Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”

A miracle in the wilderness of Pereyaslavl forests

On the edge of the Yaroslavl region, 15 kilometers from the village of Petrovsk, located on the Moscow-Yaroslavl highway, in the semi-abandoned village of Godenovo, a beautiful stone temple rises on a hillock. This temple belongs to the courtyard of the women's Pereslavl Monastery. It contains great Orthodox shrines - the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, which appeared from heaven, and the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Getting to Godenovo by public transport is extremely difficult. First you need to take an intercity bus from Moscow towards Yaroslavl. Then, before reaching the final stop, disembark in Petrovsk and catch a local bus, which runs only three times a day. And even then, sometimes flights are cancelled. But the one who, by the grace of God, nevertheless reaches this holy place, is immersed in boundless grace and thanks God for such revealed mercy.

The history of the miraculous appearance of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord

The appearance of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord was like this: to some shepherds in a field near a swamp, which used to be on the site of the temple, an indescribable light appeared from the Greek side, pouring out from heaven to earth. This light was established over the swamp. The shepherds were fired up with a pious desire to see what kind of miracle the Lord was showing them in order to preach the glory of God to people. The shepherds followed the indescribable light flowing from the Cross, and not without difficulty they reached the place where the shrine appeared. There, in the rays of this light, they saw the Life-Giving Cross with the image of the Crucifixion of the Lord, and in front of it - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with the Holy Gospel. The shepherds fell to the ground out of fear, but they were strengthened by the power of God, and the astonished shepherds heard a Voice that told them that the grace of God would rest in this place and a holy temple would be built. And everyone who comes with faith and prays at this place, for the sake of the prayers of St. Nicholas, will receive what they ask for. This should have been told to all people.

The news of the miraculous appearance of the Miraculous Crucifixion reached the ruling Bishop in Rostov, and he blessed the construction of the church. However, they began to build not on the very site of the appearance of the shrine, but to the side, because the Cross appeared over a marshy swamp, where it was impossible to carry out construction work. On the first day, three crowns of the church were erected.

However, the next morning the building was not in its place. The puzzled builders looked in amazement at the empty place, until one of them noticed an unusual glow in the distance. Following this radiance, the workers saw a church foundation standing right in the middle of the swamp. In the middle of the foundation, the Miraculous Cross appeared to them for the second time. The voice commanded to build a temple on this very spot.

That same night, a strong stream formed in the middle of the swamp, which carried away all the unclean water. A hill came to the surface, on which a church was built, which the Bishop himself came to consecrate. The miraculous Cross of the Lord remained standing in the middle of the church, revealed just as miraculously as the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

Many miracles were revealed from the Miraculous Cross of the Lord, which were recorded by the priests of the church, but these records were lost during a strong fire that destroyed the first building. It is noteworthy that the Holy Cross did not deign to be removed from the temple: when people tried to take it out of the room engulfed in fire, the Cross seemed to be rooted to the floor. After futile attempts, in fear and horror, the villagers barely managed to jump out of the burning temple alive. Everyone watched in horror as the flames destroyed the temple, in which the Miraculous Cross remained...

But after the fire, great consolation awaited them: raking out the ashes, people found the Cross safe and sound: their joy knew no bounds. On this occasion, a prayer service was served and there were many healings.

The fate of the shrine during the revolution

Several centuries have passed since the construction of the new Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the site of the one that burned down. The fame of miracles and healings from the Life-giving Cross of the Lord spread far beyond the borders of the Yaroslavl province. Many people came to the Holy Cross for God's help and healing.

In 1917, after the October Revolution, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, like many shrines of our Fatherland, was destroyed by the communists. But the Cross of the Lord miraculously survived and was transferred to the Church of St. John Chrysostom, which is located several kilometers from the place of the appearance of the Cross.

The new authorities tried with all their might to erase from the memory of the people the amazing legend of the appearance of the miraculous Crucifixion. And indeed, for some time they forgot about the Life-Giving Cross. Rather, they were forced to forget outwardly - by force and brutal repression. However, even the very presence of the shrine, which had become almost abandoned in the wilderness of the Yaroslavl region and not as revered as in the old days, did not give rest to the atheists - they decided to destroy the Life-Giving Cross.

But the sign of God cannot be put to shame!

Old-timers tell how several activists gathered to take the holy Crucifix out of the temple to burn it on the street. But the Cross seemed to be filled with lead, as when they tried to take it out of the fire. No matter how hard they tried, the atheists could not even move him from his place. (Although these days two fragile nuns can easily lift the True Cross).

Frustrated atheists, never brought to their senses by the miraculous phenomenon that took place before their eyes, in a rage began to saw through the holy Crucifixion in order to pull it out of the temple piece by piece. But the teeth of the saw encountered an inexplicably hard material and broke, as if the Cross had been carved not from wood, but from stone. As evidence of these events, a shallow saw mark remained on the hand of the image of the Crucified Lord for the edification and admonition of all those who doubt the power of God.

