The following miracle is described in the Service composed in honor of Saint John the Russian from 1897 by Hieromonk Dionysios, who was an eyewitness and even a first-hand witness as a student of the Greek School mentioned in Prokopi of Asia Minor, which was located next to the Church of Saint Basil. We quote his testimony verbatim:
“In the year 1862, on Saturday, still early in the morning, when the bloodless sacrifice was being performed in the above-mentioned Holy Temple of our Holy Father Basil, a pious woman told the women present in the temple that, yesterday in a dream, she had seen Saint John, coming out of his larnax in a hurry, and holding in both hands the roof of the Greek School, which was about to collapse. While she was saying this, suddenly a great crash and noise was heard, and all the congregation immediately left the temple, and I saw indeed that the entire roof of the school collapsed and crushed the assembled former students. Everyone ran away with lamentations and cries, and immediately raised the heavy roof that had collapsed, and they pulled out the twenty students buried and crushed under it, miraculously alive and completely healthy! The students were asked how this happened to them and how they were saved from such danger? They replied that, 'suddenly hearing the severe and violent creaking of the roof beams and seeing the imminent danger to us all as if by a signal and as if led by an invisible hand, we immediately went down under the desks, in fear and terror and utter despair.' It is then written, 'The roof fell on us with a crash, and the rafters of the roof were supported with so much material, on the weak benches, and we, remaining under them, completely unharmed and unaffected, were preserved beyond expectation.' And thus, by the grace of God, and the invisible supervision of our Holy Father John, so many innocent creatures were saved at that time, who, having grown to manhood, have benefited, as they do now, the aforementioned school and our homeland.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
“In the year 1862, on Saturday, still early in the morning, when the bloodless sacrifice was being performed in the above-mentioned Holy Temple of our Holy Father Basil, a pious woman told the women present in the temple that, yesterday in a dream, she had seen Saint John, coming out of his larnax in a hurry, and holding in both hands the roof of the Greek School, which was about to collapse. While she was saying this, suddenly a great crash and noise was heard, and all the congregation immediately left the temple, and I saw indeed that the entire roof of the school collapsed and crushed the assembled former students. Everyone ran away with lamentations and cries, and immediately raised the heavy roof that had collapsed, and they pulled out the twenty students buried and crushed under it, miraculously alive and completely healthy! The students were asked how this happened to them and how they were saved from such danger? They replied that, 'suddenly hearing the severe and violent creaking of the roof beams and seeing the imminent danger to us all as if by a signal and as if led by an invisible hand, we immediately went down under the desks, in fear and terror and utter despair.' It is then written, 'The roof fell on us with a crash, and the rafters of the roof were supported with so much material, on the weak benches, and we, remaining under them, completely unharmed and unaffected, were preserved beyond expectation.' And thus, by the grace of God, and the invisible supervision of our Holy Father John, so many innocent creatures were saved at that time, who, having grown to manhood, have benefited, as they do now, the aforementioned school and our homeland.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
