One day a young girl talked about how she had terminal cancer. She didn’t know what to do; she was gradually preparing for death. Then she came to grandmother Theodosia, who gave her grass to drink, after which mother Theodosia healed her. All the doctors were surprised by this miracle. But the girl thanked Mother Feodosia from Skopin more than once.
Few people know that the Ryazan region is famous for its people. The Skopinsk elder Mother Theodosia lived on this land. Who was this woman, and what did she become famous for?
The monastic name “Theodosia” means given by God. Elder Feodosia, through her example of meekness and patience, showed people a living and strong faith in God. On May 15, 2014, she presented herself to the Lord.
Mother Theodosia showed all people by her example how to believe in the power of the Lord
Skopinsk Elder Feodosia was born in 1923 in the village of Velemya
The Skopinskaya elder was born in 1923 in the village of Velemya, Ryazan region. Mother said that no one knows the exact date of her birth. The world called her Natalya. Her birthday was always celebrated on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - November 4.
In fact, Mother Theodosia of Skopin herself spoke very little about herself. One day one of her nephews, Hieromonk Theodoret, asked her for permission to describe her whole life, to which she answered him: “Why write about me then...”.
Mother always said that modesty and humility were her main virtues.
Natalya was born into a large family of Nikifor and Efrosinia Kosorotin.
There were 5 children in the family. The eldest daughter's name was Thekla. Then Anna, Tikhon, Natalya, this is our future Mother Theodosia, and the last, youngest of them was Olga. Children were born after this, but they died in infancy.
Natasha's mother got married while still very young. She always did all the housework herself. At that time there were cows and vegetable gardens, and all this had to be managed. My father went to Moscow to work. When Natalya was 13-14 years old, her mother suffered greatly and she died early, since there were no doctors in those places at that time. She died right in the arms of her daughter.
Mother Theodosia's childhood and youth were very difficult. After my mother died, she was the one who performed many of the housework duties.
All the children in Natalya’s family were very upset about the death of their mother.
Mother herself said that sometimes they came to the grave and cried. People passed by, found them, and took them home. Mother's childhood and youth were very difficult. At first, Natalya was sent to dig trenches. As mother herself said, those who had parents could somehow shield their children, but there was no one to stand up for them. Wherever they take you, they will take you there.
Mother Theodosia Skopinskaya, a God-given eldress
Mother Theodosia - her monastic name means given by God - is an example of meekness and patience, living and strong faith, grateful submission to God's Providence, and therefore of prayer that God hears. In 2014, the ascetic reposed in the Lord.
Mother was born in 1923 in the village of Velemya, Skopinsky district, Ryazan region. They named her Natalya. Nobody knows the exact date of birth - mother herself said. They always celebrated the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - November 4th. In general, mother spoke very little about herself. When one of her great-nephews, Hieromonk Theodorit (Tikhonov), asked permission to describe her life, she said modestly:
“Why write about me?”...
But it would be strange if mother said otherwise, since modesty and humility were her main virtues.
Natasha was born into a large family of Nikifor and Efrosinya Kosorotikhin. There were five children in total: the eldest Fekla, then Anna (everyone called her Onya), Tikhon, Natasha - the future mother Feodosia - and the last, youngest Olga. More children were born, but they died in infancy.
Their mother got married very young, did all the housework herself, and then there were cows and small livestock, and vegetable gardens - everything had to be managed. My father went to Moscow to work. Mom overstrained herself, and there were no doctors in the outback; she died early, in the arms of her daughter Natasha (a witness to this event, his grandmother, the niece of Mother Theodosia, told Father Theodorit about this). Natasha was then 13–14 years old.
Mother Feodosia's house
The children took their mother's death very hard. “It used to be,” says mother, “we’ll go to the cemetery, fall on the grave and cry. People pass by, find us, and bring us home.”
Childhood and youth were difficult. The Great Patriotic War has begun. Natasha was sent to the war to dig trenches. “If anyone had parents,” mother says, “they could somehow protect the children, but there was no one to stand up for us. Where will they take you, where will they take you, where do we live, what do we eat? “They didn’t know anything, they only saw one job.”
Natasha never had a chance to study. However, hieromonks, priests and bishops took care of her; State Duma speakers and governors came for advice. Putin did not come, but she herself prayed for him and instructed others to pray; knew what he was doing, sometimes she actually talked to him.
It is surprising that Natasha knew many prayers by heart. When she was later, bedridden, asked by her simple-minded sister Olya, who was following her, how she knew this, after all, they grew up and lived together, Natasha answered meaningfully and confidentially:
“I was taught there.”
And then the workdays of the Soviet five-year plans were in the yard... The country was recovering after the war. In the post-war period, Natasha worked with prisoners of war in the mine. Then - in the construction team.
“She was very hardworking,” recall now-living co-workers Raisa and Anna. “She could lift heavy bags onto her shoulders, she was so strong.”
Mother always took work very seriously and said that everyone should work. People later came to her for a blessing to retire, and mother, as a rule, answered:
“Work some more, work some more...”
Now times are easier in everyday life, but back then there was no central heating system or hot water. In the evening we had to light the stove, there was no firewood, after exhausting work we also went to the forest to get brushwood and carry it in fagots. But it was somehow fun, my mother remembers, they lived:
“We go after work and sing songs, but now why are you all so sad?!”
And then there are so many difficulties: hard work, housekeeping, gardening in the spring and summer, and in the fall and winter, while you collect firewood, while you heat it, while you wash, while you cook food...
The people of those years were ascetics in the world. There were basically no monasteries then: they were all ruined. But the way of communal life, mutual assistance - especially in the villages - remained. The man did not isolate himself, as he does now, on himself; he thought about his neighbor. So Natasha got up early in the morning, baked pancakes for herself to take to work and brought some more to her nephews Natalya and Peter - these are the children of her older sister Fekla. “I hear the car honking,” recalls my mother’s niece, 83-year-old Natalya, “Aunt Natasha from the car: “Nate, I’ve already baked you hot pancakes this morning!” And he goes on to the construction site.”
