Marfa Diveyevo. Marfa Diveevskaya (Milyukova) Diveevsky wives Alexandra Marfa Elena

Icon of the Venerables Alexandra, Martha and Elena of Diveevsky. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Monastery

Mikhail Vasilyevich’s illness had a decisive influence on his entire life, and the best doctors found it difficult to determine its cause and properties. Thus, all hope for medical help was lost and all that remained was to turn to the Lord and His Holy Church for healing. The prayer for the holy life of Father Seraphim, which had already traveled all over Russia, of course, also reached the village of Nuchi, which lay only 40 versts from Sarov. When the illness became threatening, so that Mikhail Vasilyevich had pieces of bone falling out of his legs, he decided to go, on the advice of his relatives and friends, to Sarov to see St. Seraphim. With great difficulty, he was brought by his serfs into the shadow of the cell of the reclusive elder. When Mikhail Vasilyevich, according to custom, said a prayer, Father Seraphim came out and mercifully asked him: “Why did you come to look at poor Seraphim? “Manturov fell at his feet and began tearfully asking the elder to heal him from a terrible illness. Then, with the most lively participation in the Nizhny Novgorod province, and with fatherly love, Father Seraphim asked him three times: “Do you believe in God?” And having also received three times in response the most sincere, strong, ardent assurance of unconditional faith in God, the great elder said to him: “My joy! If you believe so, then also believe that for a believer everything is possible from God, and therefore believe that the Lord will heal you too, and I, poor Seraphim, will pray.” Then Father Seraphim seated Mikhail Vasilyevich near the coffin standing in the entryway, and he himself retired to his cell, from where a short time later he emerged, taking with him the holy oil. He ordered Manturov to undress, bare his legs and, preparing to anoint them with the brought holy oil, said: “According to the grace given to me from the Lord, I heal you first!” O. Seraphim anointed Mikhail Vasilyevich’s feet and put stockings made of hemline canvas on them. After that, the elder took a large amount of crackers out of his cell, poured them into the tails of his coat and ordered him to go with the burden to the monastery hotel. Mikhail Vasilyevich carried out the priest’s order, not without fear, but then, having ascertained the miracle that had been performed on him, he came into inexpressible joy and some kind of reverent horror. A few minutes ago he was not able to enter the hallway of Father Seraphim without outside help, and then suddenly, at the word of the holy elder, he was already carrying a whole pile of crackers, feeling completely healthy, strong and as if he had never been sick. In joy, he threw himself at the feet of Father Seraphim, kissing them and thanking them for the healing, but the great elder lifted Mikhail Vasilyevich and sternly said: “Is it Seraphim’s business to kill and live, to bring down to hell and to raise? What are you doing, father! This is the work of the only Lord, Who does the will of those who fear Him and listens to their prayer! Give thanks to the Almighty Lord and His Most Pure Mother!”

Then Father Seraphim released Manturov.

Some time has passed. Suddenly Mikhail Vasilyevich remembered with horror about his past illness, which he had already begun to forget, and decided to go to Father Seraphim again and accept his blessing. Dear Manturov thought: “After all, I must, as the priest said, thank the Lord...” And as soon as he arrived in Sarov and entered Father Seraphim, the great elder greeted him with the words: “My joy! But we promised to thank the Lord for giving us back our lives!” Surprised by the elder’s foresight, Mikhail Vasilyevich replied: “I don’t know, father, with what and how; what do you order? Then Father Seraphim, looking at him in a special way, cheerfully said: “Behold, my joy, give everything you have to the Lord and take upon yourself spontaneous poverty!” Manturov was embarrassed; a thousand thoughts ran through his head in an instant, for he had never expected such a proposal from the great old man. He remembered the evangelical youth, to whom Christ also offered voluntary poverty for the perfect path to the Kingdom of Heaven... He remembered that he was not alone, had a young wife and that, having given everything, he would have nothing to live with... But the perspicacious old man, having understood his thoughts, continued: “ Leave everything and don’t worry about what you think about; The Lord will not leave you either in this life or in the next; You will not be rich, but you will have all your daily bread.” Ardent, impressionable, loving and ready, in the purity of his soul, to fulfill every thought, every demand of such a great and holy elder, whom he saw only for the second time, but already loved, without a doubt, more than anything in the world, Mikhail Vasilyevich immediately replied: “ I agree, father! What do you bless me to do?” But the great man and the wise old man, wanting to test the ardent Mikhail Vasilyevich, answered: “But, my joy, let us pray, and I will show you how God will enlighten me!” After this, they parted as great friends and the most faithful servants of the Diveyevo monastery, chosen by the Queen of Heaven for Her earthly Lot.

When our God-loving ascetic Elena Vasilievna, the sister of Mikhail Vasilyevich, turned 17 years old in 1821, she became a bride. Reassured on this side, Mikhail Vasilyevich saw no obstacle to withdrawing from the world and serving entirely the Lord and St. Seraphim. But Elena Vasilyevna’s life suddenly changed in an incomprehensible and strange way. Sincerely and passionately loving her fiancé, whom she liked extremely, she unexpectedly rejected him, without understanding it herself: “I don’t know why, I can’t understand,” she told her brother, “he didn’t give me a reason to stop loving himself, but, nevertheless, it’s scary I'm disgusted!" The wedding was upset, and her extremely cheerful character, love for social, social life, youth, desire for fun and amusements frightened her relatives and did not bode well for her family situation. She, of course, had not the slightest idea about the spiritual.

Soon the only rich relative of the Manturovs, long lost from sight, the father of their mother, died. Being near death, grandfather called them to him through newspapers in order to convey his fortune to them. Mikhail Vasilyevich was not at home at that time, and therefore, in order not to slow down, Elena Vasilyevna had to go alone with the servants. Without hesitation, she set off, but did not find her grandfather alive and was only present at the funeral. Shocked by this misfortune, she fell ill with a fever and, as soon as she became a little stronger, set off on the return journey. In the district town of Knyaginin, Nizhny Novgorod province, I had to stop at a postal station, and Elena Vasilievna wanted to drink tea there, for which she sent people to make arrangements, while she remained sitting in the carriage.

Although they tried to dissuade her and insisted that she rest in the mail room, Elena Vasilievna only yielded, promising to drink tea at the station, and while it was being prepared, she remained sitting in the carriage. Not daring to further contradict their mistress, the people hastily began preparing tea, and when the time came, the maid sent a footman to ask the young lady to eat. The footman barely had time to go down the stairs at the station entrance when he screamed at the sight of Elena Vasilievna and froze in place. She stood at full height, completely leaning back, barely holding on convulsively to the door of the half-open carriage, and her face expressed such horror and fear that it is impossible to convey it in words. Mute, with greatly enlarged eyes, pale as death, she could no longer stand on her feet, it seemed that in just a moment she would fall to the ground dead.

The footman and all the people who had come running at his cry rushed to help Elena Vasilyevna, carefully picked her up and carried her into the room. They tried to find out what was the matter, they asked her, but Elena Vasilyevna remained in an unconscious position, or, rather, in a daze from the horror that gripped her. The maid, assuming that the young lady was dying, said: “Shouldn’t you call the priest, young lady?” After she repeated this question several times, Elena Vasilievna definitely began to come to her senses and even with a joyful smile, clinging to the girl and, as if afraid to let her go, whispered: “Yes... yes...”

When the priest appeared, Elena Vasilievna was already conscious, and her tongue and reason were still operating; she confessed and received Holy Communion. Then she didn’t let the priest leave her side all day and still held on to his clothes in fear. Having thus stayed in Knyaginino and calmed down from everything that had happened to her, Elena Vasilievna went home, where she told her brother and daughter-in-law the following:
“Staying alone in the carriage, I took a little nap, and when I opened my eyes, no one was still around me. Finally, I decided to get out and opened the carriage door myself, but as soon as I stepped on the step, for some reason I involuntarily looked up and saw a huge, terrible serpent above my head. He was black and terribly ugly, flames came out of his mouth, and this mouth seemed so large that I felt that the serpent would completely devour me. Seeing how he was hovering above me and descending lower and lower, even feeling his breath, I was terrified and did not have the strength to call for help, but finally I broke out of the stupor that had gripped me and shouted: “Queen of Heaven, save me! I swear to you to never get married and go to a monastery!” The terrible snake soared up and disappeared in one second... but I could not recover from the horror!..”

Mikhail Vasilyevich could not come to his senses for a long time from what happened to his sister, and Elena Vasilievna, as if miraculously saved from the enemy of humanity, completely changed in character. She became serious, spiritually inclined and began to read sacred books. Worldly life became unbearable for her, and she longed to quickly go to a monastery and completely seclude herself in it, fearing the wrath of the Mother of God for not fulfilling the vow she had made.

Elena Vasilievna left dissatisfied, upset and, returning home, prayed a lot, cried, asked the Queen of Heaven for help and admonition. She began reading the holy fathers with even greater zeal. The more she cried and prayed, the more the desire to devote herself to God flared up in her. She checked herself many times and became more and more convinced that everything secular and worldly was not in her spirit, and she completely changed. Elena Vasilievna went to see Father Seraphim several times, and he kept repeating one thing: she should get married and not go to a monastery. Thus, for three whole years, Father Seraphim prepared her for the upcoming change in her life and for entering the Seraphim community, which he began to organize in 1825, and forced her to work on herself, practice prayer and acquire the necessary patience. She, of course, did not understand this, and despite Elena Vasilievna’s requests, desires and entreaties, Father Seraphim once told her the following in a spiritual sense: “And I’ll even tell you what else, my joy! When you are in trouble, don’t be too hasty; you are too fast, my joy; but that won’t do, if only you’d be quieter then. This is how you will walk, don’t walk like that, with big steps, but slowly, and slowly! If you go like this, you’ll carry it down safely! - and, showing with a visible example how to walk carefully, he continued. - Oh, my joy! Also, if something happens to you, you don’t need to lift it so suddenly, quickly and all at once, but instead, first bend down a little, and then, in the same way, bend down little by little.”

Father Seraphim again showed a visible example and added: “Then you will demolish it safely!” With these words, the elder brought Elena Vasilievna to despair. Strongly indignant at him, she decided not to contact him and go to Murom to a convent. There, the abbess, of course, only said pleasant things to her, and Elena Vasilievna immediately bought herself a cell at the Murom Monastery. Upon returning home, she began to completely get ready and say goodbye, but before her final departure she still could not stand it and went to Sarov to say goodbye to Elder Seraphim. What was her surprise and what was her horror when Father Seraphim, who came out to meet her, without asking anything, directly and sternly told her: “There is no road for you to Murom, mother, there is no road and you do not have my blessing! And what are you? You must get married and you will have a most pious groom, my joy!” The elder’s foresight, which proved his holiness, disarmed everyone who came to him and acted according to his own will. Her heart involuntarily became attached to such a righteous man, and Elena Vasilievna felt that she still could not live without Father Seraphim, especially since in Murom there would be no one to ask for guidance and advice.

Father Seraphim ordered her to donate the money given for the cell to the Murom Monastery and not go there anymore. But this time Elena Vasilievna did not feel despair, but, on the contrary, completely resigned herself and returned home, bursting into tears. She again locked herself in her room, from which she almost never left for three whole years, spending the life of a hermit in it, detached from everything and everyone. What she did in her room and how she prayed was unknown to anyone, but an unexpected incident convinced Mikhail Vasilyevich and everyone living in the house how much she had already worked on the path of spiritual perfection. A terrible thunderstorm broke out near the house in which the Manturovs lived; The thunderclaps and strikes of lightning were terrible, so everyone gathered in Elena Vasilyevna’s room, where the lamp was glowing, the candles were burning and she was quietly praying. During one of the terrible blows from the courtyard, suddenly a completely unnatural and disgusting cry, like a cat, was heard in the corner, under the floor and under the icons. But this cry was so strong, unexpected and unpleasant that Mikhail Vasilyevich, his wife and everyone involuntarily rushed to the icon case in front of which Elena Vasilievna was praying. “Don't be afraid, brother! - she said calmly. “Why were you afraid, sister; it's the devil! “Behold,” she added, making the sign of the cross in the very place from which the cry was heard, “he is no more; can he really do anything? Indeed, complete silence immediately reigned.
Six months after the last meeting with Father Seraphim, Elena Vasilievna again went to Sarov. She began to persistently, but humbly ask the elder to bless her for the feat of monasticism. This time Father Seraphim told her: “Well, if you really want to, then go, twelve miles from here there is a small community of Mother Agafya Semyonovna, Colonel Melgunova, stay there, my joy, and test yourself!”

Elena Vasilyevna, in indescribable joy and indescribable delight, went from Sarov straight to mother Ksenia Mikhailovna and completely settled in Diveyevo. In the cramped space, Elena Vasilievna occupied a tiny closet near a small cell, which overlooked the western wall of the Kazan Church. Elena Vasilievna often sat on this porch for a long time in silence, seemingly immersed in thought and in silent contemplation of the temple of God and the wisely created surrounding nature, without ceasing to practice the Jesus Prayer with her mind and heart. She was then twenty years old (in 1825).

A month after Elena Vasilievna’s arrival in Diveevo, Father Seraphim demanded her and said: “Now, my joy, it’s time for you to get engaged to your groom!” Elena Vasilievna, frightened, began to sob and exclaimed: “I don’t want to get married, father!” But Father Seraphim reassured her, saying: “You still don’t understand me, mother! Just tell your boss, Ksenia Mikhailovna, that Father Seraphim ordered you to get engaged to the Groom, to dress in black clothes... After all, this is how to get married, mother! After all, this is what the Groom is like, my joy!”

Father Seraphim talked with her a lot and delightfully, saying: “Mother! I can see your whole God-loving path! This is where you are destined to live; there is nowhere better than this place for salvation; here Mother Agafya Semyonovna rests in her relics; you go to her every evening, she went here every day and you imitate her in the same way, because you have to follow the same path, and if you don’t follow it, then you cannot be saved. If to be a lion, my joy, then it is difficult and tricky, I will take it upon myself; but be a dove and all be like doves among yourself. So live here for three years as a dove; I will help you, here is my instruction for you: for obedience, always read the Akathist, Psalter, psalms and rules in the morning. Sit and weave, and let the other sister prepare everything for you, ruffle the flax, mop the lobes, and you just spin the strands and learn to weave, let the sister sit next to you and point out. Always be silent, don’t talk to anyone, answering only the most pressing questions and then “with difficulty,” but if they ask a lot, answer: “I don’t know!” If you accidentally hear someone saying something unhelpful to each other, quickly leave, “so as not to fall into temptation.” Never be idle, protect yourself so that no thought comes, always be busy. To avoid falling asleep, eat little food. On Wednesday and Friday, eat only once. From waking up to lunch, read: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”, and from lunch to bed: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” In the evening, go out into the courtyard and pray 100 times to Jesus, 100 times to the Lady and don’t tell anyone, but pray so that no one sees it, doesn’t even think about it, and you will be like an Angel! And while your Groom is away, do not be discouraged, but only be strong and take more courage; So prepare everything with prayer, ever-inseparable prayer. He will come quietly at night and bring you a ring, a ring, like he did to Catherine the Great Martyr Mother. So, get ready for three years, my joy, so that in three years everything will be ready for you. Oh, what indescribable joy there will be then, mother! I’m telling you about tonsure, mother; After three years, take your hair, having prepared yourself, there is no need to do it earlier, but once you take your hair, the grace will rise in your chest more and more, and what will it be like then! When Archangel Gabriel, appearing before the Mother of God, preached the gospel to her, She became a little embarrassed and immediately said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord! Be with me according to your word!” Then you too say: “Be with me according to your word!” This is the kind of marriage and Groom I am talking to you about, mother; listen to me and don’t tell anyone until then, but believe that everything I said to you will come true, my joy! »

Not remembering herself with joy, Elena Vasilievna returned home to Diveevo, and, putting on all the monastic, simple things, began with the most lively love to carry out her previous deeds, being in unceasing prayer, in constant contemplation and perfect silence. Since her small cell was restless and crowded with sisters, Father Seraphim blessed Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov to build her another, also small cell, in which she settled with her serf girl Ustinya, who loved her extremely. After the death of Ustinya, two novices lived with Elena Vasilievna: Agafya and Ksenia Vasilievna.

In the future, Father Seraphim personally wanted to appoint Elena Vasilievna as the head of his Mill monastery. So, before building a “feeding mill” for his girls, as the elder always put it, he called the priest Father Vasily (later the confessor of the Diveyevo sisters), who found Father Seraphim sitting at his source, sad and mournful. Sighing, the priest said: “Our old lady (that is, Mother Ksenia Mikhailovna) is bad! Who would we like instead of her, father?!”
“Who will you bless…” answered the perplexed Fr. Basil.
“No, what do you think?! - the elder asked. - Who? Elena Vasilievna or Irina Prokopyevna?
But oh. Vasily answered this secondary question from the priest: “How do you bless, father.”
- “That’s it, I think Elena Vasilievna, father; She's verbal! That's why I called you. So go ahead and send her to me,” said Father Seraphim.

In addition to the fact that Elena Vasilievna was educated, the Monk Seraphim, calling her “verbal,” of course, used this word in the sense of the patristic writings. In the “Philokalia” in Church Slavonic, in the “Admonitions on Human Morals and Good Living” by Anthony the Great, we read: “But they are not words learned by the sciences and books of the ancient sages, but words that have a soul, and are able to judge what is good, and that there is evil, and running away from the evil and harmful to the soul, carefully studying what is good and beneficial to the soul, and doing this with much thanksgiving to God... A truly verbal man strives for one thing, that is, to obey and please God of all, and to teach his soul about this, as may he please God, giving thanks for such and such His Providence, and the government of all creatures, in every adventure of life.”

When Elena Vasilievna came to him, the priest delightedly announced to her that she should be the head of his monastery. "My joy! - said Father Seraphim. “When you are made the boss, then, mother, the holiday will be great and your joy will be great!” The royal family will visit you, mother!”

Elena Vasilievna was terribly embarrassed. “No, I can’t, I can’t do this, father! - she answered directly. “I have always obeyed you in everything, but I can’t do this!” Better order me to die, here, now, at your feet, but I don’t want and can’t be a boss, father!”

