Matrona Anemnyasevskaya Holy Date of Birth: 11.1864Год Country: Russia

Content:

1. Biography of St. Matrona of Anemnyasevskaya
2. "Have you shed many tears in your life?" someone once asked Matrona.
3. This was the life of a holy sufferer, confined to her bed.
4. People found healing in the items that belonged to Matrona.
5. Matrona replied, "And your children will be just as light."
6. Her grave remains unknown for now.

Biography of St. Matrona of Anemnyasevskaya

In the 1930s, a doctor named Sergei Alexeyevich Nikitin found himself in a labor camp, awaiting his release. However, his attempts to help the weak by exempting them from work and sending them to the hospital had resulted in an extended sentence. Despondent and hopeless, he didn't know what to do. Then, he received an astonishing piece of advice from his nurse: "Turn to Matronushka for help. The Lord has given her the special power of prayer, and whoever she prays for will surely receive what they seek." Doubtful but desperate, the doctor whispered his plea, addressing Matronushka towards the Ryazan region. Despite his skepticism about whether a woman living hundreds of kilometers away could hear him without radios or wires, he followed the nurse's advice.

Days and months passed, and his situation remained unchanged, but there were significant changes in the leadership around him. Eventually, the doctor was released on time, just as he had hoped. True to his word, he immediately set off to pay his respects to the unknown woman who had saved him. He found the village of Anemnyasevo and located her house. Stepping inside, he saw a table in the middle of the room with a large box on it. "May I come in?" the doctor asked aloud. Suddenly, a voice came from the box, saying, "Come in, Serzhenshka." Peering inside, he saw a small blind woman lying motionless on her back. Her face was bright and kind.

After exchanging greetings, the doctor asked, "How do you know my name?" In a weak but clear voice, she replied, "How could I not know? You called out to me, and I prayed to God on your behalf. That's how I know." In their lengthy conversation, Matrona predicted that the doctor would become a priest and eventually a bishop. And indeed, all her predictions came true.

Matrona was born in a poor peasant family named Belyakov in November 1864. At the age of seven, she fell ill with smallpox, and her entire body was covered in sores. "My mother didn't take care of me," Matrona recalled. "She didn't pray to God on my behalf. I lay on the stove, where there was a lot of dirt, so my mother washed me, and as a result, my whole body swelled, I went blind, and I suffered for a long time..."

As a blind girl, Matrona was tasked with looking after her younger sisters and brothers. It was challenging for her to fulfill this responsibility. On one occasion, she accidentally tripped and dropped her sister from the porch, causing her great fear and sadness. "At that moment, my mother approached, grabbed me, and started beating me. She beat me so much," Matrona recalled. "Since then, my life has become very difficult. I could no longer walk or sit; I could only lie down."

The beatings she received from her mother forever deprived the girl of the ability to walk or do anything. She could only lie down and was disliked and blamed for everything. Her life resembled that of a martyr, nailed to a bed.

"Have you shed many tears in your life?" someone once asked Matrona.

"Oh, many. But the Lord comforted me. On the eleventh year, the Queen of Heaven herself appeared to me and gave me a comforting note. I saw the Queen three times, and after each vision, my mother beat me even more," Matrona said. One night, while lying on the stove, I couldn't get up; my legs wouldn't move, my arms felt broken, and my whole body hurt. And from that moment on, I could neither walk nor sit, only lie down..."

This was the life of a holy sufferer, confined to her bed.

Matrona endured many hardships but found solace in her faith and her visions. She often spoke of her encounters with the Queen of Heaven and the comfort she received from them. One vision, in particular, left her with blood on her lips, resembling the wounds of Christ. Matrona would share these experiences with tears in her eyes, and the tears would flow as she recounted them...

Her fellow villagers knew about the girl's agonizing life and treated her with respectful reverence. The first person to seek her assistance was a peasant from her own village, a sawyer by profession. Matrona was seventeen at the time.

