Life of Saint Matrona of Moscow

Miraculous birth

Matrona of Moscow (Nikonova Matrona Dmitrievna) is a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. She was born on November 10 (22), 1881 in the village of Sebino, located in the Epifansky district of the Tula province (currently this place is located in the Tula region of the Kimovsky district).

The photograph of Blessed Matrona was taken for a passport

Matrona’s mother (Natalya) and father (Dmitry) were ordinary peasants and at the time of the girls’ birth they were no longer young. Their family already had 4 children (2 sons and 2 daughters), so another child seemed an unbearable burden for the parents. That is why the mother, even before birth, decided to leave the child in the orphanage of Prince Golitsyn, which was located in the neighboring settlement of Buchalki.

House in the village of Sebino, Tula region, where Blessed Matronushka was born

However, shortly before the girl was born, Natalya had a dream that seemed prophetic to her. In this dream, a snow-white bird of amazing beauty flew to her and sat on the woman’s chest. The bird was blind - its eyelids were tightly closed. After this incident, Natalya decided to keep the child for herself. The dream, indeed, turned out to be prophetic - the newborn girl turned out to be blind. However, she not only had no vision - she had no eyeballs.

About the book

This book tells the life story of one of the most revered ascetics in our country - Blessed Matrona of Moscow. The book is written in a lively, understandable language for children and schoolchildren.

The book is intended for children 4-6 years old and is perfect for family reading and exciting discussion.

Read online the full version of the book “The Life of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow in a retelling for children” by the author Maria Maksimova on the website of the electronic library MyBook.ru. Download applications for iOS or Android and read “The Life of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow as retold for children” anywhere, even without the Internet.

detailed information

Date written: 2017

Year of publication: 2018

ISBN (EAN): 9785917617930

Date of admission: March 27, 2018

Volume: 19.9 thousand characters

Genres

Childhood of a blind seer

Amazing things began to happen even in infancy. When Matrona was baptized, lowered into a vat of holy water, the priest noticed fragrant smoke rising in a column above the child.

Baptism of the Holy Blessed Matrona

Father was extremely surprised by this phenomenon, because in his entire life he had never seen anything like it. He also added that "The child will be holy." A little later, mother Natalya said that the baby “fasted” on Wednesdays and Fridays, refusing to breastfeed.

The font in which Blessed Matrona received the Sacrament of Baptism

Matrona did not play with other children; on the contrary, they often offended the blind girl, whipped her with nettles and laughed at her, knowing that she still would not recognize the offender. Her toys were icons kept in the “red” corner of the house. Her parents were very pious, they often went to church together and took Matrona with them. When the girl got a little older, she herself came to the temple whenever possible. Here she stood near the front door, listened to sermons and sang along with the church choir.

Youth

Already from the age of 7-8, it became clear that Matrona was endowed with enormous divine power. She could foresee events and heal people.

Matronushka

Rumors about this quickly spread beyond the village and dozens of people in need flocked to the small, poor house of Matrona’s family. People came on foot, came in carts and brought “bedridden” people. The girl’s power was so great that even very sick people walked away from her on their own feet.

Wanting to express their gratitude, they left food and gifts. Thus, from a burden for her family, Matronushka turned into a wet nurse. Her pious friend took Matrona on trips to holy places. So she managed to visit the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and many other places with Orthodox relics.

Once, during a service in St. Andrew's Cathedral, Father John of Kronstadt noticed a 14-year-old girl in the crowd and ordered people to make way for her. He said that Matrona is his replacement, calling her “the eighth pillar of Russia.”

Holy feat

At the age of 8, the girl began to accept people - to heal and predict the future. At first, people from the village came to her, asking for health, and she managed to raise bedridden patients with her prayers. The girl begged for relief to the mourners. But Matrona did not take money for her help. They brought her food as a thank you. So the girl became the breadwinner in the family.

