Icon of the Matrona of Moscow: photo, meaning, history, what it helps with, how to pray

The XX-XXI century is a time of high technology, when faith in modern miracles of God, His anointed ones and healers disappears. Blessed Matrona, a modern healer, confirmed that God is omnipotent to give miracles now, as well as 2000 thousand years ago during the earthly life of Jesus.

Matrona of Moscow is a Russian saint. Mother, who lived and canonized in the 20th century, still grants miracles of healing to believers through her relics, remaining an example of humility and faith in the great power of the Creator.

Childhood of a holy saint

Matronushka was born into a pious family. She was the youngest of four children. At the time of her birth, her parents were already old. They lived poorly, and the saint’s mother decided to give the child away from the family. However, the Lord did not allow this, and through a dream he influenced Matrona’s mother. She dreamed that a beautiful bird landed in her arms. But the bird had no eyes. The mother interpreted this dream as a sign from above that the child should be left in her own family.

The saint of God was born blind, like that bird from her mother’s dream. At birth she had a cross-shaped bulge on her chest. The blind baby became a joy for her family, instead of being a burden. The older the girl became, the more it became clear that this child was different from other children. And not only externally.

The other children did not like Matrona. They mocked her, knowing the girl’s defenselessness. And from an early age she was most often at home. Didn't play with peers.

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Holy Martyr Matrona of Thessalonica

The Holy Martyr Matrona of Thessalonica suffered in the 3rd or 4th centuries. She was the slave of the Jewish woman Pautila, the wife of one of Thessaloniki’s military leaders. Pautila forced her slave to apostatize and convert to Judaism, but Matrona believed in Christ even more firmly. Once, when asked by Pautila why she did not go to the synagogue, but to the Christian church, Matrona answered: “Because God is present in the Christian church, but He has retreated from the Jewish synagogue.” Pautila, in a rage, beat the slave, and then tied her up and locked her in a dark closet. In the morning she discovered that Matrona, by an unknown force, had been freed from her bonds. In anger, Pautila beat the martyr almost to death, then tied her even tighter and imprisoned her in the same closet, sealing the doors so that no one could help the sufferer. For four days the martyr remained without water and food, and when Pautila opened the door, she again saw Matrona freed from her bonds and standing in prayer. In a terrible rage, Pautila beat the martyr with thick sticks, after which the saint betrayed her spirit to God, and her body, by order of the torturer, was thrown from the city wall. Christians raised him and buried him with honor. Soon after, at the place where Matrona’s body was thrown from the high wall, Pautila stumbled, fell and broke, receiving well-deserved retribution.

Matryona Ivanovna Balk

Matryona Ivanovna Balk is the elder sister of Anna Ivanovna Mons, the favorite of Peter the Great, and Willim Mons, who enjoyed the special favor of Catherine I. Matryona also enjoyed the queen’s favor and supported her brother in every possible way, intrigued, so that in 1716 Mons was a chamber cadet. All matters related to the management of the empress's patrimonial office were concentrated in his hands. In May 1724, during the coronation of the empress, Mons was elevated to chamberlain, but in November of the same year he was suddenly arrested and put on trial “for trickery and illegal acts.” Accused of bribery, Willim was executed on November 16, 1724. It was interpreted that the real reason for his execution was his close relationship with Catherine, which allegedly existed for a long time, but only then was revealed to Peter. It is difficult to say how involved Matryona was in all this, but she did not experience any persecution from the tsar.

Adulthood

When Matronushka turned 17, she lost her legs. And for the rest of her life she could only sit and lie. The blessed old woman did not have the opportunity to move independently. But she did not complain, thanked God for her cross and humbly bore it. Despite her own infirmities, Matrona consoled everyone who came to her for help. And many people flocked to the blind servant of God. And she consoled, encouraged, supported everyone.

Having no place of her own, Matronushka wandered from home to home. First one will shelter the old woman, then another. In some places her life was good, but in others it was very difficult. Every now and then I had to change my place of residence, because in Soviet times, and even in Moscow, living without a passport was something unrealistic. And Matrona lived like this all her life.

Although physically blind, the blessed one had the gift of clairvoyance. And she bequeathed people to come to her grave after her death. Like a living person, with her own troubles and sorrow. She promised that Matronushka would greet everyone who honors and converts her posthumously in Heaven.