"Matrona," he said, "you have been lying in bed for several years, and I believe you are close to God. My back hurts, and I can't saw anymore. Please touch my back; maybe the pain will go away. I've sought medical help, but the doctors haven't been able to help me."

Matrona granted his request, and indeed, the back pain vanished. From that moment on, more and more people sought her out with their needs, sorrows, and illnesses. Over time, these visits turned into a pilgrimage, with people coming from near and far. People flocked to Matrona daily, sometimes in groups of dozens or even hundreds.

Matrona usually lay in a small separate room in a peasant's hut, in a small child's bed covered with curtains. In the summer, when the hut became stuffy, she would be taken to the barn, where she would remain until winter. She never asked to be moved back into the house and patiently endured the autumn chill and winter cold.

In appearance, Matrona was so small that she seemed like a ten-year-old child. Her dress, a gift from one of her devotees, only covered her up to her feet and measured a mere 91 centimeters in length. Apparently, her body had not grown since the age of ten when she lost the ability to walk. Matrona spoke and sang sacred hymns in an astonishingly pure and melodious childlike voice. People who heard her singing would say, "Her voice is like a bell."

Matrona's entire world was confined within the walls of her small, humble room. Yet, in these extremely difficult and confined conditions, God granted her the ability to see another world - a world that was rich in inner content, interest, and meaning.

She possessed the strength to achieve not only personal spiritual perfection but also to become the center and source of religious and moral life for many believers. They would come to her with their doubts, needs, sorrows, and illnesses, and receive what they needed for their spiritual growth and guidance on the difficult path of human life.

No one knew how she prayed to God. All that was known was that she knew many prayers, akathists, and church hymns by heart.

In a conversation with one of her devoted followers, Matrona emphasized the importance of continuous prayer and its ability to accomplish anything. She particularly stressed the importance of praying for the departed.

Matrona frequently partook in the Holy Mysteries of Christ, always receiving communion every month. She would invite her spiritual father, the local parish priest, and the day of receiving the Holy Mysteries would be the most joyous day for her. Throughout her life, she took part in the sacrament five times.

She also strictly observed fasts. From the age of seventeen, she abstained from eating meat. In addition to the regular Wednesday and Friday fasts, she also fasted on Mondays. During the church fasts, she either ate very little or nothing at all.

Matrona had a special reverence for holy places, particularly the Old City of Jerusalem, the Diveevo Monastery, and the Sarov Monastery. She spoke about them with great tenderness and love, and she often advised her pious visitors to visit these places, considering them to be sites of special divine grace. She rejoiced when her advice was followed.

"When you go to Matrona," people say, "every step is blessed, and every path gives you something."

One woman once complained to Matrona that she could rarely go to church.

"I have a house full of children," the woman said. "The children are studying, and I have to cook for them and do all the housework. I would love to go, but I can't leave the house."

Matrona gave the woman an icon of the Mother of God known as "Zapechnaya" or "Of the Oven" and said nothing else. The icon depicted the Mother of God as she appeared to a woman who, tied to her household chores, prayed by the oven. With this gesture, Matrona indicated to the woman that the Queen of Heaven can hear earnest prayers from anywhere.

Matrona's followers believe that if she gave them a particular icon, it carried a special meaning and significance related to the depicted event or saint, which had a specific connection to the person who received it. If Matrona gave someone a cross, it meant she was blessing that person for a difficult task or suffering they would endure.

People also sought the oil from her lamp, which perpetually burned in front of the icons in her room, believing it had special healing properties. Sometimes, Matrona would give them oil brought to her from holy places. She advised people to anoint the sick and those in distress with the oil.

Matrona had a great affection for incense and believed it could drive away evil spirits. She advised people to use incense in their homes during holidays, to put incense in a burning samovar, and so on. She also recommended sick people to boil water with incense.

People found healing in the items that belonged to Matrona.

Thus, this little holy sufferer lived and helped people with her prayers. She saved countless people from severe illnesses, and many people would not start any endeavor without her blessing during those difficult years. However, at that time, the country was in a perilous and dark period. In the summer of 1935, a case was filed against the "popov Pravdolyubovykh and the sick degenerate Matrona Belyakova." Ten people were arrested and sent to Ryazan and Moscow, but they were afraid to touch Blessed Matrona.