Despite this, Father Seraphim subsequently, when the mill was established and he transferred the first seven girls to it, ordered them to be blessed in everything and to treat Elena Vasilievna - their boss, although she remained to live in the Kazan-church community until her death . This embarrassed the young ascetic to such an extent that even before her death she repeated, as if in fear: “No, no, as the priest pleases, but in this I cannot obey him; what kind of boss am I! I don’t know how I’ll be responsible for my soul, and then be responsible for others! No, no, may Father forgive me, and I can’t listen to him on this!”
However, Father Seraphim always entrusted all the sisters he sent to her and, speaking about her, he always called “Your Lady! - Boss! In general, Elena Vasilievna’s leadership was and remains mysterious and incomprehensible, since she soon miraculously died (which will be discussed below).

Elena Vasilievna, despite the fact that she was considered the head of the Mill Convent, always worked and bore obedience along with the other sisters.

In particular, when Father Seraphim blessed the sisters to dig the Ditch according to the instructions of the Queen of Heaven, Father Seraphim said to the sisters who came to him, pointing out her efforts and labors: “Wow, mother, your boss, your lady, how she works, and you , my joys, build her a hut, a canvas tent, so that your lady can rest in it from her labors!”

Elena Vasilievna, since she was educated and had the gift of reasoning, carried out all the difficult orders of Father Seraphim, but did not hold the position of boss. Unusually kind by nature, she did not do anything, obviously or visibly, but, as much as she knew how and could, she did good secretly, constantly and a lot. So, for example, knowing the need of many poor sisters, as well as beggars, she gave them everything she had and what she received from others, but in an unnoticed way. Sometimes he would walk by, or in church, and give it to someone, saying: “Here, mother, so-and-so asked me to give it to you!” All her food usually consisted of baked potatoes and flatbreads, which hung in a bag on her porch. No matter how much they baked, there was never enough. “What a miracle! - her sister-cook used to say to her. - What is this, mother, look how many cakes I put on you, where did they go? After all, you can’t be prepared like that!”

“Oh, dear,” Elena Vasilievna will answer her meekly, “forgive me for Christ’s sake, mother, and don’t grieve for me; What can I do, my weakness, I love them so much, so I ate them all!”

She slept on a stone, covered only with a poor rug.

From the time of the consecration of the temples attached to the Kazan Church (the Nativity of Christ and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary), Father Seraphim appointed Elena Vasilievna as a churchwoman and sacristan, for this he asked the Sarov hieromonk Father Hilarion to tonsure her into the ryassophore, which was done. O. Seraphim put a cap made from his braces under her kamilavka. Then, calling the confessor of the monastery, Father Vasily, Elena Vasilievna and her novice Ksenia Vasilievna, Father Seraphim strictly commanded them the following church order.

"1. So that in the monastery, all positions of the sacristan, sexton, clerk and clergy, as well as the choir, would forever be corrected only by sisters, but certainly by girls. “So it pleases the Queen of Heaven! Remember this and keep it sacred, passing it on to others,” said the priest.

2. Sextons and churchwomen should unforgettably, as often as possible, participate in all four fasts, all twelve holidays, without being embarrassed by the thought that they are unworthy; not to miss the opportunity, as much as possible, to use the grace bestowed by communion with the Holy Mysteries of Christ, trying only, if possible, to concentrate in the humble consciousness of one’s complete sinfulness, with hope and firm faith in God’s ineffable mercy, mentally saying: “I have sinned, Lord, in my soul, in my heart, in word, thought and all my feelings!” - begin the holy, redeeming Sacrament.

3. Both before the service and during the service, sextons must, upon entering the altar, ask for the blessing of the serving priest. Never argue with a serving priest about anything in church. He is a servant of the Lord Himself, except perhaps for something especially undesirable that might happen. And even no matter how undeservedly the priest insulted you, endure everything silently, humbly, just bowing to him.

4. You should never haggle over church items during any purchase: “Just tell me, mother, how much you would like to buy something for!” They will give it to you, thank you; they won’t give it, never insist or bargain; Give everything without haggling, for everything that is superfluous from the church will never go to waste. The Lord Himself sees and knows, and will return everything!”

5. Knowing which of the sisters has been tonsured or not tonsured, in case of any special need, never allow un tonsured sisters to enter the altar.

6. To carry the Most Pure One from the Liturgy into the meal is no other way than without fail for the sexton who served at the Liturgy, due to the consecration of her, even from her presence and constant service at the highest service to the Throne of God’s glory.

7. Never, God forbid, for the sake of anything, or for the sake of anyone, except for a silent sign of consent or renunciation, speak in the altar, as the place of the always presence of the Lord Himself and His Powers, without allowing both nor was it, even if I had to suffer for it. “The Lord himself is present here! And trembling, in fear, all the Cherubim and Seraphim and all the Power of God stand before Him! Who will speak before Him!” - said the father.

8. Never, under any guise, pretext, or deed, below a brush, below anything, take anything from the church, fearing God’s rebuke for doing so, for in the temple everything that is least belongs only to the One God! And everything, no matter how small, taken from there is, as it were, a worn-out fire that burns everyone and everything!

9. Do not be embarrassed or upset by small prayers or the inability to fulfill all that is required for monasticism due to the truly extreme lack of time for church cleaning and work, trying only without fail and on the go, never interrupting mental prayer, to read this rule in the morning, in the middle of the day and at night, yes, if perhaps there is a general rule for everyone, and if it is impossible, then how the Lord will help!
But 200 bows to the Savior, the Mother of God, be that as it may, must be performed every day.

10. When consecrating churches, it is always permissible to serve all services in it for 40 days (6 weeks).

11. When wiping the dust and sweeping away the rubbish from the temple of God, never throw it away like that, with carelessness - “only the dust of the temple of God is already holy!” - but having carefully collected it, burn it in a cave or throw it into a river of running water, or throw it in some special place, and not in a general passage or waste place; Doing the same thing when washing something of the church, wash it only in running water or in a special vessel that is specially kept and kept sacredly for this purpose; and drain this water also into a particularly clean or prepared place.

Father Seraphim told them: “There is no greater obedience than obedience to the church! And if you just wipe the floor in the house of the Lord with a rag, God will place it above any other work! There is no obedience higher than the church! And everything that happens in it, and how you enter and leave, everything should be done with fear and trembling and never ceasing prayer, and never in the church, except what is necessary for the church and nothing should be said in it about the church! And what is more beautiful, higher and sweeter than the church! And we will only fear someone in it, and where else will we rejoice in spirit, heart and all our thoughts, if not in it, where our Master and Lord Himself is always present with us!” Saying this, the priest beamed with delight and unearthly joy.

Then he gave a commandment regarding Nativity churches. “In the upper Church of the Nativity of Christ, an unquenchable candle near the local icon of the Savior constantly burns, day and night, and in the lower Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, the lamp near the temple icon of the Nativity of the Mother of God burns unquenchably, day and night. Read the Psalter day and night, starting with the Royal Family and for all those who benefactor the monastery, in this same lower church by twelve specially designated sisters who change hourly, and on Sunday it is inadmissible to always serve the Paraclesis of the Mother of God before the Liturgy in full chant, according to the note.” . And Father Seraphim said: “It (the indefatigable Psalter) will feed you forever! And if you fulfill this commandment of mine, then everything will be fine with you and the Queen of Heaven will never leave you. If you don’t do it, then you will get into trouble without trouble.”

Our mother Elena Vasilievna, after the consecration of the Nativity churches, was appointed by Father Seraphim as their sacristan and churchwoman, continued her strict and holy life. She tried to fulfill everything, even to the smallest extent, that Father Seraphim commanded her. She stayed hopelessly in the church, reading the Psalter for six hours at a time, since there were few literate sisters and, of course, that’s why she spent the night in the church, resting a little on a stone somewhere to the side on the brick floor. Her novice Ksenia Vasilievna alternated with her in reading the Psalter, and when it was Elena Vasilievna’s turn, she, afraid to be left alone in the church, used to put Ksenia at her feet at the lectern, telling her: “Don’t sleep, Ksenia, for God’s sake.” , otherwise I’m afraid you’ll fall asleep and I’ll be left alone!” - “I won’t, mother, I won’t!” - Ksenia answered her, still young, healthy and falling asleep very quickly after daytime fatigue. Seeing Ksenia sleeping, Elena Vasilyevna got scared and began to scold her and get angry. “This is what you are,” said Elena, “just as I asked you!”

Fear was aroused in Elena Vasilyevna not without reason, since the enemy of humanity, who does not tolerate virtue in people, frightened her. So, once she was reading in the church, and Ksenia fell asleep, and suddenly from the upper porch someone started running up the stairs, right through the lower door, burst into the church where she was praying, and crashed with all his might with such noise, thunder and crash that even the sleeping sisters jumped up. Elena Vasilievna died and fainted. The sisters rushed to her, barely brought the poor woman to her senses, and then she finally had a seizure. Another time, Elena Vasilievna lay and dozed, and Ksenia did her turn. When Ksenia finished, then, not wanting to wake her, she quietly put out the candle and lay down next to Elena Vasilievna. It was a moonlit night. Suddenly, Elena Vasilyevna woke up and saw that someone had come out of the altar, with combed hair on his head, and began to pray at her head... “Apparently, Ksenia!” - she thought, trying to calm herself down, but at that time she heard that Ksenia was lying next to her and sighed... Then Elena Vasilievna shook all over with fear. The vision attracted her gaze, and the moon illuminated the praying figure at the head of the bed. She wanted to get up and scream, but she couldn’t and froze... When Ksenia woke up, there was no one there, and the unfortunate Elena Vasilievna was lying in a faint.

One day, during the afternoon reading of the Psalter, Elena Vasilievna saw a girl of extraordinary beauty come out of the empty altar, with her hair flowing, stop in front of the Royal Doors, pray slowly and disappear through the side door. Also during the day, she was once alone in church, reading the Psalter before some big holiday, and heard a knock on the locked church door, repeated several times. Believing that it was the sister who had replaced her knocking, she opened the door and immediately fell, as someone in a shroud was standing in front of her. All this, often repeated, forced Elena Vasilievna to deliberately go to Father Seraphim, tell him and ask for his instructions, intercession and prayer. Father Seraphim consoled her, encouraged her and forever forbade her to remain alone in the church. Since then, nothing like this has appeared again.

After the construction of the Nativity churches in Diveevo, Father Seraphim began acquiring land for the future cathedral, about which he predicted a lot. To do this, he ordered Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov to measure and buy for three hundred rubles 15 acres of land near the Kazan Church that belonged to Mr. Zhdanov. On behalf of Father Seraphim, Elena Vasilievna went to buy this land.

“Holy King David,” said Father Seraphim to Elena Vasilyevna, “when he wanted to build a temple to the Lord on Mount Moriah, he did not accept Orna’s threshing floor, but paid the price; so here too, the Queen of Heaven wants the place for the cathedral to be acquired by purchase, and not to receive it. I could beg for land, but She doesn’t want that! Go to the city of Temnikov to the owner of this land, Yegor Ivanovich Zhdanov, give him this money of mine and bring a paper deed to the land!”

Elena Vasilievna went with the old woman Ulyana Grigorievna and, having completed the assignment, returned to Father Seraphim with the bill of sale. Father came into indescribable delight and, kissing the paper, exclaimed: “Wow, mother, what joy we have! What a cathedral we will have, mother! What a cathedral! Miracle! And he ordered the real paper to be carefully kept by Elena Vasilievna until her death, and then handed over to Mikhail Vasilyevich.

With the blessing of Father Seraphim, Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov sold his estate, set his serfs free and, saving the money for the time being, settled on the land purchased by Elena Vasilievna with the strictest commandment: to preserve it and bequeath it after the death of his Seraphim monastery (later on this land in 1848 was founded, and by 1875 the main cathedral of the Diveyevo monastery was built and consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity). On this land, Mikhail Vasilyevich settled with his wife and began to endure disadvantages. He endured a lot of ridicule from acquaintances and friends, as well as reproaches from his wife Anna Mikhailovna, a Lutheran, a young woman who was not at all prepared for spiritual exploits, who did not tolerate poverty, who had a very impatient and ardent character, although in general a good and honest person. All his life, the wonderful Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, a true disciple of Christ, suffered humiliation for his evangelical act. But he endured everything resignedly, silently, patiently, humbly, meekly, with complacency out of love and his extraordinary faith towards the holy elder, obeying him unquestioningly in everything, not taking a step without his blessing, as if surrendering all of himself and his whole life into his hands Venerable Seraphim. It is not surprising that Mikhail Vasilyevich became Father Seraphim’s most faithful student and his closest, beloved friend. Father Father Seraphim, speaking about him with anyone, called him nothing more than “Mishenka,” and entrusted everything concerning the organization of Diveev to him alone, as a result of which everyone knew this and sacredly honored Manturov, obeying him in to everyone unquestioningly, as if to the steward of the priest himself.

When the construction of the church in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was completed, in the summer of 1830, Father Seraphim instructed Elena Vasilievna, together with the priest Father Vasily Sadovsky, to go to Nizhny Novgorod to obtain permission from the bishop to consecrate the new church. It was a cholera year, but they didn’t dare disobey. Having laid down the prosphora and ordered the petition to be made to Elena Vasilyevna, the Reverend said: “Bow before the Lord at the feet and give the prosphora from me; he will do everything for you!”

He punished O. Vasily like this: “You, father, when you arrive, order warm bread from the bakery, so that you have it hot, from me and give it to him, he will do everything for you!” Due to the cholera, His Eminence Athanasius did not receive anyone, but through Father’s prayers they managed to see him. Having received a petition and prosphora from Elena Vasilyevna, and hot bread from Father Vasily, the bishop, involuntarily smiling, exclaimed: “Prosphora, but the bread is not from Sarov, but local, because it is warm.” Father Vasily explained that this was ordered to him by Elder Seraphim, who did not order him to appear to the Right Reverend without warm bread. “Ah, now I understand, this is Zlatoust-style!” - exclaimed the delighted ruler.

He immediately wrote a resolution on the petition for the consecration of the temple and sent Fr. Vasily and Elena Vasilievna to Archimandrite Joachim with instructions to arrange the consecration of the temple. Because of cholera in Nizhny, no one and nothing was allowed out of the city without undergoing quarantine. After praying, we laid down the horse and slowly rode off. When we drove past the guard soldiers, no one stopped them or even asked, as if they had never been seen. So we came home, and, despite the terrible cholera, we bought a lot of fruit, which was cheap due to the epidemic, and for the prayers of Father Seraphim we returned safe and sound and unharmed.

Father Seraphim unusually and passionately loved Elena Vasilyevna, who was obedient to him in everything, but by God's Providence he was destined to lose her during his lifetime and mourn her bitterly. The death and last days of the life of this great servant of God are truly remarkable.

Elena Vasilievna, shortly before her death, began to have a premonition that Father Seraphim did not have long to live. Therefore, she often said with sorrow to those around her: “Our father is weakening; soon, soon we will be left without him! Visit Father as often as possible, we won’t be with him for long! I can no longer live without him and will not be saved; as he pleases, I will not outlive him; let me be sent away first!” One day she expressed this to Father Seraphim. “My joy,” answered the priest. “But your maid will enter the Kingdom before you, and soon she will take you with her!” Indeed, the serf girl Ustinya, who loved her and did not want to part with her, fell ill with consumption. She was tormented by the fact that, due to illness, she was taking up a place in Elena Vasilievna’s small and cramped cell, and constantly repeated: “No, mother, I will leave you, you have no peace from me!” But Elena Vasilyevna put Ustinya in the best place, did not allow anyone to follow her, and she herself served her with all her heart. Before her death, Ustinya said to Elena Vasilyevna: “I saw a wonderful garden, with extraordinary fruits... Someone says to me: this garden is shared between you and Elena Vasilyevna, and she will soon come to this garden for you!” And so it happened.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov fell ill with a malignant fever on the estate of General Kupriyanov and wrote a letter to Elena Vasilievna, instructing her to ask Father Seraphim how he could be saved. Father Seraphim ordered him to chew the hot crumb of well-baked rye bread and thereby healed him. But soon he called Elena Vasilievna to him, who appeared accompanied by her novice and churchwoman Ksenia Vasilievna, and said to her: “You have always listened to me, my joy, and now I want to give you one obedience... Will you fulfill it, mother?” “I’ve always listened to you,” she answered, “and I’m always ready to listen to you!” - “Oh, yes, yes, my joy!” - the elder exclaimed and continued: “You see, mother, Mikhail Vasilyevich, your brother, is sick with us and the time has come for him to die and he needs to die, mother, but I still need him for our monastery, for the orphans “So... So here’s your obedience: die for Mikhail Vasilyevich, mother!”

“Bless me, father!” - Elena Vasilievna answered humbly and seemingly calmly. After this, Father Seraphim talked with her for a long, long time, delighting her heart and touching on the issue of death and future eternal life. Elena Vasilyevna listened to everything in silence, but suddenly became embarrassed and said: “Father! I'm afraid of death! - “Why should you and I be afraid of death, my joy! - answered Fr. Seraphim. “For you and me there will be only eternal joy!”

Elena Vasilievna said goodbye, but as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the cell, she immediately fell... Ksenia Vasilievna picked her up, Father Seraphim ordered her to be laid on the coffin standing in the hallway, and he himself brought holy water, sprinkled Elena Vasilievna, gave her a drink and thus brought her to her senses . Returning home, she fell ill, went to bed and said: “Now I won’t get up again!”

According to eyewitnesses, her death was remarkable. On the very first night she had a significant dream. On the site of the Kazan Diveyevo Church there was, as it were, a square or market place and there were a great many people on it... Suddenly the people made way for two soldiers who approached it. “Come with us to the King! - they said to Elena Vasilievna. “He is calling you to Himself!” She obeyed and followed the warriors. She was led to a place where the Tsar and Queen of extraordinary beauty were sitting, who, having accepted her humble bow, said: “Don’t forget on the 25th, we will take you to us!” Waking up, Elena Vasilyevna told everyone her dream and ordered to write down the number... She survived it only for three days.

