In 1885, during the reign of the Romanov dynasty in Russia, many significant events took place in the world. 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 an engine on kerosene. Russia, too, was not left without significant incidents. The country severed relations with Bulgaria, the first free reading room appeared in Moscow. But the most important event occurred 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 Matron of Moscow is. Biography, birthday, dates of worship are known to most Orthodox Christians. It is difficult to imagine the number of people who turn to the saint for help every minute. 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, uttered many years ago: “Come to me. Talk about your grief as alive. I will help. Everyone who turns to me will meet at death. ” And Orthodox people come when everyday problems, an incurable disease, paralysis of limbs, infertility, drunkenness, financial difficulties ... All requests cannot be counted. People regard her as a beloved grandmother, who will sip everyone, regret and always help.
Birth
The future holy old woman was born the fourth child in a family of poor peasants. The biography of Matrona of Moscow began with the sad decision of her mother, Natalia Nikonova, to give the baby to a shelter. The family was not able to feed another child. However, shortly before the birth of the child, Natalia saw a dream that made her forget about her decision. A woman dreamed of an amazing bird with a human face. The feathered beauty had her eyes closed. Natalia interpreted the vision as a sign that there is no will of God to abandon the child. A 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 of the child, unusual events accompanied. The first such incident occurred during the baptism of a girl.
The priest, lowering the child into the font, marveled at the column of fragrant fog that appeared near the baby. “The child will be holy,” said the minister of the church. On this strangeness in the life of a child did not end. Natalia told her friends that the newborn “fasts” on her own. The girl refused to breast-feed on Wednesday and Friday. The baby spent 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 little girl sang along to the church choir in the service.
Blissful youth
In early childhood, the future Holy Matron of Moscow became known among the people. The biography of the blessed as a healer and seer began already at the age of seven to eight years. From infancy, she received many people whom she helped with prayer. The people were drawn endlessly to the poor peasant hut. Grateful people left products and gifts for the child. So the child from a burden turned into the main nurse of the family. A gifted child was persecuted by the devil. Once Natalya invited the girl to go home, it was too cold in the street. The Matronushka refused, explaining that Satan was tempting her. According to the stories of the child, the evil angel did not allow her to be in the hut, pricked with a pitchfork and burned with fire.
A lot of joy in his youth Matron brought travel to holy places. A pious friend took the girl with her on pilgrimage trips. She managed to visit the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Kiev-Pechersk, and other places that store Orthodox relics. One such journey was marked by an amazing event. In St. Andrew’s Cathedral, mother met with John of Kronstadt. Having noticed a 14-year-old girl in the crowd of parishioners, he asked people to step aside so that the saint could greet his shift. “The eighth pillar of Russia,” John called it.
Adulthood
At the age of 17, a tragedy occurred that forever changed the fate of mother. Her legs were taken away. The woman knew in advance that one day a parishioner would approach her in the church, 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 the long years of persecution of believers. The biography of Matrona of Moscow during the time of the persecution of Christians was distinguished by fidelity to the charters of the Church and exceptional spiritual stamina. The busy life was filled with prayers and compassion for people. Blind, paralyzed, without shelter, without family, she found the strength to comfort the petitioners, to relieve them of their suffering with her prayerful boldness for the Lord.
Tough choices
In 1917, a difficult time came for wanderings and repressions. The authorities did not approve of the religious ascetics and persecuted them. The older brothers of Matron, ardent activists of collectivization, were prevented by the anti-Soviet activities of the younger sister. At that time, much could be lost for religious propaganda, including life. The biography of Matrona of Moscow marks this tense moment as a period of a difficult choice between family and destiny from God. And she chose the latter. In 1925, mother moved to Moscow. Here, in the capital, she lived all the remaining 30 years of life, homeless and unsettled.
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 point in his life, the biography of Matrona of Moscow begins to resemble a detective: problems with registration, prosecution of law enforcement officers, total disorder, constant travel. Each time she managed to hide from the chase, about which she miraculously found out in advance.