Having done nothing, the activists were about to leave with nothing. But then the atheist who was watching them, annoyed that two strong men could not saw the Crucifixion out of linden wood, grabbed an ax and, shouting that he believed only in his own strength, chopped at the Savior’s foot. A small piece of the shrine's little finger fell to the floor. The God-fighter triumphed: he defeated the power of God!

Years passed, passions subsided. According to the stories of fellow villagers, in the 70s, the unfortunate one who “defeated” the Cross, having lived a difficult life, died. He died from blood poisoning, which affected the very little finger on his leg that he cut off 50 years ago in the image of the crucified Christ.

This incident remained in the people's memory and was passed on from mouth to mouth as proof of the manifestation of the miraculous power and justice of God. The times of obscurantism and atheism are a thing of the past, and the temple, where the miraculous Crucifixion was preserved, came to life. In 1997, it became the courtyard of the St. Nicholas Convent in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. In an amazing way, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of the monastery, again returned to protect the shrine: the miraculous cross of Christ. Nuns constantly live near the temple, located in the village of Godenovo.

To the best of their ability, patience and love, with the help of God, they maintain the interior of the temple in order and every day they read an akathist to the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord before the miraculous Crucifixion. The sisters say that those pilgrims who learned about the Cross and managed to reach such a remote place receive extraordinary grace, real help in life circumstances and healing from a variety of diseases and ailments. The nuns of the Compound have repeatedly seen how the power of the Life-Giving Cross healed those possessed by demons, who cannot always be recognized at first sight. So great is the power and authority of the Lord sent to people through the Holy Crucifixion - saving, healing and merciful.

Miracles of the Life-Giving Cross of Our Time

The miracle of healing a hopeless cancer patient

Paraskeva Moroz, 60 years old, from Ukraine, from the city of Khmelnitsky, was admitted to an oncology clinic in a hopeless condition: she did not walk, did not eat, and lost a lot of weight. Chemotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy again, disability: pain, medications, IVs and a feeling of the meaninglessness of all this, because there were metastases throughout the peritoneum and on all internal organs. Paraskeva, as a believer, of course, prayed for recovery, although more than once the thought flashed through her mind: is it worth fighting? It's the end anyway. And then one day a letter arrives from a friend from the city of Tutaev, whom they had not seen for fifteen years, with an invitation to come visit. For some reason, Paraskeva really wanted to see her and set off on a long journey; the children gave money for the trip. On the very first day of her arrival, a friend - also a believer - suggested that Paraskeva go to Godenovo to the Life-Giving Cross. After the long journey, Paraskeva felt very bad, and agreed only because she did not want to offend her friend. The grace of the great shrine had a calming effect on the soul. Paraskeva stood at the Cross for a long time; she did not want to leave this temple. But everything that was happening was like a fog for her - her health worsened, her temperature rose. She returned to Ukraine completely ill and on the second day she was hospitalized with severe bleeding. The month spent in the hospital yielded little, and Paraskeva asked to go home. All this time she was reading a brochure about the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, asking for help, even sleeping with this book. At home, Paraskeva also suffered constantly; she could not walk more than 20 meters. But the Life-Giving Cross was with her and strengthened her. And one morning Paraskeva felt completely healthy. There is lightness throughout the body, and joy in the soul. I thought it was an accident, but the next day, and the day after, this condition did not go away. Paraskeva understood: her miraculous healing was the power of the Life-giving Cross. In a letter to the sisters of the St. Nicholas Monastery, she writes: “I am healthy! And I don’t know what words to find, how to thank the Lord God! For almost a month I have been living a normal life: without pain, doctors and medications. I go wherever I want, communicate with people, enjoy life. And I thank, thank, thank the Lord God, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord for my miraculous healing!”

Miracle of healing from mental illness

A pilgrim from Pereslavl-Zalessky, Igor, a doctor by profession, said the following: “Whenever possible, I try to visit the Crucifixion of Our Lord Not Made by Hands. Once my story about this amazing shrine was heard by the disabled Alexander, who suffered from severe mental illness, accompanied by frightening hallucinations. He began to persistently ask me to take him to the Cross. I asked him if he believed in God and why he didn’t wear a pectoral cross. Alexander replied that he believed in God and that all his hope was in Christ. But he doesn’t wear a cross because he doesn’t have enough strength for it - it’s too heavy. After Alexander venerated the Savior’s Crucifixion, he said that he could now put on a pectoral cross. And after receiving the Holy Mysteries, he said that he felt much better. Since then he has been wearing the cross without taking it off. Hallucinations began to appear much less frequently and ceased to be frightening. His general condition and mood have improved significantly, and he constantly asks to be taken to the Miraculous Cross.

Wonderful help in business

Andrei Volzhintsev from Rostov the Great came to the Life-Giving Cross to ask for help: all his affairs were going badly, nothing worked, no matter what he took on, everything “fell out of hand.” After praying at the Cross of the Lord, everything began to improve, even things turned out that I had not hoped for. Peace and faith in the best settled in my soul. A month later, Andrei came to the Life-Giving Cross to thank the Lord.

