Hagiography of the Venerable Joanikij from Rakotinci – Father Gavril Galev
The way of those who please God is strange,
and when God wills, then He glorifies them
~+~
The way of those who please God is strange, and when God wills, then He glorifies them. Everything is in accordance to the will of God, it is important that we follow Him, i.e. to cooperate, to participate in the great plan of God, and He will lead our life wherever He wants, or to be more precise, wherever it is necessary for our salvation and the salvation of others. Thus, with this newly revealed Saint of ours, the Venerable Joanikij from Rakotinci (Rakotinski), who was modest, peaceful, dedicated to his work, God did not leave him to be hidden from us, He made manifest to us his holy life for our instruction and betterment of our spiritual life in Christ.
The life of our Venerable Father Joanikij is so obscured, and at the same time so revealed. Until recently no one knew about this Holy Venerable Father, and no great detail was known, except some scarce personal data about his life-journey. Miraculously, by exposing his incorruptible relics on the surface of the earth, God made manifest this holy man to us and our interest in him grew. The ascetics do not desire glory, but God thinks of everyone, especially for us who are weak and not well-established in the faith, who need beacons and miracles in order to bring us, guide us and light up the path of God.
In the course of several years of research of the life of this man of God, solid data has been found, but the greatest discovery is his personal autobiography, compiled in response to a 1930 request from the then Serbian church administration in Skopje. Namely, all clergy from the Skopje district were obliged to write their own autobiographies, as well as biographies of eminent people from their parishes. Thus Father Joanikij wrote his short autobiography, which is very important to us.
His autobiography was found in the church of “The Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God” in the village of Rakotinci, where his incorruptible relics laid until 1986. Although many have previously visited the church and researched his life, it is simply as if the Saint himself wanted to make manifest his life at this point in time.
The text (autobiography) is written in the village of Rakotinci on 6/9 March, 1930 and signed by “Father Joanikij, the humble and sinful Elder of the Rakotinski Monastery.”
From his autobiography we draw the most important data about his life, secular and ecclesiastical circumstances in the time in which he lived and detailed descriptions of the sufferings that he had undergone.
His biological birth was in Ohrid – Slavic Jerusalem
He was born on 7/20 January, 1847, in Ohrid, to pious Orthodox parents Georgi and Sofija Cheshmidzievi. As it is the practice amongst our people, that, whichever Saint we celebrate on the day of the birth of the newborn, the child is named after that Saint, so he, because he was born on the day of the Forerunner of the Lord, Saint John the Baptist, at his baptism was named John (Jovan).
He finished primary education in his native Ohrid, and it is not known where or if he attended higher schools, but given the fact that he was a teacher in the village of Rakotinci and “the most educated in the district” it can be presumed that he indeed had a higher education.
In parallel to his secular education, his parents also took care of his spiritual education. In order to keep the image (of God in man) clean and enlightened. The Holy Scriptures and the Hagiographies of the Saints were his regular reading. Through them he was enlightened, and the regular church services and Liturgy were his spiritual food. From an early age he became accustomed to humility, meekness, obedience and prayer, and this would help him to later choose a monastic life, renounce the world, take up his cross and follow Christ
His life in Skopje and the choice of monastic life
In 1860 the Cheshmidzievi family moved to Skopje, and the young Jovan (John) began to study the craft of watchmaking at the workshop of his older brother Stavre. After having mastered the craft, in 1863 he went to city of Vranje and opened an independent watchmaker workshop and worked there for two years. Then he returned to his brother in Skopje and stayed there until 1873.
However something was missing in his life. He had everything in the world, but he felt emptiness in his heart. At that time as they do now, many monks came to worship in city of Ohrid (Slavic Jerusalem). The young Jovan often met with many of them, especially with some monks who came from the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon which is located in the village of Nerezi near Skopje. After resettling in Skopje, these meetings became even more frequent and contributed to ignite the flame for the monastic life in young Jovan. Consequently he left the world and jointed their fraternity.
