Venerable (Monastic) 20th century

Saint John Jacob the Chozebite

1913–1960

Also known as John Jacob of Neamt · John the Romanian · Hozevite

A Romanian monk who withdrew to the Holy Land and lived as a hermit in the gorge of Chozeba near the Jordan, a man of prayer and spiritual writing; he reposed in 1960 and his relics were found incorrupt.

Feast Day

August 5

Also Oct 3

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father John Jacob the New Chozebite

Life

Saint John Jacob the Chozebite was a Romanian monk and hieromonk who left his homeland for the Holy Land and spent the latter part of his life as a hermit in the wilderness of Choziba, in the gorge near the Jordan. Born Ilie Iacob in 1913, he became known for his life of prayer and for his spiritual writing.

After years in the desert and at established monasteries, he withdrew in his final years to the Cave of Saint Anne near the Monastery of Saint George of Choziba, where he lived in great austerity until his repose in 1960. His relics were later found incorrupt and are preserved at the Monastery of Saint George of Choziba.

He is venerated in the Romanian Orthodox Church, which glorified him in 1992, and by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which canonized him in 2016. He is commemorated on August 5, with the translation of his relics observed on July 28.

Timeline 8 moments Read Hide

1913 Birth in Romania Born Ilie Iacob on July 23, 1913, in Horodiștea, Botoșani, Romania, the only child of Maxim and Ecaterina. Orphaned young, he was raised by his grandmother.
1936 Monastic tonsure at Neamț On April 8, 1936, he was tonsured a monk at Neamț Monastery, receiving the name Ioan (John); his spiritual father was the hieromonk Ioachim Spătarul. In November of the same year he departed for the Holy Land with two other monks.
1936–1947 Years in the Holy Land He spent two years in a desert hermitage, then about eight years at the Monastery of Saint Sava in the Cedron Valley.
1947 Ordination to the priesthood He was ordained a priest at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and from 1947 to 1952 served as abbot of the Romanian skete of Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan Valley.
1952 Move to the Wilderness of Choziba In November 1952 he joined the Monastery of Saint George in the wilderness of Choziba with his disciple Ioanichie Pârâială. The following summer he withdrew to the nearby Cave of Saint Anne, which he never left again.
1960 Repose He died on August 5, 1960, at the age of forty-seven, having lived in his last years on only dried bread and water. He was buried in his cave by Abbot Amphilohius.
1992 Glorification by the Romanian Church He was declared a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate in 1992.
2016 Canonization by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem On January 31, 2016, he was officially recognized as a saint by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which established the feast of the translation of his relics on July 28.

Contributions & Legacy

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Early Life and Monastic Beginnings

Born Ilie Iacob on July 23, 1913, in Horodiștea in Botoșani County, Romania, he was the only child of Maxim and Ecaterina. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his grandmother.

In 1936 he entered Neamț Monastery, one of the great centers of Romanian monasticism, and was tonsured a monk on April 8 of that year under the name Ioan. His spiritual father there was the hieromonk Ioachim Spătarul. That November he set out for the Holy Land in the company of two other monks.

Life in the Holy Land

In Palestine he first spent two years in a desert hermitage before settling for roughly eight years at the Monastery of Saint Sava in the Cedron Valley, an ancient lavra of the Judean wilderness.

In 1947 he was ordained a priest at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and from 1947 to 1952 he served as abbot of the Romanian skete dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan Valley. In November 1952 he moved with his disciple Ioanichie Pârâială to the Monastery of Saint George in the wilderness of Choziba.

The Hermitage at Choziba

In the summer following his arrival at Choziba, John withdrew to the nearby Cave of Saint Anne, which he never again left. There he gave himself to a life of strict ascetic discipline, prayer, and writing.

In his final years his diet was reduced to dried bread and water. He reposed on August 5, 1960, at the age of forty-seven, and was buried in his cave by Abbot Amphilohius.

Veneration and Glorification

In 1992 the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate declared him a saint. In 2016 the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem officially recognized his sainthood, canonizing him on January 31 of that year and establishing the feast of the translation of his relics on July 28.

He is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox calendar on August 5, while the translation of his relics is observed on July 28. He is known under several names, including Saint John (Iacob) the New Chozevite, Saint John the Romanian, and Saint John of Neamț.

Relics & Shrines

His relics, reported to have been found incorrupt, are preserved at the Monastery of Saint George of Choziba in the West Bank, where they continue to be venerated by the faithful. They rest in the chapel of the main monastery church alongside the relics of Saint John of Thebes and Saint George of Choziba.

The underground chapel of the National Cathedral of Romania is dedicated to him together with Daniil Sihastrul (Daniel the Hermit), both saints having lived part of their lives in a cave.

Notes

Recently glorified Orthodox saint.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints