In 1885, during the reign of the Romanov dynasty in Russia, many significant events took place in the world. The French microbiologist L. Pasteur, at his own peril and risk, tested the rabies vaccine on a painfully dying boy. The Germans patented the prototype of a motorcycle - a bicycle with a kerosene engine. Russia, too, was not left without significant incidents. The country broke off relations with Bulgaria, and the first free reading room appeared in Moscow. But the most important event took place in the Tula province, in the village of Sebino. There, in a simple peasant family, a girl was born who glorified holy Orthodox Russia for many decades.
Blessed Matrona of Moscow. Biography
Today it is difficult to find a person in Russia who does not know who the Matrona of Moscow is. Biography, birthday, dates of veneration are known to most Orthodox Christians. It is difficult to even imagine the number of people every minute turning to the saint for help. Long before the canonization of the old woman, ordinary people understood who to go to in the most hopeless cases.
People still remember the words of the saint, spoken many years ago: “Come to me. Talk about your grief as if it were alive. I will help. Anyone who turns to me, I will meet at death. And the Orthodox people go when everyday problems, an incurable disease, paralysis of the limbs, infertility, drunkenness, financial difficulties … All requests cannot be counted. People treat her like a beloved grandmother who will take care of everyone, take pity on everyone and always help.
Birth
The future holy old woman was born the fourth child in a family of poor peasants. The biography of Matrona Moskovskaya began with the sad decision of her mother, Natalya Nikonova, to give the baby to an orphanage. The family was unable to feed another child. However, shortly before the birth of the child, Natalya had a dream that made her forget about her decision. The woman dreamed of an amazing bird with a human face. The feathered beauty had her eyes closed. Natalya interpreted the vision as a sign that there was no God's will to abandon the child. The newborn was born in 1881 on November 10 (22). After her birth, the prophetic dream was confirmed. The baby was blind.
Amazing childhood
From the beginning of the birth, the child was accompanied by unusual events. The first such incident occurred during the christening of a girl.
The priest, lowering the child into the font, was amazed at the column of fragrant fog that appeared near the baby. "The child will be holy," said the minister of the church. On this oddity in lifechild is not over. Natalya told her friends that the newborn “fasts” on her own. The girl refused breastfeeding on Wednesday and Friday. The little girl spent her nights with icons in the red corner. Matronushka played not with peers who laughed at her, but with images of holy people. While peers had fun as usual in the yard, the baby sang along to the church choir at the service.
Blessed youth
Even in early childhood, the future Holy Matrona of Moscow became famous among the people. The biography of the blessed as a healer and seer began already at the age of seven or eight years. From an early age, she received many people whom she helped with prayer. The people were endlessly drawn to the poor peasant hut. Grateful people left food and gifts for the child. So the child turned from a burden into the main breadwinner of the family. The gifted child of God was persecuted by the attacks of the devil. Once Natalya invited the girl to go home, it was too cold outside. Matronushka refused, explaining that Satan was tempting her. According to the stories of the child, the evil angel did not let her stay in the hut, stabbed her with pitchforks and burned with fire.
Much joy in her youth Matrona brought travel to the holy places. A pious friend took the girl with her on pilgrimages. She managed to visit the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Kiev-Pechersk, other places that store Orthodox relics. One such trip was marked by an amazing event. In St. Andrew's Cathedral, mother met with John of Kronstadt. He, noticing a 14-year-old girl in a crowd of parishioners, askedpeople to part so that the saint could greet his shift. “The eighth pillar of Russia,” John called her.
Adult life
At the age of 17, a tragedy happened that forever changed the fate of my mother. She lost her legs. The woman knew in advance that one day a parishioner would approach her in the temple, because of which she would no longer be able to walk. “I did not run from the will of God,” Matronushka later explained to those around her. However, her trials did not end there. Soon she had nowhere to live. The predicted holy revolution began, and with it many years of persecution of believers. The biography of the Matrona of Moscow during the time of persecution of Christians was distinguished by fidelity to the charters of the Church and exceptional spiritual stamina. An intense life was filled with prayers and a compassionate attitude towards people. Blind, paralyzed, homeless, without a family, she found the strength to comfort petitioners, to save them from suffering with her prayerful boldness to the Lord.
Tough choice
In 1917, a difficult time of wanderings and repressions began. The authorities did not approve of religious ascetics and persecuted them. The elder brothers of Matrona, ardent collectivization activists, were hampered by the anti-Soviet activities of their younger sister. At that time, one could lose a lot for religious propaganda, including one's life. The biography of the Matrona of Moscow notes this tense moment as a period of difficult choice between family and destiny from God. And she chose the latter. In 1925, my mother moved to Moscow. Here, in the capital, she lived all the remaining 30 years of her life, homeless andunsettled.
