Prayers to St. Roman the Wonderworker for the gift of children

Many women dream of the happiness of motherhood. But life is such that sometimes this bright desire cannot come true. And what potential mothers try to do: they undergo special treatment, use special diets, try IVF - but nothing helps. However, those who decide to offer their prayers to Roman the Wonderworker for the gift of children often receive an incredible result - they have babies.

Memorial Day: December 10

We pray to the hermit Roman for the gift of children

A prayer is read to Roman the Venerable for the gift of children for a long time. It is advisable to read it twice a day, morning and evening.

Prayer to Roman the Wonderworker for the gift of children:

Before you start praying, you need to visit an Orthodox church. You can find an experienced priest and share your problem. He can tell you what is best to do and who to pray to so that the child will soon appear in the family.

Some recommendations from priests:

1. It is desirable that the couple be married. In the Sacrament of Marriage, a special blessing is given for childbirth.
2. If the spouses have never confessed, they need to do so. It happens that old sins have consequences in the form of infertility.
3. After confession they begin Communion.
4. A vow made to God helps in obtaining the hidden. For example: never quarrel with your spouse, raise your child in piety and the Christian faith, etc.

You should not grumble and become despondent in your suffering. The Almighty blesses children at the most opportune time. It is imperative to pray, ask for help from the saints, believe and wait. Many saints of God did not have children until old age, patiently bore their cross and were rewarded for their trust.

Holy Righteous Sophia, Princess of Slutsk

(Commemorated April 1, New Style)

Holy Righteous Sophia of Slutsk is the patroness of Belarus, her holy relics rest in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk. This wondrous saint was born in the Belarusian lands (the city of Slutsk) and lived her short life here. However, even in the few years that the Lord gave her to earthly life, she was able to do a lot to preserve Orthodoxy in White Rus'.

Saint Sophia was born in the 16th century, when Slutsk was part of Lithuania. She came from the ancient Olelkovich family, which showed the world many pious Christians. Sophia’s grandfather, Yuri Yuryevich, was a great admirer of Orthodox shrines, cared a lot about Slutsk churches and monasteries, and before his death he exhorted his sons to firmly adhere to the Orthodox faith. But, unfortunately, only one of the three sons fulfilled the will of his father and remained Orthodox - the father of St. Sophia. Two of his brothers converted to Catholicism, which was not uncommon at the time due to Lithuanian influence. Saint Sophia was the only child in the family: her mother died after giving birth, and a year later her father passed away to the Lord. So the one-year-old girl Sofia turned out to be an orphan from childhood. Relatives, the Khodkevich family, took custody of the princess. Taking care of the last Slutsk princess, the Khodkevichs pursued selfish goals. Sofia was the heir to a large fortune, and the Chodkiewicz guardians had huge debts to the Radziwills.

The Chodkiewicz and Radziwills made a deal according to which Princess Sophia, upon reaching adulthood, was to marry the Nesvizh Prince Janusz Radziwill - in this way the Chodkiewicz wanted to pay off their debts. Thus, the fate of the last Slutsk princess was determined in her childhood. Shortly before the wedding, the guardians remembered that they did not ask Sofia whether she agreed to convert to Catholicism for marriage with Janusz Radziwill. The young princess responded with a decisive refusal. The Orthodox faith was the only joy and consolation for Saint Sophia; she loved the Lord, prayed a lot and could not change her faith. Moreover, the fourteen-year-old princess put forward the condition that the children who would be born to her in marriage be baptized in the Orthodox Church and raised in the Orthodox faith. Only on such conditions did Sofia agree to marry Prince Janusz. The prince was forced to turn to the Pope with a corresponding petition. Permission was received, and on the Feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (October 1, 1600, Old Style) in one of the Orthodox cathedrals in the city of Brest, the wedding (according to the Orthodox rite) of Slutsk Princess Sofia Yurievna and Prince Janusz took place. The life of an orphan with the Khodkevichs was difficult, and even in marriage it was not sweet. In all her sorrows, the princess, and then Princess Sofia, found consolation only in prayer and in the Church. But grief came, overshadowing all personal sorrows: the church union with Rome, declared in Western Russian lands in 1596.

