Remembrance Day of Xenia of St. Petersburg: when is it celebrated, how is it celebrated, what do we pray for

Brief life of St. Ksenia of Petersburg

Xenia the Blessed was born, presumably, in the first quarter of the 18th century, into a noble family. In her youth, the saint married Andrei Fedorovich Petrov - according to legend, he was a court singer. The couple lived on modern Lakhtinskaya Street. Ksenia of Petersburg entered the path of foolishness at the age of 26, after the early death of her husband. The saint asked to be called by the name of her late husband and wore his clothes.

During her lifetime, the blessed one predicted the future, healed with words, consoled and performed good deeds, and helped build a temple at the Smolensk cemetery. She often visited the homes of St. Petersburg residents, gave good advice, tried to help as best she could, her visit always brought prosperity to the house. The saint supposedly reposed at the age of 71 and was buried in the above-mentioned cemetery. More than half a century later, a chapel was erected over her grave, and even later, a chapel was rebuilt.

Good deeds

Having begun a spiritual and ascetic feat, the young widow spent days wandering the streets of her native city, meekly enduring bodily hardships, forgiving people’s humiliation and ridicule.
In any weather, at night she went to the field, where she sincerely prayed on her knees until dawn. Prayer of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg

When the construction of a church began at the Smolensk cemetery, the woman began to carry bricks upstairs at night, wanting to serve a charitable cause in secret. The builders discovered that someone was making their work easier, followed and saw that their volunteer assistant was Blessed Ksenia. The residents also noticed that, hiding her virtue, she weeded the beds in their gardens. And over time, many began to see in her not a beggar devoid of intelligence, but an unusual person who took upon herself the feat of foolishness.

Icon of Xenia of St. Petersburg

After several years of asceticism, the husband’s uniform wore out, and kind people offered her new items of clothing. She usually refused, but in memory of the colors of her beloved's uniform, she sometimes agreed to accept red or green clothes. She also refrained from giving large sums of money, only occasionally taking pennies to immediately give them to the poor and weak.

Traditions on the Day of Remembrance of Blessed Xenia

This day is associated primarily with pilgrimages to the saint’s grave. Believers line up in long lines on February 6 at the doors of the chapel erected on the resting place of the Blessed Xenia. On Memorial Day, festive services are held here, as well as in other churches and monasteries dedicated to the saint. Those who do not have the opportunity to go to the chapel light a candle in front of the icon of the saint.

Admirers of Xenia of St. Petersburg dedicate the holiday to good deeds, visiting sick loved ones, consolation and support. The saint dedicated her life to serving those in need - therefore, on the day of her honor, people engage not only in ordinary charity, but also in spiritual support of those who need attention and consolation. On this day it is forbidden to swear, quarrel, indulge in grievances and dark thoughts - you need to try to maintain peace and goodwill towards others in your soul.

Hiding holiness

Holy fool, blessed one do not mean contempt, they are not a disdainful nickname. People know that such a lifestyle and behavior is assumed by saints who hide their holiness.

They deliberately speak indistinctly, as if they are crazy. Honest and decent people understand what they are talking about. Most often - a prediction or instructions for action.

Heavenly intercessors. Artist Natalya Klimova.

As you know, Ksyusha did not live long with her beloved husband. As a widower, having distributed all her property to friends and the poor, she spent 45 years walking around the city and its surroundings.

During her lifetime, the people understood that the Blessed One was a saint. They tried to treat us to something, invited us to visit, sellers vying with each other to offer something to try, and cab drivers to give us a ride.

Everyone knew from experience that then the day would be successful, the patient would quickly recover, things that were going askew would get better.

What do they pray to Blessed Xenia for?

Mostly women pray to Xenia of St. Petersburg. The saint, who carried love throughout her life, is asked for family happiness and well-being, relief from loneliness, healing from infertility and health for loved ones. Those who have experienced grief look to the holy fool for fortitude, willpower and patience in order to endure all life's trials and find peace in the soul. The saint prays for children, parents, spouses and other relatives.

Notes for Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg

Notes from Xenia the Blessed are thrown into a special box at the gates of the chapel at the Smolensk cemetery. You can ask the holy fool for everything that is really important - of course, with the exception of material goods. When writing a note, it is not necessary to use complex Old Church Slavonic verbal formulas, but the name of the saint is written according to the church - Ksenia of Petersburg. The note must end with the word “Amen”; you can also add your name at the end. The main thing is to sincerely believe in the power of the blessed one and turn to her with sincerity and spiritual purity.

