When we honor Orthodox saints, we do not always think about their parents, and often we do not even know them. But there are cases when the parents of revered saints show no less virtue and provide assistance. Thus, prayer to Cyril and Mary of Radonezh, the parents of Sergius of Radonezh, helps in family and internal affairs, as well as in marriage.
The story of Cyril and Mary of Radonezh
Before taking monastic vows, the Monk Kirill served with the Rostov princes. Their family was wealthy, but despite this, he and his wife led a simple lifestyle, helped those in need, and did not refuse refuge to travelers. They raised their children in piety and love of God.
The mark of their son as God's Chosen One reached them even before he was born.
How do prayers to saints help?
Years later, Cyril and Maria first accepted monasticism and then the scheme. The monk schemamonk Kirill and schemamonk Maria died in 1337. Since then, their relics have been buried in the Intercession Cathedral. They say that Sergius of Radonezh emphasized:
Before going to see him, he prays that his parents will be laid on the coffin.
Therefore, many believers consider it their duty to pray at the relics of his parents and honor their memory.
Memorial Day is celebrated on January 31, July 19 (Radonezh Cathedral), October 11.
Prayer to Cyril and Mary of Radonezh is addressed in the following cases:
- request for help in raising children;
- request for a gift of family well-being.
The power of the intercession of the Mother of God, St. Cyril and Mary and St. Sergius is manifested in miracles performed throughout the history of the Khotkov Monastery.
In 1770–1771, Russia suffered one of the worst national disasters. Cholera, or, as they said then, a pestilence, destroyed the population of various cities and villages of our fatherland and, reaching Moscow, exterminated many people here. The Khotkovo nuns turned to the intercession of the Mother of God and their heavenly patrons, the Venerables Kirill and Mary. Before the image of the Tikhvin Mother of God, water-blessing prayers were served, and a prayer was compiled for the saints to read at each “Glory” the Undying Psalter at their holy relics. This prayer was constantly read and rewritten in the Intercession Monastery. As the records of that dangerous time say: “It was read from August to December. And through the prayers of the saints of God, the entire monastery was delivered from this plague. And from other countries those who came to them with faith to pray during the pestilence served prayer services to Our Lady of Tikhvin, enclosing this prayer to the saints.” Thus, through the prayers of heavenly representatives, the monastery got rid of a terrible disease.
The second similar miracle occurred in 1848, during another cholera outbreak. The Tikhvin icon with prayer singing was carried around all the monastery cells and not one of the sisters suffered from illness. From the end of May to October, large numbers of people from surrounding villages gathered in Khotkovo for prayer singing and all-night vigils, ending with a memorial service for the parents of St. Sergius. Thanks to the intense prayers of the Mother of God and Saints Cyril and Mary, the epidemic stopped in the vicinity of the monastery. The Church Chronicle of the Intercession Khotkovo nunnery says: “In memory of this miraculous deliverance from the disease, it is established to perform a prayer service before the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God after the hours before the Liturgy every Saturday, at which the entire canon is read with the singing of choruses, a prayer to the Mother of God and a prayer to the saints of God, Schemamonk Kirill and Schema-nun Maria." This tradition was reverently observed in the monastery before the revolution.
The monastery chronicle preserved the story of the third deliverance of the monastery from cholera. In 1871, a religious procession was again held from the Lavra with the icon of St. Sergius. At the end of May, the image was carried around the surrounding area on a special hearse; The icon was taken from the Lavra for the second time at the end of July. “Our monastery,” the Khotkovsky priest Voznesensky says in the Chronicle, “on both visits to him (the image of St. Sergius) was honored with icons and banners in the presence of a host of all the monks and nuns of the monastery to meet him, accompanied by a large crowd... Our monastery was delivered, as in the previous cholera, from the epidemic through the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Sergius and his parents. Not a single sister, despite the large gathering of pilgrims, among whom were sick, was susceptible to infection.” Also in the vicinity of the monastery, the epidemic and death of horses, which befell the nearest villages simultaneously with cholera, stopped.