Holy Righteous Sophia, Princess of Slutsk Photo from church.by

It was during the union that the feat of the holy princess Sophia of Slutsk shone out. For the Orthodox Western Russian lands at that time, difficult times began. Monasteries and churches were taken away from them, Orthodox priests were expelled, Orthodox churches began to belong to Catholics, who allowed services to be held there only for a certain fee. Weddings, baptisms and funeral services could only be performed with the permission of the Catholic priest and for the payment established by him. Children born from mixed marriages were immediately included in the Catholic Church. Orthodox people were prohibited from holding any positions and holding meetings. Orthodox Christians were buried at night. Orthodox priests were called “dissident clergy.” Over time, all the cities passed into a union, and only Slutsk remained faithful to the Orthodox faith thanks to its owner, Princess Sophia. Seeing all the oppression and humiliation of her Orthodox compatriots and sincerely paining with all her heart for the trampled upon native faith, Saint Sophia firmly stood up for the defense of Orthodoxy in her domains. The Transfiguration Brotherhood was created in Slutsk, which included residents of the city and Princess Sofia herself. She convinced her Catholic husband to ask the Polish king for a charter prohibiting the forcible spread of the union in their domains. Janusz helped his wife, the charter was received, and the holy princess defended the interests of Orthodoxy in her lands legally. In addition, Sophia took care of providing for monasteries, churches and clergy, donated generously for the construction of temples, she herself sewed and embroidered church vestments and priestly vestments with gold, made pilgrimages to distant churches on patronal feast days. So Saint Sophia, Princess of Slutsk, became the protector of Orthodox Christians in the Belarusian lands. From then until now, she has been considered the patron saint of Belarus.

Saint Sophia died at the birth of her first daughter, on March 19, 1612 (Old Style). The baby who was born also died. Hagia Sophia was then only 26 years old. The princess was buried in the Slutsk Holy Trinity Orthodox Monastery, the Lord glorified her with the incorruption of her relics and miracles at the tomb. The firmness of Princess Sophia in defending the Orthodox faith was so great that even after her death, Prince Janusz Radziwill (her husband) confirmed with his letters that the Orthodox churches, blessed at one time by Princess Sophia, must maintain the freedom of their worship and church rules in the spirit of the Eastern Church ...

Now the relics of St. Sophia of Slutsk rest in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Minsk. Belarusian women especially reverence Saint Sophia, considering her the patroness of marriage and motherhood. They pray to St. Sophia for the creation of a family, for the right choice of husband or wife, for peace and harmony in the family, as well as for the gift of children to spouses and a successful birth. During her life, Saint Sophia was an orphan; she also did not have time to enjoy the joy of motherhood and did not experience a difficult birth, but now, standing at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven, she helps praying women become good wives, become loving mothers and safely survive childbirth.

SACRED:

Prayer for Conception

If a married couple has taken up the work of prayer, the first thing they do is read a petition to the Lord, and then to a chosen saint or the Mother of God.

Prayer to the Lord for the gift of children:

If you place your sorrow on the Lord and believe in His good Providence for us, the fulfillment of your cherished desire is not far off.

A prayer to Roman the Wonderworker for infertility can be expressed in the following words: “Holy Roman the Wonderworker, ask the Lord for mercy on us. He knows about our desire to have children, intercede for us, and if God pleases, let it be fulfilled.”

Another prayer to Roman for the gift of children:

O sacred head, reverend father, blessed Abvo Roman, do not forget your poor to the end, but always remember us in holy and auspicious prayers to God: remember your flock, which you yourself shepherded, and do not forget to visit your children. Pray for us, Holy Father, for your spiritual children, as you have boldness towards the Heavenly King: do not be silent for us to the Lord, and do not despise us, who honor you with faith and love: remember us unworthy at the Throne of the Almighty, and do not stop praying for us to Christ God, for grace was given to you to pray for us. We do not imagine that you are dead: even though you have passed away from us in body, but remain alive even after death, do not depart from us in spirit, keeping us from the arrows of the enemy and all the charms of the demonic and the machinations of the devil, to our good shepherd even more than the relics your cancer is always visible before our eyes, but your holy soul with the angelic hosts, with the Incorporeal faces, with the Heavenly Powers, standing at the Throne of the Almighty, worthily rejoices, knowing that you are truly alive and living after death, we fall down to you and we pray to you: praying about us to the Almighty God, about the benefit of our souls, and ask us time for repentance, so that we may pass from earth to heaven without restraint, and from bitter ordeals, demons of air princes and from eternal torment, may we be delivered from eternal torment, and may we be heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom with all the righteous, from all eternity have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ: to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, with His Father without beginning, and with His Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Since the ascetic was a great faster, it would be logical to seek his favor by observing fasting and avoiding excesses. In order for any request to please God and be fulfilled, it is important to rethink your lifestyle. God can send offspring at the moment when the parents have changed internally. Godly spouses will give much more to the child than financially secure ones.​

