Elder Sampson was a minister of the Russian Church and, moreover, one of the close associates of Nicholas II. There was a lot of torment and suffering in his life. And he died in the seventies of the 20th century. After his burial, people gradually began to notice something incredible.
His grave worked wonders. She literally healed people. Everyone learned about it, and more and more people came there. They came with completely different problems. But mostly they asked for the birth of children or the recovery of relatives. And everyone really took it seriously.
Who was Sampson
Before we find out exactly how the grave helped and what ailments it destroyed, let’s still find out who Elder Sampson was.
As mentioned earlier, he was a minister in the Russian Orthodox Church. His reputation was controversial. His worldly path was full of suffering and torment. Some saw in him one who is faithful to God and called him a saint; others, on the contrary, considered his actions disrespectful and offensive towards religion. There were a lot of both of them. Negative comments about him were more due to his preaching and actions. They even demanded that he be expelled from the church and were under no circumstances allowed to assign him the status of a saint. But despite this, the believing population saw him as a miracle worker.
Elder Sampson lived to be 79 years old. He was born in the St. Petersburg region into an aristocratic family and had a higher education. At the age of 18 he was one of the members of the rifle regiment. A year later he was seriously injured. After his recovery, he took a job in the civil service. Two years later he leaves this job and decides to continue his path as a priest. He was successfully ordained as a monk, and from that moment on his name was Simeon. By the way, there were rumors that while he served in the authorities, he was repeatedly noticed in church.
After a while, he had a conflict with one of the male Orthodox monasteries, and he went to prison. Three years after his release from the colony, he returns to the church and is given the status of a clergyman. But the trouble was not over. He was arrested again. This time because he spoke maliciously about the Soviet regime. He did this not publicly, but at his home, when people came to see him. He no longer served in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The elder wandered around different regions of the USSR and served in churches and monasteries. He was in Kyrgyzstan, Stavropol, Volgograd and Poltava. It is worth noting that he did not decide where to move, he was sent, but one day, after some time, he secretly goes to Moscow. There he was ordained a monk and named Sampson. At the age of 79, the elder died and was buried in the capital.
Reverend Sampson the Stranger
Kontakion 1
You have been chosen by the Lord to be a gracious doctor, a merciful host of strangers, and to the image of your honest love, prayerfully now approaching, we honor you according to our venerable father Sampson. But you, because you have boldness towards the Lord, free yourself from all troubles, calling:
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Ikos 1
As an angel in heaven, constantly glorifying God, the Creator and Ruler of all, you became likened to the God-inspired Sampson on earth, for with your wondrous good deeds and many labors you glorified the Father Who is in heaven, revealing His ineffable goodness and mercy to people. Now, being established in the heavenly villages of glory, do not forget us, who call to you with love:
Rejoice, imitator beyond angels;
Rejoice, good and faithful servant of the King of glory.
Rejoice, worthy chosen one of God;
Rejoice, servant of the Father's mercy.
Rejoice, sacred head, enlightened by God’s wisdom;
Rejoice, perplexed height in prayers of unceasing patience.
Rejoice, you who took the good yoke of Christ upon your shoulder;
Rejoice, you who entered into the joy of your Lord and received an incorruptible crown from Him.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 2
Seeing faith with your eyes, as if you were God-imitating for the sake of your life in the monastery of the venerables, where the unfading light abides, you have taken up residence and are worthily counted among those glorified by God, so that you will be the heir of the eternal Kingdom of Christ, crying out to the Lord who has willed for you: Alleluia.
Ikos 2
You showed reason in virtue, God-wise Sampson, in reason there was abstinence, in abstinence there was patience, in patience there was piety, in piety there was brotherly love: and in all this the firstfruits of the flame of faith was in you. In the same way, from the beginning, we praise your virtuous life and course, reverend, and we please you:
Rejoice, glorious ancient vegetation of ancient Rome;
Rejoice, honest and noble parents, noble branch.
Rejoice, you who have been a zealous zealot since your youth of faith and piety;
Rejoice, wise builder of the ladders of spiritual virtues within you.
