St. John Climacus
St. John Climacus (c. 579-649) came to Mount Sinai at sixteen, was tonsured under Abba Martyrius, and then spent some forty years as a hermit at Tholas in fasting, prayer, and tears of repentance.
Around the age of seventy-five he was chosen igumen of the monastery at Sinai, where at the request of John, abbot of Raithu, he wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent, thirty steps of spiritual struggle leading from renunciation of the world to faith, hope, and love. Apart from Scripture and the service books, no work has been more read in Eastern Christendom, and the Church honors him both on March 30 and on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent.
Repentance is the daughter of hope and the refusal to despair.
Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men.
Prayer, by reason of its nature, is the converse and union of man with God, and by reason of its action upholds the world.
Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously.
Love, by its nature, is a resemblance to God, insofar as this is humanly possible. In its activity it is inebriation of the soul. Its distinctive character is to be a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, a sea of humility.
God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all: faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious.
Troparion · Tone 1
Dweller of the desert and angel in the body, you were shown to be a wonderworker, our God-bearing Father John. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil, and prayer: healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith. Glory to Him who gave you strength! Glory to Him who granted you a crown! Glory to Him who through you grants healing to all!
Kontakion · Tone 4
The Lord truly set you on the heights of abstinence, to be a guiding star, showing the way to the universe, O our father and teacher John.
Saints around March 30
Get the full library
130+ saints, in your pocket
Their Lives, sayings and prayers, A to Z and by feast, with search. The Church calendar, the holy icons, and the saying of the day on your Home Screen. All in Axios! for iPhone, iPad and Android.