Holy Righteous Juliana the Merciful, Lazarevskaya, Murom Wonderworker

(memory January 15 and August 23)

Holy Righteous Juliana Lazarevskaya, Muromskaya is an amazing saint who pleased the Lord with her great hidden deeds. She is an example for every Orthodox woman, for every wife and mother. She lived in our Fatherland, near the city of Murom, was married and gave birth to 13 (!) children, had servants and a large household. It would seem that the ordinary life of an ordinary woman of the 16th century. Why did she stand out so much from the rest, what did she do that she was canonized by the Orthodox Church? The answer to this question lies in her entire life, literally in every minute. From a young age she was left an orphan and was raised in the house of relatives, where she had to endure frequent ridicule. As a girl, she avoided children's games and amusements; her attention was more attracted to prayer, fasting and handicrafts. From her youth, the saint was accustomed to pray for a long time and at the same time make many bows. Even before her marriage, Juliana was engaged in handicrafts and secretly sold them in order to distribute the money received to the poor, and sewed clothes for the poor. The saint devoted a lot of time and effort to this good cause. Her merciful heart became known in the area, although the saint sincerely tried to do good deeds in secret. Soon, the owner of the village of Lazarevskoye, near Murom, Yuri Osorin, wooed the pious girl. At the age of 16, young Juliana was married to him and began to live with her husband’s family. Their marriage was very strong and lasted a lifetime. Saint Juliana was very fond of her husband's parents for her meekness and humility; she surrounded them with affection and care, ran an exemplary household, got up early and went to bed late. But all the household chores of a married woman did not prevent her from continuing her spiritual exploits. Every night the saint got up to pray with many bows. She also continued to do handicrafts in order to do works of mercy in secret. The saint donated skillfully embroidered shrouds to churches, and sold the rest of her work in order to distribute the money to the poor. To keep her good deeds secret, Saint Juliana sent alms to poor families at night through her maid. The saint especially cared for widows and orphans. It is noteworthy how the saint treated her servants. She did not allow herself to be undressed and dressed, as was the custom then. She did not allow water to be given to her for washing, but she did everything herself. Juliana communicated affably with the servants and, feeling sorry for them, did not report their misdeeds to her husband, preferring to take the blame upon herself. What a loving heart, what a magnitude of soul! Which modern people would be ready to do this towards their subordinates? When the great famine came, followed by an epidemic, many people locked themselves in their homes for fear of becoming infected. And Saint Juliana, secretly from her relatives, washed the sick in the bathhouse, treated them and prayed to the Lord for their recovery. If one of the sick died, then the saint washed them and hired people for burial, praying for the repose of each soul. For such great works of mercy, caring for suffering and needy people, Saint Juliana was nicknamed “Merciful.” Indeed, she showed mercy both in ordinary life and in difficult times for Rus'. Saint Juliana was illiterate and asked her husband to read the Gospel to her. She also taught him to warmly and often pray. The saint gave birth to 10 sons and three daughters, seven of them died in infancy. Two sons of righteous Juliana died as adults in the royal service. The saint did not experience this loss easily, but, overcoming the grief of her heart, she said: “God gave, God took away.” After the tragic death of her two sons, Juliania asked her husband to let her go to a monastery, but he refused, explaining that she had to raise the rest of the children. Forgetting herself all her life, Saint Juliana gave up her desire this time too. However, she begged her husband to no longer have marital relations and to live like brother and sister. From then on, she further intensified her exploits and began to lead an almost monastic life: her sleep was only 2-3 hours, the rest of the night she devoted to prayer and bowing, and kept a strict fast. During the day, Righteous Juliana did household chores, raised children, and set up housekeeping. The saint slept on the floor, placing logs under her head instead of a pillow. Every day the saint was in the temple for divine services, but one day a period came that she began to visit the temple less often, but intensified her home prayer. Then the Most Holy Theotokos herself appeared to the priest of that temple and said: “Go and tell merciful Juliana why she doesn’t go to church? And her prayer at home is pleasing to God, but not in the same way as church prayer. You should read her, she is already 60 years old and the Holy Spirit rests on her.”

