The future Abp. John was born on August 23, 1902, in Moscow, Russia, as Prince Dimitry Shahovskoy. His early education was in St. Petersburg, but it was interrupted by the Revolutions of 1917 and the ensuing civil war. He served with the White Army and was evacuated from the Crimea to France at the end of the civil war. He continued his education at the Louvain University in Belgium, studying history and political economy. During the years 1923 to 1926 he pursued a number of literary adventures including publishing books of his poetry and editing a journal of philosophy and literature.