Rejoice, refined in the teachings of human wisdom;
Rejoice, for the sake of serving the poor, you have received the wisdom of doctors.
Rejoice, sincere servant of the Lord Christ from childhood;
Rejoice, you took pride in Him for everyone.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 3
We are overshadowed by the power of the Most High; you have graciously grown in faith, hope, love and reason, O most blessed one. You have applied understanding to the human teaching of the Divine Scriptures and, having understood the art of human healing, you have acquired the grace-filled healing power from the Lord through your virtues, standing before Him with boldness and always crying out with faith and love: Alleluia.
Ikos 3
Having much zeal for the Lord, that you might serve Him with all your heart and all your life, you denied yourself, the wondrous ascetic Sampson, and left your possessions and took up your cross, you followed Christ; For fear that you passed away as your parent and left behind much of your acquisitions, you squandered your perishable wealth on the poor and, having granted freedom to your slave, you appeared as a stranger. For this reason, we tenderly call you:
Rejoice, thou who followed the words of the Gospel;
Rejoice, thou who art befitting thee without being stubborn.
Rejoice, having loved the only Christ in the earthly life with all your heart;
Rejoice, You who sought Him alone with all your understanding.
Rejoice, thou who have imputed love for His sake in thy thoughts;
Rejoice, for His sake the red world despised.
Rejoice, thou who art quickly perishing wealth and everlasting and everlasting;
Rejoice, having found treasure in heaven and not on earth for your heart.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 4
The young man is troubled by a storm of acquisitive thoughts, as if he were speaking the Gospel, when he heard the word of the Lord: “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and come after Me,” and he departed mourning. But you, father, joyfully created this according to the good word of Christ and, having renounced the bonds of wealth, covered yourself with a single robe and girded your loins with a rope, you have acquired the spoken perfection, and, let us confuse nothing, cry out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 4
Hearing the voice of the Lord, calling you in your soul, God-bearing Father Sampson, you left the old Rome, you moved into the desert, like Elijah of old, yes, you ascended to the heights of virtue, served the believers in New Rome, Constantine the King of the City, in which you found a temple, in Thou didst dwell in that one, giving rest to the strange and the poor, receiving the weak, and quickly giving every satisfaction to Christ for the sake of creating and healing the sick. We, the leader of this, praise you like this:
Rejoice, deserted creature, delighted by God into the great city, and adorn this city with you;
Rejoice, you who have shown the beauty of your mercy to the city of Constantine, so that the holy faith may be glorified in it.
Rejoice, you who hungrily and thirstily gave Christ water there;
Rejoice, Who is strangely received and naked in clothing.
Rejoice, you who visited this sick person and have no place to lay your head, a former vitality;
Rejoice, thou who hast done this to the Lord, even as thou hast done this unto His lesser brethren.
Rejoice, most blessed one, having served Christ Himself among the poor, the sick and the strange;
Rejoice, having heard His blessed voice: “Come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.”
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 5
You covered the divine power of miracles, reverend, with the image of human healing, great for the sake of your humility, so that you, like a miracle worker, are glorified and revered by people. Otherwise, the lamp on the candlestick cannot hide, standing below the city or on top of the mountain. For this reason, having seen the power of God, I am doing healings through you, the patriarch joyfully ordained you as a presbyter, and in the assembly of priests you cried out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 5
Seeing that he had fallen into an unhealed illness, King Justinian called upon many of the most skillful doctors: but for those who were unable to heal him, cry out with tears to God, diligently asking for healing. Moreover, having mercy, the Lord, in a night vision, showed him you, Father, as a gracious physician, able to heal him; and the king, warm with faith, called you, with a tender kiss and with tears, prayed that through you he would be healed, and therefore be healthy. Knowing this, we call you, reverend:
Rejoice, servant of the Most High King, His prosperous messenger to the earthly king;
Rejoice, all-round physician, who miraculously healed the ailing king’s illness through healing grace.
Rejoice, comforter of the sorrowful, fill the joys that flow to you;
Rejoice, joy of the faithful, who brought joy in the Lord to the king and his people through healing.
