Some of our parishioners, who are praying the akathist to St John the Wonderworker for the intention of our parish, after the news of its eviction from St John’s by the (Anglican) Local Ministry Team, have asked for a canon to pray to the great wonderworker, for his help.
The following canon was published by our late Bishop Alexander of Buenos Aires, and, I believe, is the one written by Father Seraphim (Rose) of Platina.
A Canon to St John the Wonderworker Tone 2, the Acrostic wherewith is: Holy John, Wonderworker of the latter times.
Ode I, Irmos: Having traversed the depths of the Red Sea with dry-shod feet, Israel of old vanquished the might of Amalek in the wilderness by Moses’ arms stretched out in the form of the Cross.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Help me, O Christ my Lord, to praise with purity of heart Thy blessed servant John, whose life of unceasing labour and prayer Thou hast revealed to us as both a reproof and a source of inspiration for our feeble faith.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
O Hierarch John, Thou art a lamp that shineth forth out of the dark apostasy of our evil times, beckoning us to follow Thee out of the nether chaos of our passions and to abide with Thee in Christ the Light that dieth not.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Love for the all-wise and all-compassionate God, the simple Unity in Trinity, did give Thee both the divine wisdom of the great Elders of ancient times and the simple guilelessness of a child, O blessed John, enabling Thee to touch countless souls with the grace bestowed upon Thee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Young, defenceless orphans flock to Thee, the old and infirm beg consolation from Thee, and all we who have fallen into sin seek the healing balm of Thy heavenly intercession. Holy Hierarch John, saint and wonderworker in our midst, pray for us.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
John Thou didst behold prostrated before Thy sacred images, praying alone in the deep hours of the night warring with sleep and keeping constant vigilance over his soul. O blessed Mother of God, warm our hearts that we too may pour out such ardent love for Thee.
Ode III, Irmos: By establishing me on the rock of faith, Thou hast enlarged my mouth over my enemies, and my spirit rejoiceth when I sing: there is none holy as our God, and none righteous beside Thee, O Lord.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
O blessed one, Thou didst have as Thy ancestor a saint, whose name Thou wast given as a monk. Truly did his spirit rest upon Thee, for Thou didst become, like the great John of Tobolsk, a holy hierarch, a zealous missionary to foreign lands, and a miracle-worker even after Thy repose.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Having the heavenly saints as Thy instructors, Thou wast as a child taught the life of ascetic struggle and unconquerable faith in Christ. Preferring this learning above all other, Thou didst become an earnest student of Orthodox sanctity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Never ceasing to nourish Thy soul with the Lives of Saints, Thou didst carefully study their every thought, word and action, thereby perceiving their otherworldly mind and spirit and acquiring these for thyself: for indeed Thou didst become like Thy instructors, a saint by whom God is glorified.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
When a child in Kharkov, the blessed John devoutly prayed before Thine Ilyetskaya icon. O Sovereign Lady, cleanse our unclean hearts and grant us such childlike faith.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional Hymn, Tone 2: Who can fathom the mysterious ways of sanctity? Who can perceive the celestial beauty of Thy life enshrouded in the garments of humility? Thou, O John. wast illumined by the Light that came into the world, and the world knew it not. (Twice).
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Queen of Heaven, Thou abidest now with all the saints whom Thou didst strengthen and console during their sojourn on earth. And behold! A new saint is among them, the righteous John, praising Christ with Thee forever.
Ode IV, Irmos: From a Virgin didst Thou come, not as an ambassador nor as an angel, but the very Lord Himself incarnate, and didst save me, the whole man. Wherefore I cry to Thee: Glory to Thy power, O Lord.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
O holy Hierarch, Thou wast sent as a shepherd at Christ’s flock to Shanghai, where Thou didst become known as a wonderworker and healer of diseases, a great ascetic who gavest no repose or comfort to the temple of Thy body, but rather sanctified it through the constant work of prayer.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Neglecting no opportunity of helping those in need, Thou didst boldly walk through the slums and dark alleys of Shanghai, gathering sick and starving orphans and providing them with Thy fatherly protection. Do Thou take us, too, under Thy care.
Deliverer of the oppressed, Thou didst see no separation between Thy good works and Thy constant prayers, for in both didst Thou serve God and raise people from the mire of suffering.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Ever following the injunctions of Christ, Thou didst feed Him when He was hungry, take Him in when He was homeless, clothe Him when He was naked, visit Him when He was sick and in prison: for in everyone didst Thou see His divine image.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Receive our prayers, O Mother of God, as Thou didst once receive the prayers of the blessed John while he served in the Shanghai Cathedral dedicated to Thee, the Surety of Sinners, and besought Thee to save those languishing in sin and Sorrow.
Ode V, Irmos: Thou Who art the light of those lying in darkness, and the salvation of the hopeless, O Christ my Saviour, I rise early to pray to Thee, O King of peace, Enlighten me with Thy radiance, for I know no other God beside Thee.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
When Thou didst bring Thy flock to the Philippine Islands, O Hierarch John, Thou didst show thyself to be a new Moses, leading Thy people out of bondage and always trusting in the protection of the merciful God.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
O protector of those in danger and tribulation, through Thy holy prayers Thou didst deliver Thy flock on the island from certain destruction, averting the violent typhoons even as Thy Master Christ calmed the stormy waters of Galilee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Revealing from East to West, from the remote corners of the world, the glory with which God doth endow His saints, Thou didst allow no earthly distance to hinder Thy heavenly ministry. Even now, from where space is effortlessly traversed by the angelic powers, come to our aid and bring our petitions before the Lord.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Keeping vigil on a remote island, the blessed John prayed before Thy wondrously renewed icon. O Thou Who art the Quencher of Sorrow and the relief of affliction, we run to Thy motherly protection and tell the burdens of our hearts.