They built multi-storey houses,” Schema-nun Theodosia later said, telling in detail what was where there. Mother's memory was phenomenal. And this despite the fact that the accident happened when she was only 30 years old, and then almost 20 years of lethargic sleep.
In the temple
The accident happened in 1953 at a construction site. There is a recording where my mother’s sister’s husband says: “Natasha and I are leaving work. Eh, Natasha, I say, it’s a pity I didn’t recognize you earlier, otherwise I would have married you! “Why,” Natasha answers, “don’t you like my sister?” - Like". So I came to my senses.
Natasha didn’t want to get married, she had a monastic dispensation, and there were no monasteries then... And since they lived poorly, her sisters still wanted to get married. And she, the old woman later recalled, walked one day and prayed:
"Don't want! Today they are supposed to bring me someone in marriage...”
On this day the accident happened. How the future schema-nun began to pray:
"Lord, do not allow my matchmaking"
- and then the accident happened.
Back then, people injured themselves a lot: both at work and on the way to work. It was a time of great construction projects; the life and health of a particular person were not taken into account. Previously, workers were transported not in buses, but in the summer and winter in the back of dump trucks. This is how Natasha and her younger sister Olga got into their first accident: the truck that was taking them to work overturned. Their injuries were severe, they even wanted to give them disability, but they refused: it was inconvenient, they were young, they had to work.
And then a year later there was a second accident: they were unloading bricks and the side of the dump truck fell. Two were injured: the man was immediately killed to death (he had four children left, they later came to mother Feodosia), and Natasha. She, too, was first taken to the morgue. And then, mother herself tells it, one of the nurse sisters says:
“Her face is somehow very lively,”
– I took the mirror and applied it, but it fogged up!
Mother spent a year in the hospital without regaining consciousness. The doctors flatly refused to send her home.
“You still don’t have the means to care for such a seriously ill person,” they said. “We take such patients to Moscow for experiments.”
No matter how much the relatives asked, refusals followed. Then the husband of Olga’s younger sister wrote a receipt that he would take the sick woman home under his own responsibility. For him, this meant the end of his family life, since he was a military man and was sent on a long business trip. Olya remained to care for her sister, who was lying unconscious...
They had to leave their native village, moved to the village of New Keltsy, where they lived with relatives on their mother’s side, and from there later, when sister Olga was given her own home, they moved to a small house in the village of Oktyabrsky. Here, after 19.5 years of lethargic sleep, mother came to her senses on Easter in 1973. She began to come to her senses gradually. Signs of consciousness were discovered during the funeral of one of her Oni sisters. She began to moan and cry. When she spoke, one of her first words were:
“Why did you feed me? The Mother of God Herself fed me..."
But Natasha did not open her eyes right away, several years later, and surprised everyone by the fact that she saw everything with her eyes closed. Hieromonk Theodoret testifies:
“My parents got married in 1976. And then my mother’s eyes were still closed. On the wedding day, my parents came to her for a blessing. This was not the first time my father visited my mother - as a relative and a housewife, but my mother visited for the first time. During the conversation, the mother noticed that the young woman had very light shoes and that she needed to take care of her feet. Mom was very surprised how a woman with her eyes closed knew that in February she came wearing summer shoes. There are many similar stories in my family and they all happened in the late 1970s, when my mother had not yet seen.”
A special peace and goodness was felt in mother’s room even when she was unconscious. Life-giving peace reigned here. Mother and sister were visited by relatives and simply people who cared about them. And brother Tikhon came to say goodbye, and died here, and he was buried from here. When the coffin was carried out, mother’s tears flowed in her lethargic sleep...
Mother came to her senses, and there are still 40 years of patience, humility, service to God and others ahead. Some neighbors did not like the sisters, openly quarreled and played dirty tricks on them, but the sisters humbly endured everything. While sister Olga was alive, mother could not get enough of her: she bathed in love and loved her very much.
“No matter how sick she is, she will still give you a sip of water,”
- Mother said about her sister. She asked her not to go to the hospital, but Olga did not dare to disobey the doctors and died in the hospital.
It was then that the head doctors of large metropolitan hospitals went to my mother for advice. And it often happened that the opinion of even a council of doctors differed from what she said, but then mother’s diagnoses were nevertheless confirmed and her recommendations turned out to be correct. Mother could be present at the operation in prayerful spirit. And then retell the entire course of the operation to the patient’s relatives.
“I gave scalpels to the nurses,”
– she joked later.
Mother treated everyone with herbs and made up recipes herself. With her blessing, her children collected and dried herbs. But more, of course, mother healed with prayer, and through herbal recipes she hid her strong gift of prayer. Here stands a fairly youthful woman in a red short coat and says:
“My cancer was already in the last stage... And my mother healed me!” - “How did mother heal you?” - we ask. “She said to drink the grass... I still drink this grass. What is it called... Ah! The bastard!
And there are a lot of such stories. Local, Skopino or Ryazan, doctors, once again recording a miracle, always immediately stated: “You were in October!” It’s just a pity that in this way, through all the same toponyms of the atheistic period, glory was given to “October”, and not to God.
Mother always taught her children gratitude; we must thank everyone: and people, at least for some little thing that pleases the soul:
"Road of fun"
- she said and, first of all, taught to always thank God, the Mother of God in everything!
The whole life of mother herself is the fulfillment of the apostolic words:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
Although I had to go through so much...
After the death of sister Olga, mother, bedridden, suffered from the harsh temperament of the walker Pelageya. In the cold, she left mother with an unheated stove. The walker will come: “Are you not dead yet?” - and mother’s hair froze to the pillow.
And it also happened that she almost burned alive: next to my mother’s bed there was a stove, the wall of which was broken and the burning coals could spill out right under the bed, and my mother constantly asked the carers to put less wood in the stove... Only when they began to change the bed, already It was with cell attendant Olga, the wife of mother’s great-nephew Sergei, who had been looking after mother for the last 10 years, that this circumstance was revealed. Yes, and the neighbors had a fire: they were not at home, and my mother was alone - bedridden, and the flames were already approaching...