Holy Righteous Juliana the Merciful, Lazarevskaya, Murom Wonderworker Photo from the site i.io.ua

After the death of her husband, Saint Juliana distributed all her property to the poor, not even keeping warm clothes for herself. The saint was repeatedly attacked by demons who did not want to suffer defeat. They frightened righteous Juliana and threatened her with death, but the saint only intensified her exploits. So one day, during an attack by unclean spirits, Juliana prayed to the Lord and called on St. Nicholas for help. He immediately appeared to the holy woman with a club in his hand and drove away the demons.

In her old age, righteous Juliana had to face terrible famine. During the reign of Boris Godunov, there was such a severe famine that maddened people even ate human flesh. To feed her servants, Saint Juliana sold everything she had, and when the funds ran out, she set her slaves free, which was absolutely amazing for the 16th century. But many of the servants loved and respected their mistress so much that they decided to stay with her. Then righteous Juliana gathered all her strength to help people survive the famine. She taught them to collect quinoa, and she herself, with prayer, baked delicious and sweet bread from this bitter herb. At that time, hunger pushed many people to commit terrible crimes. The saint was very worried about her servants and constantly prayed for them, so that the Lord would preserve them from spiritual destruction. Through her prayers, none of the people close to her stained themselves with a crime, which was a real miracle for that time.

Before her death, Saint Juliana admitted that she really wanted to take monastic vows, but was not worthy due to her sins. Such a great saint, who showed so much kindness and mercy to people, considered herself a sinner and unworthy - what was the height of her humility! Before her death, she asked everyone for forgiveness, blessed her loved ones, hugged them and, crossing herself three times, said: “Glory to God for everything! Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” Those present at her death saw how a radiance appeared around the head of Saint Juliana in the form of a golden crown. The saint reposed in 1604. She was buried in the Church of Righteous Lazarus, of which she was a parishioner. 10 years after her death, they began to dig earth near her grave for the burial of her deceased son. Then her incorruptible relics were found, they exuded myrrh, smelled fragrant, and many people received healing from them, especially sick children. Numerous miracles began to occur at the tomb of Saint Juliana, so that already 10 years after her death the Orthodox Church canonized her.

SACRED:

How to read a prayer correctly?

The prayer for the gift of children is read in front of the image of the saint. It is advisable to light a lamp or candle during prayer.

For a deep prayer, you can resort to multiple repetitions, for example, read the petition 3, 12 or 40 times. Repeated reading helps to concentrate better, trains the will, and strengthens faith.

Icon of the hermit Roman:

It is almost impossible to see an icon of the saint in Russian churches. His name is unfairly forgotten, although in Rus' they fervently prayed to him for conception. There is such a belief: the less they know about a saint, the more diligently he fulfills the requests of prayer books. Prayer for infertility will help those who come with a strong faith.

Prayer for the name Roman

Detailed description from several sources: “prayer for the name Roman” - in our non-profit weekly religious magazine.

As a child, Roman is a very sick boy; he often misses school classes, which is why he lags behind in his studies. He does not like gray everyday life and routine; he always needs to change something.

Often drops out of school and enters adulthood. Roman prefers to avoid problems and obstacles rather than solve them.

In the event of any difficulty in life, he simply gives up and prefers to abstract himself from this situation.

Roma is quite sociable and loves to talk for a long time. He has many good acquaintances, but they cannot be called good friends. He always has problems with the latter. Roman cares little about money, often does stupid things in financial matters and gets involved in many scams, suffers financial losses, but still miraculously “gets back on his feet.”

Roman is also very amorous. Sometimes it is enough for him to see a girl once to understand that he is already in love. But Roma can fall out of love just as quickly as he can fall in love.

He always has a lot of women, among whom he is looking for his ideal. When he finds him, he immediately marries. When children appear in his family, he becomes a wonderful father and devoted husband.

