Saint John, Bishop of the Goths, lived in the 8th century and was born in answer to his parents' prayers. From childhood, he led an ascetic life. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, spending three years at the holy sites before returning home.
During the reign of the Iconoclast Emperor Constantine Copronymos (741–775), the Gothic bishop was exiled, and the people chose John as their new bishop. He traveled to Georgia, free from iconoclasm, and was ordained there.
Soon after returning, he was forced to flee from the Khazars and lived in seclusion for four years in Amastridia. Upon hearing of the Khazar ruler’s death, he prophesied he would die in forty days—and did so in 790, after returning to his people.
His body was taken to the Parthenit Monastery in Crimea, near Mount Ayu-Dag, where he had built a church in honor of Saints Peter and Paul.
He is also commemorated on May 19.