Cathedral of St. Matrona of Moscow in Miami

Photo of the blessed old lady Matrona. Matrona Dmitrievna Nikonova. 1881 - May 2, 1952 In 1925, Matrona moved to Moscow, where she would live until the end of her days. In this huge capital city there were many unfortunate, lost, fallen from the faith, spiritually sick people with a poisoned consciousness. Living for about three decades in Moscow, she performed that spiritual and prayerful service that turned many away from death and led to salvation.

Moscow. Zamoskvorechye. Here, in the ancient alleys with friends and relatives, lived the blessed Matrona.

The blessed one loved Moscow very much, she said that “this is a holy city, the heart of Russia.” Both Matrona's brothers, Mikhail and Ivan, joined the party, Mikhail became a rural activist. It is clear that the presence in their home of the blessed one, who received people all day long, taught them by deed and example to preserve the Orthodox faith, became unbearable for the brothers. They feared reprisals. Feeling sorry for them, as well as for her elderly parents (Matrona’s mother died in 1945), Mother moved to Moscow. They began wandering around relatives and friends, in houses, apartments, basements. Matrona lived almost everywhere without registration, and miraculously escaped arrest several times. The novices—hozhalki—lived with her and looked after her.

This was a new period of her ascetic life. She becomes a homeless wanderer. Sometimes she had to live with people who were hostile to her. Housing in Moscow was difficult; there was no choice.

Sokolniki. Moscow. Church of Tikhon of Zadonsk. In this area of ​​Moscow, in a plywood summer house, lived Blessed Matrona

Z.V. Zhdanova told what hardships the blessed one sometimes had to endure: “I arrived in Sokolniki, where mother often lived in a small plywood house, given to her for a while. It was deep autumn. I entered the house, and in the house there was thick, damp and dank steam, an iron stove-stove was burning. I went up to my mother, and she was lying on the bed facing the wall, she couldn’t turn to me, her hair was frozen to the wall and could barely be pulled off. I said in horror: “Mother, how can this happen? After all, you know that we live together with my mother, my brother is at the front, my father is in prison and what happened to him is unknown, but we have two rooms in a warm house, forty-eight square meters, a separate entrance; Why didn’t you ask to come to us?” Mother sighed heavily and said: “God did not order so that you would not regret it later.”

Before the war, Matrona lived on Ulyanovskaya Street with priest Vasily, the husband of her novice Pelageya, while he was free.

Moscow. Nikoloyamskaya (Ulyanovskaya) street. On this street, in the priest's house, Fr. Vasily, lived the blessed Matrona

She lived on Pyatnitskaya Street, in Sokolniki (in a summer plywood building), in Vishnyakovsky Lane (in her niece’s basement), she also lived at the Nikitsky Gate, in Petrovsko-Razumovsky, and visited her nephew in Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk), in Tsaritsyno. She lived the longest (from 1942 to 1949) on Arbat, in Starokonyushenny Lane.

Moscow. Starokonyushenny lane no. 30. 1929 Here, in the Zhdanov family, Blessed Matrona lived from 1942 to 1949.

Here, in an old wooden mansion, in a 48-meter room, lived Matrona’s fellow villager, E.M. Zhdanova with her daughter Zinaida. It was in this room that three corners were occupied by icons, from top to bottom. Antique lamps hung in front of the icons, and heavy expensive curtains hung on the windows (before the revolution, the house belonged to Zhdanova’s husband, who came from a rich and noble family).

They say that Matrona left some places in a hurry, foreseeing impending troubles in spirit, always on the eve of the police coming to her, since she lived without registration. Times were hard, and people were afraid to register it. In this way she saved not only herself, but also the hosts who sheltered her, from repression.

Many times they wanted to arrest Matrona. Many of her loved ones were arrested and imprisoned (or exiled). Zinaida Zhdanova was convicted as a member of a church-monarchist group.

Ksenia Ivanovna Sifarova said that Matrona’s nephew Ivan lived in Zagorsk. And suddenly she mentally calls him to her.

Sergiev Posad. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. 1923 In Sergiev Posad, Blessed Matrona lived with her nephew Ivan

He came to his boss and said: “I want to take time off from you, I just can’t, I need to go to my aunt.” He arrived without knowing what was going on. And Matrona says to him: “Come on, come on, take me quickly to Zagorsk, to your mother-in-law.” As soon as they left, the police came. It happened many times: they just want to arrest her, but she leaves the day before.