Helps his wife with housework, but prefers to be the head of the family.

Fate

: Main character traits: strong will, great hard work, high intelligence and attractiveness. The novel is so reasonable, so mysterious, so patient that at times it seems like a big bore.

The Saints

: Roman Sladkopevets (name day October 14), Roman Syrian (name day December 10).

Roman Angel Day

From the Latin language - Roman, Roman. Rome - in Latin Roma, hence Romagna - Romania. According to another version (from the ancient Greek language) - strong, strong. Possibly derived from the feminine form of the name Roma, the goddess of Rome, highly revered in the Roman Empire.

Coins were issued in her honor, and solemn and magnificent annual celebrations were held. In the calendar you can find many saints with this name. This can be explained primarily by the fact that Christianity arose and developed precisely in the Roman Empire.

This name came to Rus' from Byzantium; in the 12th century it was often used to call Russian princes. Personality symbol: “He who holds the waters of the earth.”

Roman the Sweet Singer - prayer, icon, troparion

There are many ways to glorify the Lord. But during worship services, many are attracted by the beauty of church singing. Temples usually value workers who can sing beautifully and know all the intricacies of rituals. One of these people was Saint Roman the Sweet Singer, as evidenced by his nickname.

Life path

The righteous man was born in the 5th century, lived in Syria, but was of Greek origin. When he reached adolescence, he moved to Constantinople, where he entered the temple. Since childhood, I dreamed of devoting myself to serving the Lord. His faith and zeal did not escape the attention of the patriarch, which aroused the envy of those around him. There was a period when the life of Roman the Sweet Singer was quite difficult.

Some priests began to persecute the young man because he was uneducated and also had no talent for singing. This offended Roman very much, but he decided to endure everything patiently in the name of Christ.

One day, during a large festive service, temple employees pushed a young man out of the altar. He was overcome with embarrassment, his voice trembled, and he could not solemnly and clearly sing the necessary prayer. Roman the Sweet Singer was very upset, and when he came home, he began to earnestly pray to the Most Holy Theotokos.

Finding a Gift

That night a great miracle happened to him. The Virgin Mary herself descended from heaven and gave him a scroll, ordering him to swallow it. The icon of Roman the Sweet Singer reflects this moment.

He received a gift - a sonorous, beautiful voice, as well as the gift of composing church hymns. To do this, it is not enough to have literary talent - you must understand all church dogmas very well.

At the same hour, the singer composed the kontakion of the Nativity, which is still sung by all believers on the festive night.

The next day he sang it in the temple, everyone was amazed. The chant was very beautiful and well written. And the execution is divine. Therefore, the young man received the nickname “Sweet Singer”. Former enemies who oppressed Roman repented of treating him badly. The meek young man forgave them.

• Roman the Sweet Singer wrote more than a thousand troparions, kontakions and akathists.
• His performance was the decoration of any service; the modest deacon made a huge contribution to the development of the beauty of Orthodox worship.

• What are akathist, kontakion and troparion;
• You can learn about the lives of the forty martyrs of Sebaste here;
• Nectarius of Aegina - prayer, icon, life - //bogolub.info/nektarij-eginskij-molitva-ikona-zhitie/.

Shortly before his death, God's servant took monastic vows. After his death he was canonized. Often the talented minister is depicted together with the Virgin Mary, surrounded by believers singing in the temple.

There is also a separate icon of him.

• On it is a handsome young man in the vestments of a deacon. This is a surplice and an orarion (ribbon thrown over the shoulder).
• In his right hand he holds a censer, or it is raised to make the sign of the cross.
• In the left hand there may be an unrolled scroll, on which the text of the most famous kontakion composed by the minister is indicated. Or it may be a rolled scroll; sometimes - an image of a church building (the temple in which the saint served).
• There is a very interesting icon in which the Most Pure Virgin stands over the sleeping Roman the Sweet Singer. She holds a scroll in her hands, after swallowing which the saint received his blessed gift.
• Also very often, the great church author is depicted on the icon of the Intercession.

In Russia, there are several churches consecrated in the name of Roman the Sweet Singer - in St. Petersburg, Nizhnekamsk, etc. There is such a temple in Kyiv.