Khotkovo Archpriest Alexy Lebedev talks about the miraculous healing of the daughter of a peasant from the Simbirsk province, Tatyana Ivanova: “This happened in 1868. After falling into the river in the winter, she fell ill with rheumatism. The disease caused ulcers to form all over the body, from which a foul odor emanated. She could not walk and was in bed for more than 12 years. On the eve of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, her brother cruelly offended her, ordering her to be taken to a cattle hut for the holiday because of the stench. Tatyana found this order from her brother very sad, and she cried bitterly before God that her brother could no longer tolerate the stench of her wounds, and she should spend bright and joyful days with calves and lambs. With tears in her eyes, she seemed to fall asleep before the Matins of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, and she imagined that a gray-haired old man in a robe stood in front of her, with his head bowed, and said to her: “Don’t cry, don’t grieve and don’t murmur, but give thanks and pray to God.” , and call upon St. Sergius and Cyril and Mary.” And, having blessed her, he became invisible. After that, she woke up and saw that there was no one, and only the lamp was glowing, and she felt relief and no longer felt the aches. Her mother in the morning took the rags off the wounds and, seeing that only bare bones and sinews remained, and learning from her that the aches and pains had subsided, she washed her, put on clean linen and began to await her death. The brother began to reproach his mother for not taking her out to the barn again, to which the mother said: “Why take her out - she will soon die.” Tatyana, on the contrary, felt much better and began to sit. On Bright Tuesday, her wounds began to heal and close, and the stench from them was no longer there since Bright Tuesday, and she began to get better hour by hour. When she began to walk and became somewhat stronger, they began to tell her to go and pray to God and thank St. Sergius for the healing. But her mother, seeing her weakness, did not let her go, fearing that she would die on the road, and the girl postponed her pilgrimage until another year. Despite this, many convinced her not to put off thanking God and to go without fail, which is what she decided to do. On the way, when she entered the Sarov hermitage, where she confessed and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the schema-monk, whose name she does not remember, saw her and grabbed her by the shoulder from behind, said to her: “Go to St. Sergius and thank him, his parents Cyril and Maria healed you, thank them too.” At first she thought that this old man appeared to her in a dream, but, looking at him carefully, she did not recognize him as the one who appeared to her, and said that she was afraid that due to poor health she might die on the road. He answered: “Don’t be afraid, Cyril and Maria and St. Sergius will preserve you with their prayers, and you will be completely healthy. It is not far from the monastery of St. Sergius and his venerable parents rest in a nunnery in Khotkovo, which is only 10 miles away. And if you don’t go, the Lord will punish you, and you won’t even think about returning home.” Surprised by this elder, who unknown how learned about her illness and the appearance of St. Sergius, she decided to go and the closer she came to the monastery of St. Sergius, the stronger her strength and health became, and she came to the monastery on Peter’s Fast. Having prayed to the Lord God and thanked St. Sergius for his appearance, she went to the Khotkov Monastery. When she began to venerate the image of St. Cyril, her head, which until then had been tilted to the right side due to the contracted veins, suddenly became straight, her neck also straightened and began to turn freely. Delighted at such a miraculous healing and venerating the image of the Venerable Mary, she began to talk about this healing and was taken to the abbess of the monastery, Philarete, to whom she told everything. Having been healed, she remained in the monastery. Now she is completely healthy, only when she does hard work she soon gets tired. I testify to this by the priesthood of her spiritual father, Khotkovsky Archpriest Alexy Lebedev.”
Another Khotkovo priest, Sergius Ternovsky, gives a story about the healing of the ryassophore novice of the Khotkovo monastery Agrippina, a monk named Archelaus, who suffered from paralysis for three months. Unbearable pain did not allow the unfortunate woman to sleep. “On the night of January 8, 1879, Agrippina, as usual, did not sleep and, in great grief of heart, having lost hope of receiving any benefit from the treatment, began to mentally turn in prayer to St. Sergius and ask him for help. Before the stroke of Matins, at about 4 o'clock, having fallen asleep from exhaustion, she sees the following dream: she seems to be standing in the temple of St. Sergius, in which there was no one except her. Approaching the saint’s shrine, she really wanted to look at his face and dared to lift the veil from his face. At that very moment it seemed to her that the Reverend was getting up from the shrine, which she was greatly frightened of and rushed to run to Khotkov shouting: “Sisters! The Reverend is coming!” He came to her in the hospital and ordered her to kneel, pray and repent, and he himself knelt and prayed with her. Having confessed her, reminding her of all the sins of her youth, the Reverend prayed again and left. Waking up from a knock on the door, Agrippina thought that he had returned and got out of bed, although until that moment she could not move. She thanked the Reverend with tears and from then on she was not ill until her death.
The saints of God protect our monastery and all those who trust in their help and intercession. The tombs of Saints Cyril and Mary, located in the Intercession Khotkovo Monastery, testify to numerous healings of infants whose parents turned to the saints in prayer.
