The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, D.C. is under the protection of two great saints named John, and now it will enjoy the protection of a third.
The church was founded by St. John the Wonderworker of San Francisco in 1949 and named in honor of the great prophet St. John the Baptist, and now a new monument to one of Russia’s most beloved saints—St. John of Kronstadt—will be erected at the cathedral, Orthochristian reports.
“Many Americans know St. John of Kronstadt because they have reading English translation of his most famous work – My Life in Christ, his diaries. He is known in the Orthodox community in the U.S.,” Potapov said.
The monument will be America’s first to St. John of Kronstadt, cathedral dean Archpriest Victor Potapov explained. The statue, created by sculptor Dimitry Kukkolos, stands 9 feet tall and weighs more than 1,800 pounds.
The First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion will consecrate the monument on the parish’s feast day, September 8.
The monument arrived to the church on July 15.
Photo courtesy of Orthochristian