In this Monastery, where at that time there was a large monastic fraternity, he spent two years as a novice. Exactly on the day when holy Venerable Anthony the Great was (is) celebrated, he was tonsured monk by his Spiritual Father and Elder of the Monastery Father Anthony Venijamov, with the monastic name Joanikij. In the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon Father Joanikij was a monk for two years.
After that, Father Joanikij was transferred to the Monastery of Saint Ilija (St. Elijah) in the mountain of Skopska Crna Gora in the village of Banjani, hoping that he will stay there for the rest of his life. However, he did not stay there for long because he was stopped by a gang of Arnauts (Albanians), robbers who attacked the Monastery in an attempt to rob it. The monks, along with the seymens, bravely resisted and managed to defend themselves. The next morning Father Joanikij went to Skopje and was not allowed to return anymore. He stayed with his biological (corporal) brothers and sisters, and then, by God’s providence, he met with the Abbot of the Markov Monastery, where he was communed as one of the brothers of the fraternity in the Monastery.
It was on 25 October / 7 November (new style), the day before the patronal feast of Markov (Saint Demetrius) Monastery. At that meeting, Father Teophil, as Abbot of the Monastery, invited Father Joanikij to come to the feast and help them. Later Father Teophil also offered him a cell in the Monastery and asked him to join their fraternity. As a young monk, who was forced by circumstances to live in the city, he felt like a fish on a dry land without a monastery and therefore immediately, without hesitation, accepted his offer. Father Joanikij spends the next three years in the Monastery of Saint Demetrius (Markov monastery) where he served God and the fraternity most zealously and devotedly.
He was an image of purity and an example for others
With humility, patience and meekness he accepted the whole struggle with the passions and demons behind them. He was obedient to his Spiritual Father and humble before the brethren. He was also meek, humble, quiet, and loving towards all.
Prayer was unceasing on his lips and with his mind and heart he was always with God. Also he did not neglect the reading of the Holy Scriptures and the hagiographies of the Holy Fathers. He was a regular at the Worship Services and never omitted the regular monastic services. Humbled and filled with love for God and for his brothers, he soon became a role model for others. Filled with Divine grace, he radiated and was encouraging his brethren in the struggle (asceticism). With his overtiring feats (struggles) he was exhausting his body and he was overcoming the passions in himself, so in that period of life, when the passions usually boil in the young man, the Christ-loving Jovan was already a role model of purity.
Because he was educated and skilled in calligraphy, he was given duty (obedience) to translate and transcribe books, and he himself was engaged in writing. From that period is his beautiful transcript of the Akatist of Mother of God from 1874, which today is kept in the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and the National Museum in Ohrid
In temptation again
However, the cunning and persistently malicious, satan, did not leave him alone even here. On one hot summer (June) night, in 1875, when Abbot Theophil went to his well-known Debar region to ask for donations for the monastery, he (Father Joanikij) was attacked by a renegade from the Turkish army, called Said. Thinking that he was the Abbot of the Monastery, he severely mistreated him and even threatened to kill him if he did not give him all the money. Somehow Father Joanikij managed with his humbleness and wisdom to convince the robber that he was not the Abbot of the Monastery and that he actually had no money and he asked the robber to let him go. The robber temporarily understood and left, but threatened to come for the money again the next day. To avoid conflict, the next morning Father Joanikij went to Skopje and stayed with his brother Stavre. He stayed there for less than a month, not diminishing his asceticism and prayer rule as if he were in a monastery. He stayed there until the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
He was the Pastor and the Teacher from Rakotinci
On the eve of the feast of the first supreme Apostles (St. Peter and St. Paul), the mayor of the village of Rakotinci, Trpe Petrov, invited him to come and serve during the Holy Liturgy, to which he agreed. After the Holy Liturgy, they usually gathered at some ruined walls, which, according to tradition, was known to be from an old monastery dedicated to the Saint and the Prophet Elijah. The villagers then informed him of their intention and willingness to keep him in the village as their spiritual leader and teacher for their children.
