For the most part, Orthodox saints are people who were glorified by spiritual exploits in ancient times, when the church was often persecuted by various rulers. But there are not many Christians who are glorified as saints, who are, practically, our contemporaries.
One of these saints and confessors was Saint Luke of Crimea. The nationally known surgeon showed unbending faith and uncompromising spirit. These qualities were most evident in the era of total atheism in our country. Fearing nothing, he traveled to many universities, gave lectures and sermons, invariably appearing in a black cassock and wearing a pectoral cross.
In the hospitals where the saint practiced as a doctor, there were always Orthodox icons, and he began all operations only after praying. More than once he was tried and sent into exile, but even there, in addition to providing medical assistance, he preached the Word of God. At the beginning of World War II, he wrote to Stalin that he was ready to continue his exile after the war if he was allowed to treat the wounded. He saved the lives of many soldiers, and made many think about God.
The “thaw” of the post-war years ended, and during Khrushchev’s rule the persecution of Orthodox Christians intensified. Saint Luke was again put in prison, the famous Butyrkas. The great confessor and companion of the faith died in Simferopol and was buried in the women's monastery near the Church of the Holy Trinity.
Where are the icons of Saint Luke of Crimea located?
Saint Luke of Crimea is considered the heavenly patron of physicians, especially surgeons and ophthalmologists. Doctors come to his holy image with prayer before complex operations. He also generously gives help to all the sick who ask his icon for health. There is much evidence of such miraculous healings.
- In the women's Holy Trinity monastery in Simferopol there are the relics of St. Luke of Crimea. There is also an image of the saint already marked by miracles.
- The Church of St. Luke was built in Yekaterinburg.
- In Fatezh, a small town in the Kursk region, next to the hospital where the future saint worked as a zemstvo doctor, an episcopal courtyard was built, where the icon of Luke of Crimea is in a place of honor.
There are also enough places in Moscow and the Moscow region where the icon of St. Luke of Crimea is venerated.
- In the city of Lyubertsy, in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, there is an icon with a particle of relics in the reliquary.
- In Moscow, in the Church of the Iverskaya Mother of God on Bolshaya Ordynka, on Vskhodnya.
- In the famous Butyrka prison, a church was built, which also has an icon of Luke of Crimea. There he served his first prison sentence.
“Through prayers, Saint Luke helps many.” The story of Mother Sergius
In the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow, a great shrine is kept - the icon of St. Luke of Voino-Yasenetsky with a particle of relics. Every Saturday at 15.30 a prayer service is held before the miraculous image.
We met with nun Sergia (Burdyga), who in the 1990s. performed the obedience of the altar and prosphora servers at the parish, and thanks to whom the shrine ended up in our church.
The rector of the temple, Abbot Peter (Eremeev), spoke.
Mother Sergia, please tell us when you first found yourself in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Vagankovskoye cemetery?
I remember this date well - October 25, 1993 - the feast of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Since then, I have been especially reverent about this icon, because it marked the beginning of my obedience here, at the Vagankovsky parish, the happiest years of my life.
Then the first person I met at the parish was Deacon Alexander Rytov. I asked him if it was possible to see the Father Superior, Archpriest Valentin Paramonov. Father Alexander was silent for a while, and then said that it was very difficult to get to the priest. I later became convinced of this myself. I managed to take a blessing from Father Valentin only on the third day after arriving at the temple. Until this moment, I had already managed to meet the headman, who found out that I had been blessed to go to this church by Archimandrite Daniil (Sarychev) from the Donskoy Monastery for obedience to the prosphora...
This year we celebrated the 90th anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Valentin Paramonov, rector of the Vagankovsky parish from 1982 to 1994. Many parishioners remember Father. Under him, many services resumed, monuments were erected, and memorial services were held at the grave of Archpriest Valentin Amfitheatrov. What do you particularly remember about Father Valentin Paramonov? What qualities of his would you particularly highlight?
You know... He was probably like a father to me, who gave everything in this life, in spiritual life, I mean. Therefore, I can’t say about his any special qualities. He is a father. Do you understand? Not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.
I can only say that the priest was a great man of prayer and knew the Typikon very well. They called him that - “father-akathist”, “father-typical”, that is, he knew the rules of the church service thoroughly, one might say by heart. This is something I have been convinced of more than once.
