A native of Ioannina, the former capital of Emperor Pyrrhus. When his poor parents died, young John moved to Constantinople and continued his trade there (because he was a craftsman). Not long before that, the Turks had conquered Constantinople, and many of the Christians had renounced Christ out of fear and accepted the faith of Muhammad.

Saint John had his shop among these heretics. The more young John burned with love for Christ the Lord, the more strongly he manifested himself as a Christian before these traitors of Christ. And he began to argue with them about the faith, and finally to rebuke them for betraying Christ. Then they dragged him to court and falsely accused him of having previously converted to Islam, and now he had returned to Christianity. After being tortured and beaten with rods and iron bars, they threw him into prison.

The next day — it was the day of Christ’s Resurrection — they led him away to be tortured again, and John came out joyfully singing: “Christ is risen from the dead!” He boldly said to his tormentors: “Do whatever you want, so that you may send me as soon as possible from this short life to eternal life: I am a slave of Christ, I follow Christ, I die for Christ, that I may live with Him!” After that, John was bound in chains and brought to the burning place. Seeing the great fire prepared for him, John himself ran and jumped into the flames. And his tormentors, seeing how he loved death in fire, pulled him out of the fire and sentenced him to be beheaded with the sword.

When they had cut off his head, they threw both his head and body into the fire. Later, Christians scattered the ashes and gathered some of the remains of his venerable and miraculous relics, and buried them in the Great Church in Constantinople. Thus he died a martyr's death and received the glorious martyr's crown of Saint John of Ioannina on April 18, 1526.

Venerable John. Holy Martyr Victor.