Venerable Alexandra Diveevskaya (Melgunova)
Service to Venerable Alexandra Diveevskaya
The text of the service was approved by the decision of the Holy Synod of July 9, 2019 (magazine No. 82)
of the month of June on the 13th day
Venerable Alexandra of Diveevskaya
At small vespers
In the Lord, I cried: stichera, tone 2:
What kind of spiritual singing/ shall we bring to you, Rev. Alexandro?/ By the appearance of the Queen of Heaven/ You were wondrously sanctified by Diveevo/ and Her fourth lot was called./ For this reason we pray to you/ Give us peace and great mercy.
With what praiseworthy crowns/ do we crown you, Rev. Alexandro?/ You, in your difficult life/ having discerned the will of God,/ have you become impoverished in thanksgiving to the Lord./ In the same way, pray to Christ God/ to give us peace and great mercy.
With what reverent lips/ shall we praise our glorious mother Alexandra?/ Merciful patroness and quick helper,/ warming us with her love,/ surprising us with meekness and humility/ and asking us from Christ God/ for peace and great mercy.
With what sacred praises/ let us glorify God-wise Alexandra?/ The decoration of the Diveyevo Monastery,/ the true mentor of monastics/ and a warm prayer book for our souls,/ asking us from Christ God/ for peace and great mercy.
Glory, voice 4:
Today let us sing thanksgiving/ to Christ our God, wondrous in the saints,/ who has given us a reverend mother,/ a wise and child-loving teacher,/ a steadfast guardian of church statutes,/ who has accomplished an immaculate life,/ now shining in the person of the holy women.
And now, Mother of God, the same voice: And for your sake:
On the poem there are stichera, tone 1:
Great are your deeds and labors, / Blessed Venerable Alexandro, / how can we glorify them, unworthy? / You, having founded the Diveyevo monastery, / established monastic life in it.
Verse: God is divine in His saints, / The God of Israel.
Having received the great angelic image/ and fulfilled the obedience of the Queen of Heaven,/ you entrusted your soul in the hand of God./ And now from the faces of the venerable women/ you see the Holy Trinity with purity.
Verse: Honorable before the Lord is the death of His saints.
Great grace and the gift of healings, / still alive, having acquired, / Reverend Alexandro, / now fulfilling our petitions / to the race of your holy relics / flowing with love.
Glory, voice 8:
Oh, glorious miracle! / Today the Diveyevo monastery rejoices, / marveling at the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Venerable Seraphim: / behold, the relics of the Venerable Alexandra, / like a valuable treasure, / rest in the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, / and, like an ever-blooming plant, / fill with the fragrance of miracles all that flow.
And now, the Mother of God, the same voice: Blessed Virgin:
See the Troparion at Great Vespers. Glory even now, Theotokos: Rejoice , door of the Lord:
At Great Vespers
In the Lord, I cried: stichera, tone 6:
Come, faithful people, / to the holy monastery of Diveyevo, / even as the fourth lot of God is assigned to the Mother of God, / let us please the faithful servant of the Most Holy Theotokos / Alexandra the God-wise, / the first ruler of this holy place, / and, falling upon her with honest and multi-healing power, / let us earnestly pray: / remember us, our reverend mother, / in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Come, faithful people, / to the holy monastery of Diveyevo / let us glorify the wonderful interlocutor of angels / and the quick helper to those in need, / the all-honorable Mother Alexandra, / the first ruler of this holy place: / who, having loved Christ with all her heart, / chose a difficult life, / now in glory He will not have the evening / and prays for the salvation of our souls.
Oh, our venerable mother Alexandro, / having been enlightened by divine grace / and having rejected the rebellion of the world, / you followed Christ evangelically / and you served tirelessly with the prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God. / Moreover, and the first of Her monastery, / the God-wise mentor appeared. / Remember us in Kingdom of Heaven.
Alexandro, the all-blessed,/ having taken on the angelic form,/ you lived virtuously on earth/ and, having erected many temples,/ you left the orphaned, the poor, and in troubles in no way,/ now, having settled in Heaven,/ see the Holy Trinity purely./ Ask us , Reverend Mother, great mercy, / that we too will always be with the Lord.
