St John the Almsgiver

St John was born in Cyprus of a noble and wealthy familiy. He married and fathered several children. He was over fifty, when he was chosen as Patriarch of Alexandria, after the death of his wife and children. Both the wealth of the see of Alexandria and the generosity of John seem almost incredible. On becoming patriarch he distributed 80,000 pieces of gold in his church treasury to hospitals and monastries.

His almsgiving was both individual and collective. He founded poor houses and hostels for strangers and seven maternity hospitals with forty beds each. Although not a monk himself, he came to respect them and founded two monastries in Alexandria. He helped a merchant twice ruined by shipwreck, by providing a ship full of corn, which was sold at great advantage during a famine in the British Isles. His almsgiving benefited all, whatever their race or creed.

His own living standards were extremely simple and he was know to give away his own bedding to the poor. These he called his "masters"; they numbered 7,500 in his city. He showed his interest in them by ordering the use of just weights and measures, by forbidding his officials to take presents, and by sitting in front of the church on Wednesdays and Fridays to ensure that everyone had free access to him. He died in 620. (source: The Oxford Dictionary of Saints)

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