One of the most revered saints, Blessed Matrona of Anemnyasevo, is known not only in Moscow, where her relics rest, but also far beyond the borders of Russia.
The heavy cross that the great martyr bore throughout her life did not harden the young heart or shake her deep faith in the Lord. Bedridden, unable to see, she healed illnesses of any severity, helped people who had gone astray find the strength to start a new life, and gave wise advice to everyone who needed it.
Biography of Matrona
Matresha was born on November 6, 1864 in the village of Anemnyasevo, Ryazan province, into a large family - six girls, three of whom died in childhood, and two boys.
Family
The parents were extremely poor people and, to some extent, underdeveloped: the head of the family found solace in vodka, while the wife was famous for her cruel and violent character.
The path of a martyr for Matronushka began in early childhood, when the still quite foolish child was desperately beaten and insulted by her own parents, who disliked their daughter from the moment of her birth.
Disease and blindness
Despite a life full of hardships and the hostile attitude of her relatives, the girl grew up active and inquisitive, and eagerly took part in children's fun. However, at the age of seven she fell ill with smallpox, after which, without receiving proper treatment, she became blind.
Vision of the Queen of Heaven
As the eldest (she was the fourth child), Matrona was obliged to look after her sisters and brothers, nurse them and feed them. For a blind baby, such a task was beyond her strength: ten-year-old Matryosha could not hold her little sister in her arms and dropped her to the ground. The misfortune was witnessed by the mother, who did not miss the opportunity to take it out on her unloved daughter. During the reprisal, the Queen of Heaven appeared before the child, which the girl told her mother about. Nevertheless, the blows rained down even harder. This happened three times. During the last vision, the Most Holy Theotokos gave the sufferer a consoling note. Matrona never shared what the message contained.
Disability and helplessness
After the incident, the crippled child was no longer able to get up from the stove, remaining disabled for life. So Matryosha lay in her parents’ house until she was 17 years old. She was unable to walk, could hardly move her arms, and only had enough strength to roll over from side to side. Disability did not change the attitude of her relatives towards the girl - the humiliation continued.
The only consolation for her was prayer. With the helplessness of her physical body and mental suffering, Matrona’s faith in the Almighty only grew. Until the end of her days, she remained a devout person of strict moral rules, observed all Lents (during which she practically did not eat food), communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ every month, and sang sacred chants.
Finding the Gift of Healing
Fellow villagers knew about the difficult situation in the Belyakov family, treating the newly-minted martyr with trepidation and respect. One day a local peasant came to visit and complained about aching pain in his back. Deciding that only a soul pleasing to God could humbly endure such hardships, he turned to the bedridden with a request to alleviate his condition. Wanting to help, Matryosha put her hand to the patient’s back, after which all the symptoms disappeared, and the man was able to continue working as a sawyer.
From that moment on, news of the gift of healing spread throughout the neighboring villages. Every day the flow of people wanting to see the saint increased. Along with gratitude, the pilgrims brought offerings to the ascetic, which were mainly taken by her father for alcohol and tobacco. What little was left went to a good cause.
Moving
After the death of her parents, the blessed woman’s trials did not end: her brother and sister, who sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the seer, forced her to move in with her nephew Matvey Sergeevich, a kind and God-fearing man. The small building built for Matryosha by grateful residents was subsequently sued by the sister.
Unfortunately, the righteous woman’s hardships did not end in the new house: Matvey Ivanovich had children growing up who were greatly hurt by the ridicule of those around them who mocked the blind cripple. The mockery of society, gripped by the anti-religious Soviet movement, was cruel. But the most painful reaction of all was Matryosha herself, who was worried not about people’s anger, but about the torment of the innocent children living with her under the same roof.
Until the summer, the old woman, as a rule, lay in one of the rooms of the peasant hut in a crib, curtained with a curtain. The dress, donated by one of the visitors, almost completely covered the sick and small body. From the age of ten, the blessed one did not grow (her height was approximately 90 centimeters). In the summer, when it became impossible to breathe in the room, the bed was moved to the entryway, where it remained until winter. No one from the family, with the exception of the nephew himself, paid attention to Matrona, who humbly endured both the piercing wind and the water dripping from the roof. One rainy night, the ascetic’s soaked vestments became completely frozen by morning. Only after this did the sister agree to return the chilled woman to a warm room.
