Abbot of Sinai and author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
St. John of the Ladder gave his whole life to Mount Sinai, entering the monastery there in his youth, living long years as a hermit in the desert nearby, and at last serving as abbot of the holy mountain of Moses. From the depths of his experience he wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent, a guide of thirty steps by which the soul climbs from renunciation of the world to the summit of faith, hope, and love.
His book remains a cornerstone of Orthodox spiritual life, read aloud in monasteries each Great Lent. He is commemorated on April 19.
Feast day
On the New Calendar, John of the Ladder is commemorated on April 19. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on May 2 of the civil calendar.
Who celebrates a name day
People with these names keep their name day on this feast:
Ioannis, Giannis, Yiannis, John
Also commemorated on April 19
Theodore of Perge and those with him
Saint, Θεόδωρος ο εν Πέργη
Holy Martyrs Theodore of Perge, his mother Philippa, and Dioscorus, Socrates and Dionysius.
Agathangelos of Esphigmenou
Martyr, Αγαθάγγελος ο Εσφιγμενίτης
Holy New Martyr Agathangelos of the Esphigmenou Monastery, beheaded at Smyrna.
George of Pisidia
Hierarch, Γεώργιος Επίσκοπος Πισιδίας
Saint George the Confessor, Bishop of Antioch in Pisidia, who suffered exile for the icons.
Tryphon of Constantinople
Hierarch, Τρύφων Πατριάρχης Κωνσταντινουπόλεως
Saint Tryphon, Patriarch of Constantinople, who yielded his throne in humility.
Symeon of Philotheou
Venerable, Συμεών ο Μονοχίτων
Venerable Symeon the Barefoot of Philotheou, abbot and preacher of repentance in Greece.
Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.
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