How does the Icon of Xenia of St. Petersburg help, where is it located?

During her lifetime, Ksenia experienced a considerable number of tragic events and trials. The strongest shock that subsequently radically changed the entire course of her life was the death of her beloved husband. After this tragedy, the godly woman renounced all benefits and began to help everyone who needed it, without demanding anything in return. For such a righteous life, the Almighty rewarded her with the gift of foresight, which the Saint later helped save many lives. Even after her death, the righteous woman comes to the aid of believers, who not only visit her grave, but also say prayers at the divine image. In the source below you can find out where the miraculous icon is located, how Xenia of Petersburg helps and what is the text of the blessed one’s prayer.

Strengthened my faith during Soviet times

Now on February 6th, the queue to the chapel of Mother Xenia has been lining up since early morning and right from the entrance to the Smolensk cemetery.
When I first came here, back in Soviet times, everything was abandoned, it was impossible to get inside the chapel, the entrance was boarded up, but you could see the trash inside and the remains of a Soviet sculpture of some discus thrower, everything was in ruins - a sad sight. I knew nothing about Blessed Xenia, I was not even baptized, I studied at the institute, was the secretary of the Komsomol organization. But there was this saying going around our institute during the session, addressed to those who successfully passed the difficult exam: “Apparently, Ksenyushka helped.” I couldn’t understand what kind of Ksenyushka she was, where she worked or lived, or what the institute had to do with it. But you have to understand that it was also a dangerous time: if I went into church, I saw a man in a black coat following me, watching what and how I was doing. I wanted to be baptized for a long time, but it didn’t work out, because in Leningrad at that time people were baptized only upon presentation of a passport and were immediately told “where they should go”: people lost their jobs and were deprived of the opportunity to continue their education.

But one day I decided to find Ksenyushka at the Smolensk cemetery and went, not knowing anything special. An amazing meeting seriously changed my life. Having wandered alone among the ruins, I came out to the destroyed chapel, and then a little old woman came out to meet me and asked me: “Are you going to Ksenyushka? I’ll tell you everything about her.” We talked for two hours. The woman briefly described the life of Mother Xenia, faith and prayer, which, despite the prohibitions, destruction, war, never stopped in this place. But most of all I was shocked by the prayer in verse that was born during the blockade. This old woman recalled how there were always people who, despite hunger and lack of strength, came here and prayed to the blessed one, believing that she would not leave the city. She said briefly to herself: “Everyone for whom I prayed to Mother Ksenia returned from the war alive.” My only request then was to be baptized. And literally after a while I, it seems, on a voucher from the institute, ended up in Yalta, where, during a walk on Palm Sunday, I came across the Alexander Nevsky Church, built in memory of the murdered Emperor Alexander II (here is the connection with St. Petersburg!), in which baptisms were performed without a passport entry, and I received holy baptism. And my life changed, I immediately felt it.

I can testify to one more miracle. A few years later, a friend came to visit me one day, who had been married for 8 years, but suffered from the lack of children. She simply cried that day in despair, saying that there were no prospects, she was tired of going to doctors. And I suggested that she not put it off, but go to Smolenskoye right now. But, as often happens, a person’s path to God is not always simple: a tram ran from my house, and at normal times it took me 20 minutes to get to the Smolensk cemetery, but that time it took two hours. And the weather was against us, and on the way, my friend suddenly became ill, and she sat on a bench. When we finally arrived, she went to the chapel to pray, and I stayed on the sidelines to wait, only briefly thinking that it would be nice if God had sent me a boy. At that time I already had 2 daughters. And then literally 2 weeks later I found out about my pregnancy, without even doubting that it would be a boy. And my friend gave birth to a son six months after me. But we are both convinced that this is the help of Mother Ksenia of Petersburg.

Natalya, 59 years old, engineer, St. Petersburg

Chapel of Xenia of St. Petersburg in the village of Sizma, Vologda region. Photo vologdatourinfo.ru

Where should I take notes addressed to Xenia of Petersburg?

And although in the modern world there are already ways to send a note to Xenia the Blessed virtually, nothing can compare with the live emotions that arise in the chapel of Xenia the Blessed itself.

In many cities and towns there are buildings of churches and chapels in honor of Xenia of St. Petersburg. But the most famous place of pilgrimage and prayer is the chapel located on the territory of the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg; it was erected on the burial site of St. Xenia.

Before going to the chapel, you should carefully prepare.

1. A week before departure, you need to strictly prohibit yourself from drinking alcohol and cigarettes.
2. Don't use bad words.
3. Go to church.
4. Say regular prayers to Xenia of St. Petersburg.
5. On the day of departure, you should take cookies or sweets with you. Once outside the chapel, you should feed the birds and give out alms.