Criminal proceedings
In the summer of 1935, the Belkovsky district branch of the NKVD opened a criminal case against “the priests Pravdolyubov and the sick degenerate Matryona Belyakova” for incitement to anti-Soviet and anti-collective farm activities. The reason for the investigation was the denunciation of one of the residents of the city of Kasimov, who told law enforcement officers about the Pravdolyubov brothers, who compiled the life of the Great Martyr Matrona of Ryazan. During the proceedings, 10 people were arrested and exiled to camps. Citizen Belyakova was also found guilty of influencing the dark masses with her holiness, which significantly delayed the progress of collectivization. The bedridden old woman, declared a “harmful element,” was to be taken first to Ryazan, then to Moscow. A special transport was sent from the capital to pick her up.
They were afraid to touch the blind woman, whose amazing abilities were legendary, when she was detained. While the faulty car was being repaired, the chairman of the local village council entered the hut and carried out the order. Already at the door, holding the fragile Matryona in his arms, he noted her lightness, to which the saint replied: “And your children will be so light.” These words turned out to be prophetic: the chairman’s children stopped growing since the arrest of the sufferer. The man himself died long and painfully: his screams could be heard throughout the area. Before his death, he repented of his sins and prayed fervently, after which he departed in peace, blessed by the Church.
Helping people and healing illnesses
During her life, Matronushka helped thousands of people, healing illnesses of the body and alleviating mental torment. Open and spontaneous, like a child, the nun listened carefully to every request, delving deeply into the essence of the problem that worried the visitor. Not everyone was ready to hear about their sins and vices, but those who returned with repentance received parting words and advice from the blessed one. There are also known facts of recovery of people in whose treatment official medicine was powerless.
last years of life
Very little is known about Matrona’s stay in the capital and the last years of her life.
Presumably, she was in the Butyrka prison for about a year, which contributed to the growth of religious upsurge among the prisoners, who sacredly honored the blessed one, performing akathists and praying. They didn’t risk killing or exiling a problematic prisoner, so she was declared mentally ill and sent for compulsory treatment.
According to other sources, Matresha granted healing to the investigator’s hopelessly ill mother, after which he was able to place the prisoner in one of the hospitals as a dying woman.
According to official data, Matrona Belyakova died of heart failure on July 16, 1936 at the age of 71.
Gift of Healing
As her weakness increased, so did the spiritual state of the girl, who at the age of 17 was famous in the area for her piety. Observing all fasts, Matrona asked every month to bring a priest to her for confession and Communion.
The sick girl learned about her gift of healing quite by accident. Their neighbor was twisted by radiculitis, so much so that he could not straighten up. Knowing about the holiness and great faith of Matryosha, who was treated with sympathy in the village, the man came to the weak woman and asked to pray. The girl put her hand on him and asked God for healing, which came instantly.
Soon all the surrounding villages knew about the miraculous gift, the suffering people flocked to the Belyakovs’ house, each carrying some kind of offering, which was taken by relatives.
History of the saint's relics
Matrona Anemnyasevskaya was buried at the Vladykinsky cemetery, which is located in the North-Eastern administrative district of Moscow. In the 70s, due to the construction of a highway, it was decided to move the burials near the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vladykino. The seer's ashes were reburied at the Central Cemetery in Dolgoprudny, where a chapel was later erected in her honor.
Current location
However, for a long time no one knew the exact burial place of the great martyr. Only in the early 2000s, a woman, the granddaughter of priest Boris Kondratiev, who performed the funeral service for the nun in 1936 in the above-mentioned church, approached the head of the Dolgoprudnenskoye cemetery. According to the words of a woman who claimed that her grandfather’s grave is located next to the remains of the saint, it was revealed where the relics of the old woman are located in Moscow.
Miraculous power
Just like 70 years ago, the confessor continues to help those who are suffering, bestowing healing power in response to prayers addressed to her. Thus, the workers of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Troitsky-Golenishchevo, Anatoly and Ioanna, were unable to conceive a child during 8 years of marriage. They sincerely and diligently asked Matronushka to give them a child, and soon a daughter was born into the family. Here, in the Trinity Church in Moscow, the miraculous icon of the martyr is currently located.