Tyutkova G.V. from Serpukhov reported the healing of her son Bogdan from encephalitis. “The doctors said: if the child is not treated, he will not be able to sit or walk. My grief knew no bounds. This child was long-awaited and late, since my husband and I had been waiting for him for six years. I went to church, prayed to the Lord God, received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and the Lord sent us a child. We named him Bogdan. Father Nikon (in Serpukhov) told us that we needed to bring the boy’s cap and vest and place it in the holy tomb of the Venerables Cyril and Mary (part of the relics of the Saints is kept in the Vysotsky Monastery). He himself put the child's things there, where they lay for some time. Father copied the Reverend’s prayer for us, we read it every day and constantly communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ to our boy. Gradually, Bogdan began to get better, then he began to sit and walk, keeping up with his peers in development, to think rationally, and to speak everything. Now he has been removed from the neurologist’s register of patients. Our entire family thanks the Lord God for the miraculous healing of our son. December 19, 1993"
An employee of the pilgrimage service of the brotherhood of St. Alexy V. Khokhlova reports on one of the trips: “We left Samara after the Annunciation, on April 8, 1995, and the next morning we were already at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. In Khotkovo, in the Intercession Cathedral of the monastery, pilgrims witnessed a miracle. When we entered there, one woman from our group, without having time to take a few steps, suddenly stopped and froze. Her face took on the features of a marble statue, her hands were twisted, and she was unable to move them. The husband, walking next to the woman, began to make the sign of the cross over her. The nuns of the monastery anointed her with oil from the lamp, then they laid the unfortunate woman on a bench and decided to add it to the relics of the venerable parents of Sergius of Radonezh. The woman was dragged with difficulty to the shrine, with great effort they applied it to the shrine, and in front of everyone she turned pink, smiled, and after a few minutes she began to walk around the temple. Later I found out that a few years ago the woman turned to psychics, received treatment from them, and then also took courses from these pseudo-healers. During one of the classes, she lost consciousness: a demon entered her and tied up her body. She had to turn to the true healer - God. My husband and I began to travel to holy places, which made her feel noticeably better. Our pilgrim group returned to Samara on Palm Sunday. We were greeted by the gentle sun and blue sky. Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful trip."
“I arrived at the Khotkov Monastery on March 24, 1996 with a group of pilgrims from Samara. These were dark times for me. I had an outwardly problem-free life, a good job and a prosperous family, but inside I was filled with bitterness, despair, hopelessness, disappointment in people and disbelief in my own spiritual rebirth. The life around me seemed dirty, and my own spiritual wretchedness unbearable. All attempts to break out of this deadlock were unsuccessful. It seemed to me that I was at some point... I entered the monastery bitter and depressed, without love and pity for people, without hope and faith for the best. I approached the relics of Saints Cyril and Mary because everyone else was approaching. At the same time, I thought about St. Sergius of Radonezh as a real saint. I didn’t believe in the holiness of his parents. Then, standing in the church at the service, I felt that the pain in my right hand, which had been bothering me for the last eight months, had gone away. Pain and weakness in the hand were associated with the forced position of the right hand while working on an ultrasound machine while examining patients. I got used to this state, and it was so joyful and unexpected that everything disappeared. I came to treat my soul, not my hand. Saints Cyril and Mary took pity on me as their daughter, who had little faith and was unlucky, and gave me a sign of hope. I entered the monastery with a burnt branch, and came out with a small green leaf at the end. Ahead was the Trinity-Sergiva Lavra. Ageeva N.D. (43).”
Pilgrim from the village of Mokshan, Penza region Sidorova N.S. says: “At the beginning of September 1996, we arrived at the monastery for evening service. My six-year-old grandson Seryozha was with me. Doctors diagnosed his adenoids of the second degree, the disease progressed, his hearing had already begun to decline, and the child was predicted to undergo surgery. Seryozha was happily looking forward to his trip to St. Sergius of Radonezh. With hope and tenderness, he approached the holy relics of his faithful parents in Khotkovo and fervently prayed before the icon of St. Sergius. We spent the night in the temple. At five o'clock in the morning we arrived at the Lavra. There we were accompanied by an icy and piercing wind. I thought I had ruined the boy. With trepidation and reverence we venerated the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. After mass and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, we visited the holy spring. On the way back home, I spoke to Seryozha and discovered that he had clear speech and excellent hearing! Soon this event became known to our companions. And now I tirelessly tell people about this healing.”
