« Pilgrimage to Beverley to the tomb of St. John of Beverley »

With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, on Saturday, May 14, 2022, after a long break due to the coronavirus pandemic, clergy and parishioners of the Diocesan District of Northern England and Wales made a pilgrimage to Beverley to the resting place of St. John of Beverley.

The pilgrimage group was headed by priest Anatoly Vikhrov, Rector of the parishes of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg in Leeds and of the Meeting of the Lord in Bradford. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the main cathedral of Beverley, after which a procession and a water-blessing moleben took place at the resting place of St. John.

Liturgical hymns were sung by the choristers of the Intercession Church in Manchester.

At the Liturgy, believers from various cities in Northern England - Hull, York, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford and Chesterfield - prayed and received communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

At the end of the service, Father Anatoly addressed those present in the church with words of greeting and gratitude for their help in organising the pilgrimage.

The communication between the priest and parishioners continued over a meal in the church garden.

   

In the small English town of Beverley, which is located between York and Hull, there is a majestic monastery church. In the very center of this cathedral, the relics of St. John of Beverley rest under a bushel.  Saint John was born in the middle of the 7th century at Harpham, in East Yorkshire.  In his youth he lived in Canterbury under the care of Archbishop Theodore, who instructed him and, it is supposed, gave him the name John. He took the tonsure and, for some time, laboured in the monastery of St. Hilda in Streanæshealh, and later in Whitby.

Subsequently, Saint John gained fame as a preacher and mentor, and showed deep knowledge in the interpretation of the Holy Scripture.  On August 25, 687, he was consecrated Bishop of Hexham, the land where he previously lived a solitary life in Erneshowe (or Herneshou), on the opposite bank of the Tyne River. He continued to have a habit of seclusion, especially during the Great Lent, when his episcopal ministry allowed him to do so.  In 705, Bishop John took part in the Council at Nidd, called by Osred, King of Northumbria, to decide on Wilfrid of York.

In the same year 705, after the death of Bosa, John was transferred to the See of York after 18 years of labour in Hexem, where he was replaced by Wilfrid.  Little is known of his activities in the new diocese, except that he was diligent in visiting those in need, sensitive to the poor, and extremely attentive to the instruction of the students whom he took under his personal care. His small group of disciples is said to have included Bede, whom he ordained, Berethume, later Abbot of Beverley, Herebald, Abbot of Tynemouth, and Wilfrid the Younger, John's successor in the see of York from 718.

In York, the Saint also looked for a place suitable for a reclusive life. At one time, he retired to a small church in the name of St. Michael, which may have been on the site of the modern church of St. Michael-le Belfry, next to York Minster Cathedral. But during one of his trips, the Saint discovered another place that completely captivated him. It was "a land of wild forests and waters, on which stood a church in the name of St. John the Theologian." From a stream that flowed nearby, in which many beavers lived, this land received the name "Beverley", that is, "Beaver Creek".

Having acquired land in the town of Inderawood, John founded a monastery there, establishing a place that became an important spiritual centre during his lifetime. This is where the Saint retired in 718, leaving the see of York to his disciple Wilfrid. Here he stayed under Abbot Beretyum (or Beretyun), one of his favourite students, until his death on May 7, 721.

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