Holy Blessed Matrona prophesies to the guard about fire. Icon of the Holy Righteous Blessed Matrona of Moscow with Life

Anna Filippovna Vybornova recalls such an incident. One day a policeman came to take Matrona away, and she said to him: “Go, go quickly, there is misfortune in your house! But the blind woman won’t get away from you, I sit on the bed, I don’t go anywhere.” He obeyed. I went home, and his wife was burned from the kerosene gas. But he managed to take her to the hospital. He comes to work the next day, and they ask him: “Well, did you take the blind woman?” And he replies: “I will never take a blind one. If the blind woman hadn’t told me, I would have lost my wife, but I still managed to take her to the hospital.”

Living in Moscow, Matrona visited her village - either they would call her on some business, or she would miss home, her mother.

Outwardly, her life flowed monotonously: during the day - receiving people, at night - prayer. Like the ancient ascetics, she never really went to bed, but dozed, lying on her side, on her fist. Years passed like this.

Once in 1939 or 1940, Matrona said: “Now you are all quarreling, dividing, but the war is about to begin. Of course, many people will die, but our Russian people will win.”

Prayer to St. blzh. Matrons in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary about the salvation of Russia. Icon of the Holy Righteous Blessed Matrona of Moscow with Life

At the beginning of 1941, cousin Z.V. Zhdanova Olga Noskova asked her mother for advice on whether she should go on vacation (they gave her a ticket, but she didn’t want to go on vacation in the winter). Mother said: “You need to go on vacation now, then there will be no vacations for a long, long time. There will be a war. Victory will be ours. The enemy will not touch Moscow, it will only burn a little. There is no need to leave Moscow.”

When the war began, mother asked everyone who came to her to bring willow branches. She broke them into sticks of equal length, peeled them from the bark and prayed. Her neighbors recalled that her fingers were covered in wounds. Matrona could be spiritually present in various places; for her spiritual gaze, space did not exist. She often said that she was invisible at the fronts, helping our soldiers. She told everyone that the Germans would not enter Tula. Her prophecy came true.

Matronushka received up to forty people a day. People came with their troubles, mental and physical pain. She refused to help anyone, except those who came with crafty intentions. Others saw in mother a folk healer who had the power to remove damage or the evil eye, but after communicating with her they realized that this was a man of God, and they turned to the Church and its saving Sacraments. Helping her people was selfless; she did not take anything from anyone.

Mother always read her prayers loudly. Those who knew her closely say that these prayers were well-known, read in church and at home: “Our Father,” “May God rise again,” the ninetieth psalm, “Lord Almighty, God of hosts and all flesh” (from morning prayers). She emphasized that it was not herself who helped, but God through her prayers: “What, Matronushka is God, or what? God helps! - she answers Ksenia Gavrilovna Potapova when asked to help her.

Healing the sick, mother demanded that they believe in God and correct their sinful lives. So, she asks one visitor if she believes that the Lord is able to heal her. Another, who fell ill with epilepsy, orders not to miss a single Sunday service, to confess at each and receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ. She blesses those living in a civil marriage to be sure to get married in church. Everyone must wear a cross.

What did people come to mother with? With the usual troubles: incurable illness, disappearance, husband leaving the family, unhappy love, loss of job, persecution from superiors. With everyday needs and questions. Should I get married? Should I change my place of residence or service? There were no less sick people, obsessed with various ailments: someone suddenly fell ill, someone for no apparent reason began to bark, someone’s arms and legs were cramped, someone was haunted by hallucinations. Popularly, such people are called “corrupted” sorcerers, healers, and sorcerers. These are people who, as people say, have been “done”, who have been subjected to special demonic influence. One day, four men brought an old woman to Matrona. She waved her arms like a windmill. When her mother scolded her, she weakened and was healed.

Praskovya Sergeevna Anosova, who often visited her brother in a psychiatric hospital, recalls: “Once, when we were going to see him, a man and his wife were traveling with us to discharge their daughter from the hospital. We rode back together again. Suddenly this girl (she was 18 years old) started barking. I say to her mother: “I feel sorry for you, we are driving past Tsaritsyno, let’s take our daughter to Matronushka...” This girl’s father, the general, at first didn’t want to hear anything, he said that it was all fiction. But his wife insisted, and we went to Matronushka... And so they began to bring the girl to Matronushka, and she became like a stake, her hands like sticks, then she began to spit on Matronushka and struggled. Matrona says: “Leave her, now she won’t do anything.” The girl was released. She fell, began to thrash and spin around on the floor, and began vomiting blood. And then this girl fell asleep and slept for three days. They looked after her. When she woke up and saw her mother, she asked: “Mom, where are we?” She answers her: “We, daughter, are with a perspicacious man...” And she told her everything that happened to her. And from that time on, the girl was completely healed.”