During these few days of illness, Elena Vasilievna received special attention and received the Holy Mysteries as often as possible. Her confessor, Father Vasily Sadovsky, seeing her weakness, advised her to write to her brother Mikhail Vasilyevich, who loved her very much, but she replied: “No, father, don’t! I will feel sorry for them, and this will outrage my soul, which will no longer appear to the Lord as pure as it should be!”
Three days before her death, Elena Vasilievna was constantly surrounded by visions, and for people who did not understand, it might seem that she was in oblivion. "Ksenia! Shouldn't we set the table? After all, there will be guests soon!” Ksenia Vasilievna immediately agreed and fulfilled the dying woman’s wish by covering the table with a white, clean tablecloth. “See, Ksenia,” Elena Vasilievna insisted, “that everything, everything about you is clean, as clean as possible!” When she saw that everything had been done by her novice, she thanked her and said: “You, Ksenia, don’t lie down, but they told Agafya Petrovna to lie down... And don’t sit down, look, Ksenia, and just wait a little!” The dying woman was surrounded by images. But suddenly, her face completely changed, she joyfully exclaimed: “Holy Abbess!.. Mother, don’t leave our monastery!..” For a long, long time, with tears, the dying woman prayed for the monastery and a lot, but incoherently, she said, and then she became completely silent. A little later, as if waking up again, she called Ksenia, saying: “Where are you? Look, there will be more guests!..” Then she suddenly exclaimed: “It’s coming! It’s coming!.. Here are the Angels!.. Here’s a crown for me and crowns for all the sisters!..” she continued to say for a long time, but again it was not clear. Seeing and hearing all this, Ksenia Vasilievna exclaimed in fear: “Mother! After all, you are leaving! I’ll send for Father!” “No, Ksenyushka, wait a little longer,” said Elena Vasilievna, “then I’ll tell you myself!” Much time later, she sent for Father Vasily Sadovsky to receive special treatment for the last time and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

During confession, as Father Vasily wrote in his own hand, the dying woman told what vision and revelations she had once been awarded. “I shouldn’t have told this before,” explained Elena Vasilievna, “but now I can! In the temple, I saw in the open Royal doors the majestic Queen of indescribable beauty, who, calling me with her pen, said: “Follow Me and see what I show you!”

We entered the palace; I cannot describe its beauty to you even if I wanted to, father! It was all made of clear crystal and the doors, locks, handles and trim were made of the purest gold. It was hard to look at him because of the radiance and brilliance; he seemed to be all on fire. As soon as we approached the doors, they opened by themselves and we entered, as it were, an endless corridor, on both sides of which there were all locked doors. Approaching the first doors, which also opened by themselves, I saw a huge hall; there were tables, chairs, and all this was ablaze with inexplicable decorations. It was filled with dignitaries and young men of extraordinary beauty who were sitting. When we entered, everyone stood up silently and bowed at the waist to the Queen. “Look,” She said, pointing her hand at everyone, “these are My pious merchants...”

Having given me time to take a good look at them, the Queen left and the doors closed behind us by themselves. The next room was even more beautiful; it all seemed flooded with light! It was filled only with young girls, each better than the other, dressed in dresses of extraordinary lightness and with shiny crowns on their heads. These crowns varied in appearance, and some wore two or three. The girls were sitting, but when we appeared they all stood up silently and bowed to the Queen at the waist. “Examine them carefully, see if they are good and if you like them,” She said to me graciously. I began to look at one side of the hall indicated to me, and well, suddenly I saw that one of the girls, father, looked terribly like me!”

Saying this, Elena Vasilievna became embarrassed, stopped, but then continued: “This girl, smiling, threatened me! Then, at the direction of the Queen, I began to look at the other side of the hall and saw one of the girls wearing a crown of such beauty, such beauty that I even envied! - Elena Vasilievna said with a sigh.

And all this, father, were our sisters, who were in the monastery before me, and now still alive, and future! But I cannot name them, because I was not ordered to speak. Coming out of this hall, the doors of which closed behind us, we approached the third entrance and found ourselves again in a much less bright hall, in which there were also all our sisters, as in the second, past, present and future; also wearing crowns, but not so shiny and I am not ordered to name them. Then we moved to the fourth hall, almost half-dark, still filled with sisters, present and future, who were either sitting or lying; others were crippled by illness and without any crowns with terribly sad faces, and everything and everyone seemed to bear the stamp of illness and inexpressible sorrow. “And these are the careless ones! - the Queen told me, pointing at them. “Here they are, girls, but because of their negligence they can never rejoice!”

“After all, all our sisters too, father, but I’m forbidden to name them!” - Elena Vasilievna explained and cried bitterly. As soon as Father Vasily left his cell, having given communion to Elena Vasilievna, she said to Ksenia: “Ksenia! Take the icon of the Passionate Mother of God into the church from me now! This icon is miraculous!” She was temporarily moved to the cell from the church. The sisters listened in silence to the order, but it seemed strange to them, and they did not carry it out, believing that Elena Vasilievna was speaking in delirium or in oblivion, but the dying woman, quickly getting up and looking sternly at the novices, said reproachfully: “Xenia! All your life you haven’t insulted me, but now you’re doing it before you die! I’m not at all delirious, as you think, but I’m telling you the truth! If you don’t take the icon out now, then they won’t let you take it out anymore, and it will fall! You don’t listen, and then you yourself will regret it!” And they barely had time to take out the icon when they started mass.

“Go, Ksenia, to mass,” said Elena Vasilievna, “and pray for all of us!”
“What are you doing, mother,” Ksenia Vasilievna said in fear, “what if...” (you die! - she wanted to say). But Elena Vasilievna, without letting her finish, said: “Nothing, I’ll wait.” And when Ksenia returned after mass, Elena Vasilievna greeted her with the words: “You see, I said that I would wait, and I waited for you!” Then, turning to everyone, she continued: “For everything, for everything, I thank you! And you all forgive me for Christ’s sake!”

Ksenia, seeing that Elena Vasilyevna had suddenly brightened up and was leaving, rushed to her in fright and began to beg her to say again: “Mother... then... this night, I didn’t dare to disturb and ask you, but now you’re leaving, tell me , mother, for the Lord’s sake, tell me, have you seen the Lord?!”
- “It is impossible for humans to see God; angels do not dare to look at Him!” - Elena Vasilievna sang quietly and sweetly, but Ksenia continued to beg, insist and cry. Then Elena Vasilievna said: “I saw it, Ksenia,” and her face became enthusiastic, wonderful, clear, “I saw it as an indescribable Fire, and I simply saw the Queen and the Angels!”
“Well, mother,” Ksenia asked again, “what will happen to you?”
“I hope in the mercy of my Lord, Xenia,” said the humble righteous woman, going to the Lord, “He will not leave!” Then she began to talk about the church, how and what should be done so that it was always in order, and hurried the novice: “Gather me together quickly, quickly, without opening the door! Take it to church now! Otherwise the sisters will interfere with you and won’t let you collect!”
“It’s too late, mother, we won’t make it before Vespers,” Ksenia answered her. “No, no, we’ll still have time! - Elena Vasilyevna said, as if in a hurry. “As I say, do it!” Obey, but quickly, otherwise God will punish you! Come to your senses later, it’ll be too late, don’t turn back!”

And the sisters began to quickly clean it up. "Oh! Ksenia! Ksenia! What is this? - she suddenly exclaimed, frightenedly clinging to the novice. - What is this?! What two ugly ones; these are enemies!... Well, these enemy slander, they can’t do anything to me now!” Then, quite calmly, she stretched out and died.

The righteous one rightly insisted, demanding that the doors be locked and that she be completely prepared alive in the coffin, and then immediately after her death carried out into the church, because as soon as they had time to do all this, the sisters, who loved her extremely, having learned about her death, broke in with a terrible screaming at the door of the tiny cell, not allowing her to be placed in the coffin sent by Father Seraphim in three days, hollowed out of a whole oak tree. At that moment the bell began to ring for vespers and so she was carried into the church. They put a shirt on her. Seraphim, scarf and duckweed. They put on shoes, put woolen rosaries in their hands and covered them with black calico on top of everything. Her hair, always braided in a braid, was covered under a scarf with a cap made from the priest's britches, which the elder himself put on her after the tonsure. She died at the age of 27, having spent only seven years in the Diveyevo monastery. Elena Vasilyevna was extremely beautiful and attractive in appearance, round-faced, with quick black eyes and black hair, and tall.

At that same hour, Father Seraphim, having foreseen in his spirit, hastily and joyfully sent the sisters who worked for him in Sarov to Diveevo, saying: “Hurry, quickly come to the monastery, there your great mistress has gone to the Lord!”

All this happened on May 28/June 10, 1832, on the eve of the feast of Pentecost, and the next day, on Trinity itself, during the funeral Liturgy and the singing of the Cherubic Song, in front of everyone present in the church, the late Elena Vasilievna, as if alive, smiled joyfully three times his coffin.

She was buried next to the grave of the founder, Mother Alexandra, on the right side of the Kazan Church. Many lay people were going to be buried in this grave more than once, but Mother Alexandra, as if not wanting this, performed a miracle each time: the grave was filled with water and burial became impossible. Now that grave remained dry, and the coffin of the righteous woman and prayer book of the Seraphim Monastery was placed into it.

On the third day after the death of Elena Vasilievna, Ksenia Vasilievna went all in tears to Father Seraphim. Seeing her, the great elder, who loved the late righteous woman no less than all the sisters, involuntarily became alarmed and, immediately sending Xenia home, said to her: “Why are you crying? You should be happy! On the fortieth day you will come here, now go, go home! It is necessary that there should be mass every day for all 40 days, and as you wish, lie at the feet of Father Vasily, so that there will be mass!” Choking from tears, Ksenia Vasilievna left, and Father Pavel, a neighbor in Father Seraphim’s cell, saw how the priest walked around his room worried for a long, long time and exclaimed: “They don’t understand anything! They are crying!.. If only they could see how her soul flew, how a bird fluttered! Cherubim and Seraphim parted! She was honored to sit not far from the Holy Trinity like a virgin!”

When Ksenia Vasilievna came to Father Seraphim on the fortieth day after Elena Vasilievna’s death on his orders, the elder, consoling his beloved churchwoman, said joyfully: “How stupid you are, my joys! Well, why cry! After all, this is a sin! We should rejoice; her soul fluttered like a dove and ascended to the Holy Trinity. The Cherubim and Seraphim and all the heavenly power made way for her! She is a servant of Mother Vozhieya, mother! She is the Queen of Heaven's maid of honor, mother! We should only rejoice, and not cry! Over time, her relics and Maria Semyonovna’s will rest openly in the monastery, for both of them pleased the Lord so much that they were awarded incorruptibility!”

Miracles and healings happened more than once at Elena Vasilievna’s grave. These incidents were recorded in the monastery before the dispersal, but they have not reached us. The sisters living in the monastery went every day to Elena Vasilievna’s grave to bow and pray: “Our Lady and Mother Elena, remember us at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven.” The sisters ask for her help in everyday affairs and receive what they ask for.

Back in 1829, the Monk Seraphim spoke to Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov about the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Oh, to my joy! Four pillars - four relics! Four pillars - four relics! What a joy we are, father! Four pillars - after all, this means four relics will rest here! And we will have this tomb of relics, father! What a joy we are! What a joy!” In our days, the prophetic words of St. Seraphim of Sarov have come true: the Venerable nun Elena rests in her relics in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary together with St. Alexandra, the founder of the Diveyevo monastery, and St. Martha. In 2000, all of them were canonized as locally venerated saints of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese.

Through the prayers of this righteous woman and our great mistress, may the Lord have mercy on us sinners. Amen.

Troparion to the Venerable Nun Helena, tone 1:

Our venerable mother Elena, who shone forth with the virtues of meekness, humility and abstinence, shone forth to the mysterious superintendent of the Mill Community in Diveyevo, even to the point of death, you remained in obedience to the Elder Seraphim, and you were vouchsafed to behold the Lord; ask for us the boldness to serve Him alone for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion to the Venerable Nun Elena, tone 5:

Having lived a pious life as a monk and finished her journey in her youth, having prepared herself with obedience, fasting and eternally inseparable prayer for the meeting of the Bridegroom, God-wise Elena, we pray to you: deliver us from troubles with your prayers, blessed one.

Common Troparion to the Venerable Wives of Diveyevo
Alexandra, Martha and Elena, tone 4:

The natural adornment of the Russian land appeared, / the rulers of the Diveyevo Monastery / our venerable mothers Alexandro, Marfo and Elena, / who fulfilled the blessing of the Queen of Heaven / and acquired boldness in the Lord, / pray at the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity / for the salvation of our souls.

General kontakion for the venerable women of Diveyevo
Alexandra, Martha and Helena, tone 8:

Diveevsti, the all-bright lamps / our reverend mothers Alexandro, Martha and Elena, / in fasting, vigil, prayer and labor, labored well by nature / and after our death you illuminate us with miracles / and heal sick souls; / pray to Christ the God of sins to grant / love to those who honor the saint your memory.

Venerable Alexandra Diveevskaya (Melgunova; † 1789; commemorated June 13/26)

Venerable Martha of Diveyevo (Milyukova; 1810-1829; commemorated Aug. 21/Sept. 3)

Venerable Elena Diveevskaya (Manturova; 1805-1832; commemorated May 28/June 10)

These founders of the future women's monastery had a great spirit, and they, these pure souls, took upon themselves the great feat of faith and poverty.

Venerable Alexandra

Around 1760, the widow Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova, a wealthy landowner of the Yaroslavl, Vladimir and Ryazan (Pereyaslavl) provinces, arrived in Kyiv with her three-year-old daughter. She owned seven hundred peasant souls, had capital and huge estates. The names of her pious parents are known - Simeon and Paraskeva. Information about her life was conveyed by the Diveyevo priest Vasily Dertev, with whom Melgunova lived, as well as by the sisters of her community and Archpriest Vasily Sadovsky. But even these testimonies are very fragmentary, since Mother Alexandra, in her humility, told very little about herself.

She became a monk at the Florovsky Monastery under the name of Alexandra. Her ascetic life in the Florovsky Monastery did not last very long. “One thing is certain,” testify priests Dertev and Sadovsky, as well as N.A. Motovilov, “that Mother Alexandra once, after a long midnight prayer vigil, being either in a light slumber, or in a clear vision, God knows, was honored to see the Most Holy Theotokos and hear from Her the following: “It is I, your Lady and Lady, to whom you always pray.” I came to tell you My will: it is not here that I want you to end your life, but how I brought My servant Anthony out of My lot at Athos, My holy mountain, so that here, in Kyiv, he would found My new lot - the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra , so I say to you today: get out of here and go to the land that I will show you. Go to the north of Russia and go around all the Great Russian places of My holy monasteries, and there will be a place where I will direct you to end your godly life, and I will glorify My Name there, for in your place of residence I will establish such a great monastery of My own, to which I will bring down all blessings God's and Mine, from all three of My lots on earth: Iberia, Athos and Kyiv. Go, My servant, on your way, and the grace of God, and My strength, and My grace, and My mercy, and My bounties, and the gifts of the saints of all My lots, may they be with you!’ And the vision ceased.”

Although Alexandra’s mother admired the spirit, she did not immediately decide to surrender to faith in everything she heard and saw. Combining everything in her heart, she first reported the vision to her spiritual father, then to the other great and divinely inspired fathers of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the elders who simultaneously labored with her in Kyiv. Alexander's mother asked them to sort it out, judge and decide what kind of vision she was awarded, and whether it was a dream, a play of imagination and charm. But the holy elders and elders, after prayers and long reflection, unanimously decided that the vision of the Queen of Heaven was true and that Mother Alexandra - in view of the fact that she was honored to be the chosen one, the first one and the first founder of the Fourth Lot of the Mother of God in the universe - is blessed and most blessed.

Information about where and how long Alexander’s mother wandered was lost over the years and does not appear anywhere in notes and stories. According to the testimony of old-timers, in 1760 she walked from Murom to the Sarov Hermitage. Not reaching twelve miles, Alexander’s mother stopped to rest in the village of Diveevo. She chose a lawn for relaxation near the western wall of a small wooden church, where she sat down on a pile of lying logs. Tired, she fell asleep sitting up, and in a light drowsiness she was again honored to see the Mother of God, who said: “This is the very place that I ordered you to look for in the north of Russia, when I appeared to you for the first time in Kyiv; and here is the limit that divine providence has set for you: live and please the Lord God here until the end of your days, and I will always be with you and will always visit this place, and within the limit of your residence I will establish here such an abode of mine, which is not equal was, is not and never will be in the whole world: This is My fourth lot in the universe. And like the stars of heaven, and like the sand of the sea, I will multiply those who serve the Lord God here, and Me, the Ever-Virgin Mother of Light, and My Son Jesus Christ, who magnify: and the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God and the abundance of all earthly and heavenly blessings with little human labor will not become scarce from this place of My beloved!

Alexander's mother reached the Sarov desert in great joy. And since this monastery then flourished with the holiness of the lives of many great and wondrous ascetics, they could help her with advice and instructions. Having met them, Agafia Semyonovna opened her soul to them and asked them for advice and admonition on what to do in such amazing circumstances. The Sarov elders confirmed to her the words and explanations of the Kiev-Pechersk monks and also advised her to completely surrender to the will of God and fulfill everything indicated to her by the Queen of Heaven. Soon her nine- or ten-year-old daughter fell ill and died. Alexandra's mother saw in the death of her only daughter another indication from God and a confirmation of everything announced to her by the Queen of Heaven.

Agafia Semyonovna, with the blessing of the Sarov elders, decided to renounce all her property. It took her a lot of time to organize her affairs: having released her peasants to freedom for a small payment, and those who did not want freedom, selling them for a similar and inexpensive price to those good landowners whom they had chosen for themselves, she was completely freed from all earthly worries and significantly increased her already large capital. She invested part of the capital in contributions to monasteries and churches to commemorate her parents, daughter and relatives, and, most importantly, she hurried to help where it was necessary to build or restore churches of God. Contemporaries indicate twelve churches built and restored by Agafia Semyonovna. Among them is the Assumption Cathedral of the Sarov Hermitage, which Mother helped to complete with significant capital.