Rejoice, wondrous one without money, you have renounced the rich gifts of the king, gold and silver;
Rejoice, most merciful and hospitable to strangers, who moved the king’s heart to create a host of strangers and a physician.
Rejoice, wonderful builder, having no gold and silver, creating a monastery enriched for the sick and poor;
Rejoice, you who loved the poor and who served most in your monastery even to the end.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 6
The venerable Church preaches to your memory, O holy Sampson, that you achieved a good old age through the labors of hospitality and healing, but at the end of your life you were alien to the fear of death, but you appeared with a bright face, when your blessed soul was separated from your body, and you passed away rejoicing Lord, may you always be with Him, together with the angelic faces crying out: Alleluia.
Ikos 6
Your grace-filled love for the poor and strange in your earthly life, Father Sampson, for the sake of which your hospitable host and physician was quickly created, but even after the end of your earthly life your hospitable care did not fail: for by your wondrous appearance you protected the hospitable monastery from the burning of fire. For this reason, in wonder and reverence we say:
Rejoice, thou who art most graciously welcoming in thy life;
Rejoice, and upon your repose you are a strange and trustworthy patron.
Rejoice, in earthly life there is refuge and deliverance for the poor;
Rejoice, in the heavenly realm there is help and intercession for your property.
Rejoice, thy abode, surrounded by stormy fire, visiting from heaven;
Rejoice, thou who forbade the flame and directed it away from thy house.
Rejoice, for through your prayers the great rain was shed and the flame was extinguished;
Rejoice, for through you you saved a refuge for the strange and sick from burning.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 7
Although the Lord, the lover of mankind, has shown in you, father, unspeakable mercy for people, showing you, even after your dormition, is a healer of all kinds: for I am glorious to Theodoret, who suffered fiercely, appeared in a dream, and did healing, and so did the boyar Leo, who was incurably ill, together with the saints, doctors You proclaimed healing through Cosmos and Damian, and you are in good health. In the same way, you moved the noble and glorious, together with the poor and wretched, to cry out to God with gratitude: Alleluia.
Ikos 7
After your departure, a new source of healing appeared from you, the miracle worker Sampson, in the temple of your carnal and spiritual south, the martyr Mokia, where your laid coffin began to exude healing myrrh, with which all sorts of ailments anointed, anointing with faith, I received health and glorified you to my face:
Rejoice, depth of humility exalted by God;
Rejoice, glorified by many for your miracles after your dormition.
Rejoice, river of miraculous healing powers;
Rejoice, for God has glorified your tomb with wondrous healings.
Rejoice, high-born Leo, weakened being, strengthened by the peace of your tomb;
Rejoice, for your greater care for your host, so that you will not be lacking for her, inspiring him.
Rejoice, by the anointing of peace from your honorable tomb, George the slave was freed from watery labor;
Rejoice, abounding in so many miracles, for we do not have time to tell about them.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 8
They reverence your hospice deeds and marvel at the miracles you have created, reverently people have created a house and a medical clinic nearby, and your hospitable monastery, where you labored, begged the patriarch to consecrate the temple, so that in it your miracles and mercy will be glorified and in church songs they will sing to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 8
With all your thoughts you settled with the Lord and enjoyed the vision of His imperishable glory; you did not, Father, neglect the hardships and insults that you received from the careless stewards of the wanderings and pain in your monastery, and with your quick intercession you protected them. In the same way, we pray to you, reverend, from human malice and from the resentment of those who create, protect us who are weak with your intercession, and let us cry out to you in love:
Rejoice, the heavenly cover will dwell under your roof;
Rejoice, quick intercessor to the offended.
Rejoice, incorruptible punisher of those who offend;
Rejoice, Enesia the builder, who is careless and lazy, who has understanding.
Rejoice, you who have struck him with illness and weakness, so that you may lead him to salvation;
Rejoice, having corrected this good by your forgiveness.