Prayer of Ksenia of Petersburg for marriage

O all-merciful mother, all-blessed intercessor Ksenia! Hear my prayer and convey it to the Mother of God, Jesus and the Lord God, do not abandon my request, do not forget me, the humble servant of God (name). Like a fragrant, unfading flower, we glorify you and pray to you for happiness in earthly life. Before your image, before your burial place, I swear that I (name) will be an honest and faithful wife, that I will be humble and submissive, that I will be pious and good-natured. Ask for me, tell the Mother of God about my misfortunes, present me before your holy prayers and my requests. Grant me family love and a quick marriage, and put an end to my heartache. Let us live serenely and fearing God, in love and harmony, and let us honor the Lord. Don’t leave us, we will send our hope and hope and thanksgiving to you until the end of our days. Amen.

Prayer for the children of Blessed Xenia

This prayer is read when there are no children and a person wants to ask the Lord to give him the opportunity to experience parental happiness.

Prayer of Ksenia of St. Petersburg for help

O holy servant of God, blessed Ksenia! Look mercifully with your eye on us, servant of God (names), tenderly praying to your honorable icon and asking you for help and intercession. Extend your warm prayers to the Lord our God and ask for forgiveness of sins for our souls. Behold, with a contrite heart and a humble spirit, we call on you to be a merciful intercessor to the Lady and a prayer book for us sinners, as if you have received from Him the grace to pray for us and deliver us from troubles. We therefore ask you, do not despise us, unworthy, who pray to you and demand your help, and intercede for everyone everything that is useful for salvation, for by your prayers to the Lord God, having received grace and mercy, we will glorify all the good Source and Gift-Giver and the One God, glorified in the Trinity of Saints. Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer to Ksenyushka for love

Holy Blessed Xenia of Petersburg. Have mercy and send humility into my soul, reject the grave sin of impatience. Forgive me if I gain a lot and see people off in envy. Give me the love I deserve, let my husband become a devoted friend. And in bad quarrels, everything will get better, the mutual feeling will remain. We will withstand all the tests, but we were not punished. So that the children do not suffer for us, we call on prayer more often. Thy will be done. Amen.

Prayer of Blessed Xenia for health

Pray for us, Saint Xenia

Estimated reading time: 7 min.

Archpriest Alexander AGEYKIN

How time flies uncontrollably, rapidly turning over the pages of the calendar, polishing stones, mercilessly changing cities and countries, not to mention human consciousness and its attitude to what is happening around. Just recently, the city on the Neva for many of us was the city of white nights and the cradle of the revolution. White nights still attract thousands of tourists to this city, but most young people coming to the Northern capital will no longer remember about the cradle of the revolution, but almost all of them will look for the beaten path to the Smolensk cemetery - to Blessed Xenia. To be in St. Petersburg and not visit St. Ksenia, not to light a candle at her tomb and not to manage to place a note with a cherished wish in some free crack on the facade of the chapel? No, that’s not accepted today.

After all, St. Petersburg today is not only a city of white nights, canals and majestic cathedrals, but it is also the city of St. Xenia. So my wife and I once walked along this path to the tombstone of the blessed one, and now in our family there is already a completely grown-up girl called by the same name and offering her adolescent prayers to her heavenly patroness.

Once St. David cried out to God: “Lord, ...what is man, that You are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You visit him?” (Ps. 8:5). Why do people prefer to forget the names of some people, put on banners and slogans, forcibly driven into heads and minds, like a bad dream, while the names of others, despite all the prohibitions and threats, are pronounced with reverence and reverently kept in their hearts? What did this St. Petersburg woman do in her life, who spent 45 years walking in dirty red and green rags along the streets of the city of St. Petra, who collected pennies on the porches and haystacks of the capital city and, like a priceless treasure, received from people “annoyance and reproach, beating and puffing”? Why is her “madness” rewarded by God’s grace, while we, so talented and purposeful, remain unheard by Him? Maybe in order to shame our self-exaltation, to stop our mad rush for comfort and prosperity, so that we, at least for a moment, think about the main thing, about what we live for and what we strive for?