Approaching the holy chapel, you need to walk around it three times counterclockwise. The prepared note must be placed in a special box located next to the wall. Touch the wall with your hand or forehead and perform a prayer of help. Light a candle and place it next to the wall. After this, enter the chapel and order a prayer service, and mentally continue to imagine the image of Saint Xenia.

It is worth remembering that this place cannot be left immediately. Wait until someone calls you.

Saint Xenia was married to Colonel Andrei Petrov. After his death, Ksenia did many strange things, but this was not associated with a loss of reason, it only confirmed her complete contempt for human goods, and the opinion of people, which puts these goods above all else. So the Blessed One took upon herself the burden of the benefit of activity for the sake of the Lord himself.

Having learned through the death of her husband all the illusory and unnatural nature of earthly happiness, Ksenia with all her soul joined God and only sought consolation and her protection from Him.

Earthly, fleeting goods ceased to have any value for the saint. Ksenia had her own house and she gave it to her friend, so most of the time the saint walked among poor people.

Ksenia had the gift of predictions. Before Christmas 1762, she walked along the streets of the city and said: “Bake pancakes, because tomorrow all of Russia will bake pancakes.” The next day, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died unexpectedly. A few days before the death of John, who was proclaimed emperor from an early age, the saint cried all day long and kept saying: “Blood, blood, blood.” A few days later, young John was killed.

Ksenia of Petersburg died at the end of the 18th century, but information about the year and day of her death has not been preserved. She was buried on the territory of the Smolensk cemetery, where she helped build the church. The pilgrimage to her burial began shortly after her death. Ksenia of Petersburg could many times appear in visions to ordinary people who were experiencing any difficulties, warned about the threat and saved them from various disasters. Prayers of Ksenia of Petersburg for marriage.

Reviews of the prayers of Xenia of St. Petersburg

God bless! I thank Saint Xenia for your prayers for us sinners and for your great support! I asked the saint for a wife and child, and through the prayers of the saints of Christ (since I asked a large number of saints), including Xenia of Petersburg in her chapel in St. Petersburg, I received what I wanted. The Lord gave me an intelligent, believing wife, and a girl who was born on February 5, 2016, named Ksenia.

Basil

Thanks to Saint Xenia for a good marriage. For a long time I couldn’t get married, I was completely desperate. Through the prayers of Ksenia of Petersburg, she sent me one man who married me and got married. Believe me girls. Pray and everything will definitely come back to you.

Maria

Saint Xenia of St. Petersburg contributed to my finding a good job. I couldn’t find a job for about 6 months, then I started praying to Ksenia. I asked carefully, went to her grave and she heard me.

We advise you to study the Sin of the love of money in Orthodoxy

Svetlana

Brief life of Ksenia

Ksenia of Petersburg lived a life truly rich in the Holy Spirit . Her biography is not known in all details: little is known about Ksenia’s young age. Even the date of her birth is not precisely determined: it is believed that she was born in the period from 1719 to 1730. in a noble and God-fearing family. In her youth, she married a colonel and member of the court choir, Andrei Feodorovich Petrov. After the sudden death of her husband, who died without repentance, the twenty-six-year-old widow decided on a most difficult feat: she renounced reason, the most precious thing a person has, for the glory of the Lord and begged God to have mercy on her husband, who had not received repentance.

On the day of his funeral, she dressed in his military uniform and went through her entire earthly journey, abandoning all the material benefits of this world. She told her frightened relatives that Ksenia had died, Andrei Fedorovich was alive. With these words she began to walk around St. Petersburg.

After the death of her husband, Paraskeva Antonova, a woman who rented housing in Ksenia’s house, received the house by deed of gift, and all other property was given to the poor. She donated cash to the church with a request for the repose of God's servant Ksenia. Relatives opposed such decisions, but after an inspection carried out at their insistence, it turned out that she was absolutely sane and, by law, had the right to own property and alienate it.

The feat of Ksenia of Petersburg

She gave away everything she had and went out onto the streets of St. Petersburg in a man's dress and began her feat. In the cold and heat, she walked the streets, constantly giving rise to mockery and ridicule from all of St. Petersburg with her strange speeches and awkward costume. But the blessed one responded to them with unchanging meekness and gentleness, constantly praying.

Gradually, the most observant and sensitive people began to notice some features in her behavior: she did not take alms from everyone, but only from sincere and kind people and immediately gave it to other beggars. She refused warm clothes in winter and wore rags all year round. By the time her husband's clothes were worn out, she put on a red jacket and a green skirt. At night she left the city into the field and there she prayed in four directions.

