God’s Grace Was in Him
Petr I and Lydia N Ionin
Peter Ionovich and Lydia Nikolaevna were teenagers when they met in the orphanage established by St. John in Shanghai. Together, they survived all of the hardships, displacement and deprivation that befell the wards of the orphanage and, in 1957, were married in San Francisco. Below is their interview to “Spiritual Spring” magazine in 2014, where they spoke about the their memories of St. John and establishment of the St. John’s Fund.
—Lydia Nikolaevna, Peter Ionovich, what is your most vivid memory of Vladyka Ioann?
L.N.: I thought that Vladyka was an angel, and that there wasn’t anything ordinary about him. Here we are running around, wanting to eat—and he doesn’t. At the orphanage in Shanghai, the girls were taught to cook, and I would bring Vladyka his meals. When I would come to his room, he’d be sitting at his desk and answering telephone calls, while the boys from the orphanage would lie on the floor and play. Vladyka would sit me down and say: “Eat,” and I wouldn’t even argue, just sit down and eat his lunch. In the meantime, he was working miracles on the telephone. I remember at that time they would say that one boy had meningitis, and Vladyka prayed over the phone and the boy was healed.
My second memory is of my name’s day. My friend and I (also named Lydia) came to the cathedral, and Vladyka whispered to me: “Stay.” But I decided that I didn’t want to disturb him, so after the service, my friend and I went to her mother’s house, who had prepared something for us. Well, the next day, Vladyka came to the Orphanage of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk to make sure to give me his present. That’s how attentive he was to us children. He never forgot about us. And when we became adults, he continued to take care of us. I also remember how on the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, the wards would come to our house to wish Peter a happy name’s day.
St. John with youth (Petr Ionin on the right)
P.I.: At that time there were many of us, and it was very noisy and fun. Vladykacwould come over, sit down, and everyone would get quiet. And he would say: “Well, why have you gotten quiet?” Then he would sit, watch us and just silently smile
— Was Vladyka Ioann strict?
P.I.: Only in things concerning the Church services. But with the kids he often joked and smiled….
L.N.: Yes, not strict at all, unless it had to do with observing Church customs. Otherwise he was always smiling, and we could feel that he loved us very much. I don’t remember him ever being angry with us. If he heard someone say “okay” in English, he might say: “A hundred prostrations.” But that was in jest. Of course he didn’t actually stand there and count out a hundred prostrations.