Archbishop John (Garklavs)

Archbishop John (Garklavs) (1898-1982)

John may be written Ioann, Ivan.

Early life of John Garklavs

In 25 August, 1898, John Garklavs was born into a peasant family at Umurg, Vendensky uyezd (Vidzeme Region), Livland Province (now ) Limbaži region), Umurga, in the Livonia Governate (now Latvia) of the Russian Empire.

His father fell asleep in the Lord when he was 2 years old. This left his widowed mother to care for him and his 2 younger brothers. His mother, who was a gifted singer, did not remarry. John therefore grew up in this fatherless family in a small northern provincial village of Limbaži, located about 80 miles (129 km) from Riga, the capital city.

He attended school in the village and took an active part in the Latvian Orthodox Church as an acolyte and then as a “psalomshchik” (psalm-reader).

In 1915, during World War I, John voluntarily joined the Latvian volunteer military units ("Latvian riflemen") as part of the Russian Imperial Army. He then participated in both the First World War and in the Civil War which followed the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

In 1921, he returned to Latvia and worked as a tailor. In the same year, he became a Psalm-reader for the Saint Alexander Nevsky Temple in the city of Limbaži.

Saint Alexander Nevsky Temple, Limbaži

Higher education

In 1933, John entered the Theological Seminary in Riga, Latvia, from which he graduated with honours in 1936.

Ordinations, 1936

On 20 September, 1936, John was ordained to the Holy Diaconate as a celibate by Metropolitan Augustine (Petersons).

On 27 September, 1936, Deacon John Garklavs was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by the newly-ordained Bishop Jakob (Karps).

Pastoral service

The Priest John Garklavs was assigned to serve as the rector of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the village of Kolka. At the same time, he served the Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Dundge (Dundaga), and to the Saint Arseny Church in Ķūļciems, as well as the Temple in Talsi.

However, with the arrival of the German armies at the beginning of World War II, opportunities opened for the renewal of various Orthodox communities on territories taken from the Soviets. These communities, mostly in Estonia, did flourish briefly. A Russian video with subtitles in English has been made about this period, entitled “Pop”, or “The Priest”, which illustrates the work and the suffering, and a relationship with the nearby Pskov Dormition Monastery in Russia.

During World War II, the Priest John Garklavs actively helped the Patriarchal Exarch of the Baltic States, Metropolitan Sergiy (Voskresensky). Amongst other things, Father John obtained from the German authorities the right to serve in the camps of Soviet prisoners of war.

Monastic tonsure, 1942

In July, 1942, the Priest John Garklavs was enrolled in the brotherhood of the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery.

Holy Spirit Monastery, Vilnius

On 26 November, 1942, Priest John Garklavs was tonsured to be a monk, and he was given the name John (a different saint).

After Bishop Alexander (Vitols), formerly of Madona, reposed in the Lord in Riga in 1942, Hieromonk John (Garklavs) was elected to become the Bishop of Riga.

He then spent some time in preparation at the Holy Spirit Monastery in Velensk (Ventspils), Latvia.

Episcopal ordination, 1943

On 13 March, 1943, Archimandrite John (Garklavs) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate in the Cathedral of the Holy Nativity in Riga by Metropolitan Sergiy (Voskresensky) of Lithuania, Archbishop Pavel (Dmitrovsky) of Narva, and Bishop Daniil (Yuzvyuk) of Kovno (Kaunas).

Holy Nativity Cathedral, Riga

Episcopal service

Bishop John (Garklavs)

Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) was resident (since 1940) in the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Monastery (1902) in Riga while he served as the Moscow Patriarchate's exarch for the Baltic States.

At that time, the rector of Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Riga was the Exarch Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky).

On 29 October, 1943, Metropolitan Sergiy assigned Bishop John (Garklavs) to serve as his second Vicar-Bishop. In late summer-early autumn 1944, Bishop John served as the temporary administrator of the Exarchate of the Baltic States, and Bishop John was assigned to be the Bishop of Riga.