It was soon noticed by those around him that not only the actions, but also all the words of the blessed one carry a secret message: if he asks someone, then that person will be in trouble, but if he gives something, then that person will be happy. Trading with the one who will be visited by “Andrei Feodorovich” will be especially successful. Mothers believed that by stroking the child’s head, the blessed one would heal him and they rushed to her every time to receive a blessing.

Help for masons

In those days, construction of a new stone church was underway at the Smolensk cemetery. The structure was already quite high and the builders were forced to lift the stones first onto the scaffolding, and only then build the wall. The blessed one secretly helped the masons : at night she lifted heavy stones onto the scaffolding. The builders were surprised for a long time by such invisible help and decided to find out who this helper was.

So, one night, they discovered Ksenia at the church construction site, who by that time was already known for her “madness.”

Gift of Serendipity

Through the great feat of humility, spiritual and physical poverty, love for others and continuous prayer, she acquired the gift of clairvoyance. Many received help from her thanks to this miracle.

One day the blessed one came to the house that she had given to her friend Paraskeva Antonova and told her to go to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk, saying that God was sending her a son . Paraskeva left the undarned stockings and went. It turned out that a pregnant woman was run over by the driver's horse, she gave birth right on the road and died. No one knew who this woman was, where she and Paraskeva were from, remembering the words of the seer, took the baby to her and raised her as her own son.

The earthly death of the blessed one

The exact time of her death is unknown . One can only assume that Ksenyushka ended her earthly days in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. She spent about 45 years in the difficult feat of foolishness.

The burial place of Ksenia was the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg. Where is the temple of the icon of Our Lady of Smolensk, the construction of which she helped.

More than two hundred years have passed since the saint departed to the Lord, but miracles through her prayers continue to this day: people remember and love her. In 1902, a chapel was built at her resting place, and funeral services are especially often held there. Her grave was visited even during the years of Soviet power. And today there is more than one monastery and temple in honor of Saint Xenia. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized her in 1988.

Ksenia’s earthly life and all the miracles after her death are the subject of careful study by many people, both churchgoers and non-church believers. More than one report and more than one book have been written based on people’s reviews and stories. And today in the Christian world there are a total of at least 50 temples and chapels that are consecrated in her honor.

Even war can't stop the saint

Before the start of hostilities, specifically in 1940, the chapel of Xenia of St. Petersburg was closed, but no war could reduce the flow of pilgrims coming to the Saint for help. Parishioners came in droves to the temple gates, occupying a huge queue.

During the merciless war, the tombstone of Xenia was destroyed, and the chapel building and icons were barbarically destroyed by fire. In 1946, a year after the end of the war, the chapel was restored and filled with new images, and the appearance was restored. The chapel did not stand for long, as it was closed already in 1960, and a workshop for sculptural compositions arose in its place. Saint Xenia's name day is celebrated on June 6th. This day was recognized as a holiday of Christian faith in 1988. The icon of the Blessed Xenia has special power. The photo and prayer of the petition will be presented below.

Why is the chapel of the holy fool located at the Smolensk cemetery

Ksenia secretly helped build a church at the Smolensk cemetery, so after her death she was buried there, and a chapel was also built for her. Connected with this are the traditions of depicting the saint on icons against the backdrop of the Smolensk church and cemetery.

You can contact the saint by coming to her chapel or praying in front of the icon in any other place. There are Orthodox canons and akathists to St. Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg; you can pray in your own words. Saint's Day of Remembrance is February 6th according to the new style.

How to correctly ask for help from Mother Ksenia

It is pronounced at home or asked to be read by a priest. Sincere prayer is no less in demand. The main thing is to free your mind and ask for help or advice from the bottom of your heart. To do this, it is enough to acquire an icon of Xenia of St. Petersburg and wish good things to those around you, putting aside anger and old grievances. Mother always encouraged and loved kind people.

Prayers for Prosperity

A person always wants to make his life or his loved ones happy and without worries. Therefore, people often turn to Saint Blessed Xenia with requests.

If problems begin in family life, if there are worries, anxiety, apathy and depression in the soul, a prayer for well-being will help:

“Mother Xenia the Blessed, we appeal to you. You walked under the grace of God, the Virgin Mary guided you and gave you faith. You endured heat and cold, thirst and hunger, persecution and insults.

We ask you before the face of the Lord, help. Intercede for us, give us hope and strengthen our faith, bless us for good deeds and protect us from troubles and troubles.

Help, Saint Xenia, raise children in strictness and fear of God, guide them on the true path, help them in their studies. Save your family and friends from various diseases, preserve their health. Give me a strong and welcoming family.

Our only hope is in you. We thank you and praise the Lord. We accept any decision from above. Everything is the will of our God. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

This prayer is considered the most powerful appeal to the Blessed One. She will save you from evil, failures and bad intentions.

