Handmade Byzantine iconography of the Saint John the Much-Suffering, made on Mount Athos, on natural wood. The icon is delivered in a wooden box.
Saint John the Long-Suffering was a monk of the Kiev Caves Lavra who endured extreme trials to preserve his chastity. From youth, he was tormented by lust, and despite severe ascetic practices, he found no relief. Saint John went into the cave where the relics of Saint Anthony were and prayed to the holy Abba. Then, he was instructed by a divine voice to embrace isolation. Saint John spent thirty years in solitude, battling temptations with intense discipline. During Great Lent, he buried himself up to the shoulders in earth, but was still tormented by passions and demonic visions, including a fiery serpent. On Easter night, as the serpent attacked, Saint John the Much- Suffering prayed to God, who answered with lightning, driving the snake away. A divine voice revealed that John’s trials were a test of his endurance and a path to spiritual refinement. Saint John the Long-Suffering passed away peacefully in 1160 and his relics are in the Caves of Saint Anthony.
