Orthodox saints of the 20th century

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

It would be a mistake to assume that Christian associates, who amazed others with their steadfastness and miracles, are a thing of the distant past. Saints of the 20th century are real people, not myths at all. For their prayers and suffering, they received the unique gift of prophecy and healing. There are very few such people, some of them lived until recently. We will tell about them in this article.

John of Kronstadt

This is one of the most famous saints of the 20th century - a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, considered the inspirer of the creation of the Union of the Russian people. Spiritual writer and preacher who held monarchist and conservative views.

John of Kronstadt - Orthodox saint of the 20th century. He was born in 1829 in the Arkhangelsk province. The life states that his grandfather, like all other ancestors, was a priest for more than three centuries.

In 1839, John was sent to a parish school in Arkhangelsk. At first, he experienced serious difficulties, praying at night that the Lord would grant himmind. Later, the saint admitted that at some point, as if the veil had fallen from his eyes: everything brightened up in his head, became understandable and clear.

In 1851, John entered the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg. He dreamed of becoming a monk and going as a missionary to America or China. He asked God to tell him which way to choose. Once a novice saw himself at a service in some unknown cathedral.

In his third year at the academy, John married the daughter of Archpriest Elizaveta Nessvitskaya from Kronstadt. At the same time, they lived as brother and sister by mutual agreement. In 1855, John became a graduate of the academy.

Knowing the need since childhood, in his service he paid special attention to the poor and disadvantaged.

After ordination, he was sent to Kronstadt. All-Russian fame came to him in the 1870s, when it became known about his spiritual gifts.

At the request of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, in 1894 he came to the dying Emperor Alexander III, and then attended the coronation of Nicholas II.

Lifestyle

The way of life of John of Kronstadt is well known, which many later relied on. He himself was recognized as one of the most famous saints of the 19th and 20th centuries.

He got up around 4 am. Went to the service in the Kronstadt Cathedral, which ended around noon. After that, he went on visits to local residents and visitors who invited him for one reason or another. Mostly requests were received to pray at the bedside of the sick.

Then I went to St. Petersburg. He paid private visits, attended celebrations and social events. Returned to Kronstadt around midnight.

During Lent, instead of trips to St. Petersburg, he took confessions in St. Andrew's Cathedral. There were so many who wanted to see him that he often confessed before the start of the morning service.

Sleep little, often did not eat properly, had absolutely no personal time. He lived in this mode for decades.

Canonization

John of Kronstadt was revered as a miracle worker, prayer book and seer. In the 1880s, he had a group of fanatical admirers who revered in him the incarnate Christ. They were regarded as a kind of whips, and they were recognized by the Holy Synod as a sect. At the same time, John himself condemned them.

Died at the end of 1908 at the age of 79. For the first time, the issue of canonization of this Orthodox saint of the 20th century was raised in 1950 in the Russian Church Abroad.

The canonization commission confirmed cases of miracles after his prayers. However, they did not immediately begin to rank John of Kronstadt as a saint, postponing the decision until the Local Council.

As a result, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia announced his canonization in 1964, and the Russian Orthodox Church - in 1990.

Iosif Optinsky

Among the saints of the 20th century, the legendary elders of Optina Pustyn are famous. One of them is priest Joseph.

He was born in the Kharkov province in 1837. At the age of 11 he was left an orphan. Having no means of subsistence, he was forced to work ingrocery store and inn.

In 1861, he planned to go to Kyiv to make a pilgrimage, but a nun sister advised him to go to Optina Pustyn. After a conversation with Elder Ambrose, he stayed in this monastery in the Kaluga province.

Service

The life of the saints of the 20th century tells in sufficient detail about Joseph Optinsky.

From 1891, together with Elder Anatoly, he was the confessor of the Shamorda monastery, when St. Ambrose died. Two years later, the priesthood was completely transferred to him after the serious illness of Anatoly. After the death of the latter, he became the head of the skete.

