The Golden Gospel Book of Saint John the Kalyvites

In the biography of Saint John the Kalyvites, who lived around the fifth century, we read that while he was still a young student he asked his parents, who were among the nobility of Constantinople, for a copy of the Gospels. The parents agreed because they could afford it since a hand written Gospel book was expensive, a possession few youngsters could ever acquire. It is said that the boy's golden Gospel book was illustrated with holy figures, and made from the best of materials. He studied this book daily and savored every word. One day he entered a monastery to dedicate his life to the Lord, and after many years of living in such austerity he became unrecognizable from his youth. Longing to see his parents, he received permission to go home, but his parents did not recognize who he was. They gave him a hut on their property to live, despite not recognizing him, and after three years of isolation he was about to die, and called for his parents to come. When they saw his golden Gospel book, they finally realized that they had their son with them all this time, and then he reposed.

Testimony of a Miracle of Saint John Kalyvites

The following testimony was recorded in the book Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Καλυβίτης, ὁ διὰ Χριστὸν πτωχός (Venerable John the Kalyvites, Who Was Poor For Christ), written by the abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint John Kalyvites in Evia, Archimandrite Nektarios Kostopoulos.

I was three months pregnant and had just been advised by my doctor to remain relatively immobile since I had bleeding problems and there was high risk for a miscarriage. This was my second child essentially, since I had lost my first child to a spontaneous miscarriage a few months prior.