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Ksenia of Milas deaconess, known in the world as Eusebius, was the daughter of a Roman nobleman who professed the Orthodox faith. There are no cathedrals in Russia named after the saint, but in the park opposite the Sklifosovsky Institute in Moscow there is a cross. This is a gift from the sculptor Zurab Tsereteli in memory of Ksenia Milasskaya.
Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
Life of Saint Xenia of Milas
The exact date of birth of Saint Xenia of Milas is not known. She lived approximately in the middle of the 5th century.
One noble Roman senator had an only daughter named Eusevia. The girl's family professed Christianity and led a pious lifestyle. The parents loved their only child very much and dreamed of marrying the beauty to a worthy, wealthy young man.
When Eusevia reached marriageable age, she was betrothed to a noble youth, the son of a high-ranking nobleman. But since childhood, the girl was imbued with love for the Lord, dreaming of becoming Christ’s bride. However, she was afraid to tell her parents about her desire, because she knew that they would oppose her intentions and force her daughter into marriage by any means.
Eusevia had two slaves who grew up with her and served the girl faithfully. The girl decided to open up to her faithful maids, telling them about her deepest desire. Both girls were as pious as their mistress, so they swore to keep her secret and follow their mistress in everything.
Three girls decided to leave home to devote their lives to the Lord. Eusevia distributed most of the funds she received from her parents to poor people. A few days before the wedding, three girls, dressed in men's clothes, secretly left the house.
The girls went to the sea to get to Alexandria by ship. Eusevia and her slaves landed on the island of Koya, located near Halicarnassus. On the island, the girls tried to find a secluded place where Eusevia’s parents could not find them.
While the girls were traveling, Eusevia asked her confidantes not to reveal her name to anyone for the rest of her life. And tell people that her name is Ksenia, which translates as a foreigner. From that time on, the saint began to be called Xenia.
The girls, making sure that they were safe, changed from men's clothes to women's. They rented a small house where they devoted themselves to prayer. The hermits asked the Lord to send them a man clothed in the clergy, so that through him they could take monastic vows.
The Lord heard the girls’ prayers. One day, Ksenia and her sisters, leaving the house, met a gray-haired old man dressed in monastic robes. He turned out to be the presbyter and abbot Paul of Milassa, returning from holy places to his monastery named after the Apostle Andrew.
The hermits persuaded the abbot to take them with him. Arriving in Milassa, Ksenia and her sisters took monastic vows. With the remaining funds, Ksenia purchased a plot of land on which she built the Church of St. Stephen and founded a convent.
The Monk Ksenia provided assistance to all the poor, sick and suffering. Despite the fact that the girl grew up in luxury, she led an ascetic lifestyle. The righteous woman wore shabby clothes, considering herself unworthy of normal attire. The saint often fasted, refusing vegetables, fruits, wine, and consuming only a little bread and water.
The monk hid her abstinence from the nuns. Only her two slaves, secretly watching the righteous woman, trying to imitate her. Such strict abstinence did not prevent the righteous woman from praying day and night, devoting herself entirely to serving the Lord.
Bishop Milassa soon died and Xenia’s spiritual father, Paul, took his place. Having accepted the episcopal rank, he appointed the saint as a deaconess of the convent.
One day, the deaconess, sensing her imminent death, called the sisters to say goodbye to them. Then, asking the sisters to leave, she locked herself in her cell to give herself over to prayerful reflection. The slaves, who were peeping through the hole at the deaconess, saw how after the prayer the saint fell on her face. Entering the cell, the sisters found the saint already dead. It was Saturday - January 24th.
Bishop Paul was in the village of Leukia along with many Milas citizens. At the moment of Xenia’s death, the sky lit up with radiance, and the stars formed a light crown with a shining cross in the middle. This was a sign that Saint Eusebia died and her soul ascended to the Lord. The bishop hurried to return to the city, where he found the venerable deaconess dead.
The next day the funeral of the saint took place, during which a crown with a cross again appeared in the sky, disappearing only after the burial was completed.
After some time, both of the saint’s slaves died in turn. Before her death, the second slave told people about where Ksenia was from. This is how everyone learned the real name of Christ’s bride.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
What does it help with?
Ksenia Milasskaya is the patron of all women who bear her name. The saint is asked to help:
- to be healed from illness;
- improve family relationships;
- safely carry and give birth to a healthy child.
On one of the ancient icons the deaconess is depicted together with St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This holy image belonged to the Tishinin landowners, who considered the saints their benefactors. Therefore, married couples who want to live happily together are recommended to have an image of Eusebia in their home iconostasis in order to pray before the holy face.
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
Veneration in Orthodoxy
The honoring of Ksenia of Milasskaya coincides with the day of veneration of Blessed Ksenia of St. Petersburg - January 24 according to the Julian calendar (February 6 according to the new style). On this day, solemn services dedicated to the saints are held.
From 1649 to 1800 in Moscow, on the territory of the current park, located near the Sklifosofsky Institute, there was a small wooden church in the name of the holy deaconess. Currently, new churches dedicated to the Life-Giving Trinity and the Resurrection of the Lord have been erected on the territory of the hospital. And a cross was installed in the park, donated by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli.
On July 13, 2010, the consecration of a memorial cross in the name of Xenia of Milas by His Serene Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' took place.