The new bishop found himself caught in the midst of the turmoil of World War II. He attempted to care for the many people were being displaced by the war. He organised weekly religious and moral conversations at the Riga Cathedral.

Vladyka John combined his work in Riga with the leadership of the “Internal Orthodox Mission in Lithuania”, which served the spiritual needs of prisoners of war (before being banned by the German authorities) and the Russian inhabitants of the occupied territories displaced to Latvia.

In 1944, Bishop John (Garklavs) became the custodian of the miraculous Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God that the German forces had taken from the Dormition Monastery in Tikhvin, Russia, to Riga.

Exile, 1944

On 22 September, 1944, due to the approach of the Soviet troops, Bishop John (Garklavs) was forcibly evacuated from Riga to Liepaja by order of the German command ; and on 9 October, he was sent by sea to Germany with his mother, his adopted son Sergei and a small group of the Latvian clergy.

He took with him the Wonder-working Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.

From the end of October, 1944, Bishop John lived in the village of Janov nad Nisou (Johannesberg) near the town of Jablonec in Czechoslovakia. At that time, this region was occupied by the Nazi-German Army. However, once the territory was occupied by Soviet troops, on 20 May, 1945, he wrote a letter to Patriarch Alexei I (Simansky) with a request for assistance in returning to the Soviet Union (USSR). However, having received no answer and fearing arrest, in the autumn of the same year, he and the others left for the American zone of occupation in Germany, with the help of American soldiers. At all times, he continued to care for the Holy Wonder-working Icon.

In Western Germany, he lived in Bavaria, where he served for several years in improvised chapels in "Displaced Persons' Camps". There, in West Germany, Bishop John encouraged the Orthodox Christians to organise parishes in and around these camps.

It was from Bavaria that Bishop John (Garklavs) submitted a petition to Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of the "Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America" (ROGCCNA) to be received into the North American "Metropolia".

Arrival in North America, 1949

On 22 July, 1949, Bishop John (Garklavs) and his family arrived in the USA, in accordance with his acceptance into the "Metropolia" by Metropolitan Theophilus.

At first, he conducted services in Church Slavonic, and he began to study English.

In October, 1949, Bishop John (Garklavs) was assigned to be the Bishop of Detroit and Cleveland.

In March, 1950, Bishop John's mother reposed in the Lord.

After the Funeral Services for a Lay-person, her body was interred at the cemetery of Saint Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

In the autumn of 1951, Bishop John undertook a tour of Western Canada. He carried with him the Wonder-working Icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin, and the faithful people were able to venerate this holy icon in several cities, including Vancouver, British Columbia (Holy Resurrection Church). He was in Vancouver again in 1966.

Over the next 30 years, there would be several other such tours in various parts of Canada, which gave direct contact with this Holy Icon to very many of the Orthodox Christian faithful people in Canada. There were many such opportunities offered to parishes in the USA during those years.

In 1955, Bishop John was assigned to be the administrator of the Chicago-Minneapolis diocese (in addition to his other responsibilities).

Archbishop of Chicago, 1957

In 1957, Bishop John (Garklavs) was confirmed to be the ruling bishop of the diocese.

At that same time, he was elevated to the dignity of archbishop.

During his time of service as the Archbishop of Chicago (Illinois), Archbishop John served as the senior bishop in the Holy Synod of Bishops, and as the chairman of the Department of Music of the Metropolia and of its successor, The Orthodox Church in America.

Archbishop John and the Wonder-working Tikhvin Icon of the Theotokos at Madison, Illinois (with Hieromonk Theodosius (Lazor)) (right), 1960s

Retirement, 1978

Archbishop John retired from active service in September, 1978.

Repose, 1982

On 11 April, 1982, Archbishop John (Garklavs) of Chicago reposed in Christ in Chicago, Illinois.