Eventually, a meeting was convened in the collective farm, during which it was decided to "remove" Matrona Grigoryevna Belyakova as a "harmful element." Out of 300 villagers, only 24 activists signed the resolution. The village council issued a statement describing "Belyakova M.G." as a "harmful element in the village who, with her holiness, significantly influences the dark masses... As a result, the collective farm plan for collectivization is delayed."

From the records, it is evident that everyone close to Matrona, all who were near her, and all who knew her name and her radiant image, did not slander her or betray her.

Her spiritual father, Father Alexander Vasilyevich Orlov, showed exceptional courage and audacity in defending Matrona. He was imprisoned for five years in Solovki and Medvezhyegorsk camps for his efforts and died in 1941 after his release, back in his homeland.

Eventually, a car was sent to retrieve Blessed Matrona. They arrived at her house in broad daylight, without any secrecy. They entered, but once inside, they were overcome with fear and did not dare to approach her. The chairman of the village council, out of duty, approached her and, overcoming his fear, lifted Matrona from her wooden bed. Matrona let out a faint cry, and the people were petrified. The chairman carried her out and said at the doorway, "Oh, how light she is!"

Matrona replied, "And your children will be just as light."

Her words came true. Several years ago, the priest of the Trinity Church in the village of Guse-Zheleznyi, Father Serafim, buried one of the sons of the former chairman. The son was very small in stature. After the arrest of Blessed Matrona, none of the chairman's children grew anymore.

The chairman, who "removed" Blessed Matrona, died in great pain. It happened in the summer, and the house had its windows open due to the heat. He screamed so loudly in pain that the whole village could hear. People would say, "This is not like lifting Matronushka!" Finally, he called for a priest and genuinely and fervently repented of his sins before dying in peace with the Church.

A resident of Belyakova said about Matrona's arrest, "They did not protect such a sacred person, and she flew away like a bird..."

In Moscow, Matrona lived for almost a year. Presumably, she was imprisoned in the Butyrka prison for a short time because the inmates began to revere her and started singing akathists and praying in their cells.

According to other reports, the seriously ill mother of the investigator leading the case against Blessed Matrona was miraculously healed by her. As a result, the investigator managed to release her from custody, treating her as a sick and dying person. He placed her in the then-home for the elderly and chronically ill, called the Radishchev House, near the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Vladikino.

Her grave remains unknown for now.

The prayerful help of Matrona was felt and experienced not only sixty years ago but also now, in these days. I, the one writing these lines, have experienced Matrona's assistance many times in response to my prayers. I believe that anyone who seeks her help will receive what they ask for. We believe that new ascetics and saints pray for us, and we should honor and remember them here on earth.

The life of St. Blessed Matrona of Anemnyasevskaya was compiled by priests Nikolai Pravdolyubov and Vladimir Pravdolyubov. The final touches to the work were made by Archpriest Sergei Pravdolyubov.

Praying to St. Blessed Matrona of Anemnyasevskaya should be done as follows:

Troparion, Tone 8:
As a shining star of heavenly fire, you appeared in the land of Ryazan, O blessed elder Matrona. On this day, we glorify you and sing praises to Christ our God, asking through your intercession that He grant us patience in illness, troubles, and sorrows, and great mercy to our souls.

Kontakion, Same Tone:
In your affliction, you found strength, and in blindness, you acquired incorruptible sight. Though confined to bed due to illness, you soared like a bird in spirit, even in your youth. You became a mother to the sorrowful and tempest-tossed. Therefore, we do not neglect to honor your memory in our prayers and beseech your help to deliver us from sin through repentance and to obtain with you the Kingdom of Heaven.

Sacred

Gemma Galgani	Zinaida Tarsus	Anuarite Clementine
Iacob Persyanin	Jean-Theophane Venard	Sanatana Gosvami