St. Blessed Matrona heals a demon-possessed old woman. Icon of the Holy Righteous Blessed Matrona of Moscow with Life

Z.V. Zhdanova says that in 1946, a woman who occupied a high position was brought to their apartment, where Matrona then lived. Her only son went crazy, her husband died at the front, and she herself, of course, was an atheist. She traveled with her sick son to Europe, but famous doctors could not help him. “I came to you out of despair,” she said, “I have nowhere to go.” Matrona asked: “If the Lord cures your son, will you believe in God?” The woman said, “I don’t know what it’s like to believe.” Then Matrona asked for water and, in the presence of the unfortunate mother, began to read a prayer loudly over the water. Then handing her this water, the blessed one said: “Go now to Kashchenko (a psychiatric hospital in Moscow - Ed.), agree with the orderlies so that they hold him tightly when they take him out. He will fight, and you try to splash this water in his eyes and be sure to get it in his mouth.”

Zinaida Vladimirovna recalls: “After some time, my brother and I witnessed how this woman came to Matrona again. She thanked her mother on her knees, saying that her son was now healthy. And it was like this. She arrived at the hospital and did everything as mother ordered. There was a hall where her son was taken from one side of the barrier, and she approached from the other side. She had a bottle of water in her pocket. The son struggled and shouted: “Mom, throw away what you have in your pocket, don’t torture me!” She was amazed: how did he know? She quickly splashed water into his eyes, got it into his mouth, suddenly he calmed down, his eyes became clear, and he said: “How good!” He was soon discharged."

Often Matrona put her hands on her head and said: “Oh, oh, now I’ll cut your wings, fight, fight, bye!” "Who are you?" - he will ask, and the person will suddenly begin to buzz. Mother will say again: “Who are you?” - and it will buzz even more, and then she will pray and say: “Well, the mosquito has fought, now that’s enough!” And the person leaves healed.

Matryona also helped those whose family life was not going well. One day a woman came to her and told her that she was not married for love and she was not living well with her husband. Matrona answers her: “Who is to blame? It's your fault. Because the Lord is our head, and the Lord is in male form, and we women must obey a man, you must keep the crown until the end of your life. It’s your fault that you don’t live well with him...” This woman listened to the blessed one, and her family life improved.

“Mother Matrona fought all her life for every soul that came to her,” recalls Zinaida Zhdanova, “and won. She never lamented or complained about the difficulties of her feat. I can’t forgive myself for never feeling sorry for my mother, even though I saw how difficult it was for her, how she was rooting for each of us. The light of those days still warms us. In the house, lamps glowed in front of the images; mother’s love and her silence enveloped the soul. There was holiness, peace, and gracious warmth in the house. There was a war going on, and we lived like in heaven.”

How do people close to you remember Matrona? With miniature, child-like, short arms and legs. Sitting cross-legged on a bed or chest. Fluffy hair parted in the middle. Eyelids tightly closed. Kind bright face. Affectionate voice.

She consoled, calmed the sick, stroked their heads, making the sign of the cross, sometimes joked, sometimes sternly rebuked and instructed. She was not strict, she was tolerant of human weaknesses, compassionate, warm, sympathetic, always joyful, and never complained about her illnesses and suffering. Mother did not preach, did not teach. She gave specific advice on what to do in a given situation, prayed and blessed.

She was generally taciturn and briefly answered questions from those who came. Some of her general instructions remain.

Mother taught us not to judge our neighbors. She said: “Why judge other people? Think about yourself more often. Each sheep will be hung by its tail. What do you care about other ponytails?” Matrona taught to surrender oneself to the will of God. Live with prayer. Often apply the sign of the cross to yourself and surrounding objects, thereby protecting yourself from evil forces. She advised me to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ more often. “Protect yourself with the cross, prayer, holy water, frequent communion... Let the lamps burn in front of the icons.”

She also taught to love and forgive the old and infirm. “If old people, sick people, or people who have lost their minds say something unpleasant or offensive to you, then don’t listen, just help them. You need to help the sick with all diligence and you need to forgive them, no matter what they say or do.”

Matronushka did not allow us to attach significance to dreams: “Don’t pay attention to them, dreams come from the evil one - to upset a person, to confuse him with thoughts.”