Upon returning to Diveevo, Agafia Semyonovna built herself a cell in the courtyard of the priest Father Vasily Dertev and lived in it for twenty years, completely forgetting her origins and gentle upbringing. In her humility, she practiced the most difficult and menial tasks, cleaning Father Vasily’s barn, tending his cattle, and washing clothes. In addition, Alexander’s mother went to the peasant field and there she reaped and tied the bread of lonely peasants into sheaves, and in times of suffering, when everyone in poor families, even the housewives, spent their days at work, she lit the stoves in the huts, kneaded bread, cooked dinner, washed children, washed their dirty clothes and put clean ones on them when their tired mothers arrived. She did all this on the sly, so that no one would know or see. However, despite all the efforts and concealments, the peasants little by little began to recognize the benefactress. The children pointed to their mother Alexandra, and she looked in surprise at those who thanked her and renounced her actions and actions. Agafia Semyonovna embroidered hats for poor brides - magpies and beautiful towels.

Mother Alexandra’s appearance is known from the words of her novice, Evdokia Martynovna: “Agafia Semyonovna’s clothes were not only simple and poor, but also multi-sewn, and, moreover, the same in winter and summer; on her head she wore a cold, black, round woolen cap, trimmed with hare fur, because she often suffered from headaches; I wore paper handkerchiefs. She went to field work in bast shoes, and at the end of her life she walked around in cold boots. Mother Agafia Semyonovna wore a hair shirt, was of average height, and looked cheerful; “She had a round, white face, gray eyes, a short bulbous nose, a small mouth, her hair was light brown in her youth, her face and hands were full.”

In the early 70s of the 18th century, Alexandra’s mother began building a stone church in Diveyevo in the name of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, replacing the old wooden one on the very spot where the Queen of Heaven appeared to her. When the Kazan Church was consecrated, the landowner Zhdanova donated a small piece of land on the northern side of the temple. And here the first mother built the first three cells - for herself, four novices and wanderers who were heading on pilgrimage to the Sarov Hermitage. The interior appearance of the cells corresponded to the difficult and sorrowful life of this great chosen one of the Queen of Heaven. The house had two rooms and two closets. In one closet there was a small bed made of bricks near the stove; there was only room near the bed so that at one time, Abbot Pachomius could stand there, near the dying mother, and Hierodeacon Seraphim, who had received from her the blessing to take care of her, could kneel in front of the mother. Diveyevo sisters. There was also a door to a dark closet - mother’s chapel, where only she could fit in prayer in front of a large Crucifix with a lit lamp in front of it. There was no window in this chapel. This prayerful contemplation of mother before the Crucifixion left an imprint on the entire spirit of life of the Diveyevo sisters. Prayer on mental Calvary, compassion for the Crucified Christ, is the deepest of prayers. Blessed Diveev was created based on these prayerful deeds of Mother Alexandra.

For twelve years, on holidays and Sundays, Agafia Semyonovna never left the church straight home, but at the end of the liturgy she always stopped in the church square and taught the peasants, telling them about Christian duties and the worthy veneration of holidays and Sundays. These spiritual conversations of Agafia Semyonovna were remembered with gratitude by the parishioners of the village of Diveevo even many years after her death. Not only ordinary people, but also high-ranking officials, merchants and even the clergy flocked to her from all sides to listen to her instructions: to receive blessings, advice and to receive her greetings. In family matters, disputes and quarrels, they treated her as a righteous judge and, of course, unquestioningly obeyed her decisions. Mother Alexandra's alms were always secret; she served with everything she knew how and to the best of her ability. Her varied exploits softened her heart so much and pleased the Lord God so much that she was awarded the high gift of grace-filled tears, Father Seraphim often recalled this.

This is how Alexander’s mother lived until the end of her days, leading a life pleasing to God, asceticism, extremely severe, in constant work and prayer. Strictly fulfilling all the difficulties of the Sarov Charter, she was guided in everything by the advice of Father Pachomius. She and her sisters, in addition, sewed scrolls, knitted stockings and worked on all the necessary handicrafts for the Sarov brethren. Father Pachomius, in turn, gave the small community everything they needed for their earthly existence; they even brought food to the sisters once a day from the Sarov meal. The community of Alexandra’s mother was flesh and blood of the Sarov desert. The life of Alexandra's mother and her sisters was fully consistent with the idea of ​​begging and working for their daily living.

In June 1788, sensing the approach of her death, Alexander's mother took on a great angelic image. She asked the ascetic fathers, for the love of Christ, not to leave or abandon her inexperienced novices, and also to take care in due time about the monastery promised to her by the Queen of Heaven. To this the elder Father Pachomius replied: “Mother! I do not refuse to serve, according to my strength and according to your will, to the Queen of Heaven by caring for your novices, and not only will I pray for you until my death, but our entire monastery will never forget your good deeds. However, I don’t give you my word, because I am old and weak, but how can I take on this, not knowing whether I will live to see that time. But Hierodeacon Seraphim - you know his spirituality, and he is young - will live to see this; entrust this great task to him.” Mother Agafia Semyonovna began to ask Father Seraphim not to leave her monastery, as the Queen of Heaven Herself would then instruct him to do so.

The wondrous old woman Agafia Semyonovna died on June 13, the day of the holy martyr Akilina. At her death, mother said to her cell attendant: “And you, Evdokiya, as I depart, take the image of the Most Holy Theotokos of Kazan, and place it on my chest, so that the Queen of Heaven will be with me during my departure, and light a candle in front of the image.”

Venerable Martha

Reverend Martha (in the world Maria Semyonovna Milyukova) was born on February 10, 1810 in a family of peasants in the Nizhny Novgorod province of Ardatovsky district, the village of Pogiblovo (now Malinovka). The Milyukov family, who lived a righteous and godly life, was close to Elder Seraphim of Sarov. In addition to Maria, there were two more older children - sister Praskovya Semenovna and brother Ivan Semenovich. With the blessing of St. Seraphim, Praskovya Semyonovna entered the Diveyevo community and enjoyed a high spiritual life. After the death of his wife, Ivan entered the Sarov Hermitage.

When Maria was thirteen years old, she and her sister Praskovya came to Father Seraphim for the first time. This happened on November 21, 1823, on the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The great elder, seeing that the girl Maria was a chosen vessel of God’s grace, did not allow her to return home, but ordered her to remain in the Diveyevo community.

This extraordinary, hitherto unseen young woman, incomparable to anyone, angelic, child of God, began to lead an ascetic life from an early age, surpassing in the severity of her feat even the sisters of the community, who were distinguished by the severity of their lives. Continuous prayer was her food, and she answered only necessary questions with heavenly meekness. She was almost silent, and Father Seraphim loved her especially tenderly and exclusively, devoting her to all his revelations, the future glory of the monastery and other great spiritual secrets.

Soon after Mary entered the community at the Kazan Church, the Most Holy Theotokos ordered St. Seraphim to create a new maiden community next to this community, from which the creation of the monastery She promised to Mother Alexandra began. Two weeks after the appearance of the Mother of God, namely on December 9, 1825, Mary, together with another sister, came to the Monk Seraphim, and the priest announced to them that they should go with him to the distant desert. Having arrived there, Father gave the sisters two lighted wax candles from those he had taken with him on his orders, along with oil and breadcrumbs, and ordered Mary to stand on the right side of the Crucifix hanging on the wall, and Praskovya Stepanovna on the left. They stood like that for more than an hour with lit candles, and Father Seraphim prayed all the time, standing in the middle. Having prayed, he venerated the Crucifixion and ordered them to pray and venerate. So, before the beginning of the founding of a new community, the Reverend performed this mysterious prayer with the sisters whom the Mother of God had chosen for special service to Her and the monastery.

Over the next four years, Mary asceticised, helping St. Seraphim and the sisters in establishing a new community. Together with him and other sisters, she prepared poles and timber for the mill, which the Mother of God blessed to build on the site of the founding of the new community; carried stones for the construction of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; she ground flour and performed other obediences, never leaving heartfelt prayer, silently lifting up her burning spirit to the Lord.

She lived in the monastery for only six years and, at the age of nineteen, on August 21, 1829, she peacefully and quietly departed to the Lord. Having foreseen in spirit the hour of her death, the Monk Seraphim suddenly began to cry and with the greatest sorrow said to Fr. To Pavel, his cell neighbor: “Paul! But Maria has moved away, and I feel so sorry for her, so sorry that, you see, I keep crying!” About her posthumous fate he said: “What mercy she received from the Lord! In the Kingdom of Heaven at the Throne of God, near the Queen of Heaven with the holy virgins! She is schema-nun Martha, I tonsured her. When you are in Diveyevo, never pass by, but fall to the grave, saying: “Our Lady and Mother Marfo, remember us at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven!” After this, Father called to him the churchwoman, Sister Ksenia Vasilievna Putkova, whom he always ordered to write down different names for commemoration, and said to her: “Hey, mother, write her down, Maria, as a nun, because with her deeds and prayers of the poor Seraphim she was awarded the schema there! Pray all of you for her as for Schema-nun Martha!” According to the Monk Seraphim, she is the head of the Diveyevo orphans in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the monastery of the Mother of God.

Maria Semyonovna was tall and attractive in appearance; she had a long, white and fresh face, blue eyes, thick, light-brown eyebrows and the same hair.

Venerable Helen

Elena Vasilievna Manturova was of a noble family and lived not far from the Sarov desert on her parent’s estate in the village of Nucha. She was of a cheerful disposition and had no idea about spiritual things. But an unexpected incident completely changed her life. In the district town of Knyaginin, Nizhny Novgorod province, a huge, terrible serpent appeared to her. He was black and terribly ugly, flames came out of his mouth, and his mouth seemed so large that it seemed to her as if the serpent would swallow her. The serpent descended lower and lower, Elena Vasilievna could already feel his breath, and then she shouted: “Queen of Heaven, save me! I swear to you to never get married and go to a monastery!” The terrible snake immediately soared up and disappeared.

After this, Elena Vasilievna completely changed, she became serious, spiritually inclined and began to read sacred books. Worldly life was unbearable for her, and she longed to quickly go to a monastery and completely seclude herself in it. She went to Sarov to Father Seraphim to ask for his blessing to enter the monastery. Father said: “No, mother, what are you planning on doing this! To the monastery - no, my joy, you will get married! - “What are you doing, father! - Elena Vasilievna said in fear. “I will never get married, I can’t, I made a promise to the Queen of Heaven to go to a monastery, and She will punish me!” “No, my joy,” the elder continued, “why don’t you get married! You will have a good, pious groom, mother, and everyone will envy you! No, don’t even think about it, mother, you will definitely get married, my joy!”

Elena Vasilievna left upset and, returning home, prayed a lot, cried, and asked the Queen of Heaven for help and admonition. The more she cried and prayed, the more the desire to devote herself to God flared up in her. She checked herself many times and became more and more convinced that everything secular and worldly was not in her spirit, and she completely changed. Elena Vasilievna went to see Father Seraphim several times, but he insisted that she should get married and not go to a monastery. Thus, for three whole years, Father Seraphim prepared her for the upcoming change in her life and for entering the Diveyevo community. And finally he said to her: “Well, if you really want to, then go, twelve miles from here there is a small community of Mother Agafya Semyonovna, Colonel Melgunova, stay there, my joy, and test yourself!” Elena Vasilyevna joyfully drove from Sarov straight to Diveevo. At that time she was twenty years old.

Not remembering herself with joy, Elena Vasilyevna returned home to Diveevo, and, putting on all the monastic, simple, began to carry out her previous deeds with love, being in unceasing prayer, in constant contemplation and perfect silence.

The Monk Seraphim wanted to appoint Elena Vasilievna as the head of his Mill monastery. When the priest announced this to her in delight, Elena Vasilievna became terribly embarrassed. “No, I can’t, I can’t do this, father! - she answered directly. “I have always obeyed you in everything, but I can’t do this!” Better order me to die, here, now, at your feet, but I don’t want and can’t be a boss, father!” Despite this, Father Seraphim subsequently, when the mill was established and he transferred the first seven girls to it, ordered them to be blessed in everything and to treat Elena Vasilievna, although she remained to live in the Kazan-church community until her death. This embarrassed the young ascetic to such an extent that even before her death she repeated, as if in fear: “No, no, as the priest pleases, but in this I cannot obey him; what kind of boss am I! I don’t know how I’ll be responsible for my soul, and then be responsible for others! No, no, may Father forgive me, and I can’t listen to him on this!” However, Father Seraphim always entrusted all the sisters he sent to her and, speaking about her, always called “Your Lady! Boss!

Elena Vasilievna, despite the fact that she was considered the head of the Mill Convent, always worked and bore obedience along with the other sisters. When Father Seraphim blessed the sisters to dig the Ditch according to the instructions of the Queen of Heaven, he said to the sisters who came to him, pointing out her efforts and labors: “The boss, your lady, how she works, and you, my joys, build her a hut, a tent from canvas, so that your lady can rest in it from her labors!”

Unusually kind by nature, she did good in secret. Knowing the need of many poor sisters, as well as beggars, she distributed to them everything she had and what she received from others, but in an unnoticed way. Sometimes he would walk by, or in church, and give it to someone, saying: “Here, mother, so-and-so asked me to give it to you!” All her food usually consisted of baked potatoes and flatbread, which hung on her porch in a bag. No matter how much they baked, there was never enough. “What a miracle! - her sister-cook used to say to her. “How many cakes did I give you, where did they go?” “Oh, dear,” Elena Vasilievna will answer her meekly, “forgive me for Christ’s sake, mother, and don’t grieve for me; What can I do, my weakness, I love them so much, so I ate them all!” She slept on a stone, covered only with a poor rug.

From the time of the consecration of the Nativity churches, Father Seraphim appointed Elena Vasilyevna as a churchwoman and sacristan, for this he asked the Sarov hieromonk Father Hilarion to tonsure her into the ryassophore, which was done.

She stayed hopelessly in the church, read the Psalter for six hours at a time, since there were few literate sisters, and therefore spent the night in the church, resting a little on a stone somewhere to the side on the brick floor.

Her death is incomprehensible. With the blessing of Father Seraphim, Elena Vasilievna’s brother Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who was cured of a serious illness by him, sold his estate, released the serfs and, saving the money for the time being, settled on the land purchased by Elena Vasilievna with the strictest commandment: to preserve it and bequeath it after the death of the Seraphim Monastery ( Subsequently, on this land in 1848 the main cathedral of the Diveyevo monastery was built and consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity. All his life, Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov suffered humiliation for his evangelical act. But he endured everything resignedly, silently, patiently, humbly, meekly, with complacency out of love and his extraordinary faith towards the holy elder, unquestioningly obeying him in everything, not taking a step without his blessing, betraying himself and his whole life into the hands of the Venerable Seraphim . And the priest entrusted everything concerning Diveev’s organization to him alone; everyone knew this and sacredly revered Manturov, obeying him in everything unquestioningly, as the steward of the priest himself.

When Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov fell ill with a malignant fever, and this disease was leading to death, Father Seraphim called Elena Vasilievna to him and told her: “You have always listened to me, my joy, and now I want to give you one obedience... Will you fulfill it, mother ? “I’ve always listened to you,” she answered, “and I’m always ready to listen to you!” “You see, mother,” the elder continued, “Mikhail Vasilyevich, your brother, is sick with us and the time has come for him to die and he needs to die, mother, but I still need him for our monastery, for the orphans.” “So... So here’s your obedience: die for Mikhail Vasilyevich, mother!” - “Bless me, father!” - Elena Vasilievna answered humbly and seemingly calmly. After this, Father Seraphim talked with her for a long, long time, delighting her heart and touching on the issue of death and future eternal life. Elena Vasilyevna listened to everything in silence, but suddenly became embarrassed and said: “Father! I'm afraid of death! - “Why should you and I be afraid of death, my joy! - answered Fr. Seraphim. “For you and me there will be only eternal joy!”

Returning home, she fell ill, went to bed and said: “Now I won’t get up again!” One day, her face completely changed, she joyfully exclaimed: “Holy Abbess! Mother, don’t leave our monastery!..” During her last confession, the dying woman told what vision and revelations she had once been awarded. “I shouldn’t have told this before,” explained Elena Vasilievna, “but now I can!” In the temple, in the open Royal doors, I saw the majestic Queen of indescribable beauty, who, calling me with her hand, said: “Follow Me and see what I will show you!” We entered the palace; I cannot describe its beauty to you even if I wanted to, father! It was all made of clear crystal and the doors, locks, handles and trim were made of the purest gold. It was hard to look at him because of the radiance and brilliance; he seemed to be all on fire. As soon as we approached the doors, they opened by themselves and we entered, as it were, an endless corridor, on both sides of which there were all locked doors. Approaching the first doors, which also opened by themselves, I saw a huge hall; there were tables, chairs, and all this was ablaze with inexplicable decorations. It was filled with dignitaries and young men of extraordinary beauty who were sitting. When we entered, everyone stood up silently and bowed at the waist to the Queen. “Here, look,” She said, pointing at everyone with her hand, “these are My pious merchants...” The next hall was even more beautiful, it all seemed flooded with light! It was filled only with young girls, each better than the other, dressed in dresses of extraordinary lightness and with shiny crowns on their heads. These crowns varied in appearance, and some wore two or three. The girls were sitting, but when we appeared they all stood up silently and bowed to the Queen at the waist. “Examine them carefully, see if they are good and if you like them,” She said to me graciously. I began to look at one side of the hall indicated to me, and well, suddenly I saw that one of the girls, father, looked terribly like me!” Saying this, Elena Vasilievna became embarrassed, stopped, but then continued: “This girl, smiling, threatened me! Then, at the direction of the Queen, I began to look at the other side of the hall and saw one of the girls wearing a crown of such beauty, such beauty that I even envied! - Elena Vasilievna said with a sigh. - And all this, father, were our sisters, who were in the monastery before me, and now still alive, and future! But I cannot name them, because I was not ordered to speak. Coming out of this hall, the doors of which closed behind us, we approached the third entrance and found ourselves again in a much less bright hall, in which there were also all our sisters, as in the second, past, present and future; also wearing crowns, but not so shiny and I am not ordered to name them. Then we moved to the fourth hall, almost half-dark, still filled with sisters, present and future, who were either sitting or lying; others were crippled by illness and without any crowns with terribly sad faces, and everything and everyone seemed to bear the stamp of illness and inexpressible sorrow. “And these are the careless ones!” - the Queen told me, pointing at them. “Here they are, girls, but because of their negligence they can never rejoice!”