Prayer for Marriage

Lonely girls, their mothers, widows, suffering from loneliness, turn to the icon in prayer. They ask for a quick and happy marriage. Mothers pray for their daughter’s happiness and a good husband for her. Many girls greatly crave sincere and mutual love and, without sparing themselves, read prayers every day, believing in inevitable happiness.

To read this prayer correctly you must:

1. To be a believer who does good and helps those in need.
2. Place 3 candles at the icon of Blessed Xenia in a church, cathedral or temple and read a prayer.
3. If it is not possible to visit church, the ritual can be performed at home. The main thing is that there is an icon and candles that are placed next to it. Holy water would be a great addition. It should be drunk after each prayer.
4. After preparation, you should start reading. You should say the appeal several times, thinking about your request and introducing your chosen one.

Ksenia's prayer for marriage:

“Mother of Petersburg, I pray to you for a quick marriage and a good husband. So that he doesn’t drink, don’t go out, don’t raise his hand. So that the servant of God does not shed tears every day. I ask you for peace in the family, prosperity, harmony and mutual understanding.

I believe in our Lord and that all roads lead to His Throne. I ask you, Saint Xenia, intercede and ask for blessings. Let the will of the Lord come true. Amen".

If you read the prayer regularly with good intentions, then soon the girl or woman will meet a loving, decent betrothed.

Notes for Ksenia

There is a certain tradition - to carry notes to Blessed Xenia. It developed as a result of the fact that for many years her chapel in St. Petersburg was fenced and closed. People did not have the opportunity to pray or order a prayer service, make requests to Xenia and worship her tomb. They began to carry notes to the chapel and leave them in the fence and various crevices.

Now there is no longer any need for this. You can calmly go into the chapel, listen to the reading of the prayer service, submit notes, which the priest will read. But over the years, the established tradition remained. The chapel servants did not break it, but simply made a special box for notes. Such traditions cannot be destroyed, because the person in the note opens his soul, talks about his problems and asks Ksenia for help.

And she hears everyone and helps:

• for someone to find their soulmate and get married successfully;
• and for others, who have been married for a long time, to save their marriage if discord and quarrels arise;
• anyone who wants to find a good job goes to Ksenia with these requests;
• mothers ask the saint for their children so that they grow up healthy and do not fall into bad company;
• many people ask to be healed of this terrible disease.

The only thing you should not ask the saint for is wealth, money, or large lottery winnings. She, who had once renounced her title and inheritance, despised money and luxury. Ksenia will not improve the financial condition of the person who has turned, she helps to enrich themselves spiritually, purify their thoughts, and open their hearts to God.

Xenia of Petersburg is one of the most beloved and revered Russian saints. There is an icon of this saint in many Orthodox homes, and her grave is always crowded. Only she and the Lord God know how many people bowed their knees and touched their heads to the white marble tombstone with the words of prayer and hope: “Help, Ksenyushka!”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TGYsc2gMURs

Help for Ksenia in our time

Ksenia of Petersburg provided a lot of help during her earthly life . Of course, the blessed one knows about people’s needs and requirements no matter how anyone turns to her, but according to the feedback of believers, the following appeals are especially helpful:

Appendix to the relics of the saint at the place of her burial in the chapel. Many miracles have happened and are happening with sincere prayer at the shrine with its relics. Statement of your request in a note to the blessed one. It should be written in simple and clear language, the main thing here is the sincerity of the request itself. Notes are left in the chapel at the site of her burial. Not everyone has the opportunity to get to the blessed chapel. But in any prayer book there is an akathist to Xenia of St. Petersburg. It is especially good to read it on the days of her memory: February 6 and June 6.

There are many other cases of emergency help from the blessed one: you just need to sincerely ask for it and live according to the commandments of God, and then Saint Xenia of Petersburg will certainly help. Here is just a small list of the needs it helps with:

In personal relationships: for example, in marriage. She is approached by both mothers who want to arrange a good marriage for their daughters, and women who themselves want to get married. Helps with family discord, helping to restore family relationships. Resolves difficult everyday situations, helps to achieve success in a good deed. Helps sick people even with serious illnesses. Provides strong assistance with prayers for conception and pregnancy. Helps in getting a job, so that a person uses his God-given abilities for the benefit of his neighbors. Maintains physical and mental health, strengthens faith.

Oil of Xenia of St. Petersburg

At the Xenia Chapel you can buy oil - an amazing oil that relieves various diseases if used correctly and with faith in the help of the blessed one. A little oil is applied in a thin layer on the forehead in a cross shape while reading a prayer. Oil is an unusual consecrated vegetable oil, as many people think. Its effect is very strong. When used with prayer to Saint Xenia, believers get rid of tumors, ulcers, and also receive relief from serious illnesses. When using oil, faith in the help of the saint is crucial. The use of Xenia oil can help with the following ailments:

for migraines; for dermatitis; for allergic reactions; for other skin diseases.