Moscow period
Even in our time, it seems incredible that a person lives alone in the capital, being blind, unable to walk. What can we say about the post-revolutionary period. But in addition to physical ailments, the saint had problems with the police. At this moment in life, the biography of Matrona Moskovskaya begins to resemble a detective story: problems with registration, persecution of law enforcement officers, total disorder, constant moving. Each time, she managed to escape the chase, which she miraculously learned about in advance.
Saint Matrona couldn't take care of herself. The Moscow biography of the old woman is rich in the names of believing women who took care of her for the sake of Christ.
They, together with the blessed one, wandered around the apartments, being in danger. From house to house, from one street to another. Once she was caught by a law enforcement officer. But this meeting was not easy, but providential. Blessed from the threshold sent a policeman home. Struck by the unusual reception of the old woman, the man listened to her and therefore managed to save his dying wife. The saint spent the last years of her life in the suburbs with relatives. She knew about her death in advance. Before her death, she asked to invite the father to the house. The priest who came was surprised when he learned that the blessed one was afraid to die. The old woman went to the Lord in 1952 on May 2.
Predictions and miracles of the Matrona of Moscow
From early childhood, Matronushka foresaw the disasters and dangers awaiting the Russian people.
- Before the startRevolution, one we althy village woman turned to the blessed one for advice on the construction of a bell tower. She replied that the plans of the philanthropist were not destined to come true. The woman was perplexed. Well, what can get in the way? The materials have already been bought, and there is enough money. However, the revolution soon began, and the construction of temples stopped for many decades.
- One day a girl asked her mother to bring her a chicken feather. Natalia complied with the request of the child. The daughter pinched him. And then she said to her mother: “You see him. This is what will happen to our king." Natalya was frightened by such speeches of the child. After some time, news of the October coup reached the village.
Mother advised people who came to her to always rely on God's will. Pray, be sure to repent, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, make the sign of the cross on yourself more often, help those in need. “If the people do not live according to the commandments, lose their faith, great disasters fall upon them. When even in times of suffering he does not repent, then he completely disappears from the earth,” said the ascetic
In 2012, information appeared in the media about the prophecy of the old woman about the end of the world. Allegedly, humanity will perish without a war, said the Matrona of Moscow. The prediction of 2017 makes the most tragic year in the earthly life of people. They will fall asleep alive, and rise as disembodied souls. What these words mean is unknown. They say that the information was received from a friend of Matrona, who did not want to give her name. The ministers of the church spoke categorically about the prediction. No Christian can give a precise datethe end of the world, this is clearly and specifically stated in Scripture, the clergy explained.
Healing saint
Despite her infirmities, which mother perceived as a cross given from above, she healed people in the most hopeless cases. There is a story about a paralyzed man living 4 km from Sebino. The matron advised him to come. The paralyzed man covered a huge distance for such a patient, and returned home on his own feet. Eyewitnesses said that she met visitors with traditional prayers from the morning rule, without any additions. So she healed the possessed and the sick. Mother always said that she does not heal people herself, but God does this through her prayers.
Life after death
The believing soul cannot be deceived. Those who come to her with love and a pure heart leave notes to the Matrona of Moscow, turn to her in prayer, feel that the blessed old woman does not leave them in trouble.
Applicants are healed of illnesses, arrange their personal lives, give birth to long-awaited children, find work. The list of saint's blessings can be continued indefinitely. It is noteworthy that admirers receive not only help from the mother, but also spiritual support. People feel how the saint prays for them in difficult situations.
The acquisition of relics
In the first years, the road to the saint's grave, as they say, "did not grow with grass." Time passed, fans died, moved, forgot about the old woman. Then came the time of perestroika, and with it the revival of the religious life of the Russiana people deprived of faith and spiritual consolation for many years. Fans of the blessed managed to publish memories of her. The news of the old woman quickly spread throughout the country. “If trouble happened, go to Matrona, she will help,” the believers said. Since then, the canonization of the saint began. For several years, a special commission carried out work to verify information about the life of the old woman, along the way, chroniclers compiled her biography. In 1998, the remains were finally exhumed. The relics of the Matrona of Moscow were solemnly transferred to the shrine of the Intercession Monastery. The address where the shrine is located: st. Taganskaya, house 58. Staritsa was canonized on May 2, 1999.
Revered images
A prayer appeal to the great ascetic in front of her image, according to many people, does not go unanswered. The icon of the blessed Matrona of Moscow is unusual in that the icon painters, when painting it, are faced with the difficult task of depicting the face of a blind old woman. Whereas the main detail in the classic image of a saint is the eyes.
There is an unusual plot among the painted images. This is an icon where mother blesses I. V. Stalin for the defense of the capital.
The appearance of the relic caused a heated debate in society. Representatives of the hierarchy consider this image not canonical, since the conversation of the saint with the ruler of the state, who allegedly came to her for advice, is not a proven historical event. Reliable information about the life of the blessed can be provided by the official website of the Matrona of the Moscow Pokrovsky Stauropegial Monastery, where the relics of the saint are kept: pokrov-monastir.ru.