The miracle of defeating demons

Pilgrims arrived from the Ivanovo region: two priests and three women with them. Two of them were possessed by a demon: they barked like a dog and crowed like a rooster. One couldn’t even approach the Cross—she kept jumping back. She shouted in a hoarse, rough voice: “There is a big shrine here. And you don’t need to go to Jerusalem. The Lord is here, here! I used to be a bright angel, but I became proud, fell from heaven, and now I’m crowing like a rooster.”

Miracle of healing from serious injury

Margarita from Moscow was a teacher at school. Something bad happened to her: two years ago she was hit by a car and received a severe head injury with complications, after which she remained disabled. Relatives considered her abnormal, her husband left, and she was left alone with her illness. It was with great difficulty that I got to the church - my legs were very weak, my speech was severely impaired - out of five words I could only understand one or two. She had no use of her right hand. She didn't want to live. With great difficulty, she got ready and went to the Life-Giving Cross. In the Church of St. John Chrysostom, where the Miraculous Cross is located, St. Nicholas apparently appeared to her. She herself later said that an old gray-haired priest came up to her, took her to a room and told her everything that had happened to her, gave life instructions and told her how many times she needed to come to the Cross. It is known that there was no priest in the temple at that time, and she herself was constantly in sight of everyone. After consulting with the priest of the temple, we came to the conclusion that St. Nicholas himself, the patron saint of those places, appeared to the sick woman. When she left the temple, we saw that her right arm was moving, she began to walk well, even quickly, and her speech was almost completely restored. Her mood was peaceful and joyful. The healing took place before people's eyes.

Miracle of Healing from Dumbness

Pilgrims from Bryansk testified that sick Natalia, who had not spoken since she was three years old and had the first group of disability, prayed with them in the group at the Life-Giving Cross. On the way back to Bryansk, Natalia began to utter her first words: “Mom! Where's mom? Dad cured me. Let's go back! Every day she spoke better and better. And all the witnesses of this miracle thank the Lord!

Miraculous deliverance from evil

Oksana Kalinina from Tutaev came to the Life-Giving Cross with a prayer that the Lord would take away from her the man with whom she had lived in a civil marriage for three years and could not part. After praying at the shrine for a month, everything was resolved, Oksana was freed from this burden.

Rejoice, Honest Cross, all-joyful sign of our redemption!

Based on materials from the book “The Life-Giving Cross of the Lord in the Church of St. John Chrysostom in the Village of Godenovo”,

website of the Church of St. John Chrysostom in Godenovo godenovo.ru/

website of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the village of Kostino https://hramvkostino.ru/

LAYING ON OF HANDS

The second way to heal the sick is through the laying on of hands.
This method is described in Mark 16:17-18: And these signs will follow those who believe... they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
This applies to all believers: all believers should lay hands on the sick, and they will be healed.
One day, a close friend invited me to her place for lunch. It turned out she had arthritis and she asked me to lay my hands on her and pray for healing. This request came as a complete surprise to me, since this friend, whose husband is a Baptist pastor, did not believe in healing. She said exactly that: “I don’t believe in healing, but you do, so lay your hands on me, pray, and I will be healed!”

And she received healing that day!
When a friend went to the doctor to tell about her healing, he didn’t believe it and said that you can’t just heal from arthritis. But after a blood test, he admitted that a miracle had happened, because even the composition of her blood had changed!
In the Old Testament, God promises His people that He will be a healer for them (in Hebrew, Jehovah-Rapha, Exodus 15:26). But Jesus is not just our Healer - He is our
HEALTH!
Don't think that you will get worse and worse as you get older - that's not biblical! Scripture says that the righteous

“And in old age they are fruitful, succulent and fresh, to proclaim that the Lord is righteous, my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Psalm 91:15-16).

The laying on of hands as a method of healing is of a type that can be called “transmission,” where God’s healing power—God’s anointing—is transferred from someone to someone in one way or another. Acts 19:11-12 describes an instance of healing power being transmitted through objects:

God worked many miracles with the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs and aprons from his body were placed on the sick, and their illnesses ceased, and evil spirits came out of them

The transfer of healing can occur through objects that have been prayed for in faith.

There was a time when I put a handkerchief under the pillow of my daughter who had departed from God, for which I prayed. And now my daughter is fine and she is on fire for God.

My father was in a mental hospital, and the doctors gave no hope for his recovery. One day my mother attended a similar healing service. She kept the handkerchief she used to pray and wipe away tears at that service and pinned it to her husband's pajamas. And a year later he left the hospital completely healthy!

The anointing transmitted in this way - through objects - also destroys burdens, breaks the chains of slavery and sets the tortured free!

We remember that healing is the children's bread, so when we pray for things and then lay them on sick people to heal them, we are sharing that “bread” with others!