“The God-Given Schema-Nun Theodosia of Skopin” is the first book about the old woman Theodosia (Kosorotikhina, †05.15.2014), revered by the church people. The publication was compiled with the blessing of her child, Metropolitan Kirill (Nakonechny) of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye and is being published on the occasion of the next anniversary of the ascetic.This publication - an offering to the grateful memory of the old woman - will delight and strengthen on the path of salvation both those who communicated with her by God's grace, and those who meet the old woman for the first time on the pages of this book.
Find out more about the book
It was then that people began to revere Mother and go to see her. She received at night, from 9-10 pm until the last visitor, and there could be 100 or 150 people... Mother smiled at everyone, consoled, encouraged everyone, and only admitted to those closest to her that her head was splitting - blood vessels, like she said, “they’re making noise.”
And for everyone, mother is hospitality itself. Say a cheerful word, reassure:
"Let's pray!"
- Yes, he will give everyone his “signature” tea made from herbs, and feed them loaves of bread with honey. For the elders, tea and treats are material carriers of grace.
Many have noticed: if mother sits you down in her cell and starts giving you tea, and gives you some candy from her box hanging next to the crib on a purple ribbon, or orders you to take it out from somewhere under your pillow, the person immediately has many questions like this. , imperceptibly in the process of drinking tea and are resolved, all the turmoil leaves the soul...
The Psalter always lay open by my mother’s bed. Mother sometimes asked some, mainly the clergy, to read exactly the page that was open. In particular, and in this way the reader or someone in the room listening could get an answer to their question.
In general, mother liked to answer in parables. They ask her a direct question, and she begins to tell some story about a certain person from afar... And the person listens attentively and understands: it’s him that mother is talking about!
And Akathists were often read in my mother’s cell; she especially loved the Akathists of the Mother of God, to Her various icons. On Mother of God holidays, Mother usually did not receive people; sometimes 15–20 priests, monastics and married, came to her and served prayers with the blessing of water in her room.
In the 1990s. Natalya was tonsured into the schema with the name Theodosius, which means “given by God,” in honor of St. Theodosius of Chernigov by Archimandrite Abel (Makedonov), a saint of the Holy Mountain, an ascetic of high spiritual life, abbot of the St. John the Theological Monastery in the village of Poshupovo, Ryazan region.. This was a kind of church recognition. Mother's gifts given to her by the Grace of the Holy Spirit: the gifts of prayer, consolation, healing, insight, prophecy.
Although many hieromonks, priests, bishops, and metropolitans already went to see mother. Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, formerly Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov, was especially loved by Mother. Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin) from the Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius also came to see her. Mother knew many of them in spirit, “in absentia.” So, one of her children, Nadezhda Makarova, says that after reading a book about Archimandrite Pavel (Gruzdev), she asked: “Mother, did you know Father Pavel (Gruzdev)?” “No,” answered my mother, and then suddenly she said: “Is he so blind? They are similar in spirit to Father Abel...” It is known, by the way, that Archimandrite Pavel entrusted many of his children to Natasha before his death.
Mother Theodosia rested at the age of 90 on May 15, 2014, on the day of remembrance of the holy passion-bearers and martyrs, noble princes Boris and Gleb - the church closest to her house was dedicated to these saints, and they buried her there. “She has passed on to the throne,” people say. A few hours before her death, early in the morning, mother received the Holy Mysteries of Christ in full memory. After communion, she asked the priest and confessor who communed her - Archpriest Konstantin Gusarov, rector of the Boris and Gleb Church - to look at her “death bundle,” that is, things set aside for burial, thereby preparing for death. This was the celebration of the patronal feast in the Easter days, when they sang “Christ is Risen!” Even during Great Lent, my mother said: “You will celebrate Easter with joy, but you will see off Easter with tears.” Even now, all funeral services at mother’s grave end with words filled with victory over death. The 40 days of Mother’s blessed death were celebrated at the Council of Ryazan Saints.
Next to the old lady’s house, the Church of All Saints who shone forth in the Russian land is now being built, so that people, as Mother Theodosia served, return to God, so that we can all meet in eternity. The Lord wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). And Mother Theodosia, given to us by God, and now hearing requests and prayers, fulfills the will of God.
Olga Orlova
Mother Feodosia never had the chance to go to school
Natalya never had a chance to study. However, priests and even bishops very often took care of her. Governors also came for advice; Putin himself did not come, but she always prayed for him and instructed others to pray for our government.
It was also surprising that Natasha knew many prayers by heart. One day her sister Olya asked how she knew prayers if they lived and grew up together all the time. Mother told her that “they taught me.” Then there were the working days of the Soviet people. The country has finally begun to recover after the war.
During this period, Natalya worked in a mine with prisoners of war, then in a construction crew. To this day, worker Raisa remembers that mother was very hardworking. She heaved heavy bags onto her shoulders. During her lifetime, Mother loved to work very much, she said that everyone should work. When people came to her for a blessing to retire, Mother Theodosia said, “Work some more, work some more.”
Priests and even bishops came to Skopino for advice from Mother Theodosia.
Nowadays we don't know much because we have everything possible for life. At that time there was no heating, nor hot water, so in the evening it was necessary to light the stove, and since there was no firewood, it was necessary to go into the forest for brushwood.
Very often, my mother recalled how they went for brushwood and sang songs after work. In winter there were much more difficulties. She also recalls that there were basically no monasteries at that time; they were all destroyed.
Blessing is an Orthodox publishing house.
Mother reposed on May 15, 2014. The 40th day of her memory falls on June 23 - the day of the celebration of the Council of Ryazan Saints. Of all those who knew her, no one doubts her holiness.