“Mothers, forgive me, bless me! ... I have no one to ask to go to your monastery, but I can’t do it myself. I have run out of holy oil from the relics of St. Kirill and Maria. This oil is amazing for burns. I’ve already burned my fingers 4 times badly, either with boiling water or with matches, it was very painful, but after I smeared it with this oil, after a while the pain completely went away. Maybe you will have a chance to share some butter with someone... Gubaidullina A.V. Moscow. 2001"
The priest of the Intercession Khotkov Monastery, Hieromonk John (Korchukov), told how in August 2004, in the monastery, a woman of about thirty, who had come from the city of Georgievsk, Stavropol Territory, approached him for confession and told him her story: she suffered great sorrows in her family, The relationship with my husband became complicated. He left his family and caused her a lot of suffering. She revered Saints Cyril and Mary, prayed to them, and one day heard an amazing voice: “We are Saints Kirill and Mary, we will not let you be offended.” After some time, peace and former prosperity returned to the family. The woman went to the Intercession Monastery to thank her for the promised help.
In 2004, a child, Daniil, was born to a young couple from Moscow. He had an intestinal obstruction, he was kept in the hospital all the time and was already being prepared for a complex operation. The young mother’s aunt turned to Hieromonk John (Korchukov) at the Pokrovsky Monastery, who advised them to gather all their relatives for confession. Nine people gathered. Father John confessed, and Father Varnava (Losev), dean of the Moscow Theological Academy, performed the Baptism of the baby. During the Sacraments, everyone approached the holy relics. People sincerely prayed, kissed each other, and asked Saints Cyril and Mary for healing. After the Sacraments were performed, they called in the evening and reported that the child’s intestinal activity had improved, and in the coming days, the chief pediatric surgeon, having examined the child, unexpectedly announced that no illness was observed and therefore surgery was no longer required. Everyone understood that through the faith, prayer and repentance of the family, the Lord showed His mercy to the child.
“Glory to the Lord for everything! Vladislav, Tatyana and Jr. are writing this story. Anastasia. On January 31, 2006, our long-awaited daughter, Nastenka, was finally born. Before that, we didn’t have children for 13 years. In April 2005 we came to the Lavra, to St. Sergius of Radonezh. The relics had the idea to go to his parents, to the Khotkovsky Monastery, which we did. And a month later I was already pregnant. The doctors didn’t believe it at first, they said “it couldn’t be.” Through the prayers of St. Cyril and Mary, we are now happy in the child. We gave birth to Nastya at 38 years old. Glory to Thee, O God in Thy Saints! Yastrebova Tatiana"
“I would like to tell you about the wonderful help of the Khotkovo Saints to our family. At the very beginning of my pregnancy, we came to the Intercession Khotkov Monastery in order to venerate the Holy Monks Cyril and Mary. At the shrine with the relics, we prayed fervently and asked for help from the Saints. I was 36 years old. I placed all my hope, all my trust in the Lord, the Queen of Heaven and the Holy Saints of God. The pregnancy proceeded without complications. At the right time, the daughter asked to be born. The birth was quick and easy. Our baby was born on January 31 - the day of remembrance of the Holy Monks Cyril and Mary. They christened their daughter with the name Maria. We are happy to come to the Holy Abode. The monks became patrons of our family. We strive here with our hearts and souls. Again and again, with gratitude, trembling and reverence, we resort to the precious Shrine and receive as a gift consolation, strengthening, and joy. Saints Reverends Cyril and Maria, pray to God for us! Aleshin family. Moscow region."
“Dear in the Lord, Mother Olympias and sisters! Peace to you! I cordially congratulate you on the Patronal Feast of St. Rev. Cyril and Mary of Radonezh! Thank you for your holy prayers. During the birth of my eldest daughter Valeria, you read the Unsleeping Psalter, and so Vanechka was born, although prematurely, but I visited you, prayed, and all the diagnoses that were given to him in the hospital after birth did not happen again, thank God! I am sending a photo of Vanechka as a bow from him and from us, and I ask him to bless him. With love in the Lord, Tatyana and all my loved ones. Perfilyeva T.A. Krasnoyarsk 30.01.2008"
A young female doctor working as a resuscitation surgeon in a famous hospital spoke about the miracle that happened to her. In February, during childbirth, she died on the operating table from severe bleeding and prayed for salvation. Suddenly the Monks Kirill and Maria appeared to her and said: “You will stay alive for the salvation of other people, but do not dare take money from the sick.” She gave birth safely and lived. She herself informed Mother Superior about what had happened.
