Unexpected meeting
A lady was walking along the street of St. Petersburg - not poor, well dressed, just like a lady. Suddenly a strange woman stood in front of her - tall, thin, in a green jacket and a shabby red skirt, gray hair escaping from under a white scarf, torn shoes on her bare feet. She stood up and extended her hand to the lady.
At first the lady was afraid of the stranger, but then she realized: she’s just a beggar asking for alms! She reached into her wallet: “Now, honey, I’ll give it to you now...” - but the stranger shook her head: no, they say, that’s not it. The lady looks, and the tramp has a coin in her palm! That is, she wants to give the lady money.
But why?
- Take a nickel! — the unusual stranger said quietly in a slightly hoarse voice. - Here the king is on horseback... It will go out...
She said and left so quickly, as if she had disappeared into thin air.
The lady looked at the copper coin in confusion. What "king"? What will “go out”? She shrugged her shoulders: “She must be crazy...” She squeezed the patch in her hand and moved on.
That lady's house was two blocks away. Nice house, big. Now she will come home, sit down on the sofas, order her to make some coffee and finally take a break from the heat...
But - what is this? The woman suddenly smelled smoke. I heard screams... I turned the corner - fathers! Fire! Her house was on fire, flames were shooting out of the windows. People in military uniform held back the crowd of onlookers, firefighters pumped water, but it was clear that it was unlikely that anything would be extinguished here.
The woman screamed and rushed, tangling in her dress, towards the house. But, not having reached a few steps, she suddenly stood rooted to the spot. What's happening? Just now the house was completely engulfed in fire, and suddenly... the fire seemed to be “turned off”! No more flames! Only thin wisps of smoke rise from the roof.
The crowd fell silent and froze at once. The military, firefighters - everyone looked at the house, not believing their eyes.
The janitor quietly approached the lady:
- Lady, I saw Ksenyushka approaching you. What did you say?..
The woman slowly unclenched her fist and looked at the coin: “Take the nickel! Here the king is on horseback... It will go out..."
She realized that the prediction had come true. And I learned that that strange stranger with the coin was Blessed Ksenia, whom many in St. Petersburg already knew at that time.
What kind of “king on horseback” is this?
On small coins in those days, St. George the Victorious was depicted slaying a serpent with a spear. Blessed Xenia called this saint “the king on horseback.” She herself never asked for alms - they gave it to her, and she took the coin and immediately gave it to someone in need.
They also gave the blessed one warm clothes, worrying that the tramp lived on the street, got wet in the rain, and endured wind and frost. Only she didn’t take it, she refused. At first she wore her husband’s military uniform made of red and green fabric, and when it was completely worn out, she began to wear a red jacket and a green skirt. Or a green jacket and a red skirt. And on her feet - when she wore torn shoes, and when she walked completely barefoot.
Sometimes boys teased her and even threw dirt at her, and she brushed them off with her stick: “Here I am!” But the majority of St. Petersburg residents not only did not touch the blessed one, but loved her and invited her to come to them in every way.
The Beggar Who Brings Good Luck
Who was this woman? Today we know her as Ksenia of Petersburg. And in the eighteenth century, she was listed according to documents as Ksenia Grigorievna Petrova.
Let's move back more than two centuries into the past and watch Blessed Ksenia...
Here she is walking along the bank of the canal. It opens onto a shopping area. Here there are shops and benches, hawkers walk in the crowd with belts thrown over their shoulders, on which trays are attached - trays filled with small goods...
One of the hawkers, noticing the tramp, immediately perked up and shouted: “Ksenyushka! Ksenyushka! He rushed towards her. Behind him are others. They surrounded the blessed one, vying with each other to offer their goods: “Take it from me!” “Try mine!..”
The cab drivers are right there: “Ksenyushka!.. Andrei Fedorovich! Sit down with me, I’ll give you a ride!”
And here are the shopkeepers - the doors are wide open: “You are welcome to my shop, Andrei Fedorovich! Look at my product!..” “And perhaps come to me!..”
A gray-haired woman in a headscarf calmly takes a pie from one of the trays. He takes a bite. The satisfied hawker beams and looks down on his comrades. They envy the lucky one.
And Ksenia is already entering the shop. On the shelves there are fabrics, scarves, lace... A merchant in a long shirt with a belt lays out his goods in front of a beggar, unrolls the pieces of fabric... Ksenyushka picks up a lace napkin. I looked and put it back in its place. The happy shopkeeper bows to her. And his family is nearby - everyone looks at the old beggar woman with such respect, as if some general had come to see them.
