.jpg)
John Vasilyevich Sorokin, a state peasant of the Kaluga province, was born and brought up in the schismatic sect [of Old Believers]. Having escaped from his native land, he spent most of his life abroad, in the Byelookrinitsky schism sanctuary where he was tonsured a monk with the name Heracles.
When he went back to his native country to see his relatives, he was arrested and sent to the Solovetski Monastery to be kept under the strictest surveillance and brought to reason and reformed. He lived on the Solovetski Island for 10 years abiding in his beliefs and wishing to end his life without repenting.
But the All-Good God, not wishing His son to die as a sinner, found this lost sheep and brought it to the holy Church. Having refused to read books condemning the schism for a long time, he once read about the journey of the monk Parthenios who was schismatic but then converted to the Orthodox Church; this reading aroused some doubts in his beliefs. He began to pray to God to make him understand where the truth was.
"One morning," he related, "after the cell prayer in which I asked God with tears: 'Lord, tell me the way I should follow'; I fell asleep and dreamt that I was in some splendid palace and I heard a voice coming from above: 'Go to the Church for it is impossible to be saved outside the Church'. I answered: 'There are many temptations and tares in the Church'. The voice said: 'Why should you worry about that? You will be more special than wheat.' I said: 'There is a Church with a bishop and clergy in Austria.' The voice replied: 'The Austrian church is not a true Church, because it separated from the Eastern Church, and there is no salvation in it.'" That was the end of this remarkable dream and John who had never been to a church, came to a church service on January 5th, on the eve of Theophany.
The solemnity of Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, the majestic rite of the blessing of water with glorification of the Tsar, the Synod and all Orthodox Christians, many reverent priests and the harmonious singing of the monks - all of this impressed John's soul very much and he became certain that it is in the Orthodox Church that true grace resides which the blind sought in vain in the Byelookrinitsky pseudo-hierarchy.
After that John went to the church everyday, repenting with tears of his mistakes, and on April 17th 1860, with the permission of the Most Holy Synod he joined the Orthodox Church and was included in the rank of senior novices wearing a monk's habit.
But even after having joined the Church he did not stop crossing himself with two fingers. Constantly being reprimanded for this by his spiritual father he began to pray to God with sincere faith and hope, to give him a sign about the truth of crossing oneself with three fingers as accepted in the Church; and once at night when John was praying he clearly heard the voice: "Believe whatever you are told - you are told the truth." Immediately, with ineffable joy, he put three fingers together and crossed himself.
Since then he became a true son of the Church, and it was what God's grace seemed to be expecting, because a few days later he passed away in peace on May 25th [1860], having been among the brethren and novices for 38 days.
During the last minutes of his life, his spiritual father sitting by his bed and apprehending that the Enemy might shake his faith in the Holy Church, asked him quietly: "Are you confused by any thoughts?", and heard the answer: "No, Father, I am not; my spirit is serene and I am thanking God".
It should be noted that John, even when a schismatic, led a pious and pure life and differed from other followers of the schism by a particular meekness and lenience towards all those who did not agree with his opinions; he listened to all of the admonitions attentively and for that, of course, he was honored to understand his mistakes and to die in the bosom of the Orthodox Church.
[Editor's note: from the text above we learn that not only is being an Orthodox Christian necessary for salvation, but furthermore we learn that faith in the uniqueness of the Orthodox Church (as being the one and only true Church) is also needed. This is why the spiritual father was so heedful to the thoughts, concerning the Orthodox Church, of the dying monk.
For more information on this subject matter please see: On Salvation for the non-Orthodox? - YouTube and Orthodox Afterlife: Hope for Departed non-Orthodox - YouTube.]