All her talk about prayer and good deeds, about generous alms and charity for the needy, for the sake of the memory of her suddenly deceased husband and the salvation of his soul, was perceived by “enlightened” relatives and friends as a whim and a temporary clouding of reason from grief. Ksenia Grigorievna realized that no one would allow her to do all this if she did not put on real madness for the sake of Christ, for the sake of saving her love. When Andrei Fedorovich was taken to the cemetery, the grief-stricken wife put on his clothes: a camisole, a caftan, trousers and a cap, and in this form went to see off the coffin of her deceased husband. Seeing that her imaginary madness evoked only pity and empathy among relatives and friends, without causing obvious opposition, the new blessed one became firm in her decision to renounce not only all her acquired property, but even her own mind, in order to save many believers through the violence of her preaching ( 1 Cor. 1:21), and first of all, her errant husband, who died without repentance. Have we ever thought, when we came to the saint today with our requests and prayers, what was the meaning of her spiritual feat? Why, in the “golden age of enlightenment,” as the 18th century is often called, did she undertake the feat of voluntary madness? Do we see in this a lesson for ourselves in marital fidelity and love rewarded by God?

Painting by Alexander Prostev

Few people, reading the life of St. Ksenia, sees behind these lines the real tragedy of human life, similar to many modern destinies, and what spiritual effort and fortitude were required from this fragile 26-year-old widow to overcome the consequences of human carelessness. It would seem that everything in life was going very well - an advantageous marriage, a prominent position at the imperial court, his own house in the capital, rank and salary. The life of the court singer Andrei Fedorovich Petrov was fun and carefree - balls and assemblies, clownish extravaganzas and theatrical performances, a beautiful young wife and wonderful prospects. After all, the once court singer and musician Razumovsky managed to become the ruler of destinies and the favorite of the empress. "Soul! you have a lot of goods laid up for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19). Are these the words that came to the mind of a young widow, a parishioner of the Church of St. Apostle Matthias, standing at the tomb of a young and promising courtier, whose life was cut short so suddenly? What's next? A worthy reward for a crazy life lived? After all, this is the only way “it happens to those who store up treasures for themselves, and do not grow rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). “No, let Ksenia die, and Andrei Fedorovich start a new life. Let me perish in the eyes of people, but I will snatch my beloved husband from these tenacious hands of spiritual death, from the clutches of sin and the father of lies and delusions,” a saving thought flashed through Ksenia’s head. After all, the Apostle Paul once said: “Why do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or do you, husband, why do you know if you won’t save your wife?” (1 Cor. 7:16).

This image of Saint Blessed Xenia was made from a lifetime drawing that belonged to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. Source – website of the publishing house “Russian Pilgrim”.

Surprisingly, in Rus' it was the feat of foolishness for the sake of Christ that became the most popular, truly national form of asceticism, which made it possible to resist human pride, ridicule vices, and conquer passions.

No matter how strange it may seem, this spiritual feat serves the world as a kind of sermon, which is performed not in word or deed, but by the power of the Spirit, acting under the guise of madness and manifesting itself in insight. It is no coincidence that all the holy fools possessed the prophetic gift and lived, practically, already in two dimensions, in the visible and invisible world, being already here citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, receiving, as a reward for the rejection of human reason, the gifts of the Holy Spirit - the insight of spiritual eyes, penetration into the higher meaning and power over the matter of one’s own flesh.

Since then, for 45 years, on the streets of the St. Petersburg side one could meet Blessed Xenia, dressed in her husband’s court camisole and calling herself Andrei Fedorovich. She humbly endured ridicule and abuse, the mockery of children and the mockery of unreasonable townsfolk, until people noticed in this “crazy” townswoman the clear effect of God’s grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Then everyone already sought to serve the blessed one, so that he himself could become a participant in this divine grace poured out on her. The townspeople began to feel sorry for Xenia, to value her goodwill - they spoke to her kindly, treated her, and gave her alms. But even in this she showed a certain strangeness, accepting only the “tsar on horseback” - a penny on which the Great Martyr was minted. St. George the Victorious, slaying the dragon, just as she strove to defeat the enemy of the human race, shaming pride and pride with her voluntary madness. Was it not from these stories about blessed Xenia that Alexander Sergeevich drew his inspiration, putting into the mouth of his Fool: “Give, give, give a penny”?

At the same time as blessed Xenia, who acted like a fool on the streets of the capital city, in the imperial palace and in the royal military service, another hero of the spirit, Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov, was saved by imaginary foolishness from human malice and envy. Whether they met blessed Ksenia on the streets of St. Petersburg, history is silent, but there is no doubt that both of them received consolation and gracious help from Christ the Savior. The blessed woman's earthly life was coming to an end. Her spiritual feat was fulfilled, many people offered up their prayers for poor Andrei Fedorovich, and future generations were already reminded of this by the name of the street where the Petrovs once lived, because thanks to the blessed ascetic, this street was now named after Andrei Petrov and everyone was ready tell strangers about the miracles that once took place here. Saint Xenia departed to the Lord at the very beginning of the 19th century. It is believed that she died around 1803. The saint of God was buried in the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg, where at one time, through secret night vigils and labors, she helped build a church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God, called Smolenskaya, and at the beginning of the 20th century, a small chapel was erected over her grave, which has not dried up for more than two centuries a stream of believers seeking to fulfill the holy covenant that was inscribed on her tombstone: “Whoever knew me, let him remember my soul for the salvation of his soul.” Today, more than 50 churches and chapels have been erected throughout the entire face of the Christian world, consecrated in honor of the holy ascetic and prayer book for the human race!