She died on the eve of Pentecost, on May 28, 1832, twenty-seven years old, having spent only seven years in the Diveyevo monastery. The next day, on Trinity itself, during the funeral liturgy and the singing of the Cherubic Song, in front of everyone present in the church, the late Elena Vasilievna, as if alive, smiled joyfully three times in the coffin. Father said: “Her soul fluttered like a bird! Cherubim and Seraphim parted! She was honored to sit not far from the Holy Trinity like a virgin!”

Elena Vasilievna was buried next to the grave of the founder, Mother Alexandra, on the right side of the Kazan Church. Many lay people were going to be buried in this grave more than once, but Mother Alexandra, as if not wanting this, performed a miracle each time: the grave was filled with water and burial became impossible. Now that grave remained dry, and the coffin of the righteous woman and prayer book of the Seraphim Monastery was lowered into it.

Elena Vasilyevna was extremely beautiful and attractive in appearance, round-faced, with quick black eyes and black hair, and tall.

Praise

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, September 27, 2000, the discovery of the holy relics of the first schema-nun Alexandra, schema-nun Martha and nun Elena took place.

The work began on the day of the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, September 26, after the liturgy and prayer service for the beginning of any work in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and a litany served at dear graves. The sisters and workers of the monastery dug up the flowers, removed the crosses and the cast fence and began to dig. A rain shelter was installed over the excavation and lighting was installed. They worked very amicably and quickly, and soon piles of brick and stone and individual masonry began to appear from under the sand.

When the excavations had already begun, the sisters said that early in the morning one of the visiting priests saw through the hotel window overlooking the Kazan Church three pillars of fire: above the grave of Mother Alexandra, above the grave of Mother Elena and to the right of the grave of Mother Martha. The next day it turned out that the grave of Schema-nun Martha was indeed located to the right of the place where the cross stood.

By evening, the remains of the foundations of the chapel at the grave of Mother Alexandra and the tombstones at the graves of Mother Martha and Mother Elena, destroyed after the dispersal of the monastery in 1927, were dug up. After dismantling the foundations, the crypts themselves were opened. It was already late, but no one left. The priests took turns serving funeral services, and the singing sisters sang tirelessly. It was the eve of the Feast of the Resurrection. Funeral chants alternated with Easter chants. Easter joy warmed the hearts of everyone, and everyone tried to help in some way, but only the clergy and sisters of the monastery were allowed to the excavation site. We were expecting the arrival of specialists from Moscow: an archaeologist and a forensic expert. Under their leadership, work began to boil again. During the night the crypts were cleared of soil. Only clergy, specialists and senior nuns of the monastery participated in the opening of the crypts.

After opening the crypts, the honorable remains were reverently transferred to new simple coffins and transferred to the Church of the Nativity with the singing of “Holy God.” The first to be opened was the crypt of nun Helena. The transfer of her relics took place during the All-Night Vigil on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The relics of Mother Alexandra were found on the very day of the holiday and transferred by Mother Abbess and the sisters after the late liturgy. In the evening, the coffin with the relics of Schema-nun Martha was transferred in front of a large crowd of people. The monastery priests served a litiya in the Church of the Nativity of Christ. The sisters sang troparions of thanksgiving, thanking the Lord, who revealed to the world in the holy relics of three Diveyevo ascetics.

After the discovery, the holy relics of the Diveyevo leaders were kept in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in simple closed coffins. Starting from October 21, the day of the re-consecration of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary after its restoration, memorial services began to be served daily at the relics in the Church of the Nativity of Christ. Many priests came from different parts of the country to venerate the newfound relics and serve a memorial service. Often late in the evening, when the monastery churches were already closed, the Church of the Nativity of Christ was overcrowded. And just as the unquenchable candle burned in front of the icon of the Nativity of Christ, so the hearts of those praying never tired of burning in anticipation of the upcoming celebration of glorification. The monastery was intensely preparing for this event, predicted by St. Seraphim: the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God was decorated, shrines were made, the sisters sewed vestments, painted icons, compiled troparia, kontakia, services, and printed lives. The day of glorification was postponed several times and was finally set for December 9/22, on the feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by righteous Anna, which is celebrated in the monastery as the day of the founding of the Mill Community by St. Seraphim by the will of the Queen of Heaven.

For three days before the glorification, the monastery had a special routine. In the evening, funeral services were served in three churches, in the morning - funeral liturgies were held in all churches of the monastery, and almost continuously - memorial services in the Church of the Nativity of Christ for the repose of Schema-nun Alexandra, Schema-nun Martha and nun Elena. The nuns of the monastery and pilgrims offered their last prayers for the repose of the souls of the dear Diveyevo first-mothers in the hope of finding heavenly help through their bold prayers to the Lord.

In preparing for the holiday, the help of Mother Alexandra was felt in everything, during her lifetime she was known for her knowledge of the statutes and her ability to organize church celebrations. Once upon a time, Mother Alexandra herself went to Kyiv to collect relics for the Kazan Church under construction. Now, as a gift to the Diveyevo monastery, the rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Bishop Paul, donated particles of the relics of the Kiev-Pechersk saints, and on December 21 they were installed for worship in the Transfiguration Cathedral.

Many Orthodox Christians in Russia and other countries were waiting for this event. The celebrations were led by Metropolitan Nicholas of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. Many priests and monks, thousands of pilgrims gathered in Diveyevo. All-night vigils for the holiday were held in two main cathedrals - Trinity and Transfiguration.

On the evening of December 21, according to the old tradition of the Diveyevo monastery, a special combined service was performed to the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”, the Conception of Righteous Anna and the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, at which, instead of the second kathisma, akathists to the Annunciation and St. are read in half. Seraphim.

After the all-night vigil, with thousands of candles burning with a bright, even flame in the clear frosty air, the solemn procession of the cross went to the Church of the Nativity of Christ, where a lithium was served, and then, with the singing of the Trisagion, the reliquaries with the honest relics of the Diveyevo ascetics were transferred by the clergy to the Trinity Cathedral. At night and in the morning on the day of glorification, five liturgies were served in the monastery. The churches were full, many were communing the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

The main celebrations took place in the Trinity Cathedral, where the late liturgy was celebrated by the bishop's rite, co-served by more than 150 clergy. Before the liturgy, Metropolitan Nicholas served the last funeral litia. At the small entrance, the Act on the canonization of the Diveyevo ascetics was read, and all those present once again felt the spiritual height of their life, completely given to the Lord. And souls froze in awe of what was happening. “The natural adornment of the Russian lands appeared...” - the troparion was sung for the first time in the Trinity Cathedral to the venerable women of Diveyevo, and Metropolitan Nicholas blessed the people with an icon with the relics of the venerables Alexandra, Martha and Helena. Their glorification in the ranks of the locally revered saints of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese has taken place!

All this day people came in a continuous stream to venerate the holy crayfish of the newly glorified saints of God for the first time. In memory of this event, icons of the Diveyevo saints and soil from their crypts were distributed to pilgrims. In the evening after the service, the crayfish were carried in a religious procession along the Holy Canal of the Mother of God with the singing of the paraklis. It was unusually joyful to pray to the Queen of Heaven that evening; everything in the souls of those praying rejoiced.

For two days the holy relics were placed for veneration in the Transfiguration Cathedral. On the evening of December 24, Mother Abbess and the sisters transferred the crayfish with the relics of the heavenly patronesses of the monastery to the monastery destined for them. Seraphim, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, where the liturgy was then served at night. More than 170 years after the prediction of St. Seraphim, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary became the tomb of the holy relics of the venerable women of Diveyevo.

On October 6, 2004, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church determined to canonize the general church saints and include in the Months of the Russian Orthodox Church the names of St. Alexandra Diveevskaya (Melgunova; † 1789; commemorated June 13/26), St. Martha Diveevskaya (Milyukova; 1810-1829; commemorated August 21/September 3) and the Venerable Elena Diveevskaya (Manturova; 1805-1832; memory May 28/June 10), previously glorified as locally revered saints of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. The question of church-wide glorification was raised at the council in the report of Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Our dear mother Mar-fa (in the world of Ma-ria Se-me-nov-na Mi-lu-ko-va) was born in 1810 10/23 Feb-ra-la, in a family of peasants in the Nizhe-rod-government of Ar-da-tov-sk-o-yezd, village of Po-di-lo -vo (now Ma-li-nov-ka). The family of Mil-loved, righteous and God-pleasing life, was close to the old man. According to Maria, there were two more older children in it - sister Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na and brother Ivan Se-me-no-vich.

This village, together with the people near it, were allotted to it - with it, it’s not ba-ri-nu-po- me-shchi-ku, and the treasury. The land was given to them separately, but it was not good enough, since the black-earth plots were taken over whether so-se-di-po-me-schi-ki. The peasants lived very poorly; from childhood they had to work a lot in the fields and look after livestock.

According to the blessing of the pre-extra-no-go Se-ra-fi-ma Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na at the st-pi-la in the community well, the very kind mother of Alek-san-dra, the first-of-the-chal-ni-tsy of the Di-ve-ev-skaya obi-te-li, and would you -what kind of spiritual life.

When Maria was half-13 years old, she and her sister Pras-ko-vya came to Father Se-ra-fi-mu for the first time . This happened on November 21, 1823, on the day of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy God. As Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na said, Ma-ria “followed after her,” and so they both came to Sa-rov. The great old man, seeing that de-facto Marya is a chosen co-court of the goodness of God, not allowed - ordered her to return home, and ordered her to stay in the community. In this way, 13-year-old Ma-Riya Se-me-nov-na became one of the brave Se-ra-fi-mov-s -mouth, in the community of Alek-san-dra’s ma-tush-ki, the head of which at that time was the elder Ksenia Mi- hi-lov-na Ko-che-ulo-va, which I ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim called “a pillar of fire from earth to sky” and “ter -spiritual fear” for her righteous life. Maria, this extraordinarily-veined, un-seen to-this-from-the-ro-ko-vi-tsa, cannot be compared with anyone, an-ge-lo- likewise, child of God, from an early age I began to lead a moving life, admirably walking according to the s-ro -mo-ve-ge-even the sister-communities, from-the-strict-of-the-life, started with-my own-boss- nitsy Ksenii Mi-hai-lov-ny. Constant prayer was her food, and only for the necessary questions did she come from the heavenly -stu. She was almost silent, and ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim especially tenderly and exclusively loved her, -sacred in all its revelations, the future glory of the world and other great spiritual secrets, for- knowing not to talk about the fact that you are completely holy, despite the requests and pleas of those around you sisters and relatives. When she returned from the pre-precious Se-ra-fi-ma, she was all filled with indescribable joy.

Soon after Mary's entry into the community at the Kazan Church of the Tsar-ri-tsa, the Heavenly Blessings of the build a new community next to this community, with which the creation of both the Queen of Heavenly Ma-tush began -ke Alek-san-dre obi-te-li.

As we know, from 1825 to about. Se-ra-fi-mu na-cha-dit for the good-word-ve-ni-em first the sisters, and then the good-ro-de-tel- Naya head of the Di-ve-ev-skoy community, Ksenia Mi-hai-lov-na, of some paradise, of course, deeply -zha-la and you-so-co-chi-ta-la o. Se-ra-fi-ma, but, however, she did not agree to change the charter of her community, which appeared heavy as o. Sera-fi-mu, and let all the sisters in the community of sisters have a great time. The number of sisters increased so much in the community that it was necessary to disseminate their power, but that was It’s impossible in either direction. Ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim called Ksenia Mi-hai-lov-well to him and the heavy Sa-rov began to persuade her to replace her The charter is more easy, but she didn’t want to hear. “Listen to me, my joy!” - was talking about. Se-ra-fim. But the old man finally told him: “No, ba-tyush-ka, let him be as old as he is.” Mu, Father Builder Pa-ho-miy has already arranged for us!” Then Fr. Se-ra-fim from-pu-stilted at the head of the Di-ve-ev-skoy community, reassured that for-we-given to him -Which old-time ma-teryu Alek-san-droy no longer lies on his con-science, or that the hour of Bo’s will has not yet come for him- live. But in the same year, November 25, on the day of the holy pleas of their God, and, as usual, walking through the thickets forest along the bank of the Sa-rov-ka river to its distant desert, I saw the most-like Ser-fim of God's Ma- the losses and centuries of the two apostles that appeared behind Her: Peter and John of God’s Word. The Queen of Heaven, having struck the earth with a rod so that a source of light water sang from the earth, saying - she said to him: “Why do you want to leave behind my slave Agafya - mo-na-hi-ni Alek-san-dra? Leave Xenia and her sisters, but for this servant of mine not only do not leave her, but also try to fulfill her completely: for according to -le Mo-she gave it to you. And I will show you another place, also in the village of Di-ve-e-ve, and on it build this abode of mine. And in memory of both things given to her by Me, take her from the place of her death from the community of Xenia’s eight sisters.” .

And she told him by name which ones to take. Two weeks after this appearance of the Queen of Heaven, namely on December 9, 1825, Mary, together with another the sisters came to the great Se-ra-fi-mu, and the father announced to them that they must go with him to the same distance. damn it. Come there and go into the hut, oh. Se-ra-fim gave the sisters two lit-wax candles from those he had taken with him at his request, along with barely and su-ha-rya-mi, and ordered Marya to stand on the right side of Ras-fifth, vi-north-she-she-on the wall, and Pras-ko-vie Stepa -novne (that was the name of the other sister) - from the left. So they stood for more than an hour with lit candles, and Fr. Se-ra-fim prayed all the time, standing in the middle. Praying, he lay down to the Crucifixion and ordered them to pray and lie down. So before the start of the establishment of the new community, the pre-reputable one completed this ta-in-st-pray with sisters, who were chosen by the Mother of God for special service to Her and her environment.

In those four years, Maria appeared, helping Pres- ence Se-ra-fi-mu and her sisters in the arrangement -e-new communities. Together with him and other sisters, she for-go-tav-li-va-la the table and the forest for the mill, which I blah-slo -vi-la to build on the site of the foundation of a new community of the Mother of God; but-si-la stones for the construction of the Church of the Birth of the Most Holy God; mo-lo-la mu-ku and you-full-nya-la others in obedience, without ever abandoning your heartfelt prayer, “ silently lifting up your burning spirit to the Lord.”

This wonderful from-ro-ko-vi-tsa was on-de-le-na from the State with a very rare gift of pure and unceasing prayer -You. In everything, she was always the ru-to-vo-d-st-e-ma of the most pre-similar Se-ra-fi-m. As an example of her unconditional obedience, she said that once in the presence of her great-sister Se-me-nov-us about some Sa-rov mo-na-he, she was surprised and childishly innocently asked: “What about -what kind of vi-dom is mo-na-hi, Pa-ra-sha, on ba-tyush-ku, or what? Surprised in turn by the sisters’ question, Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na told her: “After all, you walk like that often.” to Sa-rov, haven’t you seen what you’re asking?” - “No, Pa-ra-shen-ka,” said Ma-ria Se-me-nov-na, “after all, I don’t see anything and don’t know anything; ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim ordered me never to look at them, and I knit a scarf over my eyes just so see under your feet do-ro-gu.”

That's what this child was like, who lived in the abode for only six years and was 19 years old from birth, peacefully and quietly went away to the State.

On August 21, 1829, the Di-ve-ev-skaya monastery received this wonderful, holy life from-ro-ko-vi-tsy, Maria Se -me-new-ny Mi-lu-ko-howl, shi-mo-na-hi-ni Mar-fa. Having foreseen in his spirit the hour of her death, the Reverend Seraphim suddenly began to cry and with great sorrow said to Fr. Pav-lu, from his seat in the cell: “Pa-vel! But Maria left, and I feel so sorry for her, so sorry that, you see, I keep crying!”

Ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim wanted to give her a coffin that was dull, round, and hollow. Behind him came Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na with another di-ve-ev-sister, Aku-li-na Va-si-lyev-na. Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na was very upset, and ba-tyush-ka accepted her like a father, greeted her and welcomed her. ril. Then, having clasped the hands of Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-ny and Aku-li-na Va-si-lyev-na, he told them: “You will -Now you are sisters, and I am your father, who gave birth to you in spirit! Ma-riya is skh-mo-na-hi-nya Mar-fa, I’m so sweet on her! She has everything: she-ma and man-tia, and my ka-mi-la-voch-ka, in all this, that’s what she’s got! “Don’t be sad, ma-tush,” said Fr. Se-ra-fim, turning to Pras-ko-vie Se-me-novna, - her soul is in the Kingdom of Heaven and near the Holy Trinity at the Most Holy La God, and your whole family will be saved by her!”

In addition, ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim gave 25 rub-lei for expenses for the ho-ro-us and 25 rub-lei copper for to dress all the sisters and laymen, no matter who was present at her funeral, 3 kopecks. to each. He also gave two tablecloths for the altar table, a number of yellow candles on the table so that they would burn day and night in the church, and to the coffin, a ruble yellow candle and a half-pound of white twenty-oven candles.

In this way, according to the blessing of the pre-extra-no-go Se-ra-fi-ma, according to Mar-riu Se-me-nov -well, shi-mo-na-hi-nyu Mar-fu, in a coffin: in two scrolls (ru-bash-kah), in a paper under-cassock, under- I have a black woolen edge, on top of this a black with white crosses and a long mantle. On top of the green bar-hat, the vy-shi-tuyu golden sha-poch-ku, on top of it ka-mi-love-ku ba-tyush -ki Se-ra-fi-ma and, finally, another big dra-de-da-my-that-but-si-scarf with a ki- drain-ka-mi. In her hands are leather che-dots. All these things were given to her by Fr. Se-ra-fim from his own hands, having always used them to go to the communion of the Holy Mysteries, which is exactly what was done Ma-ri-ey every two-day holiday and all four hundred.