Many exploits, labors and illnesses, / blessed Alexandro, you revealed, / when in the cramped cell before the crucifixion of Christ, / placing your head on a stone, / you earnestly prayed with tears at night. / Help us, in true repentance, to end our life / and the Kingdom of Heaven be worthy.
Voice 7:
Those who trust in the Lord understand the truth/ and will remain faithful in love to Him./ So you, God-wise Alexandro,/ enlightened the darkness of foolishness with the light of the Gospel,/ you made clear to people the truths of the Orthodox faith/ and you poured out life-giving gifts of love to the faithful./ Strengthen us too abide in piety and purity / and pray to Christ God / that he may save our souls.
Voice 8:
We bless you, venerable Alexandro,/ for you, who care for your neighbors,/ you are a merciful nourisher of the hungry,/ you are a beautifier of the poor,/ and you have appeared as a warm comforter of the sorrowful./ Also, falling to the rank of your relics,/ we ask you with tenderness:/ accept your prayers ours/ and advance to the aid/ by faith of those who honor your memory.
Glory, voice 6:
Oh, blessed Alexandro, / St. Seraphim testifies about you, / as you are a great servant of God, / a treasure of humility and a treasure of love, / and a warm prayer book for everyone. / Now we see you, as a strong shield of our monastery / against the arrows of the enemy, / Through your intercession, temptations are overcome/ and our souls are cleansed.
And now, Mother of God, voice 6: This will not please You:
Entrance. Prokeimenon in the afternoon. And the reverend's readings.
At the litany of the stichera for the Diveyevo Saints’ Council, tone 1:
Blessed art thou, wonderful monastery of Diveyevo, / glorify all your borders, / the sanctification of the feet of the Most Holy Theotokos, / and the glorification of the deeds of the saints, / who bring all praise to memory, / we glorify Christ our God, wondrous in His saints, / to Him we pray to save our souls.
Glory, and now, voice 4:
Let us praise the Mother of God, who never sleeps in prayer, / and, flowing to Her with heartfelt faith, / we strive to acquire mercy and meekness, / so that through Her intercession, / we may find great mercy from Christ God.
The poem contains stichera, tone 2.
Similar to: Where from the Tree:
When the Divine voice/ reached you, Reverend Mother Alexandro,/ then, wealth and glory,/ and leaving your family,/ you moved into the Florovsky monastery,/ where, having lived such a life , / you pleased the Lord in prayers and labors./ In the same way, pray to Christ God to save and enlighten our souls.
Verse: God is divine in His saints, / The God of Israel.
When Divine grace fills your heart, reverend mother, then the Most Holy Virgin, Queen of Heaven and Earth, appears to you, commanding you to leave the city of Kiev and build a new monastery in another place, so that the name of Christ God may be glorified in it. pray to save and enlighten our souls.
Verse: Honorable before the Lord is the death of His saints.
When the Mother of God appeared to you, the Venerable Alexandro, / on the way to the deserts of Sarov / and commanded to build a wonderful monastery in Diveyevo, / then, Her glorious words / composing / in your heart and fulfilling the command, / with many labors and deeds / the monastery laid a good beginning thou./ In the same way, pray warmly to the Lord/ to save and enlighten our souls.
Glory, voice 4:
In your honest glorification, / reverend mother Alexandro, / you gracefully illuminate the faithful / and heal ailments without compensation. / Moreover, falling with love to the body of your relics, / we tenderly say: / instruct us to walk in the path of your exploits / and help us to please Christ our God, / may we be worthy to be partakers of the Heavenly Kingdom.
And now, O Mother of God, the same voice: Hear the prayers of Thy servant, O All-Immaculate One:
Troparion, tone 5:
Reverend Mother Alexandro,/ having fulfilled the blessing of the Queen of Heaven,/ you founded the Diveyevo monastery,/ in it, having completed a difficult life,/ you showed the image of Christ’s humility./ Also remember us in the Kingdom of Heaven.
At Matins
According to the 1st verse of the sedalene, tone 4:
With all your heart, with all your soul and thought, you loved God, / you acquired the gift of grace-filled tears, Mother Alexandro, / and you prayed earnestly before the Cross of Christ, / constantly abiding in the contemplation of the Lord. / Moreover, you, skillful worker of mental prayer, / teach us also always say:/ Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.