At first, the Venerable Father objected and hesitated to accept their offer, because it suited for the monk to live in isolation in a monastery, and not in a village amongst people. But seeing their persistent requests, his heart took pity on them and he fell in love with them. Because at that time, he did not have a monastery, but lived in the city, he accepted to live in the village of Rakotinci by committing together with the villagers to build a separate house for him, which would later be part of the monastery complex they intended to rebuild. So they built a brand new house in two parts. Downstairs was the horse stable, and upstairs were two rooms. One served as his cell and the other as a school (classroom) for the children.
The villagers of the village Rakotinci knew little about this humble and God-enlightened Father. But they soon saw for themselves what a man and Holy-Father he was, and they were even more convinced and determined to keep him forever. Father Joanikij was gentle and receptive to everyone, he was hospitable, always humble and quiet. His word(s) touched and comforted the souls of so many people and they listened to him with pleasure. Therefore, they gathered and asked the Exarchate Metropolitan who at the time was in charge of Skopje, His Eminence Mr. Cyril, to ordain him a hieromonk and to appoint him as a parish priest and teacher in their village. These requests were well received by Metropolitan Cyril, who himself worked hard for the progress of the spiritual life and illumination (edification) in his Diocese and he accepted their request.
On 13/26 July 1875, on the day of Saint Archangel Gabriel, Ven. Joanikij was ordained for Hierodeacon (Deacon-monk), and soon after, on July 26 / August 2 the same year, on the day of commemoration of their church patron saint, Saint and Prophet Elijah, he was ordained to Hieromonk (Priest-monk).
Soon after everyone in the proximity heard about him and many wanted to come and see him, in order for Saint Joanikij to read them a prayer and to be spiritually hydrated by his word filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit which came from his heart as a living source
He was a wise builder
Accepting this endeavor as obedience and a blessed cross given to him by God, in that same year (1875), he began the reconstruction of the Monastery, which was destroyed and demolished to its foundations, on many occasions, during the time of Turkish occupation. Only a few ruined walls that testified of its existence remained. As it is said in the Scriptures; “where there are two or three, gathered in the name of the Lord, there is the Man-loving God among them.” So it was with Father Joanikij and the villagers from Rakotinci. God blessed their work and the restoration of the Monastery and the result was obvious. Things went very well and everyone was filled with enthusiasm and joy. But the devil, being envious to any human good, is always present to hinder or destroy every good deed. So in this case, too, he instilled thoughts of envy and fear in the occupying Turkish administration that the Christians were gathering, uniting and advancing together. Because of this, they gave order for the construction of the Monastery to be stopped. The villagers were upset and rebellious about this decision, but the God-enlightened Spiritual Father thought that it was unreasonable to provoke them further and incite their anger, which would cause new troubles and evils in the village, so he advised them to calm down and obey them. Consequently for a while the construction was stopped, and he left briefly for the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos). For the same reason he returned four times to the work of restoring the Monastery, temporarily going to Mount Athos, until the passions calmed down. On Mount Athos he completed all the necessary church books for the needs of the Monastery.
Let us put our hope in God, what can man do to us?
On one occasion when he was questioned and asked to say about himself, who he was, he humbly replied: “I am an Orthodox Christian and by the grace of God, the host of this monastery and outside the monastery nothing interests me!” This reasoning, meekness and humility paid off and reduced the anger of the Turks.
In order for the whole situation to be changed for the better, God Himself mediated through His contemplative wisdom. At that time, the wife of the chief of the region was suffering from an ear disease and no one could help her. In the end, they brought her to Father Joanikij, and because of his prayers for her, the disease disappeared.