Saint Matron could not 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, in danger. From house to house, from one street to another. Once she managed to catch a law enforcement officer. But this meeting was not simple, but provocative. Blessed from the doorway sent the policeman home. Struck by the unusual method 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 Moscow region with relatives. She knew about her death in advance. Before her death, she asked to invite a priest to the house. The priest who came was surprised when he found out that the blessed woman was afraid to die. The old woman departed 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 revolution began, one prosperous villager turned to the blessed one for advice on the construction of the bell tower. She answered her that the patron's plans were not destined to come true. The woman was perplexed. Well, what can interfere? Already materials have been bought, and enough money. However, the revolution soon began, and the construction of temples stopped for many decades.
- Once a girl asked her mother to bring her a chicken feather. Natalia fulfilled the request of the child. The daughter plucked him. And then she said to her mother: “You see him. This is what they will do with our king. ” Natalia was frightened of such child's speeches. After some time, news about the October coup came to the village.
- Mother who came to her was advised by her mother to always rely on God's will. Pray, be sure to repent, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, impose a sign of the cross on ourselves more often , and help those in need. “If a people does not live by the commandments, loses faith, great calamities fall upon it. When he does not repent even in times of suffering, then he completely disappears from the earth, ”said the ascetic.
In 2012, the media published information about the prophecy of the old woman about the end of the world. Ostensibly, humanity will perish without war, said Matrona of Moscow. The prediction of 2017 makes the most tragic in the earthly life of people. They will fall asleep alive, and will rise as ethereal souls. What these words mean is unknown. They say that the information was received from a friend of Matron, who did not want to give her name. Ministers categorically spoke about the prediction. No Christian can pinpoint the date of the end of the world, this is clearly and specifically indicated in the Scriptures, clergymen explained.
Healing saint
Despite her weaknesses, which mother perceived as a cross given from above, she healed people in the most hopeless cases. There is a story of a paralyzed man living 4 km from Sebino. Matron advised him to come. The paralyzed man overcame a huge distance for such a patient, and returned home on his own. Eyewitnesses said that she met visitors with traditional prayers from the morning rule, without any additions. So she healed the obsessed and sick. Mother always said that she does not heal people, but God does this according to her prayers.
Life after death
A believing soul cannot be deceived. Those who come to her with love and a pure heart, leave notes to Matrona of Moscow, turn to her in prayer, feel that the blessed old woman does not leave them in trouble.
The petitioners are healed of illnesses, arrange their personal lives, give birth to long-awaited children, find work. The list of blessings of the saint can be continued indefinitely. It is noteworthy that admirers receive not only help from their mother, but also spiritual support. People feel the saint praying for them in difficult situations.
Gaining relics
The first years, the road to the grave of the saint, as they say, "did not grow grass." Time passed, the fans died, moved, forgot about the old man. Then it was time for perestroika, and with it began the revival of the religious life of the Russian people, for many years devoid of faith and spiritual comfort. Blissful fans managed to publish memories of her. The news of the elder quickly spread throughout the country. “If trouble happened - go to Matrona, she will help,” said the believing people. Since then, the canonization of the saint began. For several years, a special commission conducted work to verify information about the life of the old woman, along the way her biography was compiled by chroniclers. In 1998, the exhumation of the remains was finally carried out. The relics of the Pokrovsky monastery solemnly transferred the relics of the Matrona of Moscow. Address at which the shrine is located: st. Taganskaya, house 58. The old woman was canonized on May 2, 1999.
Revered Images
The prayerful appeal to the great ascetic before her image, according to the testimony of many people, does not remain unanswered. The icon of the blessed Matrona of Moscow is unusual in that the icon painters, drawing it, face the difficult task of portraying the face of a blind old woman. Whereas the main detail in the classical image of the saint is the eyes.
Among the written images there is an unusual plot. This is an icon where mother blesses JV Stalin to defend 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 blessed life can be reported on the official website of Matrona of the Moscow Pokrovsky Stavropegial Monastery, where the relics of the saint are stored: pokrov-monastir.ru.