Glory, even now, to the Mother of God:
Surprised, Pure One, the faces of angels, / as the Mother of God of existence, / descended into the vale of human sorrows, / and heard every cry of prayer, / and mercifully gave consolation, / healed the sick and interceded for the weak, / Virgin Mother of the Lord, / an inexhaustible treasure of Divine grace .
According to the 2nd verse of the sedalens, tone 8:
Passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas reverently honors your memory, mother Alexandro./ For this reason, we cry out to you, reverend mother:/ pray with the Royal passion-bearers of Christ God that we may be saved.
Glory, even now, to the Mother of God:
Every creature rejoices in You and glorifies You, O Most Pure Virgin, / for You have contained the Inconceivable One, / Whom we pray to for our salvation.
Magnification:
We bless you,/ our reverend mother Alexandro,/ and honor your holy memory,/ for you pray for us/ Christ our God.
According to the polyeleos sedalene, voice 1:
When the time of your repose approached, Venerable Alexandro, / then you understood in spirit your departure to the Lord / and, offering up an intense prayer with tears for your monastery and its sisters, / you entrusted the care of them to the Venerable Seraphim.
Glory, even now, to the Mother of God:
Let us all be faithful, / to the Heavenly Queen and Mother of all, / glorifying Her condescension to the human race, / and let us shed tears of tenderness, / calling to love: / Rejoice, O Delighted One, / who does not abandon Your faithful servants.
Prokeimenon, tone 4: God is divine in His saints, / the God of Israel. Verse: In the churches bless God, the Lord of the fountains of Israel. In every breath: Gospel of Matthew, conceived 104.
According to Psalm 50, stichera, tone 6:
Before departing from this temporary life/ in the great schema, Venerable Alexandro, you clothed yourself/ and, having partaken of the Holy Mysteries of Christ,/ you placed the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on your Persian,/ you had unceasing prayer in your mouth,/ you gave up your holy soul in the hands of Christ God thou art./ Therefore we pray that we will not be deprived of the death of good things and the inheritance of Heaven.
Canon, tone 8.
Song 1
Irmos: Let us sing to the Lord, / who led His people through the Red Sea, / as He alone was gloriously glorified.
Reverend saint and our mother Alexandra, / the first leader of the Diveyevo monastery, / the chosen servant of the Mother of God, / now praying for us in Heaven, / Lord, vouchsafe to sing wisely.
The first leader of the Diveyevo monastery appeared, O glorious Alexandro,/ and having fulfilled the obedience of the Most Holy Theotokos worthily,/ You inherited the Kingdom of Heaven./ Help us also to acquire the virtue of obedience.
Having purified your soul through wondrous abstinence and tearful repentance/ and having become jealous of the angelic life,/ you appeared in the temple of the Holy Spirit, Reverend Alexandro.
Theotokos: Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, / who, more than nature, ineffably gave birth to the Ever-Essential and Divine Word, / we worthily magnify Thee in song.
Song 3
Irmos: Establish with the word the Heavens/ and the earth which was founded on many waters,/ strengthen me to sing Thy praise, O Lord.
Having hated the worldly and corruptible,/ you have exhausted your flesh, mother Alexandro,/ and by constantly offering up prayer to God,/ you have loved that One.
Having received the enlightenment of the Spirit in your heart, reverend mother, / with the rays of the virtues of passions, you have driven away the darkness of reality. / Help us also to get rid of the darkness of passions.
You brought your prayers and labors, like fragrant incense, to the Lady and Mother of God, O Reverend One, and you also erected many churches of God through your zeal and deeds./ Now offer a prayer for the well-being of the Russian Church.
Theotokos: Confirmation, protection and refuge / be with faith to those who resort to You, Virgin Mother of God, / and to those who confess You as the Mother of God.
Sedalen, voice 3.
Similar to: To the beauty of virginity:
Having left perishable wealth and fleeting glory in your youth,/ You have received heavenly wealth and eternal glory, O Venerable Alexandro./ We therefore bless your holy repose and we cry out tenderly:/ Remember us at the Throne of God, honorable mother.