After these events, the hostility of the Turks towards him and the villagers eased and they stopped obstructing them from working on the reconstruction of the Monastery. Not only that, but he has even gained their trust and sympathy, so he was respected and they would often come to him for advice. He himself tried to learn the Turkish language for easier communication. Works, again began to move forward in the glory of God, and this God pleasing work was completed three years later. The Monastery of Saint Elijah in the village of Rakotinci was rebuilt.
He was a builder, economist, administrator and charity worker
The Holy Father Joanikij pledged to complete the work and decorate the temple with icons and frescoes, for which he hired the then famous painters Petar and Nace Nikolovi from Veles. The temple, after four years of labor and many tribulations, was entirely completed on the very day of the Monastery’s feast day of the Holy Prophet Elijah in 1879, and was consecrated in 1880 by the then Exarchate Metropolitan of Skopje Theodosij (Gologanov).
At the very entrance of the monastery temple, a founding inscription was placed as a memorial: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. This, whole Holy temple by the name of the holy glorious prophet Elijah, was reconstructed by the humble hieromonk Joanikij from the Cheshmedzhiev family, from the town of Ohrid in the year of 1875. It was finished in the year 1879. 19th of July. Icon-painted by the Orthodox Christians, zographers Petre and Nace Nikolovi from the city of Veles “.
In parallel with the church, monastery quarters were built, a little later, and with the perseverance and zeal of a man with a strong faith and clear vision, such was Father Joanikij, this God-pleasing work, in the Glory of God, was finished.
In addition of being an enlightened spiritual leader, he proved to be an excellent economist and organizer of the construction works. The Venerable Joanikij of Rakotinci was also diligent in the administrative affairs in keeping the monastery books and correspondence, taking care in the meantime of the basic registry documents of the village. Also, the feeling that is deeply ingrained in us, the patriotic feeling, especially among the Macedonian people who had a special challenge to prove their uniqueness, he dedicated part of his time to the struggle to prove our identity, making in his monastery a collection of folk costumes from that region.
Just as the hen gathers her chicks around her, warms and feeds them, so he too never forgot the needs of his villagers and their problems and worries. He also took care of their material needs, alleviating at least some of the difficulties of their daily life. Everything that he had of his own, that is, of the Monastery, he shared with them. Thus he gave up the use of the monastery fields to the poorest families, alleviating the burden of the misery they felt. In the meantime he built a mill, which worked with the power of one horse. The inhabitants of all the surrounding villages also used it, because it was the only one in that area. In this way, the merciful Elder contributed not only to the survival of the Monastery, but to the entire region of Rakotinci.
He was a good Spiritual Father
Because of all this, in 1877, two more village parishes were entrusted to the spiritual care of Father Joannikij: Sopishte and Usje. The new spiritual duties came at a very difficult time for the Orthodox Macedonian population, after the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war. Orthodox Christians were subjected to terrible oppression, torture, persecution, and murder. In 1881, the Church Municipality appointed the Venerable Joanikij for the head (Elder) of Markov Monastery.
As is said in the Holy Gospel; “Where the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together” (Matt. 24:28). Also, “for some we will be a life-giving fragrance for life” (2 Cor. 2:16) which will attract people and lead them to salvation. Thus, around our Holy Father Joanikij began to gather those who bravely chose to renounce the world, to fight against the fallen angels from heaven and to rise spiritually like eagles to the heights of heaven. Under his spiritual guidance, several novices performed ascetic obedience and ascetic-hesychastic struggle. As an elder of two Monasteries and a Parish Priest in several villages, Father Joanikij felt the need for a helper in the spiritual labour. That is why he asked the Church Municipality for a blessing to give a tonsure to his novice Blazo, who had already gained some experience in the ascetic life, and had stayed before on Mount Athos for some time. Thus, first, in 1882, he tonsured the novice Blazo into a monastic order, giving him the name Macarius, which translated means his name. Shortly afterwards, Father Macarius was appointed as a head of Markov Monastery, and the Venerable Joanikij returned to his Monastery in Rakotinci.