How much strength and faith this young woman needed to have at the age of 26 in order to move away from her hectic life and take on the feat of imaginary madness. Having a prominent position at the court of the sovereign and a prosperous life, Ksenia preferred selfless service to God and people, pleasing the Lord already in earthly life. And today many rely on her holy prayers.

Prayer to Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg for family well-being

Oh, All-Good Mother, Blessed Xenia! I send my sincere prayer to You, contemplating Your holy image. Hear me, the servant of the Lord (name), full of sin. Do not leave me without Your intercession, without blessing, support me in difficult times, do not turn away your face in difficulties.

Help, O Ksenia, to establish peace in the family, so that you and your husband can live in harmony, in complete harmony, mutual understanding and love. May our family be filled with happiness and bathe in prosperity, and may any quarrel invariably end in peace. Let feelings be strong and complete mutual understanding reign.

Give us little children so that we can raise them in the service of the Lord, so that our family may continue with a worthy generation. I ask for submission to my husband and for his attentiveness. May peace, love, grace and mutual understanding reign in our family.

Oh, Saint Xenia, I pray to You for these blessings. Shower your favor! I trust only in You and I will bring Your praise forever! Amen.

Renunciation of all earthly things

From now on, Xenia did not need earthly titles and wealth; she even renounced her own name. The widow took her husband's name and went by it until the end of her days.

When her husband was buried, Ksenia dressed in his underwear and uniform and, in this form, followed the coffin. The widow replied to surprised relatives and acquaintances that Andrei Fedorovich did not die, but reincarnated as her, but Ksenia Grigorievna was no more, she had died. Her relatives felt sorry for her, believing that the woman’s mind had become clouded from grief. From now on, she began to respond only to the name of Andrei Fedorovich.

We advise you to study the Prayers to St. Savva the Sanctified

The young widow gave the house that she inherited after the death of her husband as a gift to Paraskeva Antonova, who had previously rented a room from them. At the same time, she made her promise that Paraskeva would always help mendicant wanderers. She distributed everything that was in the house to those in need, and took the money she had to the temple “for the repose of the soul of God’s servant Ksenia.”

Having heard about this, Andrei Fedorovich’s relatives turned to his boss with a request to stop the crazy woman and forbid her to give away things from the house. A medical examination was ordered, but it showed that Ksenia was in perfect health, and therefore has the right to independently dispose of property.

The widow gave away everything she had, remaining only in her husband's suit, left home and set off to wander the streets of St. Petersburg. For days on end she walked around the city, in the winter snowstorm and in the summer heat, not paying attention to the attacks and ridicule. Evil people mocked a gentle and meek woman with unintelligible speech and strange clothes; the naughty boys mocked the most. But Ksenia did not stop praying and carrying out her feat without complaint.

Help provided by the Reverend

Some considered Ksenia of Petersburg wonderful, others showed high respect for her personality. The godly ascetic prayed at night, and during the day she communicated with people in a language unfamiliar to them.

Icon of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg

The miraculous power of Saint Xenia is seen and experienced by ascetics who pray in front of her relics or icons.

• Those who wish to find family happiness, good health and financial well-being turn to the blessed mother. Prayers allow you to ward off misfortunes from your home.
• Unmarried women often turn to Ksenia to meet a good man and have a child. And men may be lucky enough to meet a respectable Christian woman.
• Prayers in front of relics or icons allow you to get rid of the influence of malicious people who spread gossip and trouble. Saint Xenia helps spouses maintain honest relationships and get rid of the destructive passions of adultery.
• The venerable old woman helps believers overcome the vice of self-love and pride. Saint Xenia relieves addictions (alcohol, smoking, drug addiction).

On a note! The prayer speaks of sincerity; the believer asks God’s servant to hear the sinner and not leave him in difficult life circumstances. Parishioners ask for family harmony, prosperity, peace and mutual understanding.

When and how to pray

How does Ksenia Peterburgskaya help?
In fact, there is no specific list of problems and desires with which you can contact Ksenia of St. Petersburg. Blessed Mother never offends those who come to her with faith and sincere desire. She helps in any life situation, be it searching for a job, a spouse, the True Path, or a strong desire to devote your life to serving the Lord.

Note!

There is no need to apply with the desire to get someone else's wife, illegal property, etc. In desires that contradict the commandments, it is impossible to receive a blessing from the blessed one.

She especially patronizes women. Most of the pilgrims who visit her chapel are representatives of the fair sex. Mother is often contacted in case of infertility and pregnancy, if there is a desire to find true love, if there are discord in the family, the threat of divorce, frequent quarrels, etc.

