On February 6th, Orthodox Christians celebrate the day of remembrance of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg. For a long time, people called the saint more affectionately - Ksenyushka the Blessed. Today, icons with her face are found in almost every temple or church in the country. On the day of the blessed one's death, many Christians come to the Smolensk cemetery. The social status of pilgrims can vary greatly - here there are practically beggars and people with expensive cars. Gender, age and attitude towards God may vary. But everyone is united by faith in the Lord and hope for help from Ksenia of St. Petersburg.
Memorial Day of Saint Xenia of Petersburg February 6, biography of the saint
Historians cannot name the date of birth of Xenia of St. Petersburg. Contemporaries recall that the righteous woman lived at the beginning of the 18th century. According to a number of experts, Blessed Xenia was born between 1719 and 1730. As soon as Ksenia Grigorievna entered conscious age, she was married to Andrei Fedorovich, who was a singer at the imperial court. The young couple, according to the traditions of that time, got married in the church. Here they asked to bless the family for a happy marriage. However, Heaven had completely different plans. Already at the age of 26, Ksenia Grigorievna became a widow. Her husband died unexpectedly, leaving his wife alone with grief.
According to the canon of repentance, directed to the Lord God, before death, all Christians repent to him of their sins. This rite is one of the most important in the life of any believer of the Eastern or Western rite. When a person is preparing to go to heaven, it is important for him to repent before death so as not to take earthly sins with him into eternal life. However, Andrei Fedorovich died almost instantly, and therefore did not have a meeting with the holy father. Ksenia Grigorievna was shocked by the lightning-fast untimely departure of her husband.
The way the young girl’s life continued may surprise any modern person. The saint’s actions will surprise even now, but then they seemed something out of the ordinary. Having been widowed, Ksenia received a considerable inheritance, but she refused to wear women's clothing. Instead, she began wearing her husband's clothes. She always wore a caftan and trousers. She gave the house to a friend named Paraskeva, who previously did not have her own corner. Then Ksenia went to live on the street. All my friends began to say that Ksenia Grigorievna had gone crazy. But she did not pay attention to the reproaches and did not change her line of behavior. Moreover, she said that Ksenia had long since died, and now Andrei Fedorovich was standing in front of them.
Good deeds
Having begun a spiritual and ascetic feat, the young widow spent days wandering the streets of her native city, meekly enduring bodily hardships, forgiving people’s humiliation and ridicule. In any weather, at night she went to the field, where she sincerely prayed on her knees until dawn. Prayer of Saint Blessed Xenia of Petersburg When the construction of a church began at the Smolensk cemetery, a woman began to carry bricks upstairs at night, wanting to serve a charitable cause in secret. The builders discovered that someone was making their work easier, followed and saw that their volunteer assistant was Blessed Ksenia. The residents also noticed that, hiding her virtue, she weeded the beds in their gardens. And over time, many began to see in her not a beggar devoid of intelligence, but an unusual person who took upon herself the feat of foolishness.
Icon of Xenia of St. Petersburg
After several years of asceticism, the husband’s uniform wore out, and kind people offered her new items of clothing. She usually refused, but in memory of the colors of her beloved's uniform, she sometimes agreed to accept red or green clothes. She also refrained from giving large sums of money, only occasionally taking pennies to immediately give them to the poor and weak.
Prayers of Saint Xenia of Petersburg
Prayers of Ksenia of Petersburg for marriage and the gift of children
“Oh holy all-blessed mother Ksenia! Having lived under the protection of the Most High, led and strengthened by the Mother of God, having endured hunger and thirst, cold and heat, reproach and persecution, you have received the gift of clairvoyance and miracles from God and are resting in the shadow of the Almighty. Now the Holy Church, like a fragrant flower, glorifies you. Standing at the place of your burial, before your holy image, as if you were alive and present with us, we pray to you: accept our petitions and bring them to the throne of the merciful Heavenly Father, as you have boldness towards Him, ask for eternal salvation for those who flow to you, for good deeds and our undertakings are a generous blessing, deliverance from all troubles and sorrows. Stand before our All-Merciful Savior with your holy prayers for us, unworthy and sinners. Help, holy blessed mother Xenia, to illuminate the infants with the light of holy baptism and seal the gift of the Holy Spirit, to educate boys and girls in faith, honesty, fear of God and grant them success in learning; heal the sick and ailing, send down love and harmony to families, honor monastics to strive for good deeds and protect them from reproach, strengthen pastors in the strength of the Holy Spirit, preserve our people and country in peace and serenity, pray for those deprived of communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ in the dying hour. You are our hope and hope, quick hearing and deliverance, we send thanks to you and with you we glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen."
