for his selfless and fruitful work in various places of service in Russia.
On June 8 (21), 1921, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon granted rights of broad autonomy to the Orthodox Church in Latvia and by his decree appointed Archbishop John (Pommer) of Penza as Archbishop of Riga and Latvia.
By the will of God, the bishop returns to Latvia with rich spiritual and administrative experience acquired in his previous dioceses. At all stages of his service, he was guided above all by the idea of spiritual revival of church life, service to God and people.
The years of service to the Holy Church and standing for the faith enriched the saint with wisdom and prudence. He grew spiritually into a perfect man, able to guide others on the path of salvation, and showed a rare example of self-denial and devotion to the will of God. In the greatest humility, walking the path of archpastoral service, Bishop John relied on the Lord in everything, not attributing anything to himself personally, but in everything he conformed to the will of God. With humility, the saint accepted the Latvian flock under his omophorion.
In Riga, the archbishop was met by his new flock at the train station and proceeded with a religious procession to the destroyed cathedral.
Surrounded by the love of his flock, the bishop undertook a tour of the parishes, strengthening faith and encouraging everyone to be firm in their faith.
He experienced oppression from the authorities, but it was nothing compared to what he experienced from the Bolsheviks in Russia.
Much effort and work was required to establish the rights of the Latvian Orthodox Church in the state. Only through the tireless, selfless efforts of Archbishop John was it possible to achieve the registration of the Church as a full-fledged legal entity, and only the Lord, the Knower of hearts, knows how much suffering the Bishop had to endure while doing this most important thing. To achieve this, Archbishop John had to put forward his candidacy for the elections to the Saeima [the parliament of Latvia]. The people supported their archpastor and repeatedly elected him as a deputy of the Latvian parliament. The Bishop had to endure many humiliations, insults and even beatings as a deputy for his testimony of the truth, but only in this way was he able to defend the Church.
Thus ended the destruction of Orthodoxy in Latvia.
Bishop John sacredly honored the canons of the Holy Orthodox Church and considered it most important for the independent Latvian Orthodox Church to be spiritually in the bosom of the Mother Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. He rejected all attempts by the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Karlovac schismatics to force the Latvian Church to break with the Mother Church, unity with which is the testament of the holy archpastor for us.
The entire life and ascetic labors of Saint John as an archbishop and deputy were aimed at serving the Church, his homeland of Latvia and the common people. He cared equally for Russians, Latvians and people of other nationalities. For him there were no friends or strangers, everyone was a brother.
The protector and patron of the destitute and poorest strata of the population, the bishop himself lived more than modestly. The dark and damp room in the basement of the cathedral that became his home, with a barred window under the very ceiling through which all the sounds of the central boulevard penetrated, was in an extremely neglected state. The smoke-stained walls were covered with spots of mold and dampness. Living in the basement, Archbishop John received high-ranking foreign guests there. The Estonian, Finnish and English bishops visited the basement of the cathedral. One of the foreign visitors exclaimed with tears in his eyes: "Believe me, in my homeland not a single prisoner lives in such a pit as you, the head of the Latvian Orthodox Church." The furnishings in the bishop's cell were very simple: several armchairs, chairs, bookcases, icons. Above the table was a large portrait of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. We do not know how many tears were shed here by the holy confessor before the holy icons. The Bishop lovingly called his basement "my cave" and only joked about the expressions of sympathy for his situation. Numerous visitors remembered him as smiling, simple and approachable.
The Bishop loved children very much, and the children loved him. How often he would come to the bookstore with a whole gang of children and buy books for everyone, sometimes for several dozen lats. And the joyful crowd of children, often forgetting to thank them, would scatter to their homes, and he would watch them with quiet joy.
After the Easter Matins, according to ancient custom, the archbishop would break his fast with the poor. Here he felt as if he were in his own family. He never differentiated people by social origin. It made no difference to him who stood before him: a minister, a general, an aristocrat, a peasant or a worker. He saw the image of God in everyone. The bishop was often visited by criminals who had just been released from prison. The bishop helped them, the repentant, to begin a new life. Everyone felt the joy of communicating with the saint. Kind to the kind and the repentant, the archbishop was strict with himself, confronted those who persisted in error and the enemies of the Church. While protecting the Church, he did not spare himself and therefore enjoyed the universal love of zealots of piety both in Latvia and far beyond its borders.
However, his health was undermined by backbreaking labor and difficult living conditions. Suffering from physical ailments, he was forced to move to the bishop's dacha near Kishozero - the place of his martyrdom.
Relying on the Lord, the bishop lived without guards at his dacha, which was located in a deserted place. He loved solitude. Here his soul rested from the vanity of the world. The bishop spent his free time in prayer, worked in the garden, and did carpentry work on a workbench, on which the tormentors later subjected him to terrible torture.
The martyrdom of the saint was announced by a fire at the bishop's dacha on the night from Thursday to Friday, October 12, 1934.
No one knows who tortured the bishop. But the torture was cruel. The archbishop was tied to a door that had been removed from its hinges and subjected to terrible torture on a workbench. Everything indicated that the saint's legs were burned with fire, he was shot with a revolver and was burned alive.
The cathedral could not accommodate everyone for the funeral of Archbishop John. Many people stood along the streets along which the remains of the holy martyr were to be carried. The memory of the saint was preserved in the hearts of the Orthodox, and nothing, not even the fear of persecution, could erase it.
For many decades, at the Pokrovskoe Cemetery in Riga, at the tomb of the holy martyr, there have been fresh flowers, candles, and pilgrims. There are known facts of healing and God's help to people through the prayers of the holy intercessor of the land of Latvia.
The chapel at the Pokrovsky Cemetery in Riga, where the relics of the martyred archpastor rested under a bushel, became a place of pilgrimage for many Orthodox Christians who faithfully honor his memory.
Days of Commemoration
- February 9 (movable) - Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church
- June 29 (movable) - Council of Belarusian Saints
- October 12
- November 18 - Memory of the Fathers of the Local Council of the Russian Church 1917-1918
Source
Further Reading
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pommers
- https://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/john-archbishop-and-hieromartyr-of-riga.html
- https://orthodoxwiki.org/John_(Pommers)_of_Riga
- https://orthochristian.com/134698.html
- https://orthochristian.com/159015.html
- https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2017/10/the-life-and-martydom-of-stjohn-of-riga
- https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2023/11/archbishop-in-the-basement-st-john-pommers-of-riga