Reading prayers helps restore peace in the family, get pregnant and give birth to a long-awaited child, heal from a long and serious illness, etc.

Interesting! How a wedding takes place in the Orthodox Church - the main rules.

Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg - how to ask?

The modern world dictates its own conditions, and today you can send an email asking for help from Blessed Xenia. At the same time, believers know that this will never compare with the emotions that a person experiences in the holy chapel. Before visiting this place, you should prepare, think carefully about your needs, what problem you should contact an assistant with. You should not drink alcoholic beverages or smoke for several days; you should turn to Ksenia with prayers every day

When arriving at the chapel, it is important to follow certain rules:

1. It is recommended to walk around the chapel three times.
2. The note prepared in advance should be placed in a prepared box, or placed near the wall.
3. Turning your face to the wall of the chapel, you should touch it with your palm or lean your forehead against it.
4. Focusing on your problem, pray and ask Saint Xenia for help.
5. Leave a lit candle near the wall of the chapel and order a prayer service.
6. You should take cookies, sweets and some sweets with you on your trip. After leaving the chapel, you should distribute food to people and feed the birds.
7. You cannot immediately leave the holy place; you must wait for a special sign.

How to write notes to Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg correctly?

For many years, in the chapel on Vasilievsky Island there has been a tradition of writing notes to Xenia of Petersburg. This ritual should be performed according to all the rules, only then will the saint’s request be heard, and help will not be long in coming.

1. You can write a note on any paper you have at hand;
2. It is allowed to ask for the well-being of loved ones;
3. When expressing thoughts, it is recommended to adhere to Orthodox canons.
4. At the beginning of the letter, be sure to address the saint: “Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg,” “Holy Intercessor Ksenia.”
5. Only after this should you move on to the essence of the letter.
6. It is necessary to indicate the names of the people mentioned in the note.
7. The letter must end briefly with “Amen.”
8. Prayer before sending a note is a mandatory ritual.

Blessed Xenia of Petersburg - prayer

Sincere prayer, pronounced with soul and faith, always reaches the saints to whom it is dedicated. The prayer of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg has special power - this is known to all Orthodox people. Before prayer, you need to light a candle in a secluded place in front of the icon of Saint Mother Xenia, concentrate, let go of any thoughts and try to speak every word of the sacred text with a special meaning. They pray to the famous saint for different things:

• about well-being in the family;
• about a speedy recovery;
• about marriage;
• about the birth of healthy children;
• about the repose of the dead;
• about peace in the fatherland.

Akathist to Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg

Orthodox ascetics are famous heavenly helpers, giving people the strength to cope with any problems. Faith and sincere prayer work real miracles. The Akathist to St. Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg is famous as one of the most effective and quick. The chant that praises Blessed Xenia is read at prayer services; it can strengthen faith, set a person in the right mood, and give hope. You are allowed to read the akathist yourself, at home, in front of the St. Petersburg icon.

How does an icon help?

1. Looking for a loved one.

2. For a successful marriage.

3. Strengthens faith.

4. Ask an intercessor to help in raising your own child.

5. A woman turns to get pregnant or carry a baby.

The priests, in turn, claim that you can turn to her with various problems on any day of the year.

What did Ksenia help with during her life?

It is impossible to name any specific date after which the saint became widely known. The first publications about it appeared in the 40s of the 19th century. How did the girl help those around her? These were different situations, unlike one another. People around her began to notice that her incoherent speeches were often a prediction of the future:

• Ksenia handed one woman a nickel on the street and said: “It will go out.” Arriving home, she saw her home on fire. But the fire was extinguished in record time, so the damage was small, which is why the saint “compensated” for it with such a small coin.
• One day the blessed one came to see her good friend, who was busy with household chores. “You’re sitting here, and there the Lord sent you a child!” Paraskeva, who lived alone and suffered greatly from this, rushed to the place indicated by her friend. On the way, she saw a pregnant woman who was hit by a cab driver. The unfortunate woman gave birth right there on the road and gave her soul to God. The baby was given to Paraskeva to hold. Then it turned out that he had no relatives, so he became her son.
• Shopkeepers always invited “Andrey” to their place and tried to treat him. They quickly noticed that those who hosted the saint had good luck in trade.

At all times, people have similar troubles. They worry about their loved ones, care about their daily bread. The blessed one loved everyone around her and prayed for them. I didn’t sleep at night, carrying bricks for the construction of the Smolensk Church. During the day she wandered the streets in her husband’s worn jacket, barefoot and dirty. She lived to be 72 years old, spending more than forty of them wandering the streets of cold and damp St. Petersburg. The exact date of his death is unknown; it is believed that it was no later than 1806.