Glory, even now, to the Mother of God:
Even as you have received the fulfillment of joy,/ accept from us, Thy servants, the kiss of the Archangel:/ Rejoice, Thou who has given birth to Joy to the world,/ Rejoice, O Heavenly Manno, Who has nourished us with the Bread of Life,/ Rejoice, O Blessed Queen among women.
Song 4
Irmos: Secretly the prophet foresaw from the Virgin Thee, the Word, Incarnate,/ crying out in song:/ glory to Thy power, O Lord.
By the fire of God’s love, having burned the thorns of passions, / You were vouchsafed to hear the wondrous words of the Most Holy Theotokos about Her fourth lot in the universe. / In the same way, you also erected the Diveyevo monastery.
Planted in the house of God to the Mother of God, / like red flowers, you grew many virtues / and, having laid the stone of faith at the foundation of the monastery, / you showed many nuns the way to the heavenly monastery.
With the rod of your virtuous life / you have guided many souls into the Kingdom of Heaven, mother Alexandro, / help us to acquire the virtues of the Gospel / and achieve a blessed life together with all the saints.
Theotokos: You are the Good One, the true affirmation, / deliverance and enlightenment of our souls from evil, / and the wall and fence of the Diveyevo monastery.
Song 5
Irmos: Morningly, we cry out to You: / Lord, save us, / For You are our God, / Do You know no other.
You chose the narrow path over the long one / and, rejoicing, you endured many toils and illnesses, Reverend Alexandro. / Strengthen us in the circumstances of everyday life with your prayers.
In singing and fasting, prayers and vigils, the venerable one,/ you became ignorant of Christ/ and you showed the image of the monastic life/ to the sisters of the Diveyevo monastery.
Your life was righteous and reverent, O blessed Alexandro, / also, having sought great feats, / you were vouchsafed to receive the great schema before your death.
Theotokos: From every excuse and sorrow, / and from fierce enemies, free Thy servants, All-Immaculate, / For Thy sovereign intercession by money-grubbers.
Song 6
Irmos: Give me a robe of light,/ dress in light like a robe,/ O most merciful Christ our God.
Having despised the glory of your family/ and zealously fulfilled the commandments of the Gospel, O venerable one,/ for Christ’s sake you became poor/ and became rich in many virtues.
You foresaw the great ascetic of Sarov/ in the young hierodeacon Seraphim, O wise Alexandro,/ and you entrusted the care of the Diveyevo monastery to him./ Help us too, holy saints, heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Throughout all your days and nights you are pleasing to God,/ at the hour of your death you received the Holy Mysteries of Christ./ Offer, reverend mother, warm prayers for us to the Lord,/ so that we may be worthy of a Christian death.
Theotokos: Thou art the Chamber of the King of Glory and the fiery Throne, O Virgin,/ the Cherub above and the Seraphim most glorious,/ and thus every breath glorifies Thee,/ as the Mother of Christ our God.
Kontakion, tone 3:
Let us sing today, faithfully,/ to our venerable mother Alexandra,/ the first of the wondrous inheritance of the Most Holy Theotokos,/ so that through her prayers and intercession of the Most Pure Virgin/ the Lord will grant us forgiveness of sins and great mercy.
Ikos:
Who is pleased to worthily sing of your labors and illnesses,/ your deeds and fastings, Reverend Mother Alexandro?/ Besides your favorable prayers to God/ grant us now the grace of the Holy Spirit,/ let us glorify your patience and humility/ and sing of unfeigned love,/ in the image of the all-evil enemy You have put me to shame./ In the same way, pray to the Lord/ to grant us forgiveness of sins and great mercy.
Song 7
Irmos: In the beginning you founded the earth/ and established the Heavens with the Word,/ blessed art thou forever, O Lord God of our father.
Walking along the path leading to Divine peace, / you escaped the snares of demons, blessed one. / Moreover, covered by Divine grace, you cried out: / Blessed are you, O God of our father.
Fulfilling the command of the Queen of Heaven/ and creating Her wonderful abode,/ you remained in prayer, crying out:/ Blessed are you, O God of our father.
Laying a stone under your head and shedding streams of tears,/ you endured a cruel life, O venerable one,/ and in spiritual joy you sang:/ Blessed are you, O Lord God of our fathers.
