Saint John the Almsgiver

Saint John the Almsgiver is the same saint as Saint John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria (c. 550–619 AD). The two names refer to the same historical person. Please see Saint John the Merciful for the full article.

John the Almsgiver (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Ἐλεήμων, Iōannēs ho Eleēmōn) was a title given to John because of his extraordinary generosity to the poor of Alexandria. He registered 7,500 poor as his personal dependents and distributed the entire wealth of the patriarchate to the needy.

His feast day is January 23 in the Roman Rite.

For the complete biography, notable locations, shrine information, and prayers, see:

Saint John the Merciful