The Reverend Sera-fim sent everyone who just came to him these days to Di-ve-e-o for a ho-ro-ny Maria Se-me-nov-ny. So, the sisters, who worked on Sa-ti-se (a forested area on the banks of the Sa-tis river), did not know anything about it. , Var-va-re Ilya-nishna with pro-chi-mi, the old man said: “You are mine! Hurry, hurry, come to Di-ve-ev: there the great servant of God, Mary, has gone to the Lord!” The sisters could not understand how Maria could have died, and they were surprised to find Maria Se-menov-well in the grave . Also Eka-te-ri-nu Ego-rov-nu and An-nu Alek-se-ev-nu, who collected berries in the Sa-rov forest, and others he sent them home as soon as possible, saying that whoever will be at the funeral of Maria Se-me-nov-ny will receive absolution. Yes, the Sarov monks and the whole crowd of people walking towards him, oh. Se-ra-fim sent for the funeral, telling the worldly girls and sisters to dress up and dress up -your heads and fall to her coffin!

During the birth of the old age Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na, dear sister of the late skh-mo-na-hi-ni Mar - phew, I clearly saw in the royal doors the Queen of Heaven and Mary Se-me-nov-nu, standing in the air. Having gone into a frenzy of delight, she loudly screamed at the whole church: “Tsar, don’t leave us!” Suddenly she began to act like a fool, to prophesize, to say unusual things to those around her, to spread everything but I had my clothes on, so I immediately became very white. The demons began to clack, shu-me, and began to scream.

This incident had a strong influence on the team. When old lady Aku-li-na Va-si-lyev-na after-ho-ron hurried-shi-la to ba-tyush-ke Se-ra-fi-mu and pe - when it happened to him, he said: “This, ma-tush, is the Lord and the Queen of Heaven for- Let us glorify our mother Mar-fu and our lady Maria. And if I, wretched Seraphim, had been at her funeral, then there would have been a lot of healing from her spirit!

Then, Maria Se-me-nov-ny’s brother, Ivan, came to the father, who also went to his sister’s house. ry, and asked: “Are you well, sick, after seeing Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na?” Having closely inspected Ivan Se-me-no-vi-cha, who he knew, father suddenly said: “Are you Maria’s brother?” “Yes, ba-tyush-ka,” he answered. And once again, looking at him a second time, the father asked: “Are you Maria’s brother?” “Yes, ba-tyush-ka,” answered Ivan Se-me-no-vich again. After this, the old man thought for a long, long time and, looking still intently at Ivan, standing in front of him, suddenly made -Sya was so happy with the walls and bright that the rays of the sun seemed to emanate from his face, and Ivan had to shut up from Fr. Se-ra-fi-ma, not being able to look at him. Then the father exclaimed: “Behold, my joy! How sweet she was able to get from the State! In the Kingdom of Heaven, at the Presence of God, near the Queen of Heaven, you stand with the holy girls! She prays for your entire family! She's shi-mo-na-hi-nya Mar-fa, I cut her hair. When you're in Di-ve-e-ve, you never pro-ho-di mi-mo, but come to the mo-gil-ke, saying: “Gos-po “And ma-ti na-sha Mar-fo, for me, we are at the Pre-stool of God in the Kingdom of Heaven!” Pre-precious Se-ra-fim talked about three hours with Ivan Se-me-no-vi-chem.

After this, Fr. Se-ra-fim called to his church-ni-tsu, sister Ksenia Va-si-lyev Put-ko-va (later mo-na-hi- Nya Ka-pi-to-li-na), which he always called for different names for po-mi-no-ve- niya, and said to her: “Here, ma-tush-ka, you write her, Maria, mo-na-hi-ney, because she’s yours.” mi de-la-mi and pray-lit-va-mi shab-go-go Se-ra-fi-ma there you got the schema-we! Pray, too, for all of you about her as a schema-mo-na-khina Mar-fe!”

According to the testimony of the sister and persons close to Di-ve-e-vu, Ma-ria Se-me-nov-na was tall and attracted to the outside; about-the-long, white and fresh-face, blue-eyes, thick light-brown eyebrows and the same hair- lo-sy. She doesn’t feel good with the ras-pu-schen-my-wo-lo-sa-mi. She's on the left side of Aleksandra's mother, the first-in-chief of the Kazan community. In the tales of the elders about Maria Se-me-novna, there was little preserved. So, Ma-ria Ila-ri-o-nov-na (mo-na-hi-nya Me-li-ti-na) testifies to the following: “Life “I’m in the world and I hear from everyone about Father Se-ra-fi-me,” she says, “I wanted to be in Sa-ro- ve and accept his blessing. The first thing I did when I came to Sarov was to visit my father in his wilderness; he himself came out to meet me, said his blessings and said with a smile: “You, ma-tush-ka, do you know Maria Se-me -new-well?” - “I know,” I say, “ba-tyush-ka; she lives three yards away from us.” “Here, ma-tush-ka,” continued the ba-tyush-ka, “I’ll tell you about her, how eager she was for work. When in Di-ve-e-ve a church was built in the name of the Birth of the Most Holy God, then the de-vush-ki themselves but-si-li ka-mush-ki, some two, some three, and she, ma-tush-ka, takes five or six bags of stones and prays - howl on your lips, silently, lifting up your burning spirit to the Lord! Soon God died with the sick life!”

The elder sister in the Mel-nichnoy community of Pras-ko-vya Stepa-nov-na, telling how terrible it would be to disobey her grandmother. tyush-ku Se-ra-fi-ma, remember-mi-na-la, how one day ba-tyush-ka told her to come-e-ha-la from-ro -ko-vic-tsey Ma-ri-ey Se-me-nov-noy on two horses behind the log-on-mi. They went straight to the father in the forest, where he was already waiting for them and brought two to-no-men for each horse. what a brev-nysh-ka. Thinking that all the four logs could be carried by one horse, the sisters moved these logs before a large, thick log was hoisted onto one horse and onto the other. But as soon as they started moving, this horse fell, wheezed, and began to circle around. Realizing that they were standing against the good word of the ba-tyush, they immediately fell on -le-ni, in tears for-very much, began to ask for forgiveness, and then threw down the thick log and laid down the log -nysh-ki as before. The horse jumped up on its own and ran so fast that they could barely catch up with it.

The words of skh-mo-na-hi-ni Mar-fa, for-pi-san-old-ri this Justi-ni-ey Iva-nov-noy (later mo-na-hi-nya Ila-ria), from a hand-written page, found in ka -lii shi-mo-na-hi-ni Mar-ga-ri-you Lah-ti-o-no-howl.

“Shi-mo-na-hi-nya Ma-ria Se-me-nov-na you-led-me to the Kazan-church and, as you say, about all this -one hundred, go-in-ri-la (before seeing his early death) to me and other sisters: “Here, remember, this church will be on -sha and the priests will not live here, but the parish church will be built in another place, they will live there and holy, and here it will be, as ba-tyush-ka says, Se-ra-fim, Lav-ra, and where Kan-nav-ka is, there will be Ki-no -via. This whole place is consecrated by moving ma-tush-ki Aga-fii Se-me-nov-ny, and which one, my joy, is a co-bor -children, after Jerusalem, and the current church will enter this temple and remain only as poison - rysh-kom! The land from both sides of our Rozhdestvenskaya Church called for the ba-tyush-ka, saying: “ There are hundreds of the Queen of Heaven here, this land is holy. The Mother of God cares for Her church! Don’t walk on this earth, ma-tush-ka, but for-go-ro-di-te it, and don’t even let go here. And the herb-to-you, and even then take it to your monastery from this place, but don’t throw it away, the herb-to Holy, hundreds of the Queens of Heaven have passed here!” That's why-and-for-the-same-but we have this on both sides of the Rozhdestvenskaya Church and we keep it all- where."

The same old woman remembered that “for the life of us Maria Se-me-nov-well, you have such a life, especially pro- Tiv loved everyone ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim. He talked and told her a lot about the abode, mostly forbidding anyone from telling anyone. Well, but someone told her to remember something and give it to me, no sin. According to the blessing of ba-tyush-ki Se-ra-fi-ma go-vo-ri-la, she told me: “Ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim said that the treasure “We will have a bi-schen-church in the name of the Pre-revolution of the Lord, remember!” And I replied to her that it seems that churches to All Saints are always being built on cemetery sites. “So,” she said, “but Father Se-ra-fim said that the throne of All Saints will be arranged even earlier.” (Subsequently, the prediction came true, for in 1847, in the church in honor of the Tikh-vinskaya icon of God, Ma-te-ri was arranged en the place of All Saints, and the cemetery-bi-schen-skaya church was built later, in 1855, in the name of the Pre-o-ra-zhe-niya of the State -under-nya). And about the cramped means of living, ba-tyush-ka always told her: “Wretched Sera-fim could have made you rich, but this is not useful; I could turn ash into evil, but I don’t want to; You have a lot of things that don’t get better, and a lot of things don’t get smart! In the future you will have abundance in everything, but then it will be the end of everything!”

Ten-year-old move-no-tsa shi-mo-na-hi-nya Mar-fa, pre-sta-viv-sha-ya-sya to the State . si-ro-ta-mi in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the abode of God Ma-te-ri, about which the Most-presence said so to the old man Ev-do-kii Ef-re-movne: “The Lord has 12 apostles, the Queen of Heaven has 12 maidens, and so you have 12.” Nya. Just as the Lord took Eka-te-ri-nu mu-che-ni-tsu to be his bride, so I chose from 12 virgins to be my bride in the future. soul - Maria. And there she will be an elder over you!”

Also, the great Se-ra-fim said that over time the powers of Maria Se-me-nov-ny - skh-mo-na-hi- neither Martha will open the door in the abode, for she pleased the Lord so much that she was granted incorruptibility ! At the same time, ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim remarked: “Here, ma-tush-ka, how important it is to listen! That's why Maria was so silent and just out of joy, I love the monastery, I stood up for my and she said little, and yet, when her relics are opened in the future, only her lips will be exposed to decay!”

Subsequently, Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na, the sister of the most kind Martha, according to your sister’s choice, would have been for some time -the head of the Mel-nich-noy community. At the end of her life, in troubled times for the people of 1862, she began to act like a fool, for which the saint blessed her. Se-ra-fim, saying: “You, my joy, are above me!” That’s when she was privileged to see God Ma-te-ri together with St. Se-ra-fi-mom. The Queen of Heaven told her: “You are right about Mo-her, stay in the right, ob-li-chi!” No matter how much Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-na said, pissing on her negro-ness, God-mother-lost three times in the second -give her Your prize.

For obedience to the Queen of Heaven and ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fi-mu, she without-bo-ly-n-but about-li-cha-la of creation shih things are wrong in the obi-te-li, on-chi-naya with the ar-hi-heree, and according to the gift of the vision of the fore-said far away The current course of events and the restoration of justice. According to the legend of St. Se-ra-fi-ma, she soon after this peace, but died on June 1/14, 1862, on the holiday of the Resurrection of the Lord, after So-bo-ro-va-niya, par-cha-che-s of the Holy Mysteries and reading over it from-ho-noy.

Their brother, Ivan Se-me-no-vich, also ended his life in the monastic rank in the Sarov desert. Having listened to the gates in Sa-ro-va, he said: “Being a worldly peasant, I often worked with father Se-ra-fi-ma, and he told me many, many miracles about Di-ve-e-ve and always said: “If anyone offends me, he will receive greatness from the State.” -nie; and whoever stands up for them and in need defends and helps, the great mercy of God from above will pour out on him. Whoever sighs with his heart and feels pity for them, the Lord will reward him. And I’ll tell you, ba-tyush-ka, remember: happy is everyone who spends a day with poor Se-ra-fi-ma in Di-ve-e-ve- ki, from morning to morning, for the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, is still Di-ve-e-e-o every day!” I remember ba-tyush-ki-well,” the gatekeeper added, “I always said this and tell everyone.”

Three of his do-che-ri then entered the Di-ve-ev-skaya community. One of them, Elena Ivanovna, married the spirit friend of St. Se-ra-fi-ma, N.A. Mo-to-vi-lo-va, and there was for obi-te blah-de-tel-no-tsei and “great goss-po-zhoy”, as they say ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim gave her back in childhood, when she bowed to her, the little girl, at her feet . Elena Ivanov was the only one of those present at the funeral of St. Se-ra-fi-ma in 1832 and until his glorification in 1903. Ov-do-vev, the last years of her life she lived la in Di-ve-e-vo. Elena Iva-nov-na died in her pre-clonal years in 1910, before her death she was secretly-but-striped-na in mo-na-she -stvo.

In the monastery there were many sisters from the Mi-lu-ko-vykh family until its closure in 1927.

After the re-establishment of the mo-na, the Lord marvelously celebrated the day of remembrance of the holy pre-same schema. na-hi-ni Martha sanctifies the Pre-ob-ra-women's so-bo-ra. Built in 1917 and not consecrated, the cathedral was re-given in the years of Soviet power -nav-li-va-yu-sche-mu-sa mo-na-sty-ryu in 1991. Until 1998, the cathedral was re-sta-vri-ro-val-sya, its consecration unforeseen-on-the-me-ren-but coincidentally with the day of the blessed death of the saint.

According to the vo-po-mi-na-ni-yam mo-na-hi-ni Di-ve-ev-sko-go mo-na-sta-rya Se-ra-fi-we Bul-ga-ko-voy, until the time of obi-te-li in 1927, he kept a portrait of skh-mo-na-hi-ni Mar-fa, na-pi-san-ny sister-ra-mi sra- right after her death. According to the testimony of the pro-i-e-rey Ste-fa-na Lyashev-skogo, in addition to this port-re-ta, his mother was named -tush-koy (Ka-pi-to-li-noy Za-kha-rov-noy Lyashev-skaya, later Mon. Mary) living image schema. Mar-fa with the following glue-ma-mi: schema. Mar-fa no-sit kir-pi-chi on-top of the Birth-birthday church being built; ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim cuts her hair in the schema; ba-tyush-ka Se-ra-fim with her and with Pras-ko-vya Se-me-nov-noy praying with lit-candles about Di-ve-e -ve; ascent of the soul of the schema. Martha to the Holy See; Queen of Heaven and schema. Mar-fa in the vi-de-niy in the church; three holy graves. At the present time, the place where the port is located is schematic. Mar-fa is unknown, the life-form of life is moving beyond the border.

In 2000, schema-mo-na-khi-nya Mar-fa joined the list of places of venerable saints of the Nizhe-city diocese, and now her relics are in the Church of the Birth of the Bo-go-ro-di-tsy in Se-ra-fi-mo-Di-ve-ev-sky mo-na -sty-re.

Pray-lit-va-mi this most-pre-loved from-ro-ko-vi-tsy the Lord bless us. Amen.

Prayers

Troparion to Venerable Martha of Diveyevo

Having acquired the life of an equal angel, the wondrous youth and interlocutor of the Venerable Seraphim, our Lady and Mother Marfo, now rests in the incorruptible relics and stands before the Throne of God in prayer, about us of the Merciful God of Heaven, Diveeva to the boss.

Translation: Having acquired a life similar to angels, amazing maiden and interlocutor, our mistress and mother Martha, now you rest incorruptible and stand before us, pray for us to the Merciful God of Heaven, boss of Diveyevo.

Troparion to Saints Alexandra, Martha and Elena of Diveevsky

The beauty of the Russian land, the rulers of the Diveyevo monastery, our venerable mother Alexandro, Marfo and Elena, appeared, fulfilling the blessing of the Queen of Heaven and gaining boldness in the Lord Shiya, pray at the throne of the Most Holy Trinity for the salvation of our souls.

Translation: You have become an adornment of the Russian land, the head of the Diveyevo monastery, our mothers Alexandra, Martha and Elena, who have fulfilled the Queen of Heaven and deserved it to the Lord, pray to us for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion to Venerable Martha of Diveyevo

You, young and hitherto unseen in Diveyevo, were filled with heavenly meekness, silence and unearthly joy, like our mother Marfo, in the great schema from the Venerable Seraphim treated; Moreover, you settled with the wise virgins in the Heavenly Devil and with the Angels you constantly stood before the All-Tsar.

Translation: You were filled with heavenly, silence and unearthly joy, a young and hitherto unseen maiden in Diveyevo, our reverend mother Martha, tonsured great by the Venerable Seraphim, and therefore you found residence together with the wise virgins () in the Heavenly palace and with the Angels to the King of all unceasingly you're coming.

Kontakion to Saints Alexandra, Martha and Elena of Diveevsky

The all-bright luminaries of Diveyevo, like our mother Alexandro, Marfo and Eleno, in fasting, vigil, prayer and labor, labored well by nature and after our death you illuminated us with miracles and healed you eat sick souls; Pray to Christ, the God of sins, to grant forgiveness of love to those who honor your holy memory.

Translation: The brightest Diveyevo lamps, our venerable mothers Alexandra, Martha and Elena, in fasting, prayer and labor, well and after death, you illuminate us with streams of miracles and heal sick souls. Pray to Christ God to grant forgiveness of sins to all who lovingly honor your holy memory.

Glorification of Saints Alexandra, Martha and Elena of Diveevsky

We please you, our venerable mother Alexandro, Marfo and Elena, and we honor your holy memory, for you pray for us to Christ our God.

Prayer to Venerable Martha of Diveyevo

Oh, venerable and God-bearing mother Marfo, Diveyevo joy and praise, wondrous branch of the righteous family and the fruit of the holy family of the pious, from your youth with your relatives to the Venerable Seraphim who flowed to Sarovsky, for obedience to him by the grace of the Divine, she became completely chaste, became his coward and the great angelic image from having received his hands, in your short years you have fulfilled all your needs, and you have ascended into the Kingdom of Heaven with your virgin soul, unconvinced by your holy elder. Pray for us, unworthy and malicious, who honor your memory with love, may the Lord cleanse us from all filthiness of soul and body, intercede, save, have mercy and preserve us with His grace. Amen.

