St. John, Disciple of St. Gregory the Decapolite

John was a disciple of Gregory of Decapolis (commemorated November 20) at Constantinople in the ninth century — one of the small circle of monastic disciples whom Gregory had gathered around him during his years in the imperial city, in the period before the final restoration of the icons in 843.

After Gregory's death around 842, John continued to live in the cell his master had occupied at the small monastery Gregory had founded in the city. He bore through the brief remaining episodes of iconoclast pressure and lived to see the final triumph of Orthodoxy. He spent his last years in this hidden life of prayer, refusing every offer of episcopal office or larger monastic responsibility, content with the discipline he had received from Gregory.

He died in peace around 860. His feast falls on April 18.