Matrona Moskovsk receives visitors

Soon they learned about her throughout the entire district, and people flocked to her house from all sides. Being blind, Matrona saw and knew a lot. She described cathedrals and temples located abroad and their interior decoration. The woman was illiterate, but could “read” street names and house numbers.

She also saw the future. One day the girl told her mother that a big fire was coming, but she told her mother to stay, although she herself said that she would leave. As a result, the very next day after the conversation, a fire broke out in the village, in which more than one house burned down, but the Nikonovs’ home was not damaged.

Together with the daughter of a local landowner, Lydia Yankova, Matrona traveled a lot; Lida took her with her on pilgrimage trips. So they visited many holy places. They visited the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and also visited the Kronstadt Cathedral, where Matrona met with John of Kronstadt. There he asked the parishioners to leave and called the girl to him, saying that this

“It is being replaced – the eighth pillar of Russia.”

At the age of 17, Matrona’s legs gave out and the girl was never able to walk again. She lived the next 50 years “sedentarily.” She predicted this fate for herself in advance, but believed that this was the will of God.

Icon of Matrona of Moscow

There is a legend about how one day a woman came to her and told her about her paralyzed husband, she tearfully asked Matronushka to help him. But the saint said that he should come to her himself. The woman repeated herself, saying that her husband couldn’t walk, how could he come? To which Matrona replied:

“Let him come to me in the morning, crawl. He’ll crawl by three o’clock.”

As a result, he crawled 4 kilometers towards her, and left Matrona on his own feet.

Matrona saw not only the future of specific people, but also the country. She predicted the tragic events of 1917. She said that everything would be plundered and destroyed, including temples, and everyone would leave their lands. These events also affected Matrona herself.

With the advent of Bolshevik power, her brothers became convinced communists. Of course, the Orthodox sister, to whom people flocked in a continuous stream, was an “eyesore” for them. Of course, they were also afraid for themselves, that such a relationship would cast a shadow on them.

Therefore, Matrona was forced to leave her native village. Together with Lida Yankova they went to Moscow. Some believe that at this moment the rural saint disappeared and Matrona of Moscow was born. In the capital, Matrona faced hardships and dangers - persecution, denunciations, lack of registration.

She had no housing. At first I lived wherever I had to. In one of the houses where she had to live, it was so cold that her hair froze to the wall. Later, the woman settled with a fellow villager, and in the last years of her life she lived with distant relatives in the Moscow region.

Thanks to her gift, she always knew when the police would come to the house. But one day, even knowing about their arrival, she deliberately stayed in the apartment. When the policeman arrived, she convinced him that she was not going to run away from him. But he should hurry home.

Oddly enough, he listened to Matrona, since even then many had heard about her miraculous gift. As a result, it turned out that the policeman’s house caught fire, and he managed to save his wife from the fire. After the incident, he flatly refused to arrest Matrona.

Every day the saint received visitors - 40 people. But at night I didn’t sleep, I prayed in front of the icons. Many stories have been preserved about her miracles. She prayed for water, which healed.

Icon of Matrona of Moscow

It is amazing that she helped even those who did not believe in God. One day a woman approached her; with her was her sick atheist brother, who no longer believed in recovery. But Matrona was able to heal him. At the same time, she noted that he should thank his sister, who sincerely believes in the power and will of God.

There is a legend that Joseph Stalin himself turned to Matrona. This is written in the book of Zinaida Zhdanova, who lived side by side with Matrona for several years. But some of the data from this book differs from the data given in the canonical life of the saint.

Icon "Matrona and Stalin"

According to “legend,” Stalin asked her whether the Germans would take Moscow. She answered him unequivocally - victory will be for the Russian people. And she added that he was the only one among the authorities and would not leave the capital. Their meeting was captured by icon painter Ilya Pivnik in the icon “Matrona and Stalin”. In 2008, it was exhibited in the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga in Strelna.

Soon the actions of abbot Evstafy Zhakov, who placed the icon in the church, were condemned. Some even accused him of sectarianism. As a result, he took the icon home, and soon asked to be relieved of his position as rector. Historians consider this meeting a fiction.

