From the Prologue of Ochrid
Commemorated also on August 30. He was first a goldsmith, then by God's Providence, on account of his great virtue, he was ordained a priest. As a young man Saint John once walked with a certain old monk, Eusebius, from Palestine. Suddenly a voice came to Eusebius from someone invisible: "Abba, do not walk on the right side of the great John!" This was the voice of God, foretelling the great office to which John was soon to be called. After the blessed Eutychius, John was elected Patriarch of Constantinople. He in no way wished to accept, but was moved by a certain heavenly vision, and so he accepted. Until his death he was a great faster, man of prayer, and wonderworker. He reposed in the Lord in 595. After his death there was found as his sole possession: one wooden spoon, one linen shirt, and one old garment. His writings on repentance and confession are renowned.