This saint is especially revered by those who are involved in church singing or simply the art of music. It also helps in other situations:

• when developing the talent of a performer, poet;
• when protecting against envy;
• when gaining confidence and in other difficult situations.

People bearing the name Roman can ask for his intercession every day. You can pray near the icon if there is no temple nearby in the name of this saint.

Prayer to Roman the Sweet Singer

Oh, sacred head, reverend father, most blessed Abvo Roman, do not forget your poor to the end, but always remember us in your holy and auspicious prayers to God.

Remember your flock, which you yourself shepherded, and do not forget to visit your children.

Pray for us, holy father, for your spiritual children, as if you have boldness towards the Heavenly King, do not be silent for us to the Lord, and do not despise us, who honor you with faith and love.

Remember us unworthy at the Throne of the Almighty, and do not stop praying for us to Christ God, for you have been given the grace to pray for us. We do not imagine that you are dead, even though you have passed away from us in body, but even after death you remain alive. Do not give up on us in spirit, keeping us from the arrows of the enemy and all the charms of the devil and the snares of the devil, our good shepherd.

Even though your relics are always visible before our eyes, your holy soul with the angelic hosts, with the disembodied faces, with the heavenly powers, standing at the Almighty Throne, rejoices with dignity.

Knowing that you are truly alive even after death, we bow down to you and pray to you: pray for us to Almighty God, for the benefit of our souls, and ask us time for repentance, so that we may pass from earth to heaven without restraint, from the bitter ordeals of the demons of the air princes and may we be delivered from eternal torment, and may we be heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom with all the righteous, who from all eternity have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, with His Beginning Father and with His Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.

First Troparion to St. Roman the Sweet Singer

In you, father, it is known that you were saved in the image: for you accepted the cross, you followed Christ / and, acting, you taught to despise the flesh, which passes away, / to adhere to the souls of things that are immortal. // In the same way, your spirit will rejoice with the Angels, Rev. Roman.

Roman Sladkopevets

- prayer, icon, troparion - you will find it here.
. Roman Sladkopevets
- prayer,... Church wedding - rules

In front of the Bethlehem icon you can read the Akathist to the Mother of God, which was written by Roman the Sweet Singer

.

Below her on the pulpit stands Saint Romanos

with a scroll. The temple icon, which was discovered in the Suzdal monastery, is now in the Tretyakov Museum.

The first akathist was written in the 6th century. Authorship is attributed to Roman Sladkopevets

, Orthodox saint.

Roman Sladkopevets

- prayer, icon, troparion - you will find it here.
. Roman Sladkopevets
- prayer,... Church wedding - rules

In front of the Bethlehem icon you can read the Akathist to the Mother of God, which was written by Roman the Sweet Singer

.

Below her on the pulpit stands Saint Romanos

with a scroll. The temple icon, which was discovered in the Suzdal monastery, is now in the Tretyakov Museum.

The first akathist was written in the 6th century. Authorship is attributed to Roman Sladkopevets

, Orthodox saint.

Source: //xn—-ctbkalephobdgkd1al8m8c.xn--p1ai/molitva-dlya-imeni-roman/

Roman Sladkopevets

The hermit Romanus of Antioch is often confused with another Romanus, the Sweet Singer. This saint became famous for his talents as a singer and poet. From birth, Roman was pious, helped in church and served the Patriarch, but he had neither a voice nor hearing. The saint earnestly prayed to the Mother of God for his grief. One day, the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a vision and ordered him to eat the scroll. After the miraculous phenomenon, Roman’s voice acquired melody, and his poetic gift still makes one touch by the beauty and depth of the lyrics. The authorship of the Sweet Singer belongs to hundreds of prayers and church hymns.

Venerable Roman the Sweet Singer prayer:

This prayer to Saint Roman may be suitable for asking for the gift of children. It is enough to add a request for conception at the end from the bottom of your heart.

You can also listen to a prayer for infertility on Internet pages dedicated to this topic.