Matrona warned not to run around among confessors in search of “elders” or “seers.” Running around different fathers, she said, you can lose spiritual strength and the right direction in life.

Here are her words: “The world lies in evil and delusion, and delusion—the deception of souls—will be obvious, beware.” “If you go to an elder or priest for advice, pray that the Lord will make him wise to give the right advice.” She taught me not to be interested in priests and their lives. She advised those who wished for Christian perfection not to stand out externally among people (black clothes, etc.). She taught patience in sorrows. Z.V. She told Zhdanova: “Go to church and don’t look at anyone, pray with your eyes closed or look at some image, icon.” St. Seraphim of Sarov and other holy fathers also have similar instructions. In general, there was nothing in Matrona’s instructions that would run counter to the patristic teaching.

Mother said that putting on makeup, that is, using decorative cosmetics, is a great sin: a person spoils and distorts the image of human nature, complements what the Lord did not give, creates fake beauty, this leads to corruption.

About the girls who believed in God, Matrona said: “God will forgive everything to you girls if you are devoted to God. Anyone who condemns herself not to get married must hold on until the end. The Lord will give a crown for this.”

Matronushka said: “The enemy is approaching - you must definitely pray. Sudden death happens if you live without prayer. The enemy sits on our left shoulder, and on the right is an Angel, and each has his own book: our sins are written in one, and good deeds in the other. Get baptized often! The cross is the same lock as on the door.” She instructed not to forget to baptize food. “By the power of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, save yourself and defend yourself!”

Mother said about sorcerers: “For someone who voluntarily entered into an alliance with the power of evil, took up sorcery, there is no way out. You can’t turn to grandmothers, they will cure one thing, but harm your soul.”

Mother often told her loved ones that she was fighting with sorcerers, with evil forces, and invisibly fighting them. One day a handsome old man, with a beard, sedate, came to her, fell on his knees in front of her, all in tears and said: “My only son is dying.” And mother leaned over to him and quietly asked: “What did you do to him? To death or not? He answered: “To death.” And mother says: “Go, go away from me, there is no need for you to come to me.” After he left, she said: “The sorcerers know God! If only you would pray like they do when they beg God’s forgiveness for their evil!”

Mother revered the late priest Valentin Amfitheatrov. She said that he was great before God and that at his grave he helped the suffering; she sent some of her visitors to fetch sand from his grave.

The massive falling away of people from the Church, militant atheism, growing alienation and anger between people, the rejection of traditional faith by millions and sinful life without repentance have led many to grave spiritual consequences. Matrona understood and felt this well. On the days of demonstrations, mother asked everyone not to go out into the street, to close windows, vents, doors - hordes of demons occupy all the space, all the air and embrace all people. (Perhaps Blessed Matrona, who often spoke allegorically, wanted to remind us of the need to keep the “windows of the soul” closed from the spirits of evil - as the Holy Fathers call human feelings.)

Z.V. Zhdanova asked mother: “How did the Lord allow so many churches to be closed and destroyed?” (She meant the years after the revolution.) And mother answered: “This is the will of God, the number of churches has been reduced because there will be few believers and there will be no one to serve.” - “Why isn’t anyone fighting?” She: “The people are under hypnosis, not themselves, a terrible force has come into action... This force exists in the air, penetrates everywhere. Previously, swamps and dense forests were the habitat of this power, because people went to churches, wore crosses, and houses were protected by images, lamps and consecration. Demons flew past such houses, and now people are also inhabited by demons due to their unbelief and rejection of God.”

Wanting to lift the veil over her spiritual life, some curious visitors tried to spy on what Matrona did at night. One girl saw that she was praying and bowing all night.

Living with the Zhdanovs in Starokonyushenny Lane, Matronushka confessed and received communion from priest Dimitri from the church on Krasnaya Presnya. Continuous prayer helped Blessed Matrona to carry the cross of serving people, which was a real feat and martyrdom, the highest manifestation of love. Scolding the possessed, praying for everyone, sharing people's sorrows, mother was so tired that by the end of the day she could not even talk to her loved ones and only moaned quietly, lying on her fist. The inner, spiritual life of the blessed one still remained a mystery even for people close to her, and will remain a mystery for others.