FROM THE EDITOR:

Prayer of Blessed Xenia for help

Gift of Grace

When the Lord tested her love and humility, he gifted her with the ability of pure prayer, insight and miracles.
Traders at the markets noticed that if she agreed to dine with them or take gifts, a large number of buyers and good income were sure to await them. They began to invite her over and treat her. The day was always successful for the cab drivers who brought the blessed one. They also vied with each other to try to serve her. When the holy fool entered the house, peace and harmony reigned in it. Seeing the selfless wanderer, mothers with small children hurried to her, because her blessing alone could cure ailments.

Evidence of the miracle of Xenia of Petersburg

People's memory has also preserved many cases of the foresight of the St. Petersburg holy woman. For example, she predicted the hour of death of the autocrat of All-Russia Elizaveta Petrovna, and one day she came to the mistress of her former house and ordered her to hurry to the cemetery, where God had sent her a son. The woman was surprised, but obeyed and saw an unfortunate pregnant woman knocked to death by a passing carriage, who had managed to give birth to a child before her death. She adopted the baby and all her life she thanked God and Ksenia for such a gift.

Another time, the saint of God helped a modest unmarried beauty meet her betrothed - she sent her to the cemetery, informing her that her future husband was burying his deceased wife there. The girl went, found a young man who had fainted from the untimely loss of a loved one, and provided him with all possible help. They met, soon fell in love, and a year later they got married.

The path of foolishness

Thus began a difficult, God-given Ksenia’s journey of foolishness. “The madness of the world has been exposed by imaginary madness,” is sung in the troparion of St. Xenia the Blessed. Thus, having taken upon herself the feat of madness, the renunciation of all blessings, of herself, of reason, Blessed Xenia begged God to have mercy on her husband and not to deprive him of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ksenia’s relatives tried to stop the widow’s “crazy” actions. Distributing property seemed blasphemous to them. There is information that a doctor examined the unfortunate woman, but did not find any abnormalities in her. The woman is healthy, they say, and does not need treatment. This means she can do whatever she pleases.

It’s hard to imagine, but at any time of the year, day or night, Blessed Ksenia in men’s clothing wandered through the streets of St. Petersburg. I ate what good people served. She endured ridicule and bullying. The evil boys were especially zealous in mocking the holy fool. They called me names and threw stones at me. After all, for them she was like a scarecrow in tattered clothes and sometimes uttering unintelligible words.

Where Ksenia lived, where she slept, ate, no one knew. She appeared as if from nowhere and went into nowhere. Once the owner of a small trading store noticed that on the days when Ksenia came to him for alms, the proceeds were much greater than usual. Other merchants began to notice the same thing, and began to invite her to their place every time they met her on the street.

PRAYER OF XENIA OF PETERSBURG

O holy blessed mother Ksenia! Living under the shelter of the Most High, guided and strengthened by the Mother of God, she endured hunger and thirst, cold and heat, reproach and persecution, and received the gift of insight and miracles from God and rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 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 alive and present with us, we pray to you: accept our petitions and bring them to the Throne of the Merciful Father in Heaven, as if she has confidence in Him. Grant eternal salvation to those who flow to you, our generous blessing for good deeds and undertakings, and deliverance from all troubles and sorrows. Present your holy prayers before our All-Merciful Savior for us, unworthy and sinners. Help, holy blessed mother Ksenia, illuminate the babies with the light of holy baptism and seal the gift of the Holy Spirit, boys and girls in faith, honesty, fear of God educate them and grant them success in learning; the sick and ailing were healed, love and harmony were sent down to the family; protect those who walk in good deeds with dignity and from reproach, establish the shepherds in the strength of the Holy Spirit, preserve our people and country in peace and serenity, about those deprived of the Holy Spirit in the hour of death pray for the Holy Mysteries of Christ. You are our hope and hope, quick hearing and deliverance, we give thanks to you and with you we glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.