How Blessed Xenia helped people

One of the cases is assistance to Grodno official Nikolai Selivanovich Golovin. He tried to improve his professional affairs in St. Petersburg, but everything only got worse. Golovin needed money; his old mother and two sisters burdened him even more. He walked through the streets in an extremely despondent mood, even thoughts of suicide began to appear. Then he was met on the road by an unknown stranger who looked like a nun. She gave advice to go to the Smolensk cemetery and serve a memorial service for Ksenia, and then disappeared from sight.

Read about the blessed one:

• Relics of Saint Blessed Xenia
• Temple in honor of Xenia of Petersburg in St. Petersburg

The man fulfilled the order, and from that moment on, things began to work out as if by themselves, until everything was fine.

There are numerous cases of the saint helping with serious mental and neurotic illnesses. For example, she cured the eldest daughter of Daria Tarasovna Kulichkova, a resident of St. Petersburg, from epilepsy. She was already in despair because no medical treatments were helping, although she had already visited many hospitals and doctors. But from believers the woman heard about the help of Blessed Xenia. After seven days of attending prayer services in the chapel, the attacks stopped.

Ksenia also helps with ailments unknown to medical science, and if a person is not able to get to her chapel, she also provides help from a distance, you just need to prayerfully call on her and believe. For example, the story of thirty-eight-year-old Svetlana is known - the doctors shrugged. The woman was getting worse every day, but medical examinations did not reveal any pathologies.

One day Svetlana felt that she might die. But, lying in bed, she held a book about Blessed Xenia and prayerfully turned to her. Help came within a few minutes, and from that day on the patient began to recover.

Important. The saint continues to help people to this day.

Here is another case of miraculous help, already in our days. The young man served in Chechnya. His mother unexpectedly arrived to visit him, and on this occasion the commander released them for a few hours. We walked through the forest, talked, and when we returned, we found part of it destroyed and the soldiers killed—the Chechens attacked.

But the most interesting thing happened later. When the son served and returned home to his mother, it turned out that she had not gone on any trips. But she prayed for her son, including Blessed Xenia. And she helped - she herself appeared in the form of a mother.

There are many documented cases of the saint helping our contemporaries. Among them there are many miracles - supernatural events that occurred according to the Will of God.

Icon of Xenia of St. Petersburg

How to ask Blessed Xenia for help and how to read the akathist?

Pilgrims come to the saint’s chapel with praise and gratitude for her good deeds, as well as with requests for help. The saint is able to help any person who asks her for help sincerely through the very heart. She is able to help a woman who wants to get pregnant, a girl who wants to meet a worthy partner, a patient who prays for healing and recovery.

The tradition and symbols of leaving notes for Ksenia the Blessed have been preserved for many years. This unique ritual has its own special rules that cannot be changed:

1. You can present your petition on absolutely any paper.
2. It is not forbidden to ask a saint for the well-being of another person.
3. The note should adhere to certain Orthodox norms. At the same time, according to Orthodox rules, it is necessary to write not Petersburg, but Petersburg.
4. You should start writing the text of the note with a direct address, for example, “Blessed Ksenia”, “Holy Mother Ksenia”.
5. After the appeal, a request must be written - for example, about health, about the birth of a child, about a condition.
6. It is necessary to indicate the names of those people for whom the prayer or petition is being made.
7. You should end your request using the word “Amen.”
8. In any case, you should pray before sending your note.

We advise you to study the Pryazhevskaya Icon of the Mother of God

Saint's life story

During her childhood and adolescence, Ksenia did not stand out in anything special. She lived in prosperity and successfully married a military man. But the husband suffered an early death. This made such an impression on young Ksenia that she spent the whole night in prayer.

Apparently, it was then that she had the intention to lift not only her own cross, but also her husband’s, on her fragile shoulders. During her earthly life, she ensured a destiny in the Kingdom of Heaven for both herself and him.

When the military man was buried, those around him began to notice some oddities in Ksenia’s behavior. She put on the clothes of the deceased and called herself by his name. Most of those around her decided that under the influence of the grief she had experienced, she had lost her mind. But, in fact, it was the heaviest cross of foolishness she took upon herself.

History knows many examples of her feat, one of which was the secret construction of a church. Unnoticed by anyone, the holy fool carried bricks at night so that the workers could quickly complete their duties. Many claimed that Ksenia brought happiness and prosperity to homes, because those people whose homes she visited and accepted alms got rid of problems.

Often the owners were warned about the dangers that threatened them and avoided an unenviable fate. In gratitude, Ksenia asked only for sincere faith in the Lord and life according to His commandments.

For forty-five long years the blessed one bore her cross of martyrdom, and was subsequently canonized for her pious deeds. This happened in 1988. Many Christians make an annual pilgrimage to the Smolensk cemetery, trying to take away a piece of earth from Ksenia’s grave, and also leave her a note with their wishes.