Canons and Akathists

Akathist to Venerable Martha of Diveyevo

The text was approved by the Holy Synod
Russian Orthodox Church
December 28, 2018 (magazine no. 127)

Kontakion 1

To the chosen one of the Heavenly King, more venerable than our mother Martha, in troubles and sorrows we offer our first help a song of thanksgiving. But you, who have intercession before the Lord, pray for us, who call to you with love:

Ikos 1

The angels in heaven rejoice, seeing your virtuous life, the venerable mother Marfo: for you have truly appeared as a seeker of the Heavenly Bead, Jesus Christ. We, having seen your exploits and labors, will write to you in gratitude:

Rejoice, you who have acquired the fruits of the Holy Spirit within yourself;

Rejoice, you who guide us to a quiet haven.

Rejoice, you who bring our petrified hearts to tenderness;

Rejoice, you who send us wondrous peace in the midst of sorrows.

Rejoice, you who protect us from unexpected death;

Rejoice, you who protect us from the wiles of the devil.

Rejoice, thou who bringest us out of the abyss of sins;

Rejoice, you who lift up our hearts to the throne of the Lord.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 2

The Lord of Heaven has seen your soul’s kindness, as if you were like the wise virgins, despising all earthly sweetness and glory. And we all, having such a representative for us unworthy, glorify the Lord who glorified you and sing to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 2

Heavenly intelligence was given to you, Mother Marfo, when you listened to the voice of God and, walking with your sister into the Sarov desert, you reached Elder Seraphim. Moreover, we pleasingly cry out to you:

Rejoice, you who, from your youth, became marvelously wise in the knowledge of God;

Rejoice, like a tree that has rushed to the source of God’s grace.

Rejoice, you who show us the life of angels;

Rejoice, thou who instruct us in the fear of God.

Rejoice, you who imitated Christ God in your patience and humility;

Rejoice, you who shed tears for the forgiveness of sins.

Rejoice, you who have put to death all carnal lusts for God’s sake;

Rejoice, thou who has conquered many of the wiles of the evil one.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 3

The power of the Most High Autumn of the Venerable Seraphim, when he blessed our mother Martha, who came to him, for a monastic life. We, marveling at such the Wisdom of God, cry out to Christ God: Alleluia.

Ikos 3

The Diveyevo monastery has a great treasure, the whole might of your might, like mother Marfo, rejoices, and we are filled with joy about this and sing to you with love:

Rejoice, you who rescue us from the abyss of despair;

Rejoice, you who teach us to praise God in suffering.

Rejoice, dispelling the darkness of our doubts;

Rejoice, you who transform our exhausted strength into cheerfulness.

Rejoice, you who lift up the mountains from the oppression of the earth;

Rejoice, you who ask us for mercy from the Lord.

Rejoice, thou who protectest our souls from all filth;

Rejoice, you who precede us in the Heavenly City.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 4

Having endured a storm of thoughts and defeated the forces of the devil, the venerable mother Marfo, you came to a quiet and serene refuge, where you ate the praise of God with all the angelic forces : Alleluia.

Ikos 4

We have heard about you, Mother Marfo, how wonderfully you were called from worldly vanity to monastic achievement, and even as a young woman you rejected your will, and as a sign of cutting off she was tonsured You are the hair of your head. Because this will is praiseworthy, we sing to you like this:

Rejoice, you who have taken upon yourself the good yoke of Christ;

Rejoice, you who have enlightened our souls with the light of faith.

Rejoice, you who strengthen us in our spiritual sufferings;

Rejoice, you who adorn us with the beauty of love.

Rejoice, glorified by God in Heaven and on earth;

Rejoice, thou who hast received the crown of glory and imperishable wealth.

Rejoice, you who protect us from the vanity of the world;

Rejoice, instilling gentleness and meekness into our hearts.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 5

God-flowing streams are poured out by you, our mother Marfo, for with all your heart you cleave to the one Eternal Life and Inexpressible Beauty, Jesus Christ, singing to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 5

You have seen your sisters, like mother Martha, how the Lord has done a glorious miracle for you: through His servant Seraphim, grant you the great promises, even the glory of the Divines . For this reason, for your sake, the great servant of God, we cry out to you:

Rejoice, having achieved the perfection of the Angel in adolescence;

Rejoice, you who have never transgressed the commandments of your monk.

Rejoice, lamb of Christ, who lived piously on earth;

Rejoice, you who did not spare your youth and beauty.

Rejoice, you who teach us obedience;

Rejoice, praising chastity and purity.

Rejoice, you who have come to the land of desires;

Rejoice, thou who has beheld the beloved Savior and Lord.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 6

The Diveyevo monastery preaches your speedy intercession and representation before the Lord. But you, who have gained boldness towards the Master, do not forget us, your earthly child, crying out to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 6

The dawn, like the red dawn, is your passage, Mother Marfo, from earth to Heaven. You have been honored to receive mercy from the Lord and His Most Pure Mother in the Heavenly abodes. Marveling at this God's goodwill towards you, we sing to you:

Rejoice, most honorable praise of the Mother of God,

Rejoice, image of true humility.

Rejoice, great teacher of patience;

Rejoice, to those who love and honor you, the intercessor of salvation.

Rejoice, honorable election of Christ;

Rejoice, immaculate fragrance of God.

Rejoice, joy for God-loving souls;

Rejoice, shield and fence of the Diveyevo monastery.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 7

O Lord, lover of mankind, show thee a prayer book for the monastery of Diveyevo, O Reverend Mother Martha, that all who are preserved by your intercession may call upon the Lord: Alleluia.

Ikos 7

A new miracle is told about you, Mother Marfo, Rev. Seraphim to all who come to him on the days of your death; the speech is that many sins will be delivered from those who fall at your tomb and call to you like this:

Rejoice, you who served God from your youth;

Rejoice, you who lived piously on earth.

Rejoice, you who lead us to the gates of eternal life;

Rejoice, you who dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rejoice, for through you we are filled with spiritual sweets;

Rejoice, for through your prayer we are strengthened.

Rejoice, you who exude healing abundantly;

Rejoice, you who call us to pray diligently.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 8

Having finished your earthly journey, you ascended like a pure dove into the bride of Christ, where you ate with all those who served God a song of praise: Alleluia.

Ikos 8

All the nuns rejoiced when the angels received your venerable soul, like Mother Marfo, and lifted you up into the monastery of heaven, where you now stand before the Most Holy Trinity. We, marveling at God’s love for mankind, cry out to you like this:

Rejoice, you who diligently listened to the voice of Divine grace;

Rejoice, you who have sought the sweet honey of truth and salvation.

Rejoice, thou who trampled all earthly glory;

Rejoice, you who lifted up your spirit.

Rejoice, you who have entered into the bright chamber of your Bridegroom;

Rejoice, you who have received the crown of reward.

Rejoice, wounded by Christ’s love;

Rejoice, thou clothed in wedding garments.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 9

The angels in Heaven and people on earth rejoiced together at the discovery of your honorable relics, reverend mother Marfo. We, now thanking the Lord for having given us a good intercessor and prayer book, we cry out to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 9

Vegetations of many things will not be able to adequately depict the greatness of God’s blessings prepared in the Kingdom of Heaven for all who love the Lord. We, Mother Marfo, as partakers of inexhaustible joy, in the tenderness of our hearts cry out to you:

Rejoice, you who have looked upon this temporary life as you have looked upon a journey;

Rejoice, you who sought the monastic rank from childhood.

Rejoice, ascended by the angels to heaven;

Rejoice, blessed by the Lord.

Rejoice, all-bright heir of the Kingdom of Christ;

Rejoice, interlocutor of the bodiless ranks.

Rejoice, thou who tastest the sweetness of Heaven forever;

Rejoice, you who warm our hearts with your warm prayer.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 10

If you want to save our souls, Mother Marfo, pray to the merciful Lord incessantly, so that He will not deprive us of the inheritance of His Heavenly Kingdom, singing to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 10

You were an invincible fortress of those who came running to you, Mother Marfo. Be still our protector from all slander of the enemy, an ambulance in need and sorrow, and let us call you love like this:

Rejoice, you who loved Christ even to death:

Rejoice, you who have shown firm faith in God’s providence.

Rejoice, you who showed undoubted hope in the mercy of the Lord;

Rejoice, you who have embraced us with unfeigned love.

Rejoice, you who enlighten the darkened eye of our souls;

Rejoice, you who wisely instruct us in good deeds.

Rejoice, you who give mercy to those who ask;

Rejoice, you who show us the way to Heaven.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 11

We offer all-contrite singing to you, Venerable Mother Martha, before [the reliquary of relics and] your holy image, standing and praying diligently. May the Lord strengthen the Orthodox faith in our Fatherland and eradicate all heresies and schisms in it; let all people glorify God with one mouth and one heart, singing to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 11

Be a shining light for us, our mother Martha, guiding us from earth to Heaven, so that in our lives we too may be able to glorify the Great and Glorious Name of the Most Holy Trinity and sing to you:

Rejoice, lover of saving silence;

Rejoice, guardian of perfect patience.

Rejoice, you who were free from poverty accepted the cross;

Rejoice, you have pleased God by fasting and vigil.

Rejoice, you who show us the right path to the Kingdom of Heaven;

Rejoice, thou who bestowest spiritual wisdom upon us.

Rejoice, you who teach us to cleave to God with all our souls;

Rejoice, you who call us to love one another.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 12

Ask us for grace and mercy from God, O holy mother, who admonishes and strengthens us in the matter of salvation, so that we may not appear fruitless at the hour of God’s judgment, singing: Alleluia.

Ikos 12

Singing and glorifying your wonderful glorification, we please you, O Reverend Mother Marfo, as a warm prayer book for us before the Lord, and with love we cry out to you like this:

Rejoice, illuminated by the grace of the Most Holy Spirit;

Rejoice, thou clothed in the robe of incorruptibility.

Rejoice, illuminating our soul with the unfading light;

Rejoice, thou who instruct us in doing good.

Rejoice, you who sought the One Lord all the days of your life;

Rejoice, you who set your intentions in Him.

Rejoice, thou who has loved the monastery of the Mother of God;

Rejoice, even if you lived in it to the end.

Rejoice, our venerable mother Marfo, who does not leave the Diveyevo monastery with her prayers.

Kontakion 13

Oh, most praiseworthy and glorious, our reverend mother Marfo! Graciously accept from us this small prayer offered to you in praise, and, standing now before the Throne of the King of Kings, pray to the all-merciful God to extend his mercy to us and to the generations of our generations May we be confirmed in faith and piety, and let us sing to Him with a pure heart: Alleluia.

This kontakion is read three times, then the 1st ikos and the 1st kontakion.

Prayer

Oh, God-wise and wondrous damsel, vessel of the Grace of God, who lived in the simplicity of doves, who shone with heavenly meekness, purity and obedience, the guardian of the Venerable Seraphim, the head of the Diveyevo sisters in the abodes of Heaven, our lady and mother Marfo! Be the one who loves and honors you, the intercessor of salvation, strengthen us in the passion of God, so that we may be wise on earth, and not on earth, transform our weakening strength into courage, strengthen and remember in love and unanimity us, sinners, at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

A film about the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Convent - the fourth inheritance of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Contains documentary chronicles of past years, footage of the discovery of relics, glorification and canonization of the saint. Martha, Elena and Alexandra.
Sayings and prophecies of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov in the light of the lives of the Venerable Diveyevo Women.
The history of the monastery, prophecies about the future glory of the Diveyevo monastery, etc.

Diveyevo land is a special holy land, which the Queen of Heaven took as Her last Fourth Destiny.
The first is Iveria, the second is Athos, the third is Kyiv.

With the blessing of the elders of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, who recognized the vision as true, Alexander’s mother set off to wander around Russia...
Not 12 miles from Sarov, in the village of Diveevo, Mother Alexandra stopped to rest at the western wall of a wooden parish church. Here, in a light doze, she again saw the Mother of God. “This is the very place that I commanded you to look for in the north of Russia...” said the Most Holy Theotokos to Mother Alexandra. “And here is the limit that Divine Providence has set for you: live and please the Lord God here until the end of your days.” And I will always be with you, and I will always visit this place, and within the limits of your residence I will establish here such an abode of My, which has never been, is not, and will never be equal in the whole world. This is My Fourth Lot in the universe. And like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea, I will multiply here those who serve the Lord God and Me, the Ever-Virgin, Mother of Light, and magnifying My Son Jesus Christ; and the grace of the Holy Spirit of God and the abundance of all earthly and heavenly blessings, with little human labor, will not become scarce from this place of My beloved.”

also see: http://mychristianzen.blogspot.com/20…

The act of canonization of the founder of the Diveyevo monastery, Schema-nun Alexandra (Melgunova; ?–1789), Schema-nun Martha (Melyukova; 1810–1829), nun Elena (Manturova; 1805–1832)

The founder of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery is the servant of God schema-nun Alexandra (Melgunova), which established the community not of its own will, but by the will and direction of the Queen of Heaven Herself in the area taken by the Mother of God as Her Fourth Lot in the universe.

The founder of the Diveyevo monastery, Mother Alexandra (in the world, Agafia Semyonovna Melgunova), came from a wealthy noble family and was widowed early. Around 1758, she took monastic vows with the name Alexander at the Florovsky Monastery in Kyiv, where she was honored with a vision of the Mother of God, who commanded her to found a new monastery at the location indicated. Diveevo became such a place.

According to contemporaries, Mother Alexandra “was smart and educated, as a man is rarely educated, she knew all the charters and regulations of the church better than anyone else; Everyone turned to her for advice and kind words.” Towards the end of her life, she gathered several zealots of spiritual life and built three cells - the beginning of a future monastery.

Before her death, Mother Alexandra was visited by the Sarov elders with the then young hierodeacon Seraphim, to whom she bequeathed the care of the monastery promised to her by the Queen of Heaven. Two weeks before her death, Alexandra was honored with tonsure into the great angelic image.

Having received the great command of the Queen of Heaven, she sacrificed her life to this command and believed to the end, although during her lifetime she did not see the fulfillment of what was promised to her. Her pious soul became like the power of hope to those Old Testament men about whom the holy Apostle Paul says that their whole world was not worthy.

The Monk Seraphim predicted that over time, by God’s will, the holy relics of Mother Alexandra would rest open in the monastery, and ordered everyone to go and bow to her grave, saying at the same time: “Our lady and mother, forgive me and bless me! Pray that I too may be forgiven, as you have been forgiven, and remember me at the Throne of God!”

Another great ascetic who served the glory of God and the Diveyevo monastery was schema-nun Marfa (Melyukova). From the age of 13, with the blessing of St. Seraphim, she began to lead an ascetic life in the Diveyevo monastery, surpassing even those sisters of the community who were distinguished by the severity of their lives.

She acquired unceasing prayer and was almost silent, answering only the most necessary questions with heavenly meekness and humility. The Monk Seraphim especially loved her and dedicated her to all his revelations, the future glory of the monastery and other great spiritual secrets. She was honored to be present at the elder’s prayer for the creation, by order of the Mother of God, of a new Mill monastery.

Her life was marked by a high, truly Christian feat. She lived in the monastery for only six years and died as a 19-year-old schema monk. The spiritual perfection she achieved can be judged by how highly the Monk Seraphim valued her, saying that in Heaven she would be in great glory, that her relics would rest in the monastery, for she pleased God so much that she was honored with incorruptibility. According to the Monk Seraphim, she is the superior of the Diveyevo sisters in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the monastery of the Mother of God.

Every believer sacredly reveres the memory of the immaculate chosen one of God, surrounded by the light of unearthly unfading beauty, and, according to the commandment of the great elder, falls to her grave with the prayer: “Our Lady and Mother Martha, remember us at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven!”

The life of the Diveyevo ascetic nun was also marked by ardent faith and unflagging feat Elena (Manturova). Having rejected everything earthly, she directed her path to Heaven, which became her inalienable destiny. Walking the path of self-denial and believing in the holiness of her confessor, she accepted his every word as if from the mouth of God and was obedient to him even to the point of death.

Elder Seraphim prepared her for three years to enter the Diveyevo community. Having received the blessing, she flew on wings of joy to Diveevo. Being in unceasing prayer, in constant contemplation and silence, nun Elena led her godly life and was obedient to St. Seraphim in everything. There was only one thing she did not agree with the elder - to be the head of the Mill monastery. Unusually kind by nature, Elena Vasilyevna did not do anything, obviously or visibly, but, as much as she knew how and could, she did good secretly, constantly and a lot. Mother Elena carried out all the difficult assignments of St. Seraphim.

The great elder unusually and passionately loved his God-loving novice. The last days and her death were truly remarkable, when Father Seraphim called the nun Elena to him and blessed her for her obedience to die in place of his brother, Mikhail Vasilyevich, the benefactor and builder of the Diveyevo monastery, for whom the time had come to die, but he was still needed for the monastery. Mother Elena meekly and humbly accepted obedience and a few days later she peacefully departed to the Lord. Nun Elena died at the age of 27, having spent only seven years in the Diveyevo monastery. Her death is a wonderful mystery.

The Monk Seraphim said that the soul of nun Elena, like a dove, ascended to the Holy Trinity, and her relics will eventually rest openly in the monastery. The Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery indicates that miracles and healings were performed more than once at the grave of Elena Vasilievna.

Sisters and guests of the monastery went to the holy grave every day to bow and pray: “Our Lady and Mother Elena, remember us at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven!”

The Consecrated Council, promoted by the grace of God, having examined the ascetic labors of these saints of God, determined with reverence and love:

To number the saints of God among the locally revered saints of the venerable women of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, glorified by the alms of the Lord.

From now on, their honorable remains will be considered holy relics and given due veneration. The memory of the venerable wives of Diveyevo is celebrated on the day of their death: the venerable Alexandra, the first mother of Diveyevo, on June 13 (26), the venerable Martha of Diveyevo on August 21 (September 3), the venerable Elena of Diveyevo on May 28 (June 10). Establish the celebration of the Council of the Venerable Wives of Diveyevo on July 8 (21), the day of the resumption of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery.