Later, Spaso, who was named Sophronius in monasticism, was also ordained a monk. He was from Rakotinci and remained to serve in the monastery together with the Father Joanikij. With Father Sophronius, he regularly served the entire Liturgical cycle, despite the many worries and obligations regarding the field works of the monastery property, which they again took care of together. There is also a certain monk Anthony, about whom not much is known.
The nun Fevronia is also known. She was the mother of a priest from Skopje, and she was under the spiritual guidance and obedience of Father Joanikij, and served in one of the nunneries in Skopje.
In addition to his closest spiritual children, the Venerable Father Joanikij had many other spiritual children, priests, monks and lay people who he guided spiritually in the way of God.
He was an educator of the youth
In addition to being a Confessor, he was also teaching them spiritually and guiding them on the spiritual path to salvation. In 1896 he founded a school in the Monastery where he educated the children of the village in academics (intellectually), and he himself was their teacher, at first only boys studied, and later the girls also.
The enlightened Father Joanikij did not teach children only the science of the world, but through the study of the Holy Scriptures and the Law of God he laid a solid foundation in the hearts of children. In this way he properly educated and enlightened their pure and youthful souls. Those times of his gentleness and kindness left a deep and indelible mark on the children. To this day, the memory of his attention to children, for whom he always had sweets and candies with him, remains.
He was a physician of souls and bodies
As a true Pastor, the Venerable Father cared equally for the spiritual and physical health of the people, healing them with healing herbs and with prayers. He personally wrote a book “Lekarusha” in 1884, which today is kept in the Church Archives of the Faculty of Theology in Skopje.
Numerous healings were received by the villagers using his “herbs”, and also healings were received under his epitrachil, as well as through anointing.
The Venerable Father soon became famous in the area as a physician and everyone, as soon as they had a problem, came to him for help. He used every opportunity to give them spiritual support, advising them to guard themselves from sins, which cause physical sickness. That is why God often allows the body to fall into serious illnesses, as this is a sign of our fall (detachment) from God. With repentance and confession, remorse and humble patience of pain and with sincere prayer we reunite with God and in that way we save our soul together with the body.
He had a habit towards those who approached him for prayer, after having read the prayer, he leaned their head to his chest, and the sick person would have calmed down in spirit, and the pain simply would have ceased. Knowing the miraculous power of his blessing, people themselves would have bowed their heads for him to make the sign of the cross above their heads through which all their thoughts, disturbances, spiritual sufferings, and bodily illnesses would depart.
As a pastor and a leader, he was always the first to be attacked
After centuries of Turkish slavery, followed by the new Russian-Turkish war, made the life of the Macedonian population stressful and unstable. The Macedonians were tired of the centuries of oppression, so in later times the Komiti’s (Macedonian freedom fighters) revolts became more frequent, for which as a pastor and leader of the population, Father Joanikij was always the first to be attacked by the Turkish authorities. So in that period from 1900 to 1908, he was often harassed by the Turkish army authorities and taken into custody for questioning.
The tribulations did not stop and somehow seemed to be repeated throughout his whole life. A specific occurrence was that two Turkish watchmen were appointed to protect the village from robberies, but instead, they started committing robberies themselves. They oppressed the population and caused discord among the villagers. Not only that, they also wanted to lay their hand on the humble and always modest Father Joanikij. Obsessed with greed, they plotted to attack and kill Father Joanikij and rob the Monastery, believing that he was hiding a great treasure there. However, just like with the chosen vessel of God Saint Apostle Paul, as well as with our chosen vessel from God, the all-knowing God arranged their conversation to be overheard by one of the villagers and he passed it on to the Elder. The meek old man decided to expose their intention and to protect the village from the malicious seymens (rank in the Turkish army) that were set to guard them, and not to oppress the people. With the help of the Diocesan administration, he managed to get these two criminals removed and punished accordingly by the Ottoman (Turkish) authorities.