Briefly about the life of Mother Theodosia herself
Natalya Nikiforovna Kosorotikhina was born in the village of Velemya, not far from the working-class village of Oktyabrsky and the village of New Keltsy, where she had to live after a work injury for about 15 years. This village in the pre-war years consisted of more than five hundred households. Parents Nikifor and Euphrosyne worked in nearby mines. Children Natalya and Olga first worked on the collective farm, and after graduating from school and vocational education courses, they ended up in the construction team of the Oktyabrsky MSO. It was there that a memorable work injury occurred, as a result of which Natalya found herself immobile and bedridden. The unpromising village of Velemya, where soon there were no parents, had to be exchanged for the village of New Kieltsy and settled with relatives on the maternal side. The village had its own medical center, a road that connected it with the regional center, and most importantly, it was an advanced collective farm, where life was in full swing. Natalya was looked after not only by relatives, but also by neighbors, local school teachers, and a paramedic. It was also known then that Natalya had a prophetic gift, which, according to rumor, was passed on from the priest of the Church of St. George the Victorious, Fr. Rodion, then Blessed Korolev, also residents of this village. However, the time of atheism and church oblivion did not leave traces of vivid memories of certain events in the memory of the villagers. Moreover, the victim was between life and death, as if in a lethargic dream, and they tried not to disturb her unnecessarily.
But over time, her condition improved. Natalya took juices and light food. Speech began to return. Then the first messages of the prophetic gift began. Sister Olga, when she received her own housing, soon moved the patient to the village of Oktyabrsky, where she continued to work. At first, she looked after Natalya herself, then her friend began to do this on a voluntary basis. Thanks to her, rumors spread about the amazing abilities of the recovering Natalya Kosorotikhina. At this time, Perestroika had already begun and the Russian Orthodox Church began to regain its lost positions and open churches. More and more often, Natalya Nikiforovna attracted the attention of believers and the priests themselves. After some time, after several church unctions and urgent requests to become a nun, the rite of “tonsure as a schema-nun” was performed under the new name Schema-nun Theodosia. Now no one could doubt that Natalya, having become schema-nun Theodosia, continues to conduct an interview with God. And her gift was a gift from God to the people around her.
Both priests and ordinary parishioners spontaneously reached out to mother. Both bishops and famous confessors came. At first, Mother Theodosia received visitors during the day, but over time, at her personal suggestion, the reception time was moved to the evening. It is clear that it was not always possible to receive all the guests in an evening. And mother already then made it a rule, despite her health and symptoms of deterioration, to accept until the last visitor.
Those arriving took their place on a first-come, first-served basis from 20-00 pm. Prepared your questions. Sometimes we agreed on the details of communication with the service staff. As a rule, two women attend the visit. The visit time did not exceed five to ten minutes, depending on the solution to the pressing issue. But it happened that some problems required longer time. Since my mother has been hearing poorly lately, the question was duplicated by her assistant. The answer was received from the lips of Mother Theodosia.
She spoke simply, kindly, encouragingly. The voice is clear and transparent. A feeling of grace and solemn awe. It is not uncommon for visitors to burst into tears or become overly emotional.
When visitors stood in line and patiently waited for the coveted sign to enter the first terrace, an exchange of opinions and memories took place. It turned out that most of the pilgrims had already visited mother for the fifth or tenth time. This is, by the admission of the people themselves, former patients who were dismissed by doctors as hopeless, suffering from chronic debilitating diseases, teenagers overwhelmed by paralysis and cerebral palsy syndromes, but many of them are now healed and in better health. It turned out that after meeting with mother, some were individually offered additional use of simple non-medicinal products, such as a decoction of meadow meadowsweet, birch chaga or field chamomile. Apparently, if all this information is collected, then readers can be presented with a plump book of miraculous healings that occurred “besides medical prescriptions and opinions.” But, most likely, this will not be some kind of experience to be repeated, but only evidence of an individual and targeted healing from the schema-nun Mother Theodosia.
All of us living on these difficult eves of global trials are lucky that not far from us on Skopino land for more than twenty years, like a spring or a lonely flute, the living sound of a heavenly conversation has flowed. And everyone who came to mother was consoled and encouraged.
Natalya had an accident at the factory, after which she stopped walking
The city of Skopin did not abandon construction then. Multi-storey buildings and factories were built there. Mother Feodosia remembers that she was building an auto-aggregate plant. She also talked in detail about where it was and what they did there.
Natasha did not want to get married, since her structure was more like a monastic one. Since they lived poorly, she still wanted to marry her sisters. She also recalled that one afternoon she prayed that she did not want anyone to be brought to her to marry her. When the nun began to pray to God that he would not allow her to become a matchmaker, an accident occurred at the factory.
At that time, people were injured both at work and even on the way to work, since it was a time of great construction projects. Human life and health were practically not taken into account. Then Natasha and her younger sister Olga had an accident. The old man who was driving them to work rolled over.
19.5 years
after the accident the old woman spent in a lethargic sleep
They even wanted to give Natalya and her sister disability, but they refused because it was inconvenient for the reason that they were still very young. Soon a year later, another accident occurred when a dump truck fell when they were loading bricks. Two people were injured: a man was immediately killed and left with four children. Natalya was also seriously injured.
To begin with, she was also taken to the morgue - they thought that she had died.
Nun Feodosia recalls that one of the nurses said at the morgue that her face was somehow very alive. And when they applied the mirror, they saw that it was fogged up. After this event, my mother spent a year in the hospital, but the doctors did not want to send her home. They also said that such patients are taken to Moscow, but they do not have the means to care for such a seriously ill person.
There was a disaster at the factory where Natasha worked, after which she lost the ability to walk forever. From that moment on she just lay there
No matter how much the relatives asked, there were only refusals. The husband of Olga’s younger sister wrote a note stating that he would take responsibility for his mother. For him, this meant the end of his entire family life, since he was a military man and was often sent on business trips. Olga remained to care for her sick sister.
They had to leave their native village, and they moved to a new village, where they began to live with relatives on their mother’s side. Then sister Olga was given housing there, and they moved to a small house. Here Mother 19.5 lay in a lethargic sleep.
Feodosia fell into a lethargic sleep for 20 years after the accident
When Natalya turned 30, there was a terrible accident at the plant. Initially, the woman was taken to the morgue because they thought she had died. But one of the nurses noticed the strange color of Natalya’s face and went to the doctor, deciding that she was alive.
When they brought a mirror to the victim’s nose, they saw that the woman was indeed alive. She lay unconscious for almost a year. The doctors did not want to let her go home, as they were constantly monitoring her condition. But the husband of Natalia’s younger sister decided to write a receipt in which he indicated that he was ready to take responsibility for her life. Her sister began to look after her.