On October 7 of this year, my friend and I went to worship at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. On the way we stopped in Khotkovo, at the Pokrovsky Monastery. While still on the train, my friend became ill. We had a stroller and three children. We barely reached the monastery. The friend stayed on the playground. I went to the temple and then barely persuaded her to go and venerate the relics. She barely stood up. As soon as I kissed, everything went away immediately. And the other day my godfather was admitted to the hospital. When my mother and I arrived there, we were immediately told that it would take days, even hours. Thrombus. He lay all blue. I brought oil and water with me. He was able to drink a couple of sips, they anointed him with oil, and at night he felt better. The doctors and nurses didn't believe it. They didn't even think that he would get up. Now he feels much better and is walking. And in the ward they were surprised at what happened. After all, everyone heard what the doctor said: “He will die at any moment.” The oil is on his shelf, everyone uses it. God willing, it will help them too. Servant of God Elena, 2011
I, Nadezhda Ivanovna Zhuravleva, who lives in Melitopol in Ukraine, often come to see my sick sister. She lives in the Moscow region in the city of Ivanteevka, her legs hurt, and she could hardly walk with a stick. I brought her to the relics of the saint. Cyril and Mary, ordered a prayer service, and venerated the holy relics. The next day my sister walked without a cane. So the priests helped her. Kirill and Maria. We are very grateful to them. In Melitopol, Orthodox Christians love and know the saint. Cyril and Mary, etc. Sergius, they are healed with oil from their relics, they treat sore spots with holy water, they order prayer services for them, and I happily bring oil to my friends, St. water from your monastery. I bow to you to the ground.
One of the letters about healing ends with the following words of gratitude: “Wonderful are Your works, Lord! God is marvelous in His saints! Glory, honor and praise to the holy saints of God, St. Cyril and Mary, to our wonderful free doctors and miracle workers. I turn to them constantly in the circle of my everyday life, both big and small, and I always feel their help, intercession, and guidance. And it becomes so fused with your life that you simply begin to take it all for granted, you feel like a child, a part of one big family, headed by the saint’s parents. Sergius, and therefore our spiritual parents – Reverends Kirill and Maria.”
Many other miracles are being performed these days related to the name of Saints Cyril and Mary, the Wonderworkers of Radonezh. So to this day, fervent prayer offered at their holy relics receives a quick answer, and whoever turns with faith to these wondrous saints of God will undoubtedly receive heavenly help from them.
Rejoice, Saints Cyril and Mary, zealous prayer books for us before God!
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Prayer to St. Cyril and Mary, parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh
To the servant of God, according to the scheme of the monk Cyril and according to the scheme of the monk Mary! Hear our humble prayer. Even if your temporary life died naturally, but you do not turn away from us in spirit, always, at the command of the Lord, accompany us, teaching and patiently bearing your cross to help us. Here, together with our reverend and bearer of God the Father Sergio, your beloved son, insolence towards God Christ and His Most Pure Mother became natural. In the same way, now be prayer books and intercessors for us, unworthy servants of God (names). Wake up the intercessors of the fortress, so that we live by faith, we are saved from your intercession, we do not suffer from demons and evil people glorifying the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
Mother of the little saint
In May 1314, Maria of Radonezh happily gave birth to her third son. After 40 days, his parents took him to church to be baptized. And the priest named the baby Bartholomew. And not only because on that day (June 11) the Church honored the memory of a saint with that name. "Bartholomew" means "Son of Consolation" (Joy). The priest also felt that this baby would serve as a comforter not only for his parents, but also for many other Christians. He predicted to the parents: “Rejoice, rejoice, for this is God’s chosen vessel, the abode of the Holy Spirit and the servant of the Trinity.”
Little Bartholomew, accustomed to fasting in the womb, did not want to give it up. The rich noblewoman wanted to give the child, like her first two sons, to a wet nurse. But the baby did not want to take the breast. Then Maria began to feed her son herself. And as she noticed, on Wednesdays and Fridays, the baby refused to suck milk, and on other days he drank it. Wanting to make her son's food more nutritious, Maria began to eat meat. But little Bartholomew immediately refused to take the breast. Because of him, the mother completely gave up meat.
We advise you to study the Prayers to Sergius and Herman of Valaam
Prayer for the granting of Christian marriage
Prayer to monks Cyril and Mary of Radonezh will help you find family happiness and prosperity. Girls use this prayer when they ask the Lord to send them a spouse.
Blessed Twin, truly the land of Russian ornament Saints St. Cyril and the Blessed Virgin Mary; image of Christian marriage, Lord is your glorious life; gloriously, they naturally went through difficult years for the earth and our people, and all the pains and temptations of this world became one flesh by nature - therefore, for the love of the Lord, glorify you and your marriage. I, too, humbly pray to you, teaching before your holy image: Pray to the Lord, send me a Christian spouse in a hedgehog. Dress as if there is nothing good for one person: the Lord will straighten my paths. She burns before God, our intercessor, asking me for humility, meekness and Christian reason. Help me cleanse my heart of passions. You are a teacher and image of pure life in the perfection of nature and an intercessor for us, according to Bose, forever and ever. Amen.