And Ksenia goes out into the street again. Two mothers with babies in their arms approach her. One hands Ksenia her child. The pale baby coughs hoarsely and cries weakly. Ksenia receives the boy carefully, kindly, and... he immediately calms down! The blessed one whispers something in his ear, strokes his head and returns it to his mother: “Nothing, dear, Andrei Fedorovich will not do anything bad. Now he’ll get better...” The happy mother wipes away her tears.
What is this? What's happening? Why so much attention to the strange poor woman? It’s just that everyone in St. Petersburg knows that Ksenia, like a guardian angel, brings good luck, success and happiness. Merchants have long noticed: whoever Ksenyushka takes something from a tray will instantly sell all his goods. Whoever comes into the store will have no end to customers all day. The cab drivers realized: whoever has Ksenia passing in a carriage, then passengers will line up and money will flow like a river. And mothers joyfully bring their children to the blessed one: the baby will sit in her arms, be healthy, and all his illnesses will go away.
But why is Ksenia called by the male name Andrei Fedorovich? To find out, you will have to go back another thirty years from the shopping area of St. Petersburg in the eighteenth century...
Andrey Fedorovich
The house of Colonel Andrei Fedorovich Petrov stood on the Petersburg side - the then outskirts of St. Petersburg. Petrov and his wife Ksenia lived comfortably, received a decent salary, they had a strong farm - chickens, goats, their own carriages...
Andrei Fedorovich sang at church services in palaces and was a singer in the court choir. Sometimes even Empress Elizabeth herself listened to him.
Love and harmony reigned in the Petrov family. For several years, Andrei and Ksenia lived in perfect harmony.
And suddenly - trouble! Andrei Fedorovich suddenly dies. Ksenia at that time was only twenty-six years old. The death of her husband is a huge grief for her, but even more terrible for Ksenia is that Andrei Fedorovich did not have time to confess or take communion before his death.
Christians know: even if you have been going to confession all your life, it is still very important before meeting the Lord to once again ask Him for forgiveness for your sins, so that your soul will appear pure before God and the path to the Kingdom of Heaven will be open to it. Therefore, all believers strive to confess their sins and receive communion before their death. Ksenia’s husband did not do this, and the young woman did not know what to do: what if her husband’s soul did not find peace for itself?
Overnight, the young woman turned completely gray. For several days after the death of her husband, Ksenia did not sleep, did not eat, just sat on a chair. And then she made a decision: she would save the one she loved so much. She herself will become Andrei Fedorovich! She herself will confess his sins before the Lord and will do good deeds in his name!
Ksenia cut her hair, put on her husband’s uniform - a red and green military uniform - and went to the funeral in this form.
The people who followed Andrei Petrov’s coffin did not understand anything: why was a woman in men’s clothing walking in the crowd? They whispered: “There’s no way Ksenia Grigorievna has gone crazy...”
Someone couldn’t stand it and called out to the widow:
- How are you now, mother?
The woman turned around:
- Why are you bothering her? My Ksenyushka has died and is resting peacefully in the cemetery. And I, sinful Andrei Fedorovich, am all here.
Ever since her husband was buried, Ksenia demanded to call herself only Andrei Fedorovich. She gave up herself, everything that belonged to her, even her own name, for the sake of saving her husband’s soul.
Ksenia gave her new house to Praskovya Antonova, a widow who had previously rented rooms from her and her husband. She only asked her to let beggars and homeless people into the house for the night. Ksenia gave away both money and property. I was left with nothing.
The husband's relatives became worried that the house and fortune of the late Andrei Fedorovich were being squandered. They even appointed a special commission to recognize that the young widow had gone mad with grief. The commission talked to Ksenia Grigorievna and... became convinced that she was completely normal!
Yes, Andrei Petrov’s widow did not go crazy, as many believed. She just stopped being Mrs. Ksenia Petrova, and became a holy fool.
Brief life of the blessed one
She was born in the first half of the 18th century and, in fact, her story begins with the death of her husband. On the day of the funeral, she renounced herself: she put on her husband’s uniform and asked everyone to call her Andrey, assuring that in the coffin lay... Ksenia. Those around her decided that the poor woman had gone crazy with grief, not yet knowing that in the weak body of the widow a strong spiritual personality was maturing, preparing for feats of foolishness in the name of Christ.
