Saint Matrona of Moscow is known for her deeds to many, even unchurched people. Believers come to venerate the saint in chapels and churches in Moscow, consecrated in her honor or preserving particles of her relics. For example, the Church of Matrona of Moscow at the intersection of Varshavka and the Moscow Ring Road. They also come to pray to Saint Matronushka at the Dmitrovskoye cemetery, where a chapel was erected over her cenotaph.
Now the saint’s grave is empty, the discovered relics are buried in the Intercession Convent. Thousands of believers come to the Intercession Church of this monastery, standing in a huge line in any weather, for the sake of worshiping the saint and in the hope of a miracle. People call the Intercession Church the Temple of Matrona on Taganka, the name has already taken root, although it is incorrect to call it that way.
The history of the construction of the temple and its fate
Historians associate the construction of the church with the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich “The Quietest”.
Chronicles testify to the foundation of the temple in the middle of the 17th century, in 1655 from the Nativity of Christ. Twenty years before this date, the father of Tsar Alexei, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, founded the Intercession Monastery, on the territory of which a temple was built.
Brief life of Saint Matrona of Moscow
Miracles and extraordinary events accompanied Matrona throughout her life, from birth to death. During the sacrament of baptism, a haze of unknown origin appeared over the font. The priest was amazed and predicted the girl’s holiness, inviting the family to provide any assistance in raising her or in need. And then he added that the child would herald his, the priest’s, death. Subsequently, this is what happened.
Born in 1881 into a peasant family, she was blind from birth. Neighborhood children followed her and mocked her for her injury, so there were no friends. By the age of eight, the girl developed the ability to foresight and heal. News of the miracles spread throughout the surrounding villages, and a pilgrimage began to the house of Matrona’s family.
The pious landowner's daughter took Matrona with her on a trip to the holy places of Russia, and, thanks to this kindness, in her adolescence she visited the Kyiv and Trinity Lavras and met with John of Kronstadt.
By the age of seventeen, Matrona’s legs gave out. She couldn't walk anymore.
Many facts of healing of the sick, clairvoyance, and prophecies of Matrona are attested.
And not once did she turn to the occult, extrasensory perception, or magical rituals - only Orthodox prayer, only an appeal to the Lord for help.
After the Revolution, the Matrona brothers joined the Bolshevik party, became activists, and the righteous woman compromised them before the authorities with her faith in the Lord. To prevent repression from falling on the family, Blessed Matrona moved to the capital in 1925.
All this time people were coming to her. Up to fifty people a day, each with their own grief. Both the authorities and the princes of the church knew about mother. They say that Stalin came to her for a prophecy.
This period in her life is very difficult. They didn’t have their own housing, constantly moving around the corners of good people, often spending the night in poorly equipped premises. For the longest time, six years, she lived with her fellow villager, who moved to Moscow after her marriage. The last three years were spent with a distant relative, on Skhodnya, where she rested.
Unfortunately, there was never a student nearby who could preserve detailed records of her great spiritual work for posterity.
Shortly before her death, the old woman predicted about herself that at first only close people would come to the graveyard, and the memory of Matrona would be kept on them. But after decades, the fame of the blessed one will spread, and crowds will come asking Matrona to pray to the Lord for them. And she called on everyone to come to her, and promised that she would ask for everyone.
On May 2, 1999, Mother Matronushka was canonized by the act of canonization announced by Patriarch Alexy II.
From the construction of the temple to the 20th century
The original building has not survived. The history of the old church is described sparingly, and even on the official website of the monastery it is said about the temple of that time in just one line: “The stone Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, single-domed, with a chapel of St. John of Damascus."
In the first years of the 19th century, the dilapidated church was demolished; in just four years, a new one was built on this site, and in 1814, after the war, it was consecrated. This 19th century temple still stands today.
The war of 12 caused considerable damage to the monastery and churches. The French plundered the churches, partially burned them, and partially used them as stables.
After the expulsion of the invaders, the monastery was quickly put in order, and the restored monastery stood for a whole century, until the October Revolution, and for some time after.
Fate in the Soviet years
In 1926, the Bolsheviks closed the Church of the Intercession, after blowing up the monastery bell tower. By the year 29, the territory finally came into the possession of the new authorities.
