From: http://community.livejournal.com/old_believer/21898.html#cutid1

July 8 marks exactly 120 years since the death of holy-priest [svyaschennoiereya] John Gavrilovic Lucernov, one of the most prominent figures of old-orthodoxy [Drevlepravoslaviya] second half of the XIX century. Well-known populist writer Gleb Uspensky dedicated a long article. As evidenced by I. Zhilkin ( "Old Believers on the Volga. Saratov, 1905. 55-56), academician of education, a man strong in spirit, scholar and writer, Lucerne went to the Old Believers with the broad intentions. But, unfortunately, he had to do very little. It was the most [gonitelnoe] time. Under the threat of persecution of Old Believers could not speculate about internal reforms, and the most Lucerne had to hide, run, buy off, sit in prison ... I have met several times in Lucerne Volski Old Believers, but, unfortunately, was then too young to closely look into this historic personality. I only remember that it was a cheerful, energetic man, who talked a lot and willingly with the Old Believers, and the Old Believers, remember with great pleasure looking at his father. Now Believers remember that Lucerne lot of fussing, trying to settle among them consensus, new orders improved. He died without being totally money, and so conclusively proved that went to the Old Believers are not to to making capital.

Ivan Gavrilovich Born in 1835 in the priest's family church. Despite the increased interest in monastic life and the longing for monastic life, after graduating from seminary in Saratov, Ivan was forced to marry, and in 1857 he was ordained a priest in one of the rural parishes of the province of Samara. How to write about. Andrey Marchenko, "from this time begins his long-standing opposition to church administration and wandering around the country. The whole life of Father John could serve as a vivid illustration of the manners and attitudes, then reigned in the ruling hierarchy. He repaired the barriers everywhere and in every way broke his life because he was not in the total mass of the clergy, and towered high above it on to his ideals, he served his cause not by circulars of the Synod, and on the precepts of Jesus Christ. For Freedom and pravdoiskatelstvo repeatedly remove from places of service and moved from one parish to another. During the ten years of service in the Samara diocese, he was replaced by nine parishes, toured the length and breadth of the province. Ahead were still Tobolsk, Kazan, Volyn, Vladimir, Saratov, Ufa, Orenburg and Samara again. However, the intolerance of the church administration to Father John did not break his spirit, he boldly confront injustice of the diocesan authorities, openly denouncing the administrative arbitrariness in the press. "

In addition to topically-journalistic articles about. John also wrote many works of church-historical character, as well as articles on the controversy with the sectarians. The most significant of these works was a series of articles under the title "The independence of the parish communities of Old Russia.

In 1868, Fr. John enrolled in the Kazan Theological Academy. During his studies he endured terrible hardship, he had to, learning, support the existence of the family, heal the sick family, to serve for hire mass. His wife soon died, and from that moment began wandering about. John is all over Russia: first, it was determined teacher Volyn Theological Seminary, then superintendent Nolinsk religious school, then received a position as professor of homiletics and liturgical Tobolsk Seminary.

In 1880, Fr. John presented a thesis to defend "Historical Overview of the pastoral, teaching, rukovoditelnoy and religious educational activities in Christianity, which was rejected by the Academy of Kazan" in the direction of the rationalistic and non-Orthodox teaching about the origin of the church hierarchy. " In 1884, the Audit SI Miropol'skii Lucerne was illegally dismissed from his post, resulting in effectively been without a livelihood.

In those years, living in Saratov, about. John met and became close friends with the local Ancient Orthodox Christians. Being himself the author of a monograph on the formation of a solid hierarchy in the early church, Fr. John saw in the true Orthodox Old Believers who keeps collegiality and ideals of Primitive Christianity, to which both sought his heart. In 1884, he joined the Ancient Orthodox Church. Chinopriem committed Moscow priest Dimitri Belyaev. Then about. John with redoubled energy began okormljal flock entrusted to him, rode Old-Orthodox village of Saratov province and pray there. Since the police arranged for him a total surveillance, service, as once in the early Church, committed "primarily noschiyu and backwoods hamlets.

Despite all the clandestine measures, Feb. 21, 1885 on. John was still caught by the police when they searched the house of a peasant Makeeva during the commission of the liturgy donikonovskomu rank. It was loud, he considered the Holy Synod. Taking into account the academic background of. John, its undeniable merits before church-historical scholarship, as well as ten years teaching at religious educational institutions, the Synod decided to "give the defendant leniency in order to give him the strength and resources, recognizing thoughtlessness of their conduct, to bring repentance."

Nevertheless, Fr. John was imprisoned and exiled under the strict supervision of Suzdal Efimov Savior Monastery, where he was fitted with a prison for champions of old piety, with harsh conditions. Not all prisoners held for the hardships of incarceration. However Feb. 3, 1886 he escaped from prison. Christians have met him as a martyr and champion of the right faith, supplied him with money and clothes and secretly taken away outside of Suzdal.

Despite careful steps to apprehend, found about. John was not, but was deposed of rank. Soon he settled in Saratov, in the house of the merchant-Old Believer Eremeev Trofimovich Kalinin. This time it was for him the most fruitful, as evidenced by his own congregation: "succeeded, finally, a man wise and skillful in the word - talking about it, Christians. - He is one of the highest science knew the truth of our faith ... It is always ready even extracts patristic writings, the exposure of Nikonians. Of course, all this could not cause irritation of civil and ecclesiastical authorities. After the priest was enhanced police surveillance, because of what he had to leave and move to Saratov to Samara. The local Christians wanted to build on. John's house, but he refused to end his days lived with her daughter, owning a "a road carriage and packing suitcases for the sacristy and liturgical objects."

During the next two years on. John performed numerous pastoral visits to many communities in Samara, Orenburg and Ufa provinces. Avoiding a possible raid by the police about. John moved from one city to another, in deep secrecy and making divine treby. Certainly, such a rhythm of life could not shake his already poor health, weakened by years of wandering and the former prison. July 3, 1888 on. John fell seriously ill. Measures taken by doctors, were unsuccessful, and the evening of July 8. John died at the fifty-fourth year of life. 10 numbers of his body was buried, he was buried at the Old Believers' cemetery in the town of Samara. Thus ended the earthly life of man, to submit his life enduring idea of the service of truth, goodness and beauty.