As if to confirm people's thoughts, the 26-year-old widow gave away all her property and turned into a wanderer. It is noteworthy that her relatives decided to challenge her decision to sign a deed of gift for the house through her husband’s superiors. However, the verdict of the highest authority was undisputed: she was mentally healthy.
And so, “mad” Ksenia wandered around St. Petersburg until the end of her life, begging the Lord for forgiveness for her deceased husband. Her eccentricities were explained by the fact that Andrei Petrov, the court singer, died suddenly, without repentance. Love for her husband and the grief of loss were transformed into a persistent desire to make an atoning sacrifice: let her die, and he will live and... repent.
This is interesting: The Life of Ksenia of Petersburg - a love story
Who are the holy fools?
Fools, also called blessed ones, are people who suddenly begin to behave unusually. They give up everything they have, endure hardships and reproaches, break all the rules, speak the truth - including unpleasant ones - to the face of everyone, including kings. For this they can be scolded, despised, even beaten, but the holy fools do not pay attention to this. They live a different life. Sometimes they are worse than beggars. They wear rags, walk barefoot, are cold and hungry, some put on heavy chains - iron chains and belts... They are often mistaken for crazy, but they are not crazy at all.
After all, how does a person go crazy? From illness or from severe grief or shock, he suddenly ceases to understand what is happening to him, and cannot control what he does and says. For holy fools, everything is completely different. They freely and voluntarily choose their path. If there is no meaning in the actions and words of real madmen, then in what holy fools do - in their every word, in every action - there is always meaning. Fools pray for all people, even the most sinful, save themselves and save others. With his unusual language and actions, the holy fool conveys something very important to everyone around him and who comes to him. And it is necessarily connected with faith in God. After all, it’s not for nothing that holy fools are also called “fools for Christ’s sake.” Everything they do is aimed at serving God and their neighbor.
There are many ways to serve God: someone goes as a hermit into the desert, lives in a cave or dugout, prays in a hollow or on a stone, someone performs obedience in a monastery or serves in a church. And the Lord chooses and calls someone to a special, very difficult path of foolishness suitable only for the chosen ones. You can walk along it only with the blessing of God.
How the blessed widow gave a son
So, having buried her husband, Ksenia Petersburgskaya went to live on the street. And in the cold, and in the heat, and in autumn, and winter, and in rain, and in snow, she was seen in the same red and green clothes. She predicted important events to those she met, surprised some, consoled others, and, of course, constantly helped people.
Once Ksenyushka looked into her former house - the same one that she gave to the widow Praskovya after her husband’s death. And there is Praskovya, sitting, sewing. The blessed one knew that the widow did not have a family, she did not intend to marry again, but she suffered greatly from the fact that she did not have children.
And then Ksenia comes to her and - right from the doorway:
“You’re sitting here, darning your stockings, and you don’t know that God is sending you a son!” Go quickly to the Smolensk cemetery!
“How so?” - Praskovya was surprised to herself, but she immediately got ready and ran, where Ksenia said: she knew that the blessed one would not just say a word.
And there’s a crowd at the cemetery! A drunk driver was riding in a cart, lost control of his horses, and hit a woman. And that unfortunate woman was just pregnant... Praskovya made her way through the crowd... And now she’s coming out, and in her arms is... a child wrapped in a scarf! The woman, it turns out, gave birth to a son, and, unfortunately, died. The police did not find the father, but Praskovya took the baby and adopted him. And so it turned out that the blessed one was right again: the Lord gave a child to a childless woman.
Ksenia healed from serious illnesses, helped those who had dreamed of it for many years to get new housing, through her prayers people were acquitted in an unfair trial, she miraculously introduced single people who, without her help, would never have met or gotten married... More In her life, rumors about the extraordinary holy fool, a helper to all those who suffer, spread far beyond the borders of St. Petersburg.