Schema-nun Feodosia
They had to leave their native village and move to a village called New Kieltsy. The relatives of my mother and her sister lived here. It was in this place that Natalya woke up. But this happened only 20 years later. All this time she was in a lethargic sleep.
In 1973, during the holiday of Easter, mother came to her senses.
In 1973, during the holiday of Easter, Mother Theodosia came to her senses. She came to her senses gradually. Signs of her life were discovered when one of her sisters was taken into custody. She began to moan and cry and said why they fed her, because the Mother of God herself fed her. But schema-nun Theodosia opened her eyes a few years later.
But even then, some kind of special peace and goodness was felt in her small room. There was peace here. Very often mother was visited by relatives and people who cared for her. Some neighbors disliked them very much, sometimes even played dirty tricks on them, but the sisters endured all this.
While her sister was alive, mother could not get enough of it. Soon, when Olga fell ill, her mother asked her not to leave, but she went to the hospital on the instructions of the doctors, and soon died.
Very often, mother and her sister were visited by relatives and caring people. Many did not like them, but the sisters tolerated everything
Afterwards, the chief doctors from the capital’s hospitals began to come to my mother for advice. She confirmed diagnoses and made recommendations. Mother Theodosia treated with herbs and made up recipes herself. Her spiritual children collected and dried herbs. Of course, most of all, mother healed with her prayer, and through herbal recipes, she tried to hide her gift of prayer.
One day a young girl talked about how she had terminal cancer. She didn’t know what to do; she was gradually preparing for death. Then she came to grandmother Theodosia, who gave her grass to drink, after which mother Theodosia healed her. There were very, very many such stories. Mother always talked about people praying to the Mother of God for everything. And also mother always said: “...live in peace and stay with God.”
This is the first book about the old woman from the city of Skopin, near Ryazan, revered by the church people - Schema nun Theodosius (Kosorotikhina; 05/15/2014). The publication was compiled with the blessing of her child, Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye. For twenty years the ascetic was in a coma, communicating with the Heavenly world, and after forty years she shared the gifts of her prayerful communion with God with believers flowing to her from all over Russia and from abroad. And someone found the gift of faith right in her cell... This book - an offering of grateful memory to Mother Theodosia - will delight and strengthen on the path of salvation both those who communicated with her by God's grace, and those who meet the old woman on the pages of this book for the first time.
CONTENT
Preface Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, God-given Mother Theodosia. Essay on life Prayer book. Archimandrite Abel (Urgalkin) People don’t go to an empty well for water. Archimandrite Pimen (Adarchenko) The life of Mother Theodosia is a great mystery. Hegumen Cyprian (Yashchenko), Moscow The heavenly world was very close to mother. Hieromonk Theodorit (Tikhonov) “Here is peace - there is the Grace of God.” Archpriest Konstantin Gusarov When you communicate, she definitely lives for you at that moment. Archpriest Vladimir Ovchinnikov We are called to imitate our mother, as she did the Savior. Hegumen Seraphim (Kotelnikov) Mother was burning with the desire to help everyone. Monk Lazar (Matrenin) She loved God so much that she laid down her soul for people. Archpriest Alexy Krylov Mother possessed enormous wealth - prayer to the Lord. Nun Maria (Sladkova) Thanksgiving lessons: “Live like this, everything is fine with you!” Seraphim (Maslov) “The main thing is to stay with the Lord God.” Hieromonk Anthony (Romadin) Life through the care of the great old lady. Mother's cell attendant Olga Solovyova Mother gave me a second life. Klavdia Akimovna Gracheva For our entire family, Mother Theodosia is a dear person. Ivan Mikhailovich Eganov “Oh, the Mother of God has come!” Alexander Ivanovich Panfilov “I prayed for you here and I will pray there.” Tatyana Nikolaevna Panfilova “Mother, you will be mother.” Abbess Theodorit (Markova) “Let us pray, God will help.” Raisa Yakovlevna Tatarintseva After communicating with mother, a person could no longer help but believe in eternal life. Lyubov Sergeevna Grishko “I know everything.” Abbess Alexia (Bazhina) Living Icon. Nun Varvara (Vilisova) “Live in peace.” Mother's recipes. Evgeniy Karikh Come with joy! Natalya Vasilchenko Glow in mother's room. Tatyana Zakharovna Kozlova “Be patient a little, my child. The Lord loves those who are patient." Maria Vladimirovna Lomakina Mother will pray - and everything will be according to the will of God. Galina, R.B. Through mother’s prayers, people simply came to life! Elina Savelyeva The Lord gave us mother so that we could have faith. Tatyana Belyaeva “We need to leave Kyiv.” Lidia Grigorievna Efremenko Her word was law for me. Ekaterina Faustova “A darling should be joyful.” Oleg Lyubeznov “I will help you.” Tatyana Kartasheva “Do you need this?” Alexander Minaev Mother does not leave us. Vasily J. Kind as an Angel! Lydia F. On earth as in heaven. Oncologist Tatyana “I’ll meet you there.” Lyudmila Tazina “The Lord Himself will reveal it to you.” Oleg M. “I will pray for you.” Tatyana Chernyaeva, Moscow “Why be discouraged? Need to live!". Mother Natalya Khromova The wonderful help of Mother Theodosia. Eyewitness accounts The look of those young eyes always gave a feeling of hope. Olga Sinyuk Everything began to happen miraculously. Alexander, R.B. A thread from the earthly to the heavenly. Nun Siluana (Chugunkina) Afterword. Metropolitan Veniamin of Ryazan and Mikhailovsky
There were up to 150 visitors to the Skopinskaya oxbow per day
After the death of her sister, mother was bedridden and suffered a lot from her mistress around the house. One day she almost burned to death because her bed was next to the stove.
1990
this year she adopted the schema with the name Theodosius
Many people came to grandma. She took from 9 o'clock in the morning until the night, until 10 o'clock in the evening. There could be up to 150 visitors a day, but mother approved and consoled everyone. She always had a psalter on her bed. Sometimes she asked to read exactly the page that was open, and then the person who read could get an answer to his question.