Tagansky Park was laid out on the site of the graveyard, and Soviet institutions were located in the church. The monastery was completely destroyed, its churches were debaptized, redesigned and desecrated. By the early 80s, the former Intercession Church housed the editorial office of the departmental magazine “Ugol” and one of the Mossovet’s printing houses. Later, the Ministry of Coal Industry took over the entire building.
The revival began after the collapse of the USSR.
Current state
In 1994, the Holy Synod restored the monastery as a convent.
The completely restored and restored Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary was reconsecrated in 1998 by Patriarch Alexy II, and in the same year the remains of the righteous Matrona were transferred from the Danilovsky graveyard to the temple.
Miracle from Matrona: Four Shrines of the Northern District
“North of the Capital” found out what icons are kept in the churches of the district and what prayers to address them with
Many churches in the Northern District have miraculous icons and relics.
Some are known far beyond the capital and even the country. Among the most visited churches with shrines are the Church of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow and the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Businovo. “North of the Capital” found out what shrines are kept there and what prayers are addressed to them. They pray at the Ark all the time.
Few people know that it is not necessary to go to the Intercession Monastery on Taganka and stand in line to venerate the relics of the blessed Matrona. In the Dmitrovsky district of the Northern Administrative Okrug there is a temple of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow (Sofia Kovalevskaya St., 14a), in which there is an ark with a particle of the relics of the head (head) of the holy old woman.
From the history:
According to legend, Matrona of Moscow (nee Matrona Dmitrievna Nikonova) was born in 1881 in the village of Sebino, Tula province, completely blind - she had no eyeballs. Her peasant parents wanted to give the girl to an orphanage, but her mother had a dream - a white blind bird flew in and sat on her chest. The woman considered the dream prophetic, and Matrona remained in the family. The Life reports that from the age of eight Matrona had deep faith, the ability to heal the sick and predict the future. At the age of about 17, her legs became paralyzed. She moved to Moscow after the revolution, in 1925. She lived with friends because her brothers became Bolsheviks. In 1942-1949 she lived in an old wooden mansion on Starokonyushenny Lane, where she occupied a corner of a 48-meter room. In 1950-1952 she moved to Skhodnya to live with distant relatives. According to her life, during the day Saint Matrona received people during the day (up to forty people a day), healing them and giving advice on what to do, and at night she prayed, and also regularly confessed and received communion. Even during her lifetime, she was revered by the monks of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. She predicted her death three days in advance, and continued to receive people until the very end. She died on May 2, 1952 in Skhodnya. She was buried at the Danilovsky cemetery. Pilgrims from all over Russia still come to her grave.
As the secretary of the rector of the temple, Sergei Moskovskikh, said, many parishioners always come to the temple on Sofia Kovalevskaya Street, and on weekends - 400-500 people, no less. There is no line like at Taganka, but near the ark with the relics someone is constantly praying and asking for help.
- It makes no difference whether to worship all the relics or just a small part. The action is the same,” says the secretary.
The relics have been in the temple recently - since August last year. However, during this time several miraculous healings have already occurred. Thus, Matrona helped one childless woman give birth to two children, and helped the sister of another parishioner find a good job.
— I prayed at her icon and asked for my sister in her employment. A week later I found out that my sister had already been traveling to her new job for two days. The realization of what had happened did not come immediately: God’s works are happening behind the scenes and dimly, as if it had always been this way,” said parishioner Ekaterina.
Catholics from Poland, Christians from Belarus, Ukraine, even Muslims come to the temple.
“The temple is open every day, the relics are also available during Lent,” says the temple secretary.
As specified on the official website of the temple, you can pray and venerate the relics of the holy old woman on weekdays from 12.00 to 19.00, and on holidays and Sundays - from 8.00 to 19.00.
By the way,
on April 1, Palm Sunday, a charity event “White Flower” will be held on the territory of the temple , which dates back to pre-revolutionary times.
On this day, all people united for one great deed of mercy - helping the sick in need. On Palm Sunday, children from Sunday school will collect funds and each donor will be given white flowers made by their own hands. The funds raised will go to help a sick child in the parish. People come to Businovo from all over Russia.
The largest number of miraculous icons in the area are in the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Businovo. And they all “work”.