Who are the holy fools

Among Orthodox saints, holy fools occupy a special place. The oddities in their behavior are needed in order to show people how far the spiritual world in the Kingdom of Heaven is from the worldly life to which we are accustomed. This is a very difficult cross, because you need to completely rely on the Will of God and not doubt your chosen path, despite the fact that those around you will be perplexed and show a bad attitude.

The cross of beggary is connected to the cross of foolishness. Ksenia took it upon herself - she distributed all her property to the needy and even gave the house to another housewife, with the condition that a shelter for the poor be set up there.

Note. Both in summer and winter, the holy fool wore the worst clothes and shoes, despite the harsh northern climate

She didn't have any money.

Ksenia's first signs of holiness

Soon those around them began to notice the miraculous Power of God accompanying the holy fool. If she took some food from a merchant, then he would immediately sell out of the goods. If she agreed to travel a little in the cart, then the driver was provided with clients for the whole day.

The gift of foresight also began to manifest itself. She knew not only what was happening in the distance and could not possibly have been known to her by ordinary means, but she also predicted the future. Ksenia predicted the day of the death of Empress Elizabeth and the day of the murder of the heir to the throne, John Antonovich.

Prophecies of Xenia of Petersburg

How exactly the miracle of discovering holy power in an ordinary woman happened is very, very difficult to say. What is known is that once Ksenia predicted a fire, giving a coin to a passer-by with the words: “Take this nickel, the king here will soon go out.” Oddly enough, Ksenia’s very unusual visions came true, including this one. The stranger's house actually caught fire, but was extinguished by the people with lightning speed. Another miracle tells that Ksenia saved the woman from whom she bought a house. By the way, that woman had long dreamed of having a child, and Ksenia foresaw that this child would come from heaven and be presented as a gift to the desperate sufferer. And so it happened

This happened due to the fault of the cab driver, who had the fatal negligence to hit a woman who was pregnant in his carriage. She gave birth, dying immediately after and giving a healthy child to Paraskeva

The father of the newborn boy was never found, and Paraskeva raised him as her own son.

Iconography

In the icons the saint appears before believers in simple attire. This is a red jacket, reminiscent of a men's military-style caftan, and a green skirt to the toes (or vice versa, a green jacket and a red skirt). The colors correspond to the shade of the uniform that Andrei Fedorovich wore during his lifetime.

It was in these clothes that the wanderer wandered around St. Petersburg at any time of the year and in any weather, refusing to accept warm clothes. The head and shoulders of the holy fool are most often covered with a scarf. There are life-size icons of the righteous woman and waist-high images. She usually holds a staff in one hand and the other hand at her chest in a prayer gesture. The chapel, Smolensk Church and Smolensk cemetery are sometimes written in the background.

There are icons in which the blessed one bows before the Lord or the Mother of God, looking at her from heaven. This is a sign that, being a servant of God and having earned her holiness through difficult spiritual feats, the saint became our prayer book and intercessor before God.

Recently, the tradition of measured icons has been revived and become widespread.

A measured icon is an icon of the namesake saint, painted specifically for the day of the Baptism of the infant. The tradition arose in the 17th-18th centuries. in the royal family. Typically, such an image was narrow in width, and the length corresponded to the height of the child.

Measured icon of St. Ksenia Petersburgskaya

Nowadays, icons of the saint can be found in almost any church, urban or rural.

A particularly revered icon of Saint Xenia is located in the chapel at the saint’s grave in the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg.

You can also worship the image:

• in the chapel at the Kuzminskoye cemetery in Moscow;
• in the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the village of Vysokovo (Nizhny Novgorod);
• in the Church of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg in Novorossiysk.

Churches and chapels are consecrated in memory of the saint. There are such monasteries in Bryansk, Voronezh, Ulyanovsk, Togliatti, Novokuznetsk, Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg and other cities.

Icon of Saint Xenia

On the icons the saint is depicted in simple, wretched clothes, similar to those in which she wore during her life. The color of the jacket is usually dark green or blue. The image of the saint may be full-length or waist-length. She usually holds a staff in her left hand, and with her right hand she blesses everyone who turns to her. A church and cemetery are sometimes depicted in the background.

How prayers in front of an icon help:

• You can pray to Blessed Xenia in difficult life circumstances;
• About the safety and well-being of loved ones;
• For the soldier to return from the war alive;
• In any physical or mental illness;
• In material needs, with a lack of money;
• If you want to have children and have difficulties with this;
• During pregnancy - about facilitating future childbirth and the health of the mother;
• To maintain peace and harmony in the family, to stop quarrels and discord;
• In many other cases.

Alleged portrait of Xenia of Petersburg