1964, Hymnal Service of Saint John the Russian, Photis Kontoglou, First Edition

John the Russian (1690 – 1730) is one of the most renowned saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Being a prisoner of war and a slave to a Turkish Ağa, he became famous and respected even by his Muslim master for his humility, steadiness in faith and benevolence. His holy relics are claimed to be undecayed and wonder-working. The relics of John were interred in the Church of Saint John the Russian in Prokopi in Euboea, Greece. His right hand is in the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon on Athos. By the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow in 2003-2004 a small wooden church of St. John the Russian was erected in Moscow, in Kuntsevo district, a larger stone one was built nearby later and consecrated in 2016. In Novosibirsk, Russia the lower side chapel of the church of Our Lady of the Sign is also devoted to John the Russian. There is also a small private wooden chapel (tsasouna) of St. John the Russian in Viljakkala (Ylöjärvi municipality) in Finland.

Photis Kontoglou (pen name of Photis Apostolelis; 1895 – 1965) was a Greek writer, painter and icon painter. Guided by his artistic pursuits of Byzantine and popular painting, but also by studying creations from earlier periods, such as the Fayoum portraits, he emerged with his work as a key supporter of the demand for the authenticity of Greek expression, while his contribution to the formation of the newest ecclesiastical painting.