Theotokos: Thou art all luminous, O Virgin, receiving the unstoppable Light,/ and enlightening, O Pure One, those who cry out with faith to Thee:/ Blessed, O Most Pure One, is the Fruit of Thy womb.
Song 8
Irmos: The beginningless King of glory, / Whom the heavenly powers tremble, / sing, O priestesses, / people, extol forever.
You were jealous of the martyr Queen Alexandra, O God-wise One,/ and you gave up your life in the hand of God,/ even as you led the One Christ and crucified Him,/ singing Him to all ages.
You, O blessed one, had the gift of pure prayer, humility and perfect love./ Pray and clothe us in this virtue/ and sing praises to the Lord forever.
Having become jealous of the commandments of Christ, / you left the poor, the orphaned and the infants in trouble, O most wonderful one, / you also moved into the heavenly mansions, / where you glorify the Lord from the faces of honest women throughout the ages.
Theotokos: I have placed all my trust in You, Lady, / I have no other help except You. / Moreover, grant me Your rich mercy.
Song 9
Irmos: Receiving the invisible divine vision, / the Unartificed Virgin and Mother, / with songs we magnify your Nativity.
As a great wife and chosen one to the Mother of God, / God revealed to the Venerable Seraphim, / who also showed deep concern for the Diveyevo monastery. / Also, together with him, pray for your children, blessed one.
Before your death, reverend mother, / you placed the image of the Kazan icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on your chest / and thus in peace you gave up your soul to God.
Pray to the merciful God, our reverend mother Alexandro, / for having boldness towards Him, / that you and I may be worthy to glorify Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Theotokos: Save, O Most Pure Lady, those who come running to You from troubles and misfortunes, / from sin and the storm of carnal passions, / from worries and everyday circumstances, / and future condemnation.
Svetilen:
Whenever your venerable relics, Reverend Mother Alexandro, were found,/ then the fragrance came from your tomb and great grace appeared,/ healing ailments and driving away evil spirits.
Glory, even now, to the Mother of God:
Glory of the universe, Glorious Virgin, / who gloriously gave birth to the Most Glorious God, / vouchsafe Divine glory, / like the Mother of God who ever glorifies Thee.
On the praises of the stichera, tone 5.
Similar to: Rejoice , Life-Giving Cross:
Rejoice, mother Alexandro, / a bright star who shone from Diveyevo / and who graciously illuminated the Russian country! / Rejoice, glorious ascetic, / who was likened to the ancient God-bearing father, / who made your soul the home of the Holy Spirit, / who erected temples of God and a monastery for nuns! / Praying for the world’s peace grant / and great mercy to our souls.
Rejoice, our representative, / Reverend Mother Alexandro! / Hasten to help us, the weak and the orphans, / and offer up your holy prayers to the Lord, / by the grace given to you from Him, / heal our mental and physical ailments, / ask for peace to grant us / and great mercy to our souls.
Rejoice, venerable mother Alexandro!/ First leader of the Diveyevo monastery,/ vessel of God’s grace/ and chosen one of the Queen of Heaven./ Rejoice, healing of the sick,/ strengthening of the faint-hearted,/ guide of the lost,/ God-wise mentor of the monastics!/ Remember us in your prayers to the Lord, / asking our souls for great mercy.
Rejoice, God-wise mother Alexandro, / great beauty in women and saints! / We praise your humility / and unfeigned love for everyone, / in which you have acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit. / Also, grant your honorable memory to those who honor you / grant healing gifts / and pray to Christ God / peace grant peace/ and great mercy to our souls.
Glory, voice 3:
Reverend Mother Alexandro, / who will confess the deeds of your arduous life / and the mercy of God, revealed through you, who will count? / We, who know you as the chosen one of the Most Pure Mother of God / and trust in your boldness before God, / call to you in tenderness of heart: / oh , our reverend mother! / Pray for us / and remember us in the Kingdom of Heaven.
And now, Mother of God, the same voice:
Without seed you conceived from the Holy Spirit/ and you gave birth to the Son of God,/ for this reason, glorifyingly, we sing to You:/ Rejoice, Most Holy Virgin.
Great doxology and dismissal.
