John of Kronstadt
Theodore Pashkovsky was born in the province of Kiev on February 6, 1874 into a priestly family. He attended the Kiev Theological Academy Preparatory School where he was noted as a disciplined and hard working student. The curing of a bone infection he developed while still a young student was to guide him in his future career. After doctors believed that the infection was not curable, prayers for Theodore by the already famous priest John of Kronstadt, when he visited the school, resulted in a complete healing. In gratitude, Theodore vowed to become a novice at the Kiev Lavra. This he fulfilled in 1894.