Our reverend mother Martha (in the world Maria Simeonovna Milyukova) was born in 1810 on February 10/23 in the village of Pogiblovo (now Malinovka) of the Ardatovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod province into a peasant family distinguished by a righteous and godly life. In the Miliukov family, besides the youngest Maria, there were two more children: Praskovya and Ivan. Praskovya Simeonovna, with the blessing of St. Seraphim of Sarov, entered the Diveyevo community, founded by Mother Alexandra, and became a sister of high spiritual life.
On November 21, 1823, on the day of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, 13-year-old Maria, together with Praskovya, first came to Father Seraphim in Sarov. As Praskovya Simeonovna put it, her sister “tagged along” with her. The great elder, seeing that the girl was a chosen vessel of God’s grace, did not allow her to return home, but ordered her to remain in the Diveyevo community. So Maria Simeonovna entered the number of selected Seraphim orphans into the community of Mother Alexandra. The head of the community at that time was Elder Ksenia Mikhailovna Kocheulova, whom Father Seraphim called “a pillar of fire from earth to heaven” and “spiritual torment” for her righteous life.
Mary - an extraordinary youth, an incomparable, angelic child of God - from an early age began to lead an ascetic life, surpassing in the severity of her exploits the older sisters of the community, who were distinguished by the severity of their lives. Continuous prayer was her food, and she answered only necessary questions with heavenly meekness. Mary was almost silent, and Father Seraphim loved her especially tenderly and initiated her into all the revelations about the future glory of the monastery and other great spiritual secrets, commanding her not to talk about them until the time came, which she did religiously, despite the pleas and requests of her sisters and relatives . When Mary returned from St. Seraphim, she was all beaming with joy.
Soon after Mary entered the community at the Kazan Church, the Queen of Heaven deigned to create next to this community a new, promised abode of Her Fourth Ecumenical lot on earth.
As already mentioned, from 1825, first the sisters began to come to Father Seraphim for his blessing, and then the head of the Diveyevo community, Ksenia Mikhailovna, who, although she deeply respected and highly revered the priest, did not, however, agree to change the charter of her community, which seemed heavy both to Father Seraphim and to the sisters fleeing in the community. “Listen to me, my joy!” - said the monk, but the unshakable old woman answered him: “No, father, let it be as before. Father the builder Pachomius has already arranged for us.” Then Father Seraphim released the head of the Diveyevo community with the thought that the hour of God’s will had not yet come for the fulfillment of the covenant given to him by the great elder Alexandra. But in the same year, on November 25, on the day of the holy saints of God Clement, Pope of Rome, and Peter of Alexandria, making his way through the thicket of the forest along the bank of the Sarovka River to his Far Hermitage, the Monk Seraphim saw the Mother of God and the holy apostles Peter and John standing behind Her Theologian. The Queen of Heaven, hitting the ground with her staff so that the spring filled with a fountain of bright water, said: “Why do you want to leave the commandment of My servant Agathia, the nun Alexandra? Leave Ksenia and her sisters, and not only do not forsake the commandment of this My servant, but also strive to fulfill it completely: for according to My will she gave it to you. And I will show you another place, also in the village of Diveyevo, and on it build this abode of My promised by Me. And in memory of the promise I gave her, take eight sisters from the community of Xenia from the place of her death.” And she named the names of the sisters who should have been taken.

Two weeks after this appearance of the Queen of Heaven, on December 9, 1825, Maria, together with the community sister Praskovya Stepanovna, came to the Monk Seraphim, and the priest announced to them that they should go with him to the Far Hermitage. Arriving there and entering the hut, Father Seraphim handed the sisters two lighted wax candles and ordered Mary to stand on the right side of the crucifix hanging on the wall, and Praskovye on the left. They stood like that for more than an hour with lit candles, and Father Seraphim, standing in the middle, prayed. Having prayed, he venerated the crucifix and ordered them to pray and venerate. The Reverend performed this mysterious prayer with the sisters, whom the Mother of God had chosen for special service to Herself and the monastery, before the beginning of the founding of the new community.
For four years, Mary labored ascetices, helping St. Seraphim and the sisters in setting up a new monastery. Together with him and her sisters, she prepared timber and pillars for the mill, which the Mother of God blessed to build on the site of the founding of a new community; carried stones for the construction of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ground flour and performed other obediences. This wonderful young woman was endowed by the Lord with the very rare gift of pure heartfelt prayer, which she never abandoned and did incessantly, “lifting up her burning spirit to the Lord.”
Mary was always under the spiritual guidance of St. Seraphim. An example of her unconditional obedience is the story of how one day, when asked by her sister Praskovya,
Simeonovna, about some Sarov monk, Maria asked in surprise and childishly naively: “What do the monks look like, Parasha? Do you look like your father?” Surprised in turn by her sister’s question, Praskovya Simeonovna replied: “You go to Sarov so often, haven’t you seen it? What are you asking? “No, Parashenka,” Maria Simeonovna said humbly, “after all, I don’t see anything and don’t know: Father Seraphim ordered me never to look at them, and I tie a scarf over my eyes so that I can only see the road under my feet.” " This is what this ascetic child was like, who lived in the monastery for only six years and at the age of 19 from birth peacefully and quietly departed to the Lord.
The Diveyevo monastery lost this wonderful, holy life, the youth Maria Simeonovna Milyukova - Schema-nun Martha - on August 21/September 3, 1829. Having foreseen in spirit the hour of her death, the Monk Seraphim suddenly began to cry and with the greatest sorrow said to Father Paul, his neighbor in his cell: “Paul! But Maria has moved away, and I feel so sorry for her, so sorry that, you see, I keep crying!”
Father Seraphim wished to give her an oak, round, hollowed-out coffin, for which Praskovya Simeonovna went to Sarov with another Diveyevo sister, Akulina Vasilievna. Praskovya Simeonovna was very upset, and the priest received her like a father, caressed her and encouraged her. Then, clasping the hands of Praskovya Simeonovna and Akulina Vasilievna together, he said: “You will now be sisters, and I, your father, gave birth to you in spirit! Maria is schema-nun Martha, I kidnapped her! She has everything: a schema and a mantle, and my kamilavochka - put her in all this! “Don’t be discouraged, mother,” the saint said, turning to Praskovya Simeonovna, “her soul is in the Kingdom of Heaven and near the Holy Trinity at the Throne of God, and your whole family will be saved through her!” Father Seraphim gave 25 rubles for expenses associated with the funeral, and 25 rubles of copper in order to give 3 kopecks each to all the sisters and lay people, no matter who was present at her burial. He also gave two towels for the altar, a pile of yellow candles for the magpie so that they would burn day and night in the church, a ruble yellow candle for the coffin and half a pound of white twenty-kopeck candles for the funeral.
With the blessing of St. Seraphim, schema-nun Martha was placed in a coffin in two scrolls (shirts), in a paper cassock, belted with a black woolen trim, on top of this in a black schema with white crosses and a long mantle. They put a green velvet cap embroidered with gold on his head, on top of it was Father Seraphim’s kamilavka, and tied it with a large dark blue draped shawl with tassels. Leather rosaries were placed in his hands. Father Seraphim gave all these things to Mary from his own hands, ordering her to always wear them to the communion of the Holy Mysteries, which she did exactly every twelfth holiday and during all four fasts.
The Monk Seraphim sent everyone who came to him during these days to Diveevo for the funeral of Maria Simeonovna. So, to the sisters who knew nothing about her death, who worked in the forest area on the banks of the Satis River, Varvara Ilyinishna and others, the elder said: “You are my joys! Quickly, quickly, come to Diveyevo: there the great servant of God Mary departed to the Lord!” The sisters could not understand which Maria had died, and were surprised to see Maria Simeonovna in the coffin. Also, Ekaterina Yegorovna and Anna Alekseevna, who were picking berries in the Sarov forest, and other sisters, the priest sent home as soon as possible, saying that whoever will be at the funeral of Maria Simeonovna will receive absolution. Father Seraphim sent even the Sarov monks and a whole crowd of people who came to him to the burial, ordering the worldly girls and sisters to dress up, comb their hair and fall at her coffin.
During the funeral service, Elder Praskovya Simeonovna, the sister of the late schema-nun Martha, clearly saw the Queen of Heaven and Maria Simeonovna standing in the air at the Royal Doors. In delight, she loudly shouted to the whole church: “Queen, do not leave us!”, and after that she began to act like a fool, prophesy, say extraordinary things to others, and give away her clothes; Then she immediately became very weak. Suddenly the demons screamed and made noise. This incident greatly affected those gathered. When Elder Akulina Vasilievna, after the funeral, hurried to Father Seraphim and told about what had happened, he said: “It is, mother, the Lord and the Queen of Heaven wanted to glorify our mother Martha, Lady Mary. And if I, poor Seraphim, had been at her burial, then from her spirit there would have been much healing!”
Then Maria Simeonovna’s brother Ivan, who had gone to his sister’s funeral, came to the priest and asked whether Praskovya Simeonovna, who had fallen ill after the vision, would recover. Having closely examined Ivan Simeonovich, whom he knew, the priest suddenly said: “Are you Mary’s brother?” “Yes, father,” he answered. And looking at him again, the monk asked: “Are you Mary’s brother?” “Yes, father,” Ivan Simeonovich answered again. After this, the elder thought for a long, long time and, once again looking intently at Ivan standing in front of him, suddenly became so joyful and bright that the sun’s rays seemed to emanate from his face, and Ivan had to hide from Father Seraphim, being unable to look on him. Then the priest exclaimed: “Behold, my joy! What mercy she received from the Lord! In the Kingdom of Heaven at the Throne of God, near the Queen of Heaven with the holy virgins! She is a prayer book for your entire family! She is schema-nun Martha, I tonsured her. When you are in Diveyevo, never pass by, but fall to the grave, saying: “Our Lady and Mother Martha, remember us at the Throne of God in the Kingdom of Heaven!” “Reverend Seraphim talked with Ivan Simeonovich for about three hours.
Schema-nun Martha was buried to the left of the grave of Mother Alexandra, the founder of the Kazan community. Soon after the funeral, the monk summoned the clergywoman Ksenia Vasilievna Putkova (later nun Capitolina), whom he always ordered to write down various names for commemoration, and said to her: “Hey, mother, write her down, Maria, as a nun, because with her deeds she and through the prayers of the poor Seraphim there she was awarded the schema! Pray all of you for her as for Schema-nun Martha!”
According to the testimony of sisters and people close to Diveev, Maria Simeonovna was tall and pleasant in appearance: an elongated, white and fresh face, blue eyes, thick light brown eyebrows and hair.
According to the recollections of the nun of the Diveyevo Monastery, Serafima Bulgakova, before the dispersal of 1927, the monastery kept a portrait of Schema-nun Martha, painted by the sisters immediately after her death. According to the testimony of Archpriest Stefan Lyashevsky, in addition to this portrait, there was a hagiographic image of Schema-nun Martha, written by his mother Kapitolina Zakharovna Lyashevskaya (later nun Maria). The whereabouts of the portrait are currently unknown; the hagiographic image is located abroad.
Little is known from the stories of the elders about Maria Simeonovna. Thus, Maria Ilarionovna (nun Melitina) testified: “Living in the world and hearing from everyone about Father Seraphim, I wished to be in Sarov and accept his blessing. The first thing I did when I arrived in Sarov was go to the priest in his hermitage; he himself came out to meet me, blessed me and said with a smile: “You, mother, do you know Maria Simeonovna?” “I know,” I say, “father; she lived three yards away from us.” ..Here, mother,” continued the priest, “I’ll tell you about her, how jealous she was of

labors. When a church was built in Diveyevo in the name of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the girls themselves carried pebbles, some two, some three, and she, mother, would pick up five or six pebbles and, with prayer on her lips, silently lift up her burning spirit to the Lord! Soon, with a sore tummy, she surrendered to God!”
The elder sister of the Mill community, Praskovya Stepanovna, telling how scary it was to disobey Father Seraphim, recalled how one day the priest ordered her to come to him with the young woman Maria Simeonovna on two horses to collect logs. They went to Father Seraphim in the forest, where he was already waiting for them, having prepared two thin logs for each horse. Thinking that all four logs could be carried by one horse, the sisters moved these logs onto one horse along the way, and loaded a large, thick log onto the other horse. But as soon as they started moving, the horse fell, wheezed and began to die. Realizing themselves guilty of violating the priest’s blessing, they immediately fell to their knees and, in tears, began to ask for forgiveness in absentia, and then threw off the thick log and laid out the logs as before. The horse jumped up on its own and ran so quickly that they could barely catch up with it.
From a handwritten page found in the cell of Schema-nun Margarita Lakhtionova, through generations of Diveyevo sisters, the words of Schema-nun Martha, recorded by Elder Justinia Ivanovna (later nun Ilaria), have reached us: “Schemonun Maria Simeonovna took me to the Kazan Church and, pointing to this whole place, said (anticipating his early death) to me and the other sisters: “Now, remember, this church will be ours and the priests will not live here, the parish church will be built in another place, the priests will live there, but here it will be, as Father Seraphim says , Lavra, and where the Kanavka is, there will be Kinovia: “This whole place is consecrated by the exploits of Mother Agafia Simeonovna, and what a cathedral, my joy, it will be, like the Jerusalem one, and the present church will also be included in this temple, and only like a nucleolus!” The priest ordered the land on both sides of our Nativity Church to be blocked off, saying: “Here are the piles of the Queen of Heaven, this land is holy.” The Mother of God walked around Her church! Don’t walk on this land, mother, but fence it off, and don’t even allow a cattle to walk here. But water the grass, and even then take it to your monastery from this place, but don’t throw it away, the grass is holy, here the piles of the Queen of Heaven have passed!” That’s why we have this place blocked off on both sides of the Nativity Church and we always keep it all.” Justinia Ivanovna recalled that “our late sister Maria Simeonovna, of high life, was especially loved by Father Seraphim against everyone else. He told her and predicted many things about the monastery, for the most part forbidding her to tell anyone, but he bequeathed some to her to remember and pass on to me, a sinner. With the blessing of Father Seraphim, she told me: “Father Seraphim said that we will have a cemetery church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, remember!” And I objected to her that in cemeteries, it seems, churches of All Saints are always built. “Yes,” she answered, “but Father Seraphim said that the throne of All Saints will be built even earlier.” (Subsequently, the prediction came true: in 1847, a chapel in the name of All Saints was built in the church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, and the cemetery church was erected later, in 1855, in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord). And about the straitened means of the monastery, the priest always told her: “Poor Seraphim could enrich you, but this is not useful; I could turn ash into gold, but I don’t want to; Your much will not increase, and your little will not decrease! In the last time you will have abundance in everything, but then there will be an end to everything! ""

According to the Monk Seraphim, the nineteen-year-old ascetic Schema-Nun Martha, who reposed in the Lord, was appointed head of the Diveyevo orphans in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the monastery of the Mother of God, about which the Rev. said to Elder Evdokia Efremovna like this: “The Lord has twelve apostles, the Queen of Heaven has twelve virgins, and so I have twelve of you. Just as the Lord chose Catherine the Martyr as His bride, so I, out of twelve virgins, chose Mary as my future bride. And there she will be the eldest above you!”
The Monk Seraphim also said that over time the relics of schema-nun Martha would openly rest in the monastery, for she pleased the Lord so much that she was awarded incorruptibility. At the same time, Father Seraphim remarked: “Wow, mother, how important obedience is! That’s why Mary was silent and only out of joy, loving the monastery, she transgressed my commandment and told little, and yet, when her relics are opened in the future, only her lips will give in to corruption!”
Subsequently, the sister of the Venerable Martha Praskovya Simeonovna, by the choice of the sisters, was for some time the head of the Mill community. At the end of her life, in 1861, during troubled times for the monastery, she began to act like a fool, for which the Monk Seraphim had previously blessed her. In the 1850s, in the Sarov desert, she was awarded a vision of the Mother of God and the monk. The Queen of Heaven told her: “You straighten the affairs of My monastery, insist on truth, expose it!” No matter how much Praskovya Simeonovna refused, citing her unworthiness and illiteracy, the Mother of God repeated Her order to her three times. For obedience to the Queen of Heaven and Father Seraphim, she fearlessly denounced those who committed untruths in the monastery, starting with the bishop, and with the gift of foresight she predicted the further course of events and the restoration of justice. As the Monk Seraphim predicted, Praskovya Simeonovna died peacefully soon after - on June 1/14, 1862, on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, after unction, communion of the Holy Mysteries and the reading of the funeral prayer over her.
The brother of Maria Simeonovna and Praskovya Simeonovna Milyukov, Ivan Simeonovich, ended his life as a monk in the Sarov Hermitage. Having the obedience of a gatekeeper in Sarov, he said: “Being a worldly peasant, I often worked for Father Seraphim, and he predicted many, many wonderful things about Diveyevo and always said: “If anyone offends my orphan girls, he will receive greatness from Lord's punishment; and whoever stands up for them and protects and helps them in need, the great mercy of God will be poured out on him from above. Whoever even sighs in his heart and takes pity on them, the Lord will reward him. And I’ll tell you, father, remember: happy is everyone who stays with the poor Seraphim in Diveevo for a day, from morning to morning, for the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, visits Diveevo every day!” “Remembering Father’s commandment,” added the gatekeeper, “I always said this and tell everyone.”
Three daughters of Ivan Simeonovich entered the Diveyevo community. One of them, Elena Ivanovna, married the spiritual friend of the Monk Seraphim Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov and was a benefactress and “great mistress” for the monastery, as Father Seraphim called her when she was still a child, ordering the sisters to bow to her, a little girl, at her feet . Elena Ivanovna was the only one of those present at the funeral of St. Seraphim in 1833 and who lived to see his glorification in 1903. Having been widowed, she spent the last years of her life in Diveevo. Elena Ivanovna died at an old age in 1910; before her death she was secretly tonsured a monk.
There were many sisters from the Milyukov family in the monastery until the monastery was closed in 1927.

In 2000, Schema-nun Martha was canonized as a locally revered saint of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese; in 2004, the Council of Bishops blessed her church-wide veneration. Now her honorable relics rest in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Kazan Church of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.

Our Reverend Mother Marfo, pray to God for us!

(The text is taken from the book “The Lives of the Saints, New Martyrs and Confessors of the Nizhny Novgorod Land”, authors Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin), O.V. Degteva).