Rejoice, as Eustratia the builder, you taught him not to care for your sick and strange, even as he should do;
Rejoice, for through your angry appearance and healing of his illness you moved him to this good service.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 9
Every rank of human nature: kings and slaves, poor and rich, low-born and high-born, I revered you, O Reverend One, in the city and kingdom of Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine, from where the holy Orthodox faith arose in our fatherland, with which your glory and memory were not purchased, and worshiped to you, father, in our country who honor your new sons and daughters from the poor and even to kings, by faith crying out to God: Alleluia.
Ikos 9
The oracles of multi-proclamation will not be able to adequately praise the strength that you were in our fatherland, the struggles and intercessions that you showed to our army and people in the days in which I create your honorable memory. In the same way, we pray to you, Reverend: always be our intercessor and champion against adversaries, keeping our holy Church in peace and serenity and overshadowing the faithful who call with your prayers:
Rejoice, O beloved land of Russia, which came to Christ;
Rejoice, former champion of that kind, victorious in these circumstances.
Rejoice, having strengthened the strength of our warriors many times to resist;
Rejoice, having granted victory to those who are faithful.
Rejoice, you who created a strong muscle against the adversaries of the Christ-loving Prince Vsevolod;
Rejoice, disobedient and perjured, even those of the same faith, who brought his enemies to reason with defeat.
Rejoice, people with the noble prince, who prayed to you and the Virgin Mary, heard;
Rejoice, on the day of your remembrance, you brought joy to your enemies through victory and the suppression of internecine warfare.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 10
To save those who flow to you by faith and ask for your help from despair and destruction, thou didst incline them to the mercy of the All-Blessed Master; In the same way, our fathers taught us from ancient times to praise you and honor you as an intercessor in troubles and the patron of our country, so that we may sing praises to God who has given you, as a man of prayer and quick to obey: Alleluia.
Ikos 10
You were a strong wall to our kingdom, when the enemy in numbers took up arms against us, so that they would crush our strength and subdue their heavy yoke. But you, our father and intercessor Sampson, through your intercession before the only Lord strong in battle, you strengthened our blessed Tsar Peter and gave you victory against your great enemies in Poltava. For this reason, we cry out to you with gratitude and tenderness:
Rejoice, you who have protected our country from conquest and slavery;
Rejoice, having crushed the power of our enemies through your intercession for us.
Rejoice, you who created our victorious king is glorious;
Rejoice, you who preserved this unharmed in battle.
Rejoice, you who have established the glory of our Orthodox country;
Rejoice, you have overthrown the daring pride of the foreign warrior who rose up against us.
Rejoice, thou who raised up the horn of our tribe victoriously among the nations;
Rejoice, champion for us, praise and glory are ours.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 11
Bringing all-contrite singing, O Reverend, as a quick intercessor, a strong defender, a shameless representative, a merciful benefactor, we learn from your arduous life, supernatural miracles, daring intercessions, to sing to the wondrous God in His saints: Alleluia.
Ikos 11
The luminous luminary ascended in the east in ancient times, you shone like the gracious sun of the Russian land, driving away the darkness of despondency and sorrow, enlightening with hope the hearts of your help in the situation of those asking and warming with the warmth of your goodness the cooling souls shaken by the wind of unbelief. For this sake, the sons of Russia cry out to you:
Rejoice, for the Russian cathedrals glorify you,
Rejoice, for the Poltava land extols you.
Rejoice, our capital city strengthened by the victory of Peter;
Rejoice, by the will of the king who honors you, a temple has been erected for you in it.
Rejoice, for in your temple faithful people reverently worship your face;
Rejoice, for tears of tenderness, sorrow and illness are not shed in vain before your icon.
Rejoice, for through you the homeless and orphans still find refuge;
Rejoice, for our people, rich and poor, call you their father with love.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 12
Ask for grace and great mercy from heaven for us, Reverend Father Sampson, and pray to the Lord, may He keep the Russian power intact and strong, His holy Church from unbelief and apostasy and heresies invincible, and may He deliver us, who come running to you with faith, from misfortunes and illnesses, for let us sing to the God who benefits us through you: Alleluia.
