The Last Consecration performed by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) was that of Hieromonk John (Maximovitch) to the office of Bishop of Shanghai.
Bishop John became bishop at the age of thirty-eight. He came from a noble family in the region of Kharkov, and came to the notice of Vladika Anthony in Kharkov in 1914. After finishing the Cadet Corps, he graduated from law school in Russia and from the theological seminary in Belgrade. Then, having been tonsured a monk by Vladika Anthony in the Milkovo Monastery, he taught as a hieromonk in the Bitol Theological Seminary. In Bitol, Hieromonk John revealed himself as a fervent man of prayer. The local Macedonian and Greek population, for whom he served in Greek, came to love him.
In entrusting him with the Episcopal staff, Vladika Anthony said to him: "From childhood I have witnessed a great many Episcopal consecrations. Even then, I paid attention to the words addressed to the new hierarchs. I remember how the elderly Metropolitan Isidor of Petersburg and Novgorod would say, in committing the staff to the new bishops. It is very simple; just try to fulfill two commandments: Serve well, and do not give yourself airs.'
"More than anything in the world you love the Divine services, and since you are without any pretense whatsoever you shall be able to fulfill these testaments to their fullest degree.
"Living as a pure virgin, do not become prideful or say, like the Pharisee: I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican (Luke 18:11). May the Lord preserve your heart from such feelings! Pray with humility, and this prayer will constantly enrich your heart. This is my humble wish for you, shared by the other hierarchs present: May you love the Divine services,, and preserve this love to the end of your life.
"Many bishops and higher clergy, while they were of lower rank, fervently loved the Divine services but, having increased in years and sometimes in wealth, gradually grew cold; but you will never become like them. It always pained me when 1 heard it said that a certain bishop was indifferent to the services and was not very prayerful, but 'at least he's a good administrator.' Such administrative skill is not necessary in a hierarch. If he would see prayer as his primary duty, the administration would take care of itself, and everything around him would improve on its own.
"Moreover, always refrain from judging your brother archpastors for their lack of zeal, and do not admit any subtle self-deception into your heart. Then every day and every hour the virtues will increase in your heart. Love theology and try to penetrate its depths. With it enlighten your soul and the souls around you, and with your learning give your mind soul-saving nourishment.
"Your path is clear, and it is adorned with the wisdom that comes from humility and with benevolence toward all. Do not despair if, along the way, you encounter ingratitude. Holy Athos formed a special type of versatility in people who combined in themselves zealous activity with the fullness of humility; this is the way all the virtues grow in your own heart and in the hearts of those around you. Then, if you fulfill all these things, remember the words of the Apostle Paul. To whom do they refer? We answer with trepidation: to our Lord Jesus Christ: For such a high -priest became us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled…" (Heb 7:26).
The consecration of Bishop John was distinguished by the warmth of heart felt by those present. Besides the Russian hierarchs, there participated a delegate of the Serbian Church, the renowned theologian and preacher, Nikolai [Velimirovich] of Ochrid, and other members of the Serbian clergy.
At the trapeza, one of the speakers characterized the consecration in this way:
"Many luminary archpastors were kindled here, but they were remnants, as it were, of old Russia; they were born and raised by her. The new bishop, however, is a young scion from that life which, with all its storms and tribulations, did not break the Russian spirit. A bearer of this spirit appears in this young bishop, who was greeted in Bitol by the first sons of the Church — the representatives of the Greek population — and also by those who came to him here, exalted representatives of the now powerful Serbian Church. May the future path of Russia continue in this vein."
Bishop John remained at the see of Shanghai until the end of World War II, after which, with the establishment of the Communist regime in China, he assisted the exodus of a significant part of his flock from Shanghai and, afterwards, the emigration to the United States of those who had found refuge on the island of Tubabao in the Philippines. Toward this end, Bishop John conducted ardent appeals in Washington. Later, when his flock had been accepted into the United States, he was appointed Archbishop of Western Europe.
Archbishop Nikon
in The Life of Metropolitan Anthony, Vol. 5