Iosif Optinsky himself died in 1911. Canonized by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000

Matrona of Moscow

There are also women among the Russian saints of the 20th century. Matrona was born in the Tula province in 1881. According to the life of the saint, she grew up in a peasant family. She was blind from birth, as she was born without eyeballs.

Her parents, who were no longer young, wanted to leave the girl in an orphanage. The mother changed her decision when she had a prophetic dream. In it, a blind white bird of extraordinary beauty sat on her chest. After that, she decided to keep the baby.

Already from the age of eight, Matrona was a deeply religious person. She had the ability to predict the future and heal the sick. Meanwhile, her condition worsened. She lost her legs at the age of 17.

Despite her disability, Matrona traveled in her youth. Her daughter took her on pilgrimageslocal landowner Lidia Yankova.

According to legend, when Matrona met with John of Kronstadt, he asked the parishioners to part, saying that his shift was underway - the eighth pillar of Russia.

After the October Revolution, Matrona and Yankova actually remained on the street. In 1925 they arrived in Moscow, where they temporarily stayed with friends and acquaintances. At the same time, Matrona basically did not communicate with her brothers, who also lived in the city, since they went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and supported the Soviet government.

One of the books about this saint of the 20th century in Russia describes Matrona's meeting with Stalin after the Germans threatened to take Moscow. This meeting is depicted on the famous icon "Matrona and Stalin". However, there is no evidence that they actually saw each other. Most researchers believe that the whole story is made up.

In addition, the life of Matrona describes repeated episodes of persecution of her by the Soviet authorities. Therefore, this story looks even less plausible. It is noteworthy that Matrona managed to avoid arrest every time. But her friend Zinaida Zhdanova was convicted. She was found guilty of organizing a church-monarchist anti-Soviet group.

In the 40s, Matrona lived in Moscow, receiving up to 40 people daily. She healed them, gave advice on how to act in certain life situations, and prayed intensely at night. I regularly took communion and went to confession. It is well known that already during her lifetime, monks from the TrinitySergius Lavra.

She died in 1952, according to her life, she predicted her death in three days. Her grave at the Danilovsky cemetery has become a place of mass pilgrimage.

Canonization of saints

Zinaida Zhdanova, who lived with her for 7 years in the same room in Starokonyushenny Lane, spoke in detail about Matrona's life in her book, watched her spiritual activity.

In 1993 the work was published. At the same time, it set out many facts that did not fit into Christian dogma. The expert group of the Synodal Commission compiled the canonical text of the life, removing all unreliable information that could not be confirmed in any way.

She was canonized as a saint of the 20th century in 1999 at the level of the Moscow diocese. A few years later, a general church canonization took place.

Archbishop John

In the list of saints of the 20th century, the Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia John is mentioned. This is a missionary who, according to eyewitnesses, worked miracles and predicted the future.

Born in the Kharkov province in 1896. He was distinguished by deep religiosity from childhood, he was constantly seen reading the lives of the saints. But at the insistence of his parents, he was forced to receive a military education, graduating from the cadet corps in 1914.

After that, he nevertheless declared his desire to serve God. Entered the theological seminary in Kyiv. After the October Revolution, he supported the White movement. When Denikin's army was stationed in Kharkov, he served in the provincial court.

When the White Army retreated, he left with his family for the Crimea, and in 1920 he was evacuated to Constantinople. Lived in Yugoslavia. From 1934 he served in China, from where he was forced to flee after the Second World War when the communist army approached Shanghai. Refugees and Russian emigrants from China were sheltered in the Philippines.

In 1950 he was appointed Archbishop of Western Europe. Much of his time has since been spent in Paris and its environs. At that time, his work was highly appreciated even by the Catholic clergy. It is said that in Paris he was living proof that saints and miracles still exist today.

In the early 1960s he left for the USA. Died in Seattle at age 70.

Reverence

The issue of honoring this 20th century holy father was first discussed in 1993. The following year he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, this status was confirmed by the Moscow Patriarchate in 2008

Considered the heavenly patron of all Russian foreign cadets.