The relics of the Matrona of Moscow, as well as the found remains of other saints of Christianity, are a particularly revered object. Even at the VII Ecumenical Council, held in 787, the dogma was fixed, according to which the relics of saints must be placed on the altars of temples and especially revered. The Church believes that the Holy Spirit dwells in the relics of the saints, as in temples.
The acquisition of relics
The relics of the Matrona of Moscow were found in 1998 on March 8 at exactly 24:00. Their removal took place in a solemn atmosphere. With the blessing of the patriarch (at the head of the MP was Alexy II) in Moscow, where since 1952 there was the grave of the old woman Matrona (Danilov cemetery), representatives of the higher clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate, the honest remains, or relics of the saint, were transferred from the cemetery to the Danilov Monastery. Many people gathered, according to the testimony of the majority, goodness was poured in the air. The relics of the Matrona of Moscow were in a coffin, which was installed in a church erected in the name of the righteous Simeon, who spenton a pillar in prayers and fasting for 37 years (which is why they call him Simeon the Stylite). The temple where the relics were placed is over the gate.
A simple peasant woman turned saint
Who is she - the holy old woman? In a simple peasant family (of the very elderly Nikonovs, the father's name was Dmitry, the mother was Natalya), who lived in the Tula province, in the village of Serbino, Epifansky district, in 1881 a fourth child was born, a blind girl. The life of the saint mentions that her parents wanted to be away from her and leave her in an orphanage. But in a dream, the mother saw a large white bird without eyes, not blind, but without eyes, sitting on her chest. Considering the dream to be prophetic, the parents took the child home. It is known that even in childhood Nikonova Matrona had the gift of healing and prediction.
Signs of holiness and originality
Father Vasily, who baptized the girl, was the first to tell about her being chosen by God - when the baby was lowered into the font, a fragrant column rose above her. She also had a divine sign on her body - on the child’s chest there was a tubercle in the shape of a cross (therefore, the little Matrona refused to wear a pectoral cross, citing the fact that she already has her own), which was also discovered during the exhumation. The girl received her name in honor of the Matrona of Constantinople, an ascetic who lived in the 5th century. There were other signs - the girl did not breastfeed on fasting days - Wednesday and Friday, she slept all the time. Spiritual vision, which Matrona was awarded in abundance, compensated for her physical handicap - she was not deprived of sight in the usual sense of the word,The matron had no eyes at all, the eyelids were tightly fused. The whole district soon learned about the gift of divination and healing, and crowds of people began to arrive at the house where the young saint lived.
Destitute and holy
At the age of 14, she met with the righteous John of Kronstadt. In the presence of a large number of people, he spoke very highly and figuratively about the divine gift and the future role of the girl in Orthodoxy. The seven pillars are the seven Ecumenical Councils. The righteous figuratively called Matrona the eighth pillar. At the age of 17, Matrona lost her legs. This event was predicted by herself. The revolution, which deprived Matrona of her home, the old woman predicted long ago. Wandering through other people's houses and apartments (and the wanderings continued for 50 years), Matrona never complained, and the fame of her holy deeds grew and grew. There is a myth about a visit to St. Stalin, and there is even an icon depicting this scene. But this is only a beautiful legend that speaks of the faith of the people in the power of the saint.
Death of the old woman
Matrona also predicted her death, as well as a pilgrimage to the temples where the relics of the Matrona of Moscow would be stored, that is, she predicted daily many hours of queues at the altars where her remains would rest.
So it happened. Staritsa Matrona is the most revered saint in Moscow. Crowds of people began to go to her grave at the Danilovsky cemetery, which became a place of unofficial pilgrimage. There was a need for the canonization of the blessedthe old woman Matrona and the acquisition of her relics. The very communion to the face of saints took place on May 2, 1999 in the Pokrovsky stauropegial (a monastery reporting directly to the patriarch, bypassing the authorities of the dioceses) convent.
First canonization
The act of canonization was read by the head of the Moscow Patriarchate (Alexy II). In this monastery, the most visited monastery in the capital, there is a reliquary containing the relics of the Matrona of Moscow. There are several other places in Moscow that contain fragments of the holy, honest remains of Blessed Matrona Nikonova. People who come here with the most vital questions and requests are ready to stand in queues for many hours in winter and summer, in the heat and cold - so great is the faith in the miraculous power of the locally revered saint. The relics of the Matrona of Moscow in Moscow, or rather their particles, are still in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Here, next to the icon of the Matrona, a particle of her relics rests.
Other Moscow churches of the repose of the relics of the saint
The relics of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow and in the church of the Holy Blessed Princess Euphrosyne of Moscow, located at the address: Nakhimovsky Prospekt, Vlad. 6.
In the two churches listed above, along with particles of the relics of Matrona, there are the remains of other great Christian saints - Alexander Nevsky, the Great Martyr Barbara, Bishop of Hippo, St. Tikhon of Moscow and some others. In Shubino, in the temple of saints, who are known in Russian church books as brothers-wonderworkers and healers (brothers-unmercenaries Kosma and Damian), who lived in III-IVcenturies, there is an icon and relics of the Matrona of Moscow. Moscow has another place where exactly the same icon is kept with a particle of the honest remains of Matrona - this is a temple in Filippovsky Lane (Resurrection of the Word). It is so called because there is a well-known church holiday the Resurrection of the Word (from the word "to be known" - "to be famous"), which is dedicated to the temple built on Golgotha by St. Constantine. And in Moscow there is one place where the relics of the Matrona of Moscow rest in a worthy environment - next to the remains of the Great Martyr George the Victorious and the Holy Martyr Panteleimon. This is the Compound of the Solovetsky Monastery (since 1992), where the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious in Endov is located, which is an architectural monument of the 17th century and is made in the style of Moscow ornamentation, characterized by intricate shapes and an abundance of decor. In addition, the remains of the old woman are in the church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea in Derbitsy, located at the address: Moscow, Bolshaya Polyanka, 29a. In Alekseevskaya Novaya Sloboda (at 15 A. Solzhenitsyn Street), in the church of St. Martin the Confessor, a special shrine is kept - the funeral shirt of the saint herself. The image, painted with the blessing of the Matrona herself, and the icon of the Mother of God "Search for the Lost" are in the Intercession Monastery.
Special reverence and universal love
There are more than 30 churches of St. Matrona in Russia, her relics are delivered to many cities of Russia - Krasnoyarsk and Lipetsk, Vologda, Novokuznetsk and Perm. In 2004 the Holy Synodthe question of the general church glorification of the holy blessed Matrona of Moscow was resolved. The general church canonization took place in October of the same year. In 1999, she was canonized as a locally venerated Moscow saint. Today, the Matrona of Moscow is perhaps the most beloved of all the saints of the 20th century. People call her Matronushka, she is incredibly loved by Muscovites, and this love and faith in the sacred power of the old woman can only be compared with the love of the inhabitants of the northern capital for Xenia of Petersburg, whom they also call Ksenyushka. Not only residents of the metropolis rush to the relics of the Matrona of Moscow, hundreds of cases are known when, having only two hours of time left between trains, people rushed to Matronushka for help, which came immediately and was already waiting for them upon returning home. The memorable day of the blessed Matrona in the church calendar is May 2.