The two seymens were not satisfied with this action of the Venerable Father Joanikij and the decision of the Turkish authorities. As slaves of pride and vanity, being exposed, they could not calm down and correct themselves. Their passion of anger and malevolence flared up, so they sought the opportunity for revenge, and therefore they encouraged their relatives to take revenge for their public exposure. They constantly pressed and threatened the Elder, but God again protected His chosen one and did not allow a single hair to fall from him.
“I am an Orthodox and I do not interfere in your affairs!”
The expulsion of the Ottomans from Macedonia took place after the end of the Balkan Wars in 1913, when according to the Bucharest Agreement, the territory of Macedonia was divided between Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. The Vardar part, which included Skopje and the surrounding area together with the village. Rakotino, fell under Serbian rule.
The pressure from the different-believing Turkish slavery was gone, but the Serbs did not treat the population any better and looked at our native spiritual people and clergy with particular contempt. Wanting to impose their own who will work in the service of the king and the state, they suppressed the Macedonian clergy and treated them with distrust. Thus, our Holy Father Joanikij was often psychologically abused and interrogated, so he had to give an account of his personality and activity. However, the Venerable Father Joanikij behave towards them as well as towards the Turks before, with dignity and always with a clear and understandable thought about his mission, separating “the God’s things from the king’s things” (Matt. 22:21; Mark 17:12; Luke 20:25). ), he replied: “I am an Orthodox Christian and I do not interfere in your affairs!” and thus remained protected.
He was Bishop by order and Bishop by deeds
Father Joanikiji was short, full-faced, kind and gentle man with a beautiful soul and a graceful and calming word. He was very modest and for all of his sixty-three years, as long as he stayed in the Monastery, he did not ask for any help for himself, unless he needed something for the Monastery.
As it is typical, not much is known about his monastic deeds, but we can recognise him by his fruits, because a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. His spiritual growth is indicated by the fact that he was a confessor of the then Metropolitan of Skopje Barnabas, later Patriarch of Serbia, and Metropolitan Josif of Skopje said of him: “I am a Bishop by order, but you are Bishop by deeds.”
With such struggle, the Venerable Joanikij reached the measure of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, who give strength to the fallen humanity not to perish in the enemy’s nets and to lose their soul in hell.
Adopting the virtues of obedience, fasting, vigil, prayer, humility, patience, diligence, love, and meekness, the heart of the Venerable was filled with the flame of divine grace, and with his mind he was worthy to see the uncreated light. Because of his virtuous life, he also received the gift of wonder-working, reasoning, and perception.
God enlightens the minds of such ascetics in order to perceive the mysteries of God, expose satan’s accounts, and guide people on the true path. Sometimes God reveals it to them through their reasoning, and sometimes supernaturally through the gift of perception. The Venerable Joanikij never spoke his own thoughts, but always advised people using the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, the Tradition of the Holy Fathers, and sometimes he was also using the gift of perception.
Being humble and fair, he was able to judge (reason) things correctly, which is why people sought him out. When they could not agree on something, they would turn to him. He would listen to them and then tell them the just verdict. He always rebuked deceitfulness and condemned vice, and gave priority and support to virtue. He was making decisions mercifully in judgment and judged both the poor and the rich equally. He was a true peacemaker, who, even with his presence, radiated the gospel peace among the people and they respected him. His contemporaries testified of him; “In his presence we did not quarrel, we loved each other. He guarded the people even in the worst situations.
Grandfather (Dedo) Pilgrim
The villagers remember him for his good deeds and sharp-mindedness. He was the most educated man in the district and people from the most remote villages came to him for advice. He was the most popular among the Macedonian Christian population, but the Turks also respected him a lot. He was called “Grandfather (Dedo) Pilgrim” because he was worthy (privileged) to pay homage to the tomb of Our Saviour Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.