On Wednesday, 14 April, 1982, at 10:30 a.m., at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago, the Memorial Divine Liturgy was served for the newly-departed archbishop. This was followed by the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Hierarch.

After the completion of the funeral services, the body of Archbishop John (Garklavs) was interred at the Saint Tikhon's Monastery Cemetery at South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

— Bishop of Riga 1943-1944. Preceded by : Bishop Augustine (Petersons). Succeeded by : Bishop Kornily (Popov) of Vilnius, Administrator.

— Second Vicar-Bishop of the Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Baltic States.

— Bishop of Detroit and Cleveland 1949-1957. Preceded by : Archbishop Arseny (Chahovtsov). Succeeded by : Bishop Valerian (Trifa).

— Temporary Administrator of the Chicago-Minneapolis Diocese 1955-1957.

— Archbishop of Chicago and Minneapolis 1957-1970 (ROGCCNA). Preceded by : Archbishop Dimitry (Magan). Succeeded by : Diocese title changed.

— Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest 1970-1978 (OCA). Preceded by : Archbishop Leonty (Turkevich). Succeeded by : Bishop Boris (Geeza).

— Former Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest 1978-1982.

Reflections

Bishop John and his adopted son Sergei took the icon under their care, with the intention that it be returned to Tikhvin when the atheist communist regime fell. However, for very many years, the icon remained in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago under the care of Archbishop John. After his repose, the icon was cared for by his son Sergei Garklavs (whom he had adopted while he was Bishop of Riga, and to whose custody he had bequeathed the icon), until it was finally possible to return the icon to Tikhvin.

Archbishop John is respectfully remembered with gratitude for having safeguarded the Wonder-working Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of Our God after World War II.

Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko (+2015) used to tell pleasant anecdotes about Archbishop John (under whose omophor he served for a time). He once recalled that on an occasion a little girl asked Archbishop John, "Vladyka, what do bishops do ?" He responded, "They bless". This simple statement profoundly reflects the core of the service of a bishop in the Church.

Archpriest Sergei Garklavs and the Tikhvin Icon of the Theotokos

In 2004, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Archbishop John's son (by then the Archpriest Sergei Garklavs) fulfilled Archbishop John's promise when the Wonder-working Icon was taken back to Russia (by way of Riga), and ultimately to the Dormition Monastery in Tikhvin, Russia.

References

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., "Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America" (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

Orthodoxwiki biography

Religionwikia biography

Midwest Diocese biography

Holy Trinity Cathedral biography

Wikipedia article about Archbishop John (Garklavs)

Russian Wikipedia biography

Orthodox Encyclopedia biography

Additional information :

Archdiocese of Canada — Orthodox Church in America, “The Orthodox Church in Canada : A Chronology” (Ottawa : Archdiocese of Canada, 1988).

Garklavs, Archpriest Sergiy I, "In the Shadow of the Tikhvin Icon" (Chicago ; Riga ; Tikhvin : Garklavs Family (USA), 2012). ISBN 978-9984-49-704-4.

Gavrilin, A V, "Under the cover of the Tikhvin icon : the archpastoral path of John (Garklavs)" (Saint Petersburg : Alaborg ; Tikhvin : Publication service of the Tikhvin Monastery, 2009), 464 pp., ill. (Wanderings of the miraculous). ISBN : 978-5-869-83031-1.

Orhodoxwiki article about the Latvian Orthodox Church

Wikipedia article about the Latvian Orthodox Church

Baltic States

Metropolitan Sergiy (Voskresensky)

Archpriest Sergei Garklavs biography

Russian Wikipedia biography of Archpriest Sergei Garklavs)

Tikhvin Monastery of the Dormition

Wikipedia article about the Theotokos of Tikhvin

Orthodoxwiki article about the Tikhvin Icon of the Theotokos

OCA article about the "Metropolia"

The Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest

Wikipedia article about the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of the Midwest