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 in the altars of churches and especially venerated. The Church believes that the Holy Spirit dwells in the relics of saints, as in temples.
Gaining relics
The relics of the Matrona of Moscow were acquired in 1998 on March 8 at exactly 24:00. Their removal took place in a festive atmosphere. With the blessing of the patriarch (Alexy II was at the head of the MP), in Moscow, where the grave of the old woman Matrona (Danilovskoye cemetery) was located since 1952, the representatives of the higher clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate honest remains, or relics of the saint, were transferred from the cemetery to Danilov Monastery. Many gathered, according to 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 built in the name of the righteous Simeon, who spent 37 years on a pillar in prayer and fasting (which is why he is called Simeon Stolpnik). The temple, where the relics were placed, is the gateway.
The simple peasant woman who became a saint
Who is she - holy old woman? In a simple peasant family (the very elderly Nikonovs, father was Dmitry, 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 saint's life mentions that her parents wanted to be away from her and leave her in a shelter. But in a dream, a mother saw a large white bird without eyes, not blind, namely without eyes, which sat on her chest. Considering the dream 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
The first to tell about her God’s election was Father Basil, who baptized the girl - when the baby was lowered into the font, a fragrant pillar rose above her. She also had a divine sign on her body - on her child’s chest there was a cross-shaped tubercle (therefore, little Matron refused to wear a cross on her neck, explaining that she already has her own), which was also discovered during exhumation. The girl received her name in honor of Matron of Constantinople, an ascetic who lived in the V century. There were other signs - the girl did not take breasts on fasting days - Wednesday and Friday, she slept all the time. The spiritual vision with which Matron was awarded in excess compensated for her physical handicap - she was not deprived of sight in the usual sense of the word, Matron had no eyes at all, her eyelids were tightly spliced. The whole district soon learned about the gift of prediction 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. He in the presence of a large number of people spoke very highly and figuratively of the divine gift and the future role of the girl in Orthodoxy. The seven pillars are the seven Ecumenical Councils. The righteous figuratively called Matron the eighth pillar. At the age of 17, Matrona lost her legs. This event was predicted by herself. The revolution, which deprived Matron of shelter, the old woman predicted for a long time. Wandering around other people's houses and apartments (and wanderings lasted 50 years), Matrona never complained, and the fame of her holy deeds grew and grew. There is a myth about visiting Stalin, and there is even an icon depicting this scene. But this is only a beautiful legend, talking about the faith of the people in holy power.
The death of the old woman
Matron also predicted her death, as well as a pilgrimage to the temples where the relics of the Matrona of Moscow will be stored, that is, she predicted daily many-hour lines to the altars, where her remains would rest.
And so it happened. Old Matron is the most revered saint in Moscow. Crowds of people began to go to her grave in the Danilovsky cemetery, which became a place of unofficial pilgrimage. There was a need for the canonization of the blessed old woman Matrona and the acquisition of her relics. The sacrament itself took place on May 2, 1999 in the Pokrovsky Stavropegial (monastery directly reporting to the patriarch, bypassing the authority of the dioceses) nunnery.
First canonization
The act of canonization was read by the head of the Moscow Patriarchate (Alexy II). In this monastery, the most visited monastery of the capital, there is a cancer in which the relics of the Matrona of Moscow are enclosed. In Moscow there are several more places where fragments of the holy honest remains of the blessed Matrona Nikonova are located. People who come here with the most vital questions and requests are ready to stand for many hours in winter and summer, in the heat and cold - so great is the belief in the miraculous power of a 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 Matron’s icon lies a particle of her relics.
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 Princess Princess Euphrosyne of Moscow, located at: Nakhimovsky Prospekt, Vlad. 6.
In the above two churches, along with particles of the relics of Matron, there are remains of other great Christian saints - Alexander Nevsky, Great Martyr Barbara, Bishop of Ipponius, Saint Tikhon of Moscow and some others. In Shubino, in the church of saints, which are known in the Russian church books as miracle workers and healers (Kosmos and Damian, brothersless men), who lived in the 3rd-4th centuries, there are an icon and the relics of the Matrona of Moscow. Moscow has another place where exactly the same icon is stored 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 Slovenia (from the word “be known” - “to be known”), which is dedicated to the church built on Calvary 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 Temple 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 patterned, characterized by intricate shapes and an abundance of decor. In addition, the remains of the elder woman are in the church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea in Derbitsy, located at 29a Bolshaya Polyanka, Moscow. In Alekseevskaya Novaya Sloboda (on A. Solzhenitsyn Street, Building 15), in the church of St. Martin the Confessor, a special shrine is stored - the funeral shirt of the saint herself. The image, written with the blessing of the Matron herself, and the icon of the Mother of God “Recovery of the Dead” are in Pokrovsky Monastery.
Special veneration and popular love
In Russia there are more than 30 churches of St. Matron, her relics are delivered to many cities of Russia - Krasnoyarsk and Lipetsk, Vologda, Novokuznetsk and Perm. In 2004, the Holy Synod resolved the issue of the general church glorification of the Holy Blessed Matrona of Moscow. Church-wide canonization took place in October of that year. In 1999, she was canonized as a locally revered Moscow saint. Today, the Matron 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 Ksenia of Petersburg, which they also call Ksenyushka. Not only residents of the metropolis hurry to the relics of the Matrona of Moscow, hundreds of cases are known where, having only two hours left between trains, people rushed to Matronushka for help, which came immediately and was already waiting for them upon returning home. Memorial Day of the Blessed Matrona in the church calendar - May 2.