Father Valentin tried to serve every day! I only remember once when another priest served, because the priest was forced to leave for the funeral service. For him, an example in spiritual life was the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, who, according to his life, served every day. So Father Valentin tried to follow his example, despite his leg disease.
Nun Sergia at the life-size image of St. Zosima of Vorbozom in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Vagankovo
What was the priest like at the altar...?
Maybe I will say something harshly, but in terms of educating us, novices, altar servers, it is very harsh. However, I am deeply grateful to Father for this! If it had not been for this strict upbringing, I probably would not have succeeded as a nun. We performed all the obediences that one can imagine in the temple. If we take specifically our Church of the Resurrection of the Word, then obedience began from the bell tower. All who were altar servers for Father Valentin had to be able to ring bells. But besides this, they also had to be able to bake prosphora, navigate well in the sacristy, know how to clean candlesticks and icon cases, wash floors, and so on. And choir obedience - of course, it also began from the first days. And obedience in the refectory - You may be surprised, but there was such a tradition at Vagankovo: once a week, altar servers became cooks and cooked in the refectory for the entire parish. Not to mention prayers, memorial services, funeral services... That is, the upbringing was such that if you were an altar server at the Vagankovsky parish, then you had to be able to do absolutely everything!
One obedience was mandatory, but comforting for the altar servers: they had to feed the Father Superior after the service. He ate little, but talked a lot. Behind his stories we forgot everything in the world! He knew how to talk very interestingly about saints, icons, priests...
How did you become a nun?
Under Father Valentin, it was easy for me to live in the world; I knew only two words: forgive and bless. But when my confessor passed away, it became very difficult. And the Lord gave me the opportunity to console myself, to go to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to order a memorial there for Father Valentin and to strengthen myself a little spiritually among the shrines of Kyiv.
It was there, in Kyiv, that my meeting took place with Archpriest Viktor Golovizin and the abbess of the Primorsky Assumption Monastery Irina (Skotar). We began a good relationship, which we maintained through correspondence and phone calls... Later I realized that, having escorted Father Valentin to the other world, I received from God the gift of other spiritual mentors.
In the summer of 1995, I went to meet the sisters of the Primorsky Assumption Monastery of the Zaporozhye and Meletopol diocese and take a look at the life of the monastery from the inside. I liked it all very much. As they say, we agreed in spirit. I realized that my heart was here, that this is what I had been looking for all my life. And the education that I received at Vagankovo from Archpriest Valentin Paramonov was useful at the Holy Dormition Monastery.
In the same 1995, I was introduced to the Archbishop of Zaporozhye and Melitopolskop Vasily (Zlatolinsky), who was the confessor of the monastery. A year later, the bishop invited me to become a novice of the monastery. Although he knew that I continued to serve in obedience at the Vagankovsky parish in Moscow. After some time, Bishop Vasily raised the question of my monastic tonsure, and on August 13, 1997, I was tonsured as a monk with the name Elizabeth in honor of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna.
I continued to carry out obedience in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Vagankovsky cemetery, but at the same time the connection with the Primorsky Assumption Monastery was very close and constantly maintained: I provided the monastery with Orthodox literature, some church utensils, etc.
At the beginning of January 1998, there was a call from Mother Abbess Irina, who urgently called me to the monastery. At Vagankovo they knew that I was a nun of the Holy Dormition Monastery and they let me go without any problems. When I arrived at the monastery, I was told that the bishop had appointed monastic tonsure. And on January 25, 1998, after the Divine Liturgy, 9 nuns of our monastery were tonsured into monasticism by Bishop Vasily. I was tonsured with the name Sergius in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
At the same time, a decree was read to us that a second convent would be opened in the Zaporozhye and Melitopol diocese, which would be dedicated to the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth. Some of the nuns of the Holy Dormition Monastery, led by Mother Irina, will be engaged in the construction of the newly formed monastery. And my name was also mentioned in this series.
Nun Sergia with the icon of the Vagankovsky New Martyrs on the day of remembrance of the victims of political repression
What is the story of the appearance of the image of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) with a particle of relics in the capital’s church at the Vagankovskoye cemetery?
I grieved that I could not stay with my sisters for a long time. After all, I had to return to the Vagankovsky parish in Moscow. Bishop Vasily knew very well about my grief and, as a consolation, gave me a particle of the relics of St. Luke of Crimea. You may ask, where did the relics of St. Luke come from from Archbishop Vasily?