Venerable Sophia of Suzdal

(memory August 14 and December 29 according to modern style)

Saint Sophia of Suzdal is one of those holy women who herself faced the sorrow of childlessness. In the world, the future ascetic’s name was Solomonia Saburova; she lived in Rus' in the 16th century. Solomonia came from a noble family of the Saburovs and at the age of 15 became the wife of Grand Duke Vasily III. He chose her at the “brides review” out of five hundred of the most beautiful girls. Having become the Grand Duchess, Solomonia did not find happiness for herself; her life was rather tragic. The grand ducal couple grieved greatly because they had no children. Their marriage lasted more than 20 years, but the Lord never sent them the long-awaited child.

Then Prince Vasily decided to divorce his legal wife Solomonia in order to marry again and find heirs. The boyars approved and supported the choice of the prince, but the church hierarchs spoke out against it, accusing Vasily Ioannovich of bad intentions. One of these accusers was the Monk Maxim the Greek, who fearlessly pointed out to the prince his sinful decision, for which he was exiled to prison.

Prince Vasily divorced Princess Solomonia and married a second time to Elena Glinskaya. All the ecumenical Patriarchs condemned this act of the great Moscow prince, and the Patriarch of Jerusalem predicted that from the new marriage a baby would be born who would amaze the world with his cruelty. In this marriage, Tsar Ivan the Terrible was born.

Venerable Sophia of Suzdal Photo from sites.google.com

Princess Solomonia was forcibly tonsured into monasticism with the name Sophia in the Moscow Nativity Monastery. This was the first case of a princess being forcibly tonsured into monasticism in Rus', but, unfortunately, it was far from the last. After her tonsure, Sofia was sent to the Suzdal Intercession Monastery, which would later become the place of imprisonment for many royal tonsures. Sophia did not immediately come to terms with her new position, but over time she reconciled herself and accepted the will of God, devoting her life to prayer and serving God. In her solitude, she gradually became adorned with virtues and ascended to spiritual perfection. It is interesting that Andrei Kurbsky, in his letter to Ivan the Terrible, called the princess-nun Sophia a “venerable martyr.”

The holy ascetic spent 17 years in the Suzdal monastery, where she died in 1542 and was buried. Already the closest descendants prayerfully revered Sophia of Suzdal, and under the grandson of her husband, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, the nun was already honored as a saint. Queen Irina Godunova sent an embroidered cover with the image of the Savior and saints to the Suzdal Monastery for the tomb of St. Sophia. Various miracles began to occur at the tomb of St. Sophia of Suzdal. In 1598, at her relics, Princess Anna Nechteva, who had suffered from blindness for six years, regained her sight. Through prayers at the relics of St. Sophia, people were healed of blindness, diseases of the hands and feet, headaches, paralysis and mental illness. There are especially many cases of St. Sophia helping with the birth of children. Now the saint’s relics are located there, in the Intercession Monastery in the city of Suzdal, and many pilgrims come there to pray to the saint for the birth of children.

Troparion of St. Sophia of Suzdal

Clearly adorned with the beauty of the Most High, Saint Sophia labored through fasting labors, and became the heir to the Heavenly Kingdom, and entered the Heavenly Palace to enjoy the beauty of Christ. Pray to him to save the city of Suzdal from enemy presence and internecine warfare, and grant our souls great mercy.

The story of a miracle through prayer to Roman the Wonderworker

A prayer to St. Roman the Wonderworker healed a married couple from infertility. Spouses Igor and Tatyana Rozhkov tried to conceive immediately after the wedding, but nothing worked. Over the course of 15 years, I changed a dozen doctors, but everyone diagnosed me with infertility. No one found any obvious reasons; everyone shrugged their shoulders. The couple had already begun to think about adoption, when suddenly Tatyana accidentally found a note lying at the bottom of the bag. On it was written a prayer to Roman of Antioch for infertility, left by a friend several years ago. Although the couple were not churchgoers, Christian values ​​were close to them. The prayer does not look like a conspiracy, but she prayed to Saint Roman for the gift of children according to this scheme: 3 days in a row at dawn. A month later she became pregnant with triplets. The happy woman promised to name her son in honor of Saint Roman. In December, after the saint's day of remembrance, they had healthy and beautiful children: two girls and a boy.