Very often she liked to answer in parables. When they asked her a question, she began to talk as if from afar, and when the person listened attentively, he immediately understood what she was talking about. Very often she read akathists.
In 1990, Natalya was tonsured into the schema with the name Theodosius.
Mother Theodosia helped not only adults, but also children. She prayed for them, and the babies survived even the most terrible illnesses
The rector of the temple, who was in the same village, came to her very often. She was also well known in the Skopino diocese. Monks, priests, bishops and even metropolitans often came to see her.
After Feodosia came to her senses, she began to help people
Gradually, the future mother began to come to her senses. Many noticed a strange feature - the woman could see even with her eyes closed. Many also noticed that there was something reverent in her room; order and peace always reigned. Very often Natalya was visited by relatives, friends, as well as simply good people who were not indifferent to her fate.
Natalya used herbs for a long time. She personally composed all the recipes herself. And her children helped her, collecting herbs from the forests and fields. But of course, Mother Theodosia prayed for everyone, and through this grass she conveyed the gift of prayer.
After the death of her sister, Natalya was bedridden. She got a lot of trouble from her nurse. She was often left in the cold with the stove unheated. One day she almost burned to death.
But still, many came to the woman for advice. She often answered in parables. People never left her without an answer. She received up to 20 people a day.
She read akathists in front of the icons; she always had the Psalter on her table. In 1990, she was tonsured into the great schema with the name Theodosius. The Skopinskaya elder died at the age of 90, in 2014. On this day they celebrated the feast of the holy princes Boris and Gleb. A few hours before her death, she received communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Mother died at the age of 90 on the day of remembrance of Saints Boris and Gleb
Mother died at the age of 90 on the day of remembrance of the holy passion-bearers and noble princes - Boris and Gleb. Before her death, she received communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Then my mother said that they would celebrate Easter joyfully, but would see them off with tears.
Many people ask where Mother Theodosia is buried? In the village in which she lived, a chapel was erected where every believer can bow and pray to Mother Theodosia. There, a place was consecrated for the foundation of a temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
This is how the chapel of Mother Theodosia from Skopin currently looks like
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Schema-nun Feodosia (1917–2007)
Schema-nun Feodosia (in the world Anna Leontievna Yakovleva) was born in April 1917 into a pious large family in the village of Bunino, Fatezhsky district, Kursk region. The entire Kursk region knew and now remembers the ascetic. They came to her from Moscow, from St. Petersburg, from many places in Russia. She was called the Kursk Elder. Mother secretly prayed and helped many people.
The ascetic was honored to visit the great elders, now glorified: St. Amphilochius of Pochaev (1897–1971), St. Kuksha of Odessa (1875–1964), St. Lawrence of Chernigov (1868–1950), St. Seraphim (Amelina) (1874–1958). Mother was familiar with Schema-Archimandrite Ippolit (Khalin) (1928–2002), with Schema-Archimandrite Ioann (Maslov) (1932–1991) and other Glinsky elders, with the Belgorod elder Archimandrite Seraphim (Tyapochkin) (1894–1982)). (*Elder Schema-Archimandrite Hippolytus (Khalin) (1928–2002) began in the Glinskaya Hermitage, in 1991 he was appointed rector of the Rylsky St. Nicholas Monastery. The rector of the Glinskaya Hermitage, Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim (Amelin) (1874–1958) was glorified in 2008. )
The rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and Seminary, Bishop Ambrose of Gatchina, listened to the spiritual advice of Schema-nun Theodosia (in his youth he sang in the choir with his mother). The monks of the Kursk-Root monastery often visited mother, and she loved this monastery. The governor of the Kursk-Root Hermitage, Abbot Veniamin (Korolev), revered Mother very much, he more than once invited her to move to the monastery. The rector of the Kazan Mother of God Ploshchanskaya men's hermitage, Archimandrite Sergius (Bulatnikov), also came to the old woman. The ascetic sisters from the monastery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (village of Bolshegneushevo, Rylsky district, Kursk region) remember with great warmth. Mother often visited them. Schema-nun Theodosia was visited by clergy from different monasteries, priests and laymen of different ages and ranks.
Leonty and Akulina Yakovlev, who lived in the village of Bunino, had ten children, the youngest daughter, born on the feast of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, was named Anna. The family was friendly and hardworking. The Yakovlevs had a large farm, the house was hospitable. From childhood, parents instilled in their children a love of work. Older children helped their parents with housework and babysat younger children.
Annushka's mother died when she was only 18 months old, and when she was five years old, her father died. Rarely does anyone remember their early childhood as vividly as the future ascetic remembered it. (The gray-haired old woman told her cell attendant that she remembered well the sky, flowers, and river that she had seen many years ago.)
In 1923, five-year-old Annushka fell ill with measles and went blind. From the story of Schema-nun Feodosia: “At the age of five I fell ill with measles, my eyes were dripping out, it was very painful... When we came under dispossession, everything was taken away from us, and everyone was kicked out onto the street. All the children are going where: to their aunts, uncles...”
Schema-nun Theodosia recalled with bitterness how on a cold winter day she and other children were driven through the forest on a cart for a long time. How one of the children decided to “pity” the blind sister and offered to throw her off the cart, assuring the others that she would quickly suffer, freeze and die. The hungry, exhausted children were ready to accept such “compelling arguments,” but sister Tatiana stood up for her little sister and did not allow her to be pushed off the cart.
The orphans had to endure a lot in those terrible years. Annushka and her sisters walked around the courtyards with outstretched hands, feeding on what merciful people served. The Lord did not leave the orphans, everyone survived.
Annushka loved to retire to pray in silence, to ask the Lord to ease the suffering that befell them. One day, when she was seven years old, she was praying fervently in the barn. Suddenly, lightning struck nearby, the girl began to cry out of fear, after this event, the first signs of spiritual illness appeared.
Anna lived for some time in a boarding house for the blind, where she was taught to read books specially published for the blind. Nimble fingers quickly learned to grope and recognize letters, words and whole sentences were born in the mind. In a home for the disabled, Anna worked in a hosiery factory. One day for lunch they prepared borscht from cabbage, which was fermented in a kerosene barrel. After this “lunch”, the sufferer suffered from high acidity in her stomach for 50 years - severe heartburn appeared every time after eating.