I’ll ask, mother, where from?..
The fact is that Bishop Vasily began his priestly service in Crimea. He was present at the discovery of the relics of St. Luke, and as a blessing and gratitude, Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea gave him a large particle of the relics that he had brought to Zaporozhye.
I thought it was wrong to keep such a great shrine at home. And so the very next day, after returning to Moscow, she brought it to the temple. Father Superior Archpriest John Ryzhov was shocked by my offering. All the priests who were in the church at that time venerated the relics and prayed to St. Luke. Although then, in January 1998, he was not yet glorified as an all-Russian saint, but only as a locally revered one. Pious people knew, of course, this name, that he was a famous surgeon, and they prayed to him, especially those who suffered from some kind of physical ailment or on the eve of an operation. His books are still textbooks for medical students.
We immediately wrote an announcement that in our church there is a particle of the relics of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), and that, they say, if you, dear parishioners, need to pray before an operation or for healing from illnesses, then this can be done here.
Where was this piece of relics originally kept? After all, the icon didn’t appear right away?
Indeed, at first there was no icon. There was just a small casket containing a particle of relics. After each Liturgy, the serving priest brought out this casket so that people could pray and venerate the shrine. The flow of people did not dry out, so a decision was made by the rector and ktitor of our church, Yuri Ivanovich Sorokin: we need to paint an icon of St. Luke and put a particle of the relics there.
There were not many images of St. Luke at that time. The image was painted by the same artist who painted the water-blessed chapel near our Church of the Resurrection. Unfortunately, I don’t remember his last name, but I only remember his first name - Nikolai. He painted the icon quite quickly, but it turned out so great that everyone gasped! This beautiful icon was painted by the grace of God. Here, in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, she was consecrated.
Then a small recess was made in the icon - it was difficult to get or make a special reliquary back then - and Priest Alexey Ignatiev placed a particle of the relics into it and filled it with wax.
We decided then that there was no need to keep the icon in the altar, it should be available for public worship. They assigned her a place in the chapel of St. Theodore Sikeot. A special lectern was placed, and everyone knew that it was there that the icon of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) with a particle of his relics was located.
Mother Sergius, do you know of cases of help through prayers to St. Luke of Crimea in front of his icon?
There are many cases of miraculous help through prayers to St. Luke. One of them is connected with my life, with my destiny.
In 2002, I had to undergo a very serious operation. When I was preparing for the operation, I repeatedly fell before my favorite icon, remembering that this piece of relics was once in my sinful hands. I prayed and read an akathist to the saint. Moreover, I bought the life of St. Luke and gave it to the doctors who were to perform my operation... And everything ended successfully. The operation went without complications. And, thank God, so many years have passed, and there were no consequences of that serious operation. This is the help of St. Luke - already 8 days after the operation I was traveling to my native Elizabethan monastery by train, on the top bunk!
Well, then, of course, some of my relatives asked, and I said that yes, there is an icon with a piece of relics on Vagankovo. And I know that they came and prayed here, and most of the medical interventions ended successfully.
Mother, thank you for the interesting story!
18.03.2019
How does the icon of St. Luke of Crimea help?
At the request of parishioners, at this time the icon is in almost all churches, especially newly built ones. Most often they ask about health.
- Surgeons often turn to her with a request to correctly diagnose a patient before surgery, and the patient’s relatives also ask not only for a successful operation, but also for doctors to strengthen them.
- The saint, who was an example of unbending faith, is asked for spiritual strengthening in moments of weakness or fear.
- About blessing parents and raising children to honor them.
- They also ask for the unity of the Church, for the protection of the Orthodox faith from schisms and heresies.
Saint Luke of Crimea (in the world Valentin Voino-Yasenetsky) throughout his life showed an example of love for people, in any exile, in completely inappropriate conditions, he continued to treat all patients for free. His famous work “Essays on Purulent Surgery” was awarded a state award, but the saint wrote it while he was once again in prison. During the war, he worked for days in an evacuation hospital, but he never began an operation without praying to the Lord.
If a misfortune happens in the house and someone gets sick, you should definitely buy an icon of St. Luke and pray to him daily - the saint will hear, and with God’s help you will receive an answer. This can be done in the online store of Orthodox goods PravLife.