Moscow. Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Presnya. Blessed Matrona received communion in this church with the priest Fr. Dimitri

Not knowing the spiritual life of mother, nevertheless, people did not doubt her holiness, that she was a real ascetic. Matrona's feat consisted of great patience, coming from purity of heart and ardent love for God. It is precisely this kind of patience that will save Christians in the last times that the holy fathers of the Church prophesied. Like a true ascetic, the blessed one taught not with words, but with her whole life. Although physically blind, she taught and continues to teach true spiritual vision. Unable to walk, she taught and teaches to walk the difficult path of salvation.

In her memoirs, Zinaida Vladimirovna Zhdanova writes: “Who was Matronushka? Mother was an incarnate warrior angel, as if a fiery sword was in her hands to fight evil power. She treated with prayer and water. She was small, like a child, all the time reclining on her side, on her fist. I slept like that, never really went to bed. When she received people, she sat down with her legs crossed, two arms extended directly above the head of the person who came in the air, put her fingers on the head of the person kneeling in front of her, made the sign of the cross, said the main thing that his soul needed, and prayed.

She lived without her own corner, property, or supplies. Whoever invited her, she lived with him. She lived on offerings that she could not manage herself. She was in obedience to the evil Pelageya, who was in charge of everything and distributed everything that they brought to her mother to her relatives. Without her knowledge, mother could neither drink nor eat.

Mother seemed to know all the events in advance. Every day of her life is a stream of sorrows and sorrows of people who come. Helping the sick, comforting and healing them. There were many healings through her prayers. He will take the head of the crying person with both hands, take pity, warm him with his holiness, and the person leaves inspired. And she, exhausted, just sighs and prays all night long. She had a dimple on her forehead from her fingers, from frequent sign of the cross. She crossed herself slowly, diligently, her fingers searching for the hole...” During the war there were many cases when she answered those who came to their questions - whether she was alive or not. He will tell someone - he’s alive, wait. For some, a funeral service and commemoration.

It can be assumed that those who sought spiritual advice and guidance also came to Matrona. Many Moscow priests and monks of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra knew about Mother. Due to the unknown fates of God, there was no attentive observer and student near mother who could lift the veil over her spiritual work and write about it for the edification of posterity.

Countrymen from her native places often visited her, then from all the surrounding villages they wrote notes to her, and she answered them. They came to her from two hundred and three hundred kilometers away, and she knew the person’s name. There were both Muscovites and visitors from other cities who heard about the perspicacious mother. People of different ages: young, old, and middle-aged. She accepted some, but not others. She spoke to some in parables, to others in simple language.

Zinaida once complained to her mother: “Mother, my nerves...” And she: “What nerves, after all, in war and in prison there are no nerves... You have to control yourself, be patient.”

Mother instructed that it was necessary to undergo treatment. The body is a house given by God, it needs to be repaired. God created the world, medicinal herbs, and this cannot be neglected.

Mother sympathized with her loved ones: “How sorry I am for you, you will live to see the last times. Life will get worse and worse. Heavy. The time will come when they will put a cross and bread in front of you, and they will say - choose!” “We will choose the cross,” they answered, “but then how can we live?” - “And we will pray, take land, roll balls, pray to God, eat and be full!” Another time she said, encouraging in a difficult situation, that there was no need to be afraid of anything, no matter how scary it was. “They carry the child in a sleigh, and there is no care! The Lord Himself will manage everything!” Matronushka often repeated: “If a people loses faith in God, then disasters befall them, and if they do not repent, they perish and disappear from the face of the earth. How many peoples have disappeared, but Russia existed and will exist. Pray, ask, repent! The Lord will not leave you and will preserve our land!”

Matronushka found her last earthly refuge at the Skhodnya station near Moscow (23 Kurgannaya Street), where she settled with a distant relative, leaving her room in Starokonyushenny Lane. And here, too, a stream of visitors came and carried their sorrows. Only just before her death did my mother, already quite weak, limit her intake. But people still came, and she could not refuse help to some.

Finding the relics

The relics of the blessed saint of God were found on March 8, 1998. And since then they have been in the Intercession Convent in Moscow. There is also an icon of the Matrona of Moscow.

Before her death, Matronushka said that for a long time her grave would be forgotten and desolate. But the moment will come when people will go in droves to the blessed old woman. The way it is. Nowadays there is a constant line of pilgrims within the walls of the Intercession Monastery. Everyone wants to venerate the relics of the saint and pray before the icon of the blessed Matrona of Moscow.

Origin of the name

The name comes from Latin.

Name day April 9 (March 27) - St. Matrona of Thessalonica.

