St. John, Archbishop and Wonderworker of Novgorod

John was born in Novgorod to devout parents and became a parish priest at the church of St Blasius. After his parents' death he became a monk and took the name Elijah. In 1165 the city called him from his monastery to be archbishop of Novgorod, and he accepted it unwillingly. He was a builder: his Life lists churches of the Annunciation, the Epiphany, the Prophet Elijah and St Theodore among his foundations.

During the siege of Novgorod by the army of Suzdal in 1170, according to the Life, he carried the icon of the Mother of God to the city walls, and the attackers fell into confusion; the icon is now known as "the Sign". Shortly before his death on 7 September 1186 he took the great schema and the name John.