At the Liturgy
Blessed are the 3rd and 6th songs from the canon. Prokeimenon, tone 4: God is divine in His saints, / the God of Israel. Verse: In the churches bless God, the Lord of the fountains of Israel. Apostle to Galatians, conception 208. Alleluia, tone 1: I have endured the Lord, and listened to me, and heard my prayer. Gospel of Matthew, conception 104. Participated: In eternal memory he will be righteous; he will not fear from hearing evil.
Prayer
Oh, holy saint of God, Reverend Mother Alexandro! Accept our unworthy prayers, offered to you with faith and love, and help us to acquire Christian virtues, to have strong faith and love for God and our neighbors, to bear the cross of sorrows and illnesses with patience. Oh, our blessed mother! Having gained grace from God through many labors and deeds, remember us in the Kingdom of Heaven, pray for us, that through your prayers we may be saved in the present world, and in the future we will be worthy to praise and glorify the all-holy Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
If only you knew what kind of rubbish...
A beautiful woman with means, leaving everything for the love of God, took monastic vows, left her home for the wilds and wilderness, cleaned barns, washed peasant children, washed monastic footcloths, built churches, prayed and took her time.
After 20 years, a small community of women striving for God arose under her leadership. They were entrusted to a man who, in his nightmare, never dreamed of “leading” the nuns. But he promised to take care of them in obedience to the confessor, whom he loved very much, and in his dying word to the founding mother, whom he called “a great saint.”
True, he was in no hurry either. Before raising nuns, he spent 25 years in seclusion, educating his soul. He came out as a famous old man - Seraphim of Sarov. By that time, 50 sisters had gathered in the community of M. Alexandra.
By sign from above
View of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the other bank of the Dnieper.
Image from the site co6op.narod.ru Agafya Semenovna Melgunova (1720 – 1789) was not even 20 years old when she was left a widow with an infant child and considerable wealth. She went to Kyiv, to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, and spoke with its confessors. The fathers, despite her youth, saw a mature person in front of them and blessed her to become a monk. Agafya took monastic vows at the Florovsky Monastery and wanted to stay there.
But one day I heard the words of the Mother of God: “Go north and go around all the Great Russian places of My monasteries and there will be a place where I will show you where to end your godly life, for in your place of residence I will establish My monastery.”
Having received the Mother of God’s order, she could have immediately gone to fulfill it, but Alexander’s mother was, as the future will show, a very sober person. Realist. She told about her vision not only to her spiritual father, but also to several other fathers of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, known for their experience. After much prayer, the fathers recognized the appearance of the Mother of God as true.
But since the time for the Church was difficult, reformist, many monasteries were “shrinking” by decree of Catherine II (about 500 monasteries were closed - more than half in the country, and requests to create new ones were rejected, monks were strictly forbidden to “wander”), the fathers advised Alexandra to time to hide my monasticism and take care of business as a wealthy landowner Melgunova. The advice of the Kyiv fathers completely justified itself.
And M. Alexandra remained a secret nun almost all her life and was called Agafya Semyonovna. Only shortly before her death she will be tonsured into the schema with the same name - Alexandra.
In my cell
The small house had two rooms and two closets. In one of the closets near the stove there was a small bed made of bricks, near which there was very little space. The other closet was dark, without windows: it served as a chapel for Mother Alexandra. Only mother herself could fit in it. She prayed here in front of a large Crucifix with a lit lamp.
M. Alexandra treated herself strictly: fighting against effeminacy, in defiance of her elegant upbringing, she wore a stiff hair shirt under her clothes, which chafed her skin. Mother often had headaches, so she always wore a hat trimmed with hare fur. She had bast shoes on her feet; only in her old age did a benefactress give her light boots, and Alexander’s mother accepted them.
The beginning of the monastery
Diveevo, 1876.
Image from the site sarpust.ru Only six months before the death of M. Alexandra, what became the beginning of the Diveyevo Monastery arose. One of the landowners of the village of Diveeva gave M. Alexandra a large plot of land next to the temple. M. Alexandra built three cells and surrounded them with a fence. She lived in one cell herself, in another the pilgrims going to Sarov stayed overnight, and in the third she invited novices to live, among whom were orphans and widows of peasant origin. This is how the future Diveyevo Monastery began.