November 22 (9) - The Venerable Matrona of Constantinople, for her zeal for the faith of Christ, suffered many griefs from her husband; secretly left him, became a monk, and at the age of 75 became a nun; founded a monastery in Constantinople; performed miracles with prayers; died in 492

Diminutive forms: Motya, Motrya, Matrekha, Matryosha, Marya, Matya, Matulya, Musya, Rena

Flowers

In the Pokrovsky Monastery there are two icons of the Matrona of Moscow. One of them is big. And each one is buried in flowers. The holy old woman loved flowers during her lifetime, so people bring bouquets to their beloved Matronushka. These flowers are consecrated on the relics of the old woman and distributed to pilgrims. Some people get just one petal, while others get several heads.

What to do with blessed flowers? They can be brewed into tea, for example. Or put it in the “red corner”, next to the icons.

What should you ask the blessed one for?

In front of the icon of the Matrona of Moscow they pray for various needs. It eliminates financial penalties and helps those who are desperate to find a job. He does not leave his intercession to those who cannot become parents. Helps in housing issues, in resolving illnesses and illnesses. The main thing is that the request is sincere.

What if help is “late”? This may be the case if the person's request is not beneficial to him. Sometimes it happens that the person asking is simply “stuck” in a sinful life. And then he should reconsider his life principles.

Excerpt characterizing Matryon

- Yes, gentlemen, I was told that there is a rumor spread in Moscow that I am a sharper, so I advise you to be careful with me. - Well, swords! - said Rostov. - Oh, Moscow aunties! - said Dolokhov and took up the cards with a smile. - Aaah! – Rostov almost shouted, raising both hands to his hair. The seven he needed was already at the top, the first card in the deck. He lost more than he could pay. “However, don’t get too carried away,” said Dolokhov, glancing briefly at Rostov and continuing to throw. After an hour and a half, most of the players were already jokingly looking at their own game. The whole game focused on Rostov alone. Instead of one thousand six hundred rubles, a long column of numbers was written down behind him, which he had counted up to the tenth thousand, but which now, as he vaguely assumed, had already risen to fifteen thousand. In fact, the entry already exceeded twenty thousand rubles. Dolokhov no longer listened or told stories; he followed every movement of Rostov’s hands and occasionally glanced briefly at his note behind him. He decided to continue the game until this entry increased to forty-three thousand. He chose this number because forty-three was the sum of his years added up with Sonya's years. Rostov, leaning his head on both hands, sat in front of a table covered with writings, covered in wine, and littered with cards. One painful impression did not leave him: these broad-boned, reddish hands with hair visible from under his shirt, these hands that he loved and hated, held him in their power. “Six hundred rubles, ace, corner, nine... it’s impossible to win back!... And how fun it would be at home... Jack on n... it can’t be!... And why is he doing this to me?...” Rostov thought and recalled. Sometimes he would play a big card; but Dolokhov refused to beat her, and he himself nominated the jackpot. Nicholas submitted to him, and then prayed to God, as he prayed on the battlefield on the Amsteten Bridge; then he wished that the card that would be the first to fall into his hand from a pile of curved cards under the table would save him; either he calculated how many laces there were on his jacket and with the same number of points he tried to bet a card on the entire loss, then he looked around at the other players for help, then he peered into Dolokhov’s now cold face and tried to understand what was going on inside him. “After all, he knows what this loss means to me. He can't want my death, can he? After all, he was my friend. After all, I loved him... But it’s not his fault either; What should he do when he is lucky? And it’s not my fault, he told himself. I didn't do anything wrong. Have I killed anyone, insulted anyone, or wished harm? Why such a terrible misfortune? And when did it start? Just recently I approached this table with the thought of winning a hundred rubles, buying my mother this box for her name day and going home. I was so happy, so free, cheerful! And I didn’t understand then how happy I was! When did this end, and when did this new, terrible state begin? What marked this change? I still sat in this place, at this table, and still chose and pushed out cards, and looked at these big-boned, dexterous hands. When did this happen, and what happened? I am healthy, strong and still the same, and still in the same place. No, it can't be! It’s true that all this will not end in anything.”

How to ask for help?

With full confidence and sincerely. Icon of the Matrona of Moscow - in Moscow, in the Intercession Convent. But if you can’t get there, don’t get upset right away. There is an icon of the old woman in every church. Come, light a candle and pray earnestly for what you want without guile. Matronushka, like all saints, sees the deceiver. And she will not help someone who is trying to deceive her. Also, you should not hope for the help of a saint if the request falls into the category of “bad”. For example, if a woman is trying to break up someone else’s family, motivating her actions by the fact that “we love each other” and “he will get divorced anyway,” is it possible to ask Matronushka for help in such a situation?