Prayer of Ksenia of Petersburg for love and health
“Oh, simple in your way of life, homeless on earth, but heir to the abodes of the Heavenly Father, blessed wanderer Xenia! Just as we previously fell into your tombstone of illness and sorrow and were filled with consolations, now we (names), overwhelmed by pernicious circumstances, resort to you and ask with hope: pray, O good heavenly God, that our steps may be corrected, according to the word of the Lord, to the doing of His commandments, and may the godless atheism that has captivated your city and your country, plunging us, many sinners, into mortal hatred of our brothers, proud self-indignation and blasphemous despair, be abolished. Oh, most blessed one of Christ, who has put to shame the vanity of this age, ask the Creator and Giver of all blessings to grant us humility, meekness and love in the treasure of our hearts, faith in strengthening prayer, hope in repentance, strength in a difficult life, merciful healing of our soul and body , chastity in marriage and caring for our neighbors and sincere ones, renewal of our entire life in the purifying bath of repentance, as we praise your memory with all praise, let us glorify in you the miracle worker, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible forever and ever. Amen."
Prayer of Ksenia of Petersburg for family well-being
“Oh, our glorious holy blessed mother Ksenia, warm prayer book for us before God! As before we fell to your tombstone, now we, after your glorification, resort to your relics, we ask: pray to the Lord to sanctify our souls and bodies, to enlighten our minds, to cleanse our conscience from all filth, unclean thoughts, evil and blasphemous intentions and from all exaltation, pride and arrogance, arrogance and insolence, from all Pharisee hypocrisy, and from all our cold and evil customs; May He grant us sincere repentance, contrition of our hearts, humility, meekness and quietness, reverence, and spiritual intelligence with all prudence and thanksgiving. Hidden from the wise of this age, but known to God, ask our Russian country for deliverance from cruel troubles, for renewal and correction of our entire life, keep us in every pious Orthodox confession of the Christian faith, so that we may be worthy to please you all the days of singing, giving thanks and glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity of One Essence, Life-Giving and Indivisible forever and ever. Amen."
Gift of Grace
When the Lord tested her love and humility, he gifted her with the ability of pure prayer, insight and miracles.
Traders at the markets noticed that if she agreed to dine with them or take gifts, a large number of buyers and good income were sure to await them. They began to invite her over and treat her. The day was always successful for the cab drivers who brought the blessed one. They also vied with each other to try to serve her. When the holy fool entered the house, peace and harmony reigned in it. Seeing the selfless wanderer, mothers with small children hurried to her, because her blessing alone could cure ailments.
Evidence of the miracle of Xenia of St. Petersburg People's memory has also preserved many cases of the clairvoyance of the St. Petersburg holy woman. For example, she predicted the hour of death of the autocrat of All-Russia Elizaveta Petrovna, and one day she came to the mistress of her former house and ordered her to hurry to the cemetery, where God had sent her a son. The woman was surprised, but obeyed and saw an unfortunate pregnant woman knocked to death by a passing carriage, who had managed to give birth to a child before her death. She adopted the baby and all her life she thanked God and Ksenia for such a gift.
Another time, the saint of God helped a modest unmarried beauty meet her betrothed - she sent her to the cemetery, informing her that her future husband was burying his deceased wife there. The girl went, found a young man who had fainted from the untimely loss of a loved one, and provided him with all possible help. They met, soon fell in love, and a year later they got married.
What do they ask Saint Xenia of Petersburg for?
According to believers, Saint Xenia of St. Petersburg has great power and can help in many situations. In almost all cases when they turned to her, they soon received what they wanted. You should write a note indicating requests to the saint. You should bring this paper to the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg. Here, find the chapel of Xenia of St. Petersburg, walk around it three times and put the note in the box, which is installed here specifically for this purpose. Don't confuse the chapel and the cathedral. Many people do not look for a special box, but rather place a note next to the candles against the wall. Next, they lean their foreheads against the wall of the chapel. Ask the saint to fulfill your cherished desire, then light another candle. To complete the ritual, dedicate the chapel building to count on Xenia’s help.
Death
The righteous woman carried out the feat of voluntary foolishness for 45 years and gained the respect of St. Petersburg residents, who considered her a symbol of selfless female love and their patroness. The saint always came to the aid of everyone who approached with sincere prayer.