In 1945, residents of the village of Bunino were evacuated to the village of Deryugino, Dmitrievsky district, Kursk region. The ascetic lived in this village for more than 60 years. According to the Providence of God, she was destined to live for half a century in almost all the houses located around the temple, as if consecrating this circle with holy prayer. When the churches were closed, the entire village was sanctified with the prayer of the ascetic. (The rural church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious was closed and reopened several times.)
Soon after the war, on August 28, on the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Anna accepted monasticism (with her former name in honor of the holy blessed princess Anna Kashinskaya), and her mother was tonsured by Archimandrite Sergius (Bulatnikov), rector of the Kazan Mother of God Ploshchanskaya men's hermitage. A year later, on the same day, nun Anna was tonsured into monasticism with her former name Anna. The prayer never left the lips of nun Anna; the ascetic bore the cross of illness with great humility. According to contemporaries, she never lost heart. She spoke little about herself; people could only guess about the suffering that her illness caused her.
The singers from the choir said that for many years mother suffered from spiritual illness, when the enemy of the human race annoyed her - she screamed. The ascetic fasted strictly, spending a month only on holy water and prosphora. When the spiritual illness subsided at the age of 87, other trials began for begging people. (The enemy of the human race took revenge for begging people.)
Nun Maria from the monastery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (village of Bolshegneushevo) said that from 1949 to 1951 Archimandrite Martyriy served in the village of Deryugino; he was the spiritual father of mother. (*Confessor Archimandrite Martyriy (Grishin) (1875–1958)). At the patronal feast in the city of Dmitrov, at a meal, the perspicacious elder Martyrius, serving his mother a piece of bun with butter and honey, prophetically came true.
In the nineties, nun Anna was invited to her house by nun Susanna. Mother lived for nine happy years with a nun close to her in spirit and her daughter Zinaida. Here they lived and served services in their home church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God, when the church was periodically closed. Over time, we bought a neighboring house, where we all moved together.
Finally, the time came when monasteries began to be restored and closed churches were opened. To the great joy of Mother Anna, the opportunity arose to visit holy places; she, together with her spiritual sisters Paraskeva from Dimitrov and Varvara, made pilgrimages to holy places.
In 2001, the Lord called the nun Susanna to Himself, and the next year her daughter Zinaida went to the Lord, and mother was left alone. The rector of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, which had opened by that time, Archpriest Father Vasily Bovsunovsky, blessed to bury the mother and daughter in the same grave ten steps from the temple facing the altar, fulfilling their dying wish.
Soon after the death of her spiritual sisters, Mother Theodosia lost the ability to move independently. When she was being transported in a sleigh, the horse skidded and the cart overturned. After this accident, Mother Theodosia practically could not walk and needed constant care. Archpriest Vasily addressed the parishioners of the church with a request that the believers from the church take turns caring for the sick person. At first, the schema-nun was looked after by the parishioners of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious; later the priest found Elena from Zheleznogorsk, who agreed to live with mother permanently and look after her. Elena looked after her mother until the last days of her earthly life.
Mother’s children took the old woman to holy places, since it was difficult for mother to move, it happened that Elena had to carry her. Later, the spiritual daughter of the ascetic Alevtina bought a wheelchair, and it became more convenient to travel. According to the cell attendant, mother was always in prayer and loved to go to church. She said that my mother did not have a pension due to lack of documents, so she lived on alms.
On August 27, 2003, nun Anna, with the blessing of Schema-Metropolitan Iuvenaliy (Tarasov), took monastic vows into the great schema with the name Theodosius (in honor of St. Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk). Hegumen Moses* (Matyukhin) was tonsured into the great schema in the monastery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Bolshe-Gneushevo, Rylsky district (Kursk region). (Hegumen Moses* (Matyukhin) – abbot of the St. Nicholas Monastery in the city of Rylsk 2003–2005)
According to the cell attendant, immediately after the service, Archimandrite Arseny (from the Znamensky Cathedral in Kursk) blessed Schema-nun Theodosia for eldership, he said, turning to his mother: “I bless you to pray for everyone, to help everyone...”
The Lord gave mother a good memory - until she was very old, she remembered everyone by name: she remembered the health of more than six hundred people, prayed for the repose of the souls of three hundred deceased Orthodox people. The spiritual children of Elder Feodosia said that the ascetic relied only on the will of God in everything, never lost heart, and thanked the Lord for everything. Schema-nun Theodosia loved and forgave everyone, endured everything without a murmur, humbled herself, always maintained peace of mind, and was only worried about one thing, how not to be late for the service (at 4 in the morning she was already dressed). Divine services in the temple were spiritual consolation for her; she loved spiritual chants, sang and read psalms herself.
From the memories of Elena’s cell attendant: “I once said to my mother: “If only your eyes would open and you saw us, the house...” And in response I heard: “Why should I see this, I would like to see the Mother of God on the icon and Christ the Savior ! She often repeated: “Live like children, but not like babies in mind.”
The schema-nun was moderately sociable, often calmed down during conversations, and was completely immersed in prayer. She did everything very carefully. Mother Theodosia hid many good deeds.
Mother Theodosia greatly revered the holy blessed Matronushka of Moscow - she visited her 3 times. She was in Optina Hermitage, in Diveevo, in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, at the Anniversary celebrations in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Kursk, and visited Schema-Metropolitan Iuvenaliy (Tarasov) several times in Kursk. Elder Feodosia loved to visit the monastery in the village of Bolshegneushevo and came to stay with the sisters for several days.
According to the testimony of mother’s close spiritual sisters, Schema-nun Theodosia was honored with miraculous visions. She talked about the miraculous apparitions of the Queen of Heaven and St. Nicholas. Archpriest Vasily said that Mother Theodosia felt the warmth from the sun and pointed out where the sun was, especially after Easter.
