Archimandrite Ioann (Valentin Feodorovich Sazonov) was born on July 18, 1948, in Almaty.

Father Ioann comes from a family of believers. From early childhood, he attended church. For many years he was a parishioner of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty.

In 1966, he graduated from the Night School No. 19 in Almaty.

From 1966 to 1970, he was a student at the Polytechnic Institute. In 1974, he graduated from the Almaty Construction Technical School.

From 1971 to 1978, he worked as an electrician at a car repair plant, from 1978 to 1980 – at the Almaty Passenger Aviation Administration.

In the early 1980s, he served as a sexton in the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Almaty. On March 13, 1984, in the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty, Archbishop Irenaeus of Almaty and Kazakhstan (Seredny) (now Metropolitan of Dnipropetrovsk and Pavlograd) ordained him a deacon and assigned him to the clergy of the Kazan Church in the southern capital.

On February 9, 1986, in the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Bishop Eusebius of Almaty and Kazakhstan (Savvin) (now retired) ordained him a priest and appointed him the second priest of the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Almaty, where he served for 20 years.

In 1991, he graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary.

On October 10, 1991, he was appointed a cleric of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Almaty.

From October 24, 1991, to November 10, 1998, he was the spiritual brother of the Almaty and Semipalatinsk Diocese.

On March 6, 1992, he was appointed a cleric of the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Almaty.

On August 17, 1992, he was appointed inspector of the choir department of the Almaty Diocesan Theological School, which was then opened at the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Almaty.

For Holy Pascha in 1995, he was elevated to the rank of Archpriest.

He actively participated in the transfer of the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty to the diocese, which took place in 1995.

On November 19, 2002, he was appointed the spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese.

He taught at the theological-missionary faculty of the Almaty Diocesan Theological School. On May 3, 2006, he was appointed a cleric of the Church of Christ the Savior in Almaty.

On March 2, 2007, he was appointed a cleric of the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty.

In December 2010, he was elected a member of the Diocesan Council and spiritual father of the Astana and Almaty Diocese. In 2015, he was relieved of his duties as a member of the Diocesan Council due to the expiration of his term.

In 2011, he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy.

On January 4, 2013, in the Ascension Cathedral in Almaty, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan tonsured him a monk with the name Ioann in honor of Saint John the Baptist.

On April 13, 2014, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite.

He is a member of the Diocesan Court.

Education:

• 1991 – Moscow Theological Seminary.
• 2011 – Moscow Theological Academy.

Place of Service:

Ascension Cathedral in Almaty (cleric)

Church Obedience:

Spiritual Father of the Astana and Almaty Diocese.

Hierarchical Awards:

• 1987 – epigonation;
• 1987 – skufia;
• 1989 – pectoral cross;
• 1995 – rank of Archpriest;
• 2004 – palitsa;
• 2009 – cross with decorations;
• 2011 – mitre;
• 2014 – rank of Archimandrite.

Church Awards:

• 2012 – Jubilee Medal "140 Years of the Establishment of the Turkestan Diocese" (Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan);
• 2013 – Order of the Holy Confessor Nicholas, Metropolitan of Almaty;
• 2015 – Patriarchal Jubilee Medal "1000th Anniversary of the Repose of Equal–to–the–Apostles Great Prince Vladimir";
• 2016 – Order of the Kazakhstan Metropolis "For Labor";
• 2017 – Jubilee Medal "145 Years of the Establishment of the Turkestan Diocese" (Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan);
• 2018 – Order of the Holy Martyr Pimen, Bishop of Verniy and Semirechensk (Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan).