A small church dedicated to one of the most miracle performing Saints of Christianity, is found on the south of the village of Vouni, belonging to the district of Limassol. You will find it upon travelling from Vouni towards Limassol, just a hundred metres after the big church that is dedicated to Panagia Peravouniotissa, on the crest, and under it you will see the valley of the Kryos river.
The small but beautiful church was dedicated to Agios Ioannis the Russian and his worshippers that are thousands, visit it to ask for the miracle performing Saint’s grace.
Who was Ioannis the Russian and how did he become a Saint?
To find the answer to our question, we should travel back to 1711, in the battlefields between the Russians and the Tatars. Being on the side of the Russians, Ioannis fought against them too. Being unlucky, he was arrested and captivated by the Tatars and later on he was sold to a Turkish Agha as a slave.
The Turk asked him to change his faith with his life as an exchange. Ioannis who was young at the moment, replied that he prefered death than to deny Jesus Christ. However, if he let him follow his faith, he would serve him better than any other of his slaves.
The Agha was impressed by the determination of Ioannis and he kept him alive. He offered him a home and a lot of food as an exchange for his services. The Saint prefered to stay in the stable along with the horses. That is where he slept and lived for many years.
From the day that the Saint lay his foot in the house of the Agha, everything changed. His fields gave crops every single year, his flocks increased gradually and everything in his life was perfect. The Agha came to the conclusion that Ioannis was responsible for these changes.
Once again, he asked him to abandon the stable and to move into the house, but the Saint denied repeatedly. He was dedicated to his faith for as long as he lived, and each night he secretly went to the Church of Agios Georgios and worshipped Christ in the dark.
In his forties, after a severe illness, he abandoned this world. A great number of Christians and Muslims believed in the Holiness of Ioannis. They took his relics and put them under the Altar of the church that he loved so much for as long as he was alive.
About a hundred years later, in 1832, upon entering the town Prokopius, the army of Oglu Osman put the relics of the Saint on fire after they sacked it. The Turkish soldiers tried to burn them for hours. On the contrary, nothing happened to them. After the flames were off, they saw the Holy relics smell nice and shine.
Being terrified by this, they stopped trying to burn them, thus confirming the miracle that happened. In a very short period of time, everyone talked about the Miracles of the Saint Ioannis the Russian in all of Asia Minor.
In September of the year 1924, the intact lodge of the Saint was secretly transferred to Greece by the Turkish authorities. In Eubea refugees from Proscopius of Asia Minor, built a new village and a resplendent Church where they placed the Saint’s lodge. The Saint still “lives” and performs miracles. Trustworthy witnesses, talk about seeing the Saint wearing a costume of a soldier in Serbia, taking care of and saving Orthodox soldiers. The miracles of the Saint are endless. Even in Cyprus, his Church is being visited and this can be confirmed by the offerings that are left for him. There is a walking stick, belonging to an old woman coming from the village of Frenaros, who, after she visited the Saint, left it there, since she did not need it anymore.