Literature

• Balk, Matryona Ivanovna // Russian Biographical Dictionary: in 25 volumes. - SPb.-M., 1896-1918.
• [ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%81%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%82%D1%8B% D1%85_(%D0%94%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1 %82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9)/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82/27#.D0. 9F.D0.B0.D0.BC.D1.8F.D1.82.D1.8C_.D1.81.D0.B2.D1.8F.D1.82.D0.BE.D0.B9_.D0.BC. D1.83.D1.87.D0.B5.D0.BD.D0.B8.D1.86.D1.8B_.D0.9C.D0.B0.D1.82.D1.80.D0.BE.D0. BD.D1.8B_.D0.A1.D0.BE.D0.BB.D1.83.D0.BD.D1.81.D0.BA.D0.BE.D0.B9 Memory of the holy martyr Matrona of Thessalonica]

What can you read?

In front of the icon of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow you can read her akathist. Thoughtfully and slowly, from the bottom of my heart. After the akathist there are prayers to Matronushka. They also need to be subtracted. And, of course, stand in front of the image and ask in your own words. Out loud or inside. It is worth remembering that with God everyone is alive. He has no death. It was for us, according to our weaknesses, that God divided people into the living and the dead. And there, in Heaven, everyone is alive. Matrona is alive, hears her petitioner and you can talk to her as if you were asking someone nearby for something.

What does the image look like?

A photo of the Matrona of Moscow icon will be presented below. Usually the image of a saint is painted on a gold background. Matronushka herself is depicted with her eyes closed, wearing a white scarf and a green dress.

As already mentioned, in the Intercession Monastery there are two images of the blessed one. On one of them she is depicted as described above. The second, large one, is a full-length image of the saint. Behind her is a monastery, and above her head is the image of the Mother of God. On the sides, above the head, are two Angels. The icon of the Matrona of Moscow is written on a soft blue background.

Description of the icon

It is not difficult to recognize the icon of the saint:

1. 
   She is depicted as an adult, with wrinkles, her eyes closed (blind);

2. From clothes - a green tunic and a white scarf tied in a knot;
3. In her left hand the woman holds a rosary (ascetics of piety and monks pray with them), her right is directed towards the audience, her palm is open. The meaning of the gesture is the absence of anger and secret thoughts;
4. Sometimes an image of the Mother of God is drawn in the hands of Matrona - a symbol of frequent lifetime prayer;
5. The background can be simply gold, sometimes a temple is painted;
6. The image itself can be half-length or full-length.

This image is considered official and recognized by the church. If you wish, it is better to buy it in a church; if possible, you should choose a temple that stores the relics of Matrona.

How to venerate an icon?

We found out where the icon of the Matrona of Moscow is located. This is the Intercession Monastery in Moscow. How to dress for a pilgrimage there? How to apply yourself to the image?

• Women must wear a skirt or dress below the knee and a headscarf. No decorative cosmetics on the face and no lipstick.
• During times of uncleanness (critical days), one must not venerate the icon. In general, touching the shrine during this period is unacceptable. Unless we are talking about an extraordinary situation.
• Men come to the monastery in trousers. No shorts are allowed. Before entering the monastery territory, you must remove your headdress, if you are using one.
• Approaching the icon, the pilgrim makes the sign of the cross twice. If possible, makes a bow from the waist.
• Having carefully kissed the icon, the petitioner moves away from it and crosses himself again. This time just once.
• Before the relics, it is advisable to make two prostrations, reverently venerate (kiss), step away and make another prostration.
• It is unacceptable to make a row in line to see the Matrona of Moscow icon, to make noise, to talk loudly, or to use swear words in your vocabulary.
• On the territory of the monastery you should behave calmly and reservedly. Do not shout, do not litter, do not try to enter into conflicts with other pilgrims.
• If the nun of the monastery made a remark, you should not “get into trouble.” You need to answer “sorry” and try to correct the point where the misunderstanding arose.
• Without the blessing of the abbess, you cannot take a photo of the icon of the Matrona of Moscow and her relics. It is prohibited to photograph the sisters of the monastery.
• All photo and video filming is carried out only with the blessing of the abbess.