During her lifetime, M. Alexandra herself did not see any of his “glory”; she did not try to do the job as quickly as possible, to quickly build, organize, educate, organize, or attract more sisters. She worked and prayed, without adjusting with her will the will of God, which she completely trusted.
The community lived according to the strict Sarov charter. In addition to prayer and alms, the sisters and mother sewed, knitted, and washed for the monks of Sarov. And food was brought to the sisters every day from the Sarov refectory.
Before her death, Mother Alexandra adopted the schema. She asked Fr. Pakhomiy (Nazarov), the abbot of Sarov, took care of her sisters. Elder Pachomius responded to her requests: “Mother, I don’t give you my word, for I am old and weak, but how can I take on this, not knowing whether I will live to see that time. But Hierodeacon Seraphim - you know his spirituality, and he is young - will live to see this; entrust this great task to him.”
Woman in church
When the Sunday service ended, Mother Alexandra went out to the square near the church and preached. According to the stories of clergy from the Diveevo Chronicle, St. Serafima (Chichagova),
“She was smart, as men rarely are. She knew better than all the clergy in the area all the charters and regulations of the church.
They turned to Mother Alexandra for advice and instructions, and if a temple was illuminated somewhere, they asked Mother Alexandra to be the manager so that everything would go according to order and there would be order. A lot of people came and it seemed impossible to do without fuss and confusion, but M. Alexandra arranged everything in the best possible way: the church ceremony itself, the refreshment after the illumination of the temple, the reception of guests, etc.”
The work of a nun is a secret grace
Dime 1735.
Image from the site moneta-russia.ru In Osinovka, M. Alexandra settles with the parish priest Vasily Dertev (respected in Sarov), having built himself a separate house. She spends the next 20 years there. The former landowner and future abbess cleans the barn at Fr. Vasily (helping the elderly priest), looks after his cattle, washes his clothes.
When the busy time of harvesting came and all the adults went to the field for whole days, Alexandra’s mother went to the houses where the children remained without parental supervision, lit the stoves, baked bread, cooked food, washed the children, changed their clothes and washed dirty linen.
When the family was in dire need, she secretly left money. She secretly gave dowries to poor brides.
Factories, noise and fights in Diveevo
The oldest image of the Sarov Desert, dating back to the mid-18th century.
Image from the website sarpust.ru It took M. Alexandra several years to find a place for the monastery in northern Russia. In 1760, she found herself near the village of Diveeva. There the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her again: “This is the very place that I commanded you to look for. Live here and please the Lord God, and I will always be with you.”
M. Alexandra went to Diveevo and was horrified. In the village there was terrible noise from the work of iron factories, in the evenings there were a lot of drunks and hooliganism, fights, even robberies. How to build a monastery?
And again, as in Kiev, she found help from the fathers of the Sarov Hermitage, which at that time was considered the abode of ascetics (many Sarov fathers refused the priesthood, one even refused the episcopal title, just to maintain a prayer life in solitude).
The Sarov fathers advised M. Alexandra to settle in the village of Osinovka, two miles from Diveevo. And again the advice justified itself: soon one local landowner refused him land for a monastery.
And then M. Alexandra’s ten-year-old daughter fell ill and died. For her, this becomes a sign of a final break with the world. She goes home to sell the estate and dispose of the property: she frees the peasants and provides for many poor people.
Part of the money from the sale of the estate is given to the construction of churches, contributions to monasteries, and part is left for the future monastery. With her funds, more than 12 churches were built and restored, including the Assumption Cathedral of the Sarov Hermitage.
Pugachev near Sarov
Portrait of Emelyan Pugachev, painted over the portrait of Catherine II.
Unknown artist, 1773. Image from the site mediashm.ru At the place where, not far from Diveyevo, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her, Mother Alexandra began to build a stone church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
At this time there was a crop failure and famine in Diveevo. M. Alexandra involved local children in the construction of the temple. She asked them to bring bricks to the bricklayers. After work, mother fed the children and gave them a salary - a nickel each.
The construction of the temple coincided with the Pugachev riot. People were dying, there was chaos and unrest. In 1774, Pugachev took the city of Temnikov and was not far from Sarov. M. Alexandra asked the Mother of God to remove danger from the places where her monastery was being built. And again she had the answer: the war would pass her village. After some time, Pugachev’s troops stopped.