From the history:
The first temple on this site appeared in the 16th century - it was a wooden temple in honor of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. In 1623 it was dismantled due to its disrepair, and in 1643 a new wooden church was built on the old church site in the name of St. Sergius. According to legend, this place was blessed by St. Sergius of Radonezh, passing from the Trinity Monastery (the current Trinity-Sergius Lavra) to Moscow to see Metropolitan Alexy. Then the territory belonged to the village of Businovo. The church was completed and rebuilt several times; in 1859, a stone church with three chapels was built with merchant funds, which existed until 1937. After it was closed, the dome and bell tower were dismantled, rebuilt and the temple was converted into a factory for the production of mattresses. Work on the restoration of the temple began only in 1990, when the building was handed over to the Orthodox community. A year later, on July 18, 1991, on the day of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the church. Since that time, the temple has continued to be updated - the parish is making repairs there, restoring icons, improving the territory and appearance of the building.
The most famous shrine of the temple in Businovo is the Molchenskaya Icon of the Mother of God
(from the Molche swamp near Putivl). According to legend, this icon was found in the Businka River in the 19th century by the blind girl Alexandra, to whom the Mother of God appeared in a dream with instructions on where to look for her image. At the indicated place a spring began to flow, from which the girl received her sight, and soon found an icon nearby.
It is believed that patients with nervous diseases and mental disorders receive healing from the icon. But, according to temple employees, the icon helps heal other diseases. Thus, the newborn child of one parishioner developed an umbilical hernia. The parents brought the baby to the temple to receive a blessing for the operation. But the priest did not give a blessing, but took the baby, brought it to the icon and anointed the belly with holy water. In the evening, the parents began to bathe the child, peeled off the bandage and discovered that there was no trace of a hernia.
And there are many such examples.
People come from all over Russia to visit the Molchenskaya Icon of the Mother of God. Signs appeared on the icon
Another unusual icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven”
in the same temple she showed the miracle of self-renewal.
“When they found it, it was just a black board with no signs of a drawing.” But they hung it in the temple - and symbols began to appear. Over time, the icon itself brightened. And one day the icon case—the frame—of the icon was completely covered with oil—myrrh,” said the regent of the temple, Elena Lytova.
From the history:
According to legend, the icon came to Moscow from Lithuania - it was brought by the wife of Grand Duke Vasily I Sofia Vitovtovna as a parental blessing.
Previously, the image was in Smolensk. The title goes back to the text of the Mother of God of the 1st hour (written on the icon inside the edge of the radiance): “What shall we call You, O Blessed One?
Heaven, as if you have risen as the Sun of Truth . The icon depicts John the Theologian’s vision of a Woman clothed in the sun. The Mother of God is depicted in full height, with the Child of God on her left hand. The celebration of the icon takes place on March 6, as well as on the week of All Saints.
They pray to the “Blessed Heaven” Icon of the Mother of God for healing from mental and physical illnesses. People turn to her when they ask for guidance on the path of the Christian faith for those who lead an unrighteous lifestyle.
Another icon of the Businovsky temple is the “Inexhaustible Chalice”.
Despite the fact that the icon is newly painted, it helped several parishioners get rid of alcoholism.
“It makes no difference whether the miracle comes from an ancient icon or a modern one.” It is sanctified, it is an image. We had cases when paper icons streamed myrrh, for example, the icon of St. Tatiana,” says Elena.
From the history:
The icon of the Mother of God has been known since 1878 and is revered in the Russian Church as miraculous. It is believed that the image appeared to a drunkard peasant from the Efremov inheritance of the Tula province. In a dream, an elder schema-monk appeared to him and ordered him to go to the monastery of the Lady Theotokos and serve a prayer service there at the “Inexhaustible Chalice” icon in order to gain health in body and spirit. Due to alcoholism, the peasant could not walk, but crawled to the monastery on all fours. However, no one there had heard of such an icon. After a long search, an image was found in the passage from the cathedral church to the sacristy, on the back of which they found the inscription: “The Inexhaustible Chalice.” After performing the prayer service, the former drunkard, according to legend, not only received healing of his sore legs, but also lost his addiction to alcohol.
Brief description of the temple
It is a two-tier church of the usual Moscow church architecture in the form of a cross.
On the second tier is the main altar of the Intercession, and two chapels - one of Peter and Paul, and the other of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. On the lower tier is the main altar in honor of Metropolitan Jonah, and the chapels of St. Hilarion and St. Neil of Stolbensky.
An icon of St. Matrona is mounted on the wall of the temple, and a shrine with the relics of the old woman is preserved inside.