Temple of Xenia of Petersburg in Voronezh
She supposedly died in 1803 and was buried in the Smolensk cemetery. Over time, as a tribute to universal veneration, a chapel was built at the grave of the deceased servant of God, which became one of the main shrines of the Northern capital, where many divine phenomena began to take place: believers calling for forgiveness of sins received intercession, healing, strengthening, and abstinence from harmful passions.
True Humility
Ksenia of Petersburg, leaving all earthly goods, devoted herself to serving God and fighting her sins. The saint performed many miracles, which remained in the memory of the people as legends. At the end of the 20th century, when the righteous woman was glorified among the saints, some of her predictions were reflected in the life of Xenia the Blessed, compiled at that time. However, many such cases, or even most of them, probably remained unknown, since the holy fool herself always performed good deeds, trying with all her might so that no one would know about them. In this, as in many other things, she followed the example of her heavenly teacher, Jesus Christ.
As you know, he often asked people who witnessed one or another miracle performed by him not to tell anyone about what they saw. However, eyewitnesses in most cases were unable to resist the temptation to tell other people about the resurrection of the dead, the healing of lepers, the granting of sight to the blind, and much more. Like the Savior, Ksenia also hid her godly actions.
Will of the Lord
As often happens with such people, it seems that Heavenly Father himself initially selects them to devote themselves to his service.
This happened with Ksenia of Petersburg. Many historians suggest that she was born into a noble family or came from the intelligentsia. They base their guesses on the fact that upon reaching the age of twenty-three, the girl married a young man who served at court. He held the rank of colonel and sang in the imperial choir. The couple lived happily for three years. Suddenly, the young husband fell ill with an incurable disease.
Prediction about the groom
Soon, thanks to her numerous fulfilled prophecies, blessed Xenia was considered a saint among the people. Many people considered it an honor to host her, treating her to food and giving her alms. She spent most of the money that Ksenia received from compassionate fellow citizens not on herself, but on the needs of her poor friends.
Thanks to her care, several poor families received food, clothing, and temporary housing. For many years, Blessed Xenia herself wore only her husband’s old clothes, and when they became dilapidated, the saint walked the streets in rags all year round. The woman turned the house that she inherited from her husband into a shelter for the poor.
Prayer book
For this reason, for a very long time people did not realize the holiness of this woman. An incident helped her realize the strength of her faith and the degree of spiritual development. The police soon became interested in a homeless woman who walked around the city in men's clothing. Law enforcement defenders did not know where Ksenia was staying for the night.
One fine day the police managed to follow the blessed one. The secret they learned shocked them.
The police witnessed how Ksenia Petersburgskaya went out of town at dusk, went out into the field, knelt down and fervently prayed to the Lord until dawn.
Work for Christ
Many miracles of Blessed Xenia occurred at the Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg. Some of these cases occurred during the life of the saint, and some of them happened after her death. The first of these miracles was help in the construction of a stone temple - a feat that the woman performed completely free of charge.
When they began to build a new brick church on the site of an old wooden church that had fallen apart over time, the workers noticed that every morning part of the work of transferring building materials to the second floor of the building was regularly completed by someone before their arrival. When they came to the cemetery one night in order to understand this strange matter, they saw a woman carrying heavy stones up the wooden stairs. They recognized her as a holy fool known to many townspeople. They asked her why she was doing this. She replied that she saw the need for her help, since the temple needed to be strong.
Ksenia said that this structure would have to survive severe flooding. Seeing the excitement on the faces of the workers, she immediately rushed to calm them down, assuring the builders that the temple, no matter what, would withstand even the powerful onslaught of the elements. Her words turned out to be prophetic this time too.
Soon after this incident, a natural disaster of enormous force actually occurred. But, despite the power of nature, the temple, in the construction of which one of the most revered Orthodox saints in our country took part, survived. It still stands in its original place today. This church is a shrine where numerous pilgrims come every day to honor the memory of the righteous woman, pray to her, asking for intercession and help in many spiritual and everyday matters.
Voluntary foolishness
This behavior of the young woman caused a mostly negative reaction from her acquaintances. Strangers openly mocked her. But she didn't attach any importance to this.
Moreover, the woman voluntarily undertook this feat. She rejected all past attachments and aspirations and decided to devote herself to God. So Ksenia became a holy fool.
Initially, this word was used to refer to crazy people, but over time it acquired a different meaning and began to be used to refer to people who deliberately pretended to be crazy. Not only did they not strive for wealth and other benefits, but they also sacrificed their minds to the Lord - one of man’s greatest riches. The gift of prophecy was often revealed to holy fools.
Blessed Xenia also had this ability.