Venerable Gabriel (Urgebadze)

Venerable Gabriel (Urgebadze) is a highly revered saint of the Georgian land. His monastic life took place in the difficult conditions of Soviet power, which in every possible way hindered the development of the Church and the Orthodox faith. But the holy elder Gabriel, even in such difficult times, remained faithful to God and the Mother Church, courageously overcoming all difficulties and hardships. The future saint was born on August 26, 1929. At birth the boy was named Goderdzi. Even as a child, he believed in Christ. One day Goderdzi heard his neighbors swearing and one of them said: “You crucified me like Christ.” The child became interested in what “crucified” was and who Christ was. The adults sent the boy who asked the questions to the temple, where the watchman advised him to read the Gospel. Having saved up money, Goderdzi bought the Gospel and after a few years he knew the text almost by heart. At the age of 26, he took monastic vows with the name "Gabriel" in honor of St. Gabriel of Athos. For a long time, the mother resisted her son’s desire to become a monk, but at the end of her life she came to terms with his decision and even took monastic vows herself.

In the courtyard of his house in Tbilisi, Father Gabriel built a multi-domed church. He worked on it with his own hands for many years; the monk collected icons from city dumps, where various shrines could be found in Soviet times. At home, Father Gabriel cleaned these icons, restored them in a small workshop and placed them in his church. All the walls were hung with images. Father Gabriel carefully cut out even photographs of icons from Soviet magazines and inserted them into frames. In 1965, during a demonstration, Hieromonk Gabriel burned a 12-meter portrait of Lenin and began preaching Christ to the gathered people. He said that instead of a portrait of a leader, a crucifix of the Savior should hang, that glory should be given to the Lord, and not to man. A few months later, Hieromonk Gabriel was placed in a psychiatric hospital, where he was diagnosed with “a psychopathic personality, believes in God and angels.” To please the authorities, church hierarchs forbade Father Gabriel from entering the church. For many years the priest could not take communion, which for him, as a believer, was a very difficult test. In the 80s, Hieromonk Gabriel settled in Samtavro, people felt that an extraordinary love for everyone emanated from the elder. Some saw how, during prayer, Elder Gabriel rose 40-50 cm above the ground and light emanated from him. Many miraculous events occurred during the life of Father Gabriel, but even more great miracles are happening now after his glorification. Elder Gabriel died in 1995 from dropsy. His grave became a dear place for many Christian believers. Both Georgians and Russian pilgrims came to the elder’s grave to bow to him and ask for his help. The popular veneration of Saint Gabriel began even before his glorification. In 2012, Elder Gabriel was canonized. In 2014, the relics of St. Gabriel (Urgebadze) were solemnly discovered in Georgia, which became a great joy for the Georgian Orthodox people and for all Orthodox Christians. Saint Gabriel had great love for people and spoke about the need to learn love: “Whoever learns to love will be happy. Just don’t think that love is an innate talent. Love can be learned, and we must do it.”

Venerable Gabriel (Urgebadze) Photo from pravoslavie.ru

Recently, several cases of myrrh streaming from icons of St. Gabriel (Urgebadze) have been recorded in Georgia.

Even before the discovery of the relics of St. Gabriel, miraculous healings took place at his grave, a lot of evidence of which has been preserved. Through the prayers of Saint Gabriel, people were healed from cirrhosis, uterine tumors, total bone marrow fibrosis, leg diseases, spinal diseases, allergies and infertility. Here are several cases of the saint’s gracious help to women in childbearing.

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Maya Kublashvili could not give birth to a child for 3 years; all treatment methods were unsuccessful. During Great Lent, a woman went to the grave of Elder Gabriel and asked for his prayers to the Lord and help. There were many people at the elder’s grave, and nun Paraskeva stood next to her. Mother turned her attention to the woman and anointed her forehead with holy oil. Mayai took this oil with her and anointed her forehead with this oil every day. That month Maya became pregnant.

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One woman had her pregnancy terminated several times. The woman lived in Georgia, and one day a delegation from the Greek Church visited there. One Greek priest told this unfortunate woman: “You have a wonderful shrine in Georgia” and ordered her to go to the grave of Elder Gabriel and pray for help, which the woman did. Some time passed and she became pregnant.

Troparion to St. Gabriel (Urgebadze)

As the Master Christ hid His Divinity, clothing Him in humanity, and thereby made His ineffable glory invisible from us, so you also covered your glory with foolishness and appeared as a shepherd as a sign of the confession of souls, Father Reverend Gabriel, pray to Christ God to have mercy on our souls.

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