Adulthood

At the age of 17, Matrona’s life changed dramatically - she lost the ability to walk, her legs were paralyzed. However, these were not all the hardships that were in store for her. The revolution predicted by Matrona took place, and she lost her home. At that time, believers were subjected to severe persecution, which Matronushka experienced in constant prayer. However, even in this difficult time for herself, blind, paralyzed without a family and a roof over her head, she did not complain, but continued to receive numerous visitors, treat and console them.

Matrona heals sick people with prayers

In 1925, Matrona moved to the heart of Russia, Moscow, where she spent 30 years of her life. She never had her own home. She lived where she would be invited and sheltered. Her existence was completely monotonous: during the day she received a large number of visitors, and at night she prayed.

Wandering in Moscow

Fearing reprisals on the family, when all Christian activities were persecuted by the authorities, Matrona moves to the capital. From 1925 until the end of her life, the blessed one lived in Moscow, saving people physically and spiritually, while she wandered around the corners with walkers - women who looked after her.

Living in hunger and cold, she completely surrendered to the will of God, did not ask anyone for anything, and always gratefully accepted help. This is how she lived until the war, until she was sheltered by Zinaida Zhdanova, who lived with her mother. Many people who helped the blind healer were later arrested, and she herself always foresaw her arrest and moved out of the apartment on the eve of it.

Matronushka predicted both war and victory. During wartime, she took meals all day long and prayed at night. People walked with physical and mental pain, the healer did not demand payment from anyone, giving all the glory of salvation and healing to God.

According to Zinaida Zhdanova, Stalin himself came secretly to the visionary to learn about the progress of the war. High-ranking people, generals, repeatedly turned to her when trouble came to their home.

Stalin's meeting with Matrona

Thus, the son of a statesman was healed of madness, and the saint cast out demons from the daughter of a general.

There were no important or unimportant issues for the woman sent by God; she helped improve family relationships and returned children to their parents. She did everything with love and understanding. Her gentle voice and face glowing with kindness attracted people to frankness and trust from the first minute.

Important! Recommendations, advice, instructions from the saint still guide people on the path of God.

Death

Saint Matrona of Moscow predicted her death 3 days in advance, however, even in these last hours of her life, she continued to receive people, console and heal them. She also predicted that only people close to her would go to her grave, and after their death the path to her grave would be completely overgrown. They will remember it only after many years, after which it will always be crowded.

Repose of the Blessed Elder Matrona

And so it happened. She died on May 2, 1952 in Skhodnya and was buried according to her wishes at the Danilovskoye cemetery on May 4. This cemetery was not chosen by chance: it housed one of the few churches operating in Moscow at that time. Matrona explained her choice by saying that there she would be able to “hear the service.” The funeral service was conducted under the direction of Archpriest Nikolai Golubtsov in the Church of the Deposition of the Robe on Donskaya Street.

Author of the book: Maria Maksimova

Genre: Religion: other, Religion

Description of the book

The book is intended for children 4-6 years old and is perfect for family reading and exciting discussion.

This work is presumably in 'public domain' status. If this is not the case and the posting of the material violates someone else's rights, please let us know.

Finding the relics

In the first years, there were indeed many visitors to the old woman’s grave, but over the years they all died, moved away, or simply forgot about Matrona. During the years of perestroika, the religious life of the Russian people began to revive, and along with this, publications about the blind seer appeared. Believers said: “If trouble happens, go to Matrona, she will help.” It was from then on that the canonization of the saint began.

Reliquary with the holy relics of Matrona of Moscow

A special commission worked for several years to verify information relating to the life of the saint, and chroniclers compiled her biography. In 1998, the remains of Matrona were exhumed and transferred to the Intercession Monastery. In 1999, namely on May 2, Matrona was canonized. Now hundreds of people come to touch her relics, and the queue often stretches for several hours.

Holy righteous old woman Matrono, pray to God for us!