The greatest desire of every Christian here on earth is to go on a pilgrimage to Israel and Jerusalem. To go to all those places where our Saviour Jesus Christ was incarnated and born, where He was baptised, preached, taught, and healed the sick. Where He was crucified on the Cross, taking upon Himself all our sins and washed them with His precious blood. Where with His death, He triumphed over death and was buried, from where He was resurrected three days later and He ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of God and the Father. This wish of his was blessed by God to be fulfilled in the year of the Lord of 1905 and all these places he personally visited and venerated (acclaimed).
He was especially privileged to attend the Easter Resurrection Liturgy, and to see with his own eyes the descent of the graceful fire from the heavens which descends every year on Holy Saturday and first lights the candles of the Patriarch, and then the candles of all present there are being lit.
He was also spiritually watered and refreshed by the lives of the holy persons of the monks and their strict asceticism in the monasteries that he visited in the holy land. He was privileged to take with him, in his monastery and country, several holy things, ecclesiastical plates, icons and other objects.
Worthy!
After so many years of hard work and wholehearted effort in the pastoral, educational, construction and administrative work in the Monastery, on July 31 / August 13, 1913 he was honoured to be ordained in the order of Abbot.
As the most spiritual with spiritual experience in the fight against demons and the fight for the purification of the heart from passions, on March 16, 1933 he was appointed confessor of the entire clergy in the Skopje and Kacan dioceses. However, being old, the weary and spiritually humble elder felt that he would not be able to do that obedience, and he asked to be relieved of that responsibility.
In June 1935, he was ordained an Archimandrite in his Monastery.
“It is for me personally, I will prepare it myself.”
Most often God reveals to the righteous the time of their meeting, that is, passing from this temporary to the eternal life in order to prepare. As such Saint Joanikij was told the time of his end and future events regarding his body. After receiving the revelation, he called Father Sophronius and told him: “I am old and I have to leave this world. That is why I will make this little tomb of mine, where you will lay my body, so after my death, people may learn from me. “
Despite being almost 100 years old, he was miraculously vital and dug his own grave, and when the villagers begged him to help him digging, he responded, “It is for me personally, I will prepare it myself.”
He lived in the Monastery for 63 years until his blessed repose in the Lord on January 11/24, 1940 at the age of 93.
You will not allow your saint to experience decay …
In accordance to the words of the Gospel, a light cannot be hidden on the top of a mountain, likewise the person of the blessed reposed Archimandrite Joanikij, who according to his ascetic life living in isolation in his hidden room, passed the three stages of the spiritual life. The first stage of ascetic struggle over the heart and its purification and liberation from the passions. Then, the second stage of enlightenment of the mind where in the already purified heart the mind of the ascetic prayfully descends and there is being enlightened by the enlightening grace of the Holy Spirit and the third stage of deification of the whole person where not only the soul but also the body is enlightened and deified and cannot see decay.
Fulfilment of the prophecy
So it was with St. Joanikij of Rakotinci, whom, after his blessed repose in the Lord, the earth could not hide him, his holy body was completely cast from the ground for the glory of God. Thirty years after his repose, in January 1953, when there was a landslide, his holy and incorruptible relics were miraculously cast from the ground to the surface and his prophetic words were fulfilled that his body “would not stay in the ground for long, but it will come out of it, in order people to be learn.”
His whole body was completely preserved and untouched by decay. The hair on his head, his chin, and even his eyebrows and eyelashes remained the same as they were since the day of his burial. The skin on his face and whole body was tight and firm. The villagers were astonished. Because of the respect they had for him and confused by the event, they decided not to bury him again in the ground, so they laid him in an auxiliary building at the village temple, dedicated to the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God.