Ikos 12
Your singing in the Orthodox Church, in our fatherland and this city of glorification, we please you, our Reverend Father Sampson, calling: do not leave us with your intercession and help, who are of little faith, weak, cowardly and sorrowful, and strengthen us on the much difficult path in The Kingdom of Heaven, where you are blessed to dwell with the saints, let us cry out to you in love from the soul:
Rejoice, friend of Christ, for Christ created the commandment;
Rejoice, O neighbor, just as Christ was His faithful one, loving Him more than Himself.
Rejoice, blessed physician of gratuitous healings for the sick;
Rejoice, you who have immense love and consolation in sorrow.
Rejoice, hidden joy of giving alms to those who give secretly;
Rejoice, hay-leaved tree in the heat of the work of beings.
Rejoice, listener of secret sighs, do your good deeds invisibly on earth;
Rejoice, for we know your good deeds and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
Rejoice, Sampson, merciful father and wonderful physician.
Kontakion 13
O Reverend Our Father Sampson, wonderful miracle worker and healer, gracious comforter, merciful stranger and quick intercessor! Accept this little praise offered to you and, always standing before the Throne of the Life-Giving Trinity, pray for all of us who honor your memory, as if God’s ineffable mercy, saving the faithful from troubles in earthly life and from bitter destruction in eternal life, will pour out on us, singing with hope and faith in God: Alleluia.
(This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1)
What requests were made to the elder?
Do not confuse the concepts of elder and old priest. An elder is a priest who has enjoyed the love and respect of the people. And Sampson was like that. Everyone idolized him for his kindness, wisdom, sensitivity and warmth. Yes, his sermons inspired doubts, he was kicked out of churches, and everyone looked at him with caution, but some believers supported and defended him.
He was so respected that even after his death, faith in his ability to help did not disappear. Everyone knew perfectly well that the elder had problems with housing. Imagine what it’s like for a person who doesn’t have his own roof over his head. Perhaps for this reason, people turned to the grave with a request to solve problems with apartments.
According to believers, the grave solves problems:
- physical illnesses;
- addiction to smoking, alcohol and drugs;
- mental health;
- relationships between family and friends.
Believers confidently stated that the grave helps even in the treatment of serious fatal diseases.
For his good deeds, the Monk Sampson (Samson) was ordained to the priesthood
Living in Constantinople, the Reverend Sampson the Host took special care of those suffering from incurable illnesses and those whom other doctors refused to treat: lepers, the paralyzed, the blind, and the possessed. He treated such people with special attention and care. As a result, by doing deeds of mercy, the saint healed even seemingly incurable people.
Mina patriarch. North arm, north wall; Balkans. Serbia. Gračanica; XIV century; location: Serbia. Kosovo. Gracanica Monastery. Nave. Patriarch Mina ordained the Monk Sampson as a presbyter at the age of 30
The fame of the good deeds of the Monk Sampson began to spread throughout Constantinople and all the suffering began to converge on his house. The holy Patriarch Mina appreciated the saint’s good deeds and at the age of 30 ordained him as a presbyter. After this, Sampson also began to serve in the temple, healing not only physical, but also spiritual illnesses.
What miracles does the elder’s grave perform?
Surprisingly, believers who come to the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoe cemetery to read prayers in front of the elder’s grave confirm that this place is full of mystery and miracles. There are many examples that can be given, but I have chosen the ones that are most interesting.
The cemetery workers said that the grave seemed to push deranged and insane people further away from itself. One day several people tried to lead the sick old man to the crypt, but he resisted as best he could. I couldn’t even get close to the grave.
Another rather interesting case. People were quietly praying at the elder’s grave; somewhere nearby there was a company of cemetery workers. They were listening to loud music. Dissatisfied people asked several times to turn it off. The workers ignored it. And then suddenly a black silhouette appeared from afar, approaching the silence breakers closer and closer. They got scared and ran away. The next day they quit, despite the fact that their work brought them good earnings.
There is also evidence that if you ask something near a grave, you can instantly hear an answer from it.
And these are not all miracles. On the Internet you can find confirmations of healing from believers. The grave saved people from both ordinary ailments and serious chronic diseases.