From the memoirs of V.N. Mamontov: “Lord Bless! We met Mother Feodosia in July 2005. At that time we lived abroad, in Estonia. Every summer we went on vacation to our parents in Deryugino. Even earlier, while attending services in the Church of St. George the Victorious in Deryugino, we saw a schema nun praying, sitting in a wheelchair, in front of the choir. But at that time the Lord did not allow us to see her, apparently because my wife and I were then living in an unmarried relationship. That year, after the end of Peter’s Lent, we finally got married, and on the following Sunday we met my mother. There was no one to bring Mother to the service and Elena, who was caring for Mother, asked me to bring her to church.
After the service, we took mother back home, and were invited to lunch with my wife and children. Mother asked us who we were and where we were from, where our relatives lived and their names, and promised to pray for everyone.
A few days later, on the eve of the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, together with Mother Theodosia we went to the patronal feast at the monastery in Bolshegneushevo, to which mother was assigned. You should have seen how much joy the sisters of the monastery had, and the numerous pilgrims, when they saw Mother, everyone sought to receive her blessing, share their joys and pains with her, went to her with their needs and everyone found consolation. A few days later we again visited my mother at home and talked with her. A man of enormous spiritual power was revealed to us. It was to her, an 88-year-old old woman who had lost her sight since the age of five, who lived a very difficult life, often without a means of subsistence, who lived only by trusting in the Lord - we went for help - healthy and sick, young and old, carrying the burden of our needs and received help from her.
Once my mother asked: “Are there Orthodox Christians in Estonia?”
“Yes, but very little,” I answered.
“We need to leave Estonia,” my mother said then.
A few days later we were leaving for Estonia. On the eve of departure, when I took a blessing from Mother Theodosia. I asked her if it was time for us to leave Estonia?
Mother was lost in thought, apparently praying.
“You’ll live for a year, and then we’ll see,” she said.
About a year later my father died. After the funeral, I and my sisters went to see my mother. The sisters were the first to come up for the blessing. Having blessed the sisters, mother asked: “Where is Vladimir?”
“I’m here,” I answered and, going up to Mother, took the blessing.
-Now it’s time to move, you should live here!
This was said in such a way that there was no doubt left - this is the will of God.
Anyone who has changed their place of residence probably knows how difficult it is to decide to take this step, especially when life is outwardly going well. We kept putting off moving.
On February 8, 2007, wife Natalya, while working in the kitchen, suddenly clearly heard the voice of Mother Feodosia - “Natasha, it’s time.” This was the day of mother’s departure from this world, which we learned about only a few days later. From this time on, events begin to develop rapidly. We take blessings for the move from Fr. Alexandra Ruchkina, he introduces us to a real estate broker who is a parishioner of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Tallinn. And although at that time there was already a crisis in the real estate market in Estonia, practically no housing was being sold, our apartment was sold in 10 days. With this money we were able to buy good housing in our homeland and move safely.
This is how Mother Theodosia helped us after her departure. Truly God reveals his power in weak people who trust in him!”
From the memoirs of the cell attendant of Schema nun Elena Theodosia: “Not long before her death, mother was often given communion, monks came from the Kursk-Root Monastery to say goodbye to her. Before her death, Father Vasily gave communion to Mother. Her last words were like an instruction: “Now look into your sleigh yourself, what is in it and where you are going... Worldly life on earth has ended - spiritual life has come. Time passes quickly, only the strong will stand.” Mother herself blessed me to read the prayer of departure, as I read the “Canon for the Exodus of the Soul,” she sighed three times and went to the Lord.”
From the memoirs of the spiritual daughter of Schema nun Theodosia Tatiana: “It is difficult to write about the last days of mother’s earthly life; I visited her from January 23 to 25, 2007, on my angel day. As mother said, “The Queen of Heaven sent it.” I was very seriously spiritually ill. At night, when I was sleeping, my mother and Lena begged me, and during the day they slept, and I busied myself with the housework. I spent three unforgettable days with the old woman. They prayed together, remembered spiritual stories together, ate together. Mother was always in prayer, but as soon as you turned to her, she happily talked, explained, answered questions, reassured, and gave instructions. I remember I sat down at the feet of the old woman and began to talk about my pilgrimage to Cyprus, about the Kik monastery, about the discovery of the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God. Warmth spread in my soul, as in a carefree childhood from the presence of my mother. The old woman smiled with the unusually pure smile of a baby, she smiled with her soul, and I saw how warm her soul was from this story. Mother placed her blessed hand on my head - light as fluff and pure as a shining snowball. And again I felt great love and as if it was my deceased mother. She felt sorry for me. And cell attendant Elena later said that I was very heavy, and, thank God, I got to them.
On my angel day, mother and Elena allowed me to prepare a meal. Mother sat down in her place at the table near the buffet, which surprised me, because I had seen the old lady all three days in the same place on the sofa. At the festive meal, the old woman sang a troparion to the holy martyr Tatiana, ate a little and moved to her sofa. Later she blessed her for the journey and asked to pray for her, saying that she was very sick. When leaving, I still did not realize where I was and what I had acquired... The eternal memory of my spiritual mother, who saved me from death. I magnify and honor your holy memory...
Upon arriving home, I immediately ordered health messages for my mother. On the same day Lena called and said that my mother was very ill. I wanted to return, but Lena didn’t allow me... Mother died on February 8, 2007.
At the funeral there were everyone who learned about the death, and who loved and revered mother. The memorial service was served by the monks of the Kursk-Root Monastery with Hegumen Veniamin and Father Vasily. There were a lot of people, tables were set in the church... they remembered, prayed, silently mourned the great loss...
They buried mother together with the nun Susanna - her last wish was fulfilled.
It’s been 3 years since Elder Schema-nun Feodosia has been gone, but people remember her, go to her grave, ask for help and mother helps... I noticed that when I start my pilgrimage to the Kursk region by visiting my mother’s grave, the pilgrimage is always a success.
Those who ask for mother’s prayerful intercession testify that they feel spiritual support and help in solving material and family problems.
Anyone who wants to pray at the grave of Elder Feodosia, buried in the village of Deryugino near the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, and visit the holy spring, can travel from Moscow from the Kursk railway station to the Mikhailov Rudnik station in one night. From the station to the village of Deryugino it takes 20 minutes by taxi. Or go to the city of Kursk, then take two buses for 2–3 hours.”