Prayer to Mother Ksenia
Oh, holy all-blessed mother Ksenia! Living under the protection of the Almighty, guided and strengthened by the Mother of God, you have received hunger and thirst, cold and heat, endured reproach and persecution, received the gift of clairvoyance and miracles from God, and you have received peace under the canopy of the Almighty isishya. Now the Holy Church, like a fragrant flower, glorifies you. Standing at the place of your burial, before your holy image, as if you are living, existing with us, we pray to you: accept our petitions and bring them to the Throne of the Merciful Father in Heaven, as boldly She who has knowledge towards Him. Ask for eternal salvation for those who flow to you, our generous blessing for good deeds and undertakings, deliverance from all troubles and sorrows. Stand before our All-Merciful Savior with your holy prayers for us, unworthy and sinners. Help, Holy Blessed Mother Xenia, illuminate the infants with the light of Holy Baptism and seal the gift of the Holy Spirit, youths and young women in faith, honesty, fear of God and chastity educate and grant them success in learning; heal the sick and ailing, send love and harmony to families, be worthy to strive for good as a monk and be protected from reproach, shepherds establish in the fortress of the Holy Spirit, people and preserve our country in peace and serenity, pray for those deprived of the Holy Mysteries of Christ at the hour of death. For you are our hope and hope, quick hearing and deliverance, we send thanks to you and with you we glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Where does the blessed one spend the night?
At some point, the St. Petersburg police became interested in Ksenia. She seems to be a harmless beggar, but still people follow her... We need to follow her, find out how she lives, otherwise something illegal might happen... Where, for example, does she spend the night?
Trace it. We found out. It turned out that at night Ksenia went out of town and prayed right in the field, on her knees. Until dawn! How she withstood the cold, snow, and wind is unclear.
Here's what else turned out to be true. At that time, a stone church was being built near the Smolensk cemetery. One morning the workers come - what is it? Someone dragged a whole mountain of bricks to the very top of the church! And in the following days the same thing happened again... It turned out that blessed Ksenia, a weak-looking, thin, elderly woman, was that tireless worker who every night lifts heavy bricks up stairs and planks for the masons!
Where is the icon and chapel of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg located?
About 1 century ago, a chapel dedicated to the Saint was built at the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg. The opening of the chapel took place at the beginning of the last century. It is in this place that the relics of Xenia are located. Once upon a time, on the site of the temple there was a woman’s grave, but the hill disappeared over time, as people wanted to take at least some part of the land for their home.
During the war, the temple was closed, but in 60 of the last century it was restored again. The temple still exists today. It is included in the list of famous Orthodox places in the Russian Federation.
Chapel
You can easily find the chapel if you go to the following address: st. Kamskaya, 24 . Believers visit this place every day. The chapel opens at 10.00 and closes at 16.00. On Saturday and Sunday the temple is open until 17.00.
Several services are held in the chapel throughout the day. The interval between them is approximately 10 minutes. If you want to get to the chapel, take the Vasileostrovskaya metro station and take line 8. Move towards increasing house numbers. You must go to Kamskaya Street, where the temple is located.
Miracles don't end there
Blessed Xenia died at the end of the 18th century. Almost no information has been preserved about how her last days passed. But we know for sure that until the very end, Ksenia worked for people, for God, and carried out her unusual service.
Immediately after Ksenia’s death, people began to flock to her grave at the Smolensk cemetery, asking for help. Miracles associated with her name continued - help through prayers to the blessed one came to a variety of people and her veneration increased every year.
Ksenia of Petersburg is one of the most beloved saints not only in Russia, but throughout the Orthodox world. On February 6, the day of remembrance of the blessed one, it is customary to visit the sick, especially diligently help the elderly and the poor, and console the suffering in memory of the faith and mercy with which Ksenia herself served people.
Drawings by Ksenia Vyazova
How to correctly ask for help from Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg: text of prayer
Today you can easily purchase an icon of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg. When you buy it, place it in your apartment and pray to it when you really need it. In addition, Ksenia will protect your home from various adversities and troubles.
- The ideal option to ask for help from the Saint is to go to the cemetery where Ksenia is buried.
- In that place, write a note on a small piece of paper. On it, describe your own problems and write a request.
- Once you've done this, walk around the chapel 3 times, going clockwise.
- Near the chapel you will notice a small box. It is designed for people to put their notes in. It is in this box that you must put your own note on which the request is indicated.
- Then go up to the face and lean your forehead against the icon. After this, say your own request in your head mentally.
- Place a candle near your face.
- Also read the prayer in the picture below.
Text of the prayer
If you wish, you can go to the chapel after the procedure and pray there, as well as order a prayer service. Many parishioners claim that this place has some special power, and therefore do not leave it until you receive a special sign. You must receive this sign from the priest. He will describe to you what this action means. In some situations, people stand for a very long time, even until the chapel closes.