Ode VI, Irmos: Whirled about in the abyss of sin, I appeal to the unfathomable abyss of Thy compassion: from corruption raise me up, O God.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Endeavouring to find refuge for Thy flock, who had no secure place whereon to lay their heads, Thou didst bring them under Thy mantle to the New World. Let us likewise find refuge in Thy prayers.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Reaching then the land wherein the ancient ascetics of Gaul attained to holiness, Thou didst once more grace it with the presence of a saint, returning the French people to the Orthodox and apostolic faith, and tirelessly labouring to ground them on the firm Rock of salvation.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Of all the saints, both of East and West, wast Thou an ardent disciple, O holy Hierarch; wherefore, in Thy travels Thou didst learn of the saints of different lands, introducing the faithful to yet more residents of the heavenly mansions, with whom Thou art now glorified.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Foretelling future events, seeing mystically within the hearts of men, hearing prayers and thoughts across great distances, Thou wast shown to be in the presence of the realm beyond earthly limitations, amazing all who had eyes to see and moving them to greater faith and devotion.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou gavest birth to Him who gave me life, O Most Pure Virgin. Let me not squander this gift by desiring that which endeth in death, but like our blessed John let me seek that fountain which springeth up into everlasting life, Thy Son Christ our God.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone VIII: Chosen Wonderworker and superb servant of Christ, who pourest out in the latter times, inexhaustible streams of inspiration and multitudes of miracles. We pray thee with love and call out to thee, O holy hierarch John, Wonderworker of the latter times.
Ode VII, Irmos: When the golden image was worshipped in the plain of Dura, Thy three children despised the godless order, thrown into the fire they were bedewed and sang: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Having purified thyself in Thy work of prayer, O holy one, Thou wast deemed worthy to behold the ineffable light that cometh directly from God. Surrounded by the uncreated essence of Divinity, Thou wast lifted above the earth, knowing the bliss of wordless prayer, of the silence of the future age.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Elder in the tradition of the desert saints of Thy native Russia. seer of the heart and well-spring of God-revealed counsel, Thou wast sent at a time when men of Thy stature had disappeared from the face of the earth. In Thee we see precious gift from God and thus do honour Thy words of wisdom.
Leaving behind the vain wisdom of this world, Thou didst choose the foolishness of God which is wiser than men, and thus wast Thou chosen of Him to confound the prudent and mighty, bringing to naught their carnal understanding. Marvelling at His ways past speech, we cry out: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Awe and wonder are born in us as we behold Thy life, O blessed one, for Thou wast both a wise teacher of theology and a Fool for Christ’s sake, a hierarch and a humble servant of the poor. Thou was a compassionate friend of all, yet was alone with God in the secret chambers of Thy spirit.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The blessed John did always wear Thy Optina icon upon his heart, O Most Holy Virgin: likewise let us always remember Thee in the tabernacles of our hearts, for Thou art the sacred Tabernacle which did wondrously bear God.
Ode VIII, Irmos: O ye work, praise the Lord God, Who descended into the fiery furnace with the Hebrew children and changed the flame into dew, and supremely exalt Him unto all ages.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Thy flock of Shanghai rejoiced at they return to them in America, where Thou didst end Thy days as an unrelenting champion of Orthodoxy, experiencing sorrows from those who despised Thee for Thy holy life, yet meeting Thy false accusers with the meekness made invincible through Christ.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Even as Thy great ascetic preceptors did teach Thee, Thou didst know the love of God as suffering of heart endured in the spirit of devotion, and didst call out in Thine hour of trial: O ye works, praise the Lord God, and supremely exalt Him unto all ages.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rare are those who can go on the narrow and rugged path that Thou hast trod. O saint, for in Thy sorrows Thou didst with courage place Thy trust only in God, being tested like gold in the forge and thereby entering the celestial habitations purified in spirit.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
To Thee, O Joy of All Who Sorrow, the ever-present recourse of the blessed John in his tribulations, we cry with faith: grant us that spiritual joy which is undiminished in adversity.
Ode IX, Irmos: God the Word, Who came forth from god, and who by ineffable wisdom came to renew Adam after his grievous fall to corruption through eating, and who ineffably took flesh from the holy virgin for our sake, him do we the faithful with one accord magnify with hymns.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
In a divine manner was Thy soul’s departure known beforehand to Thee, and Thou didst prepare to meet the mystical Bridegroom, Christ, to Whom Thou dost not cease to pray for us sinners.
Holy Hierarch John, pray to God for us.
Marvelling at the death of a newly manifested saint, Thy flock did find their sorrow turned to gladness, feeling the victorious joy of Pascha and glorifying God for giving them a new intercessor in heaven.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Even after Thy blessed repose Thou dost grant instruction, healing and consolation to all who come to Thee, O blessed John. As Thou dost now give miraculous help to the blind, sick and sorrowing, so also pour the healing balm of Thy prayers on us who bear the wounds of sin.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Silently praying before the Kursk Icon of God’s Mother, the new apostle John departed from earth to paradise. And let us, knowing not the hour of the end of our sojourn here, offer such heartfelt devotion to Her who reigns with the King of glory.
Troparion, Tone VI: Glorious apostle to an age of coldness and unbelief, invested with the grace-filled power of the saints of old, divinely-illumined seer of heavenly mysteries, feeder of orphans, hope of the hopeless, Thou didst enkindle on earth the fire of love for Christ upon the dark eve of the day of judgment; pray now that this sacred flame may also rise from our hearts.