Trinity Church parishioner Galina was seriously bothered by pain in her legs, which made it impossible to attend church services. An elderly woman prayed to two blessed Matrons - Ryazan and Moscow. The answer to the prayer was the streaming of myrrh from paper icons of saints, and the pain in my legs completely subsided. This fact, recognized as a miracle, made Galina’s apartment the object of universal attention: many believers came to worship the images exuding fragrant moisture.
The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called “Healer”
Accept, O All-Blessed and All-Powerful Lady Lady Theotokos the Virgin, this sad prayer, brought to You with tears from us, Your unworthy servants, to Your celibate image, sending up the singing with tenderness, as You yourself exist and listen to our prayers and give with faith to those who ask. According to some courage, you fulfilled the request, alleviated sorrows, granted health to the weak, healed the paralytic and sick, drove away demons from demons, delivered the offended from troubles, cleansed lepers and merciful little children, and also to the Lady Lady Theotokos, freeing them from bonds and prisons and all kinds of You heal many different passions: for all things are possible through Your intercession to Your Son Christ our God.
Oh, All-Singing Mother, Most Holy Theotokos! Do not cease to pray for us, Thy unworthy servants, who glorify Thee and honor Thee, and who worship Thy most pure image with tenderness, and who have irrevocable hope and unquestionable faith in Thee, Ever the Most Glorious and Immaculate Virgin, glorifying and honoring Thee and crying out to the ages of ages. Amen.
Miracles of Matrona Anemnyasevskaya
Countless evidence of the righteous woman’s help in a variety of life situations has been made public.
One of Blessed Eugenia’s admirers recalls how in the 90s Matrona Kasimovskaya helped her and her son survive the trial. The man was under investigation, the trial was scheduled for a certain date. A mother's instinct prompted the woman to turn to the martyr for help and visit the temple instead of the trial. At first, the trial itself was postponed several times for unknown reasons; later, the son was finally sentenced, but the prison term turned out to be half as long as expected. After serving his sentence, miracles continued: the freed man not only refused to participate in illegal activities, but also returned to normal life.
According to the rector of the Trinity Church, Sergius Pravdolyubov, many people healed by the power of the miraculous icon bring jewelry made of precious metals, beads, as well as hand-embroidered figurines as a sign of gratitude. In addition, the clergyman recalls the story of his salvation, which happened on Berezhkovskaya embankment. As a result of the emergency situation that arose, the car was supposed to fly off the side of the road into the Moscow River, but after Sergius mentally appealed to Matryosha, the disaster did not happen.
Prayers and troparions of the saint
Prayers and troparion (short church chants) can be performed not only by the rector of the church, but also by parishioners who need the help and support of Matronushka.
A prayer that helps people overcome illnesses and helps strengthen faith in difficult everyday situations.
Prayer for the gift of children during infertility and difficult pregnancies.
Troparion to the Holy Blessed Matrona of Anemnyasevo, tone 8, in which those praying turn to the martyr asking for support.
Venerable Alexander of Svirsky
O sacred head, earthly angel and heavenly man, venerable and God-bearing Father Alexandra, great servant of the Most Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, show many mercies to those living in your holy monastery and to all who flow to you with faith and love. Ask us everything that is useful for this temporary life, and even more necessary for our eternal salvation. Help with your intercession, servant of God, the ruler of our country, Russia. And may the holy Orthodox Church of Christ abide deeply in the world. Be to all of us, miracle-working saint, a quick helper in every sorrow and situation. Most of all, at the hour of our death, the merciful intercessor appears to us, so that we may not be betrayed in the ordeals of the air by the power of the evil ruler of the world, but may we be honored with a stumbling-free ascension into the Kingdom of Heaven. Hey, Father, our dear prayer book! Do not disgrace our hope, do not despise our humble prayers, but always intercede for us before the Throne of the Life-Giving Trinity, so that together with you and with all the saints, even if we are unworthy, we may be worthy to glorify in the villages of paradise the greatness, grace and mercy of the One God in the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