There his body remained until 1986, when Father Bogoslov Dimitrievski was appointed as a parish Priest. As a young and zealous Priest, he inquired about the Saint and made sure that his body received a more suitable place for rest. Although the building was half-ruined, without windows, with a ruined roof, and the body was subject to all atmospheric impact: hot, cold, rain, moisture … it still did not undergo any decay. On the contrary, “his face was bright and yellow as wax, with a blissful smile,” “more beautiful even than that of a living man when he sleeps.” And, instead of an unpleasant odour which comes from dead bodies, the body of the Holy Elder Joanikij released fragrance, a pleasant smell.
The parish Priest piously and with all honours washed and anointed his holy relics, and fearing the ungodly communist authorities, transferred them to another tomb located in one of the village churches.
Later, with the blessing of His Beatitude Mr. Michael, his body was reclothed in new vestment and returned to the old tomb, now covered with three stone slabs, the third one had an opening through which the preserved face of the Venerable Elder could have been seen.
But after he was moved to this third tomb in a row, the body of the Holy Elder was left to carelessness and inadequate care so that it was exposed to external weather, changes began to occur which resulted in decay. Perhaps God wanted it that way, as happened with the incorruptible body of Saint Nectarios of Aegina, and with our Saint Joanikij, to disintegrate so that it can be divided and distributed for blessing throughout the world.
In June 2001, hieromonk Photius of the monastery of Saint Nikita in Banjani, now Abbot of the Berovo Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God, together with several believers excavated the body, anointed it again with myrrh and laid it in a new and protected grave.
The news of the Elder’s miraculous appearances were spread in the surrounding regions, thus at that time several illegal groups of gold and antiquities seekers came searching for loot. The church authorities that were responsible for protecting the tomb were afraid that the tomb of Saint Joanikij would be desecrated and spoiled. On December 13, 2008, the fraternity from the Bigorski Monastery dug up the body and transferred it to their monastery. The fraternity thoroughly washed and cleaned the relics of mud, anointed them with wine and oil, and they regained their amber yellow color, which is characteristic of people who lived a holy life.
Testimonies from the Bigorski Monastery
After carefully and properly arranging the relics, they placed them in a special ark, specifically made for them, and laid them under the Holy Table in the newly built chapel dedicated to the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God. Once again there emanated the scent of a fragrance that everyone felt.
There were also miracles that happened under the influence of the Saint. The first miracle that happened was with the novice M, today monk P. Namely a growth appeared on his mouth and it was surgically removed. However, later, it began to grow again. The novice went to the chapel, and contritely, with sincere prayer, prayed before the relics of the Venerable and the growth disappeared the next day forever.
Once the Monastery was visited by a university professor. When she entered the chapel of the Annunciation and whilst the monastery was being presented to her, she noticed someone’s presence. The feeling was so strong that she turned several times to see who else was there. After turning few times, she noticed an older monk with his head bowed in prayer. According to her description, the monk was Saint Joanikij. At that time, no one but the monks knew about the presence of his relics in the monastery.
There are other miracles that happened through the gracious acts of the holy relics of this Holy Father and which encouraged an increase in the interest shown in him and the forming of a cult for him and his possible canonisation.
Namely, while the relics were yet in the Bigorski Monastery, Father Parthenius gave a small part of the relics to his good friend, Father Porphyrius, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Veria, Greece.
According to the testimony of Father Porphyrius even there this Saint of ours performed several miraculous healings through his relics. He saved a woman from kidney surgery and cured several people from cancer.
Glorification and canonization
After all these events, the Holy Sinod of MOC OA made a definitive decision to undertake all necessary research and procedures for canonization of Archimandrite Joanikij Rakotinski. And on 24/09/2017 in the Cathedral Church in Skopje, MOC OA officially declared him a Saint.
His holy relics today rest in the Cathedral Church of St. Clement of Ohrid in Skopje and, above them the Priests offer daily prayers to this Holy Father.
From his holy body even today can be felt the grace which is testimony of the holy life of the Elder.
Through his holy prayers, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us!
Fr. Gavril Galev
Abbot of the Monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
