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If I were writing a letter to Saint Blessed Xenia of Petersburg, it would probably sound like this: “My dear Ksenyushka, how grateful I am to you for your holy participation in my life, for my family, daughter Xenia, my loved ones. For the fact that always and everywhere you hear me and find words of consolation and joy. Infinite gratitude is the main feeling that I share in relation to this amazing saint. And there are many like me – thousands, hundreds of thousands of people. How did it happen? Let’s look for the answer in the life of St. Blessed Xenia of Petersburg.
When is the holiday celebrated
February 6 – Memorial Day of Saint Blessed Xenia of Petersburg.
6 June – the day of glorification in the face of the saints of Blessed Xenia of Petersburg.
The life story of Xenia of Petersburg
Short-lived happiness
The exact date of birth of Xenia of Petersburg is unknown. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, she lived in the first half of the 1719th century. Some sources note: “Blessed Xenia was born between 1730 and XNUMX.”
Growing up, Ksenia Grigoryevna married the court chorister Andrei Fedorovich. The young, as was customary at that time, got married, asking in prayer for blessings for a long and happy marriage. But the Lord judged otherwise. At the age of 26, Ksenia Grigoryevna was widowed. Her husband died suddenly.
The penitential canon to the Lord God says: “For this reason I cry out: give me, Lord, repentance before the end.” This line is certainly one of the most important points for a Christian. Repent before death, so as not to carry earthly sins with you into eternal life.
And Andrei Fedorovich was deprived of this sacrament before his death. The untimely, non-Christian death of her beloved husband deeply shocked Ksenia Grigoryevna.
What happened next in the life of the future saint, and modern man, and the man of that time will seem more than strange. The young widow gave everything she had – money, things – to those in need. She refused women’s attire, putting on her husband’s clothes – pants, caftan, etc. She presented the house to a woman she knew, Paraskeva, who did not have her own corner. And she went to live on the street.
Rumors spread among the townspeople that Ksenia Grigoryevna was crazy. And she did not pay attention to idle gossip and said: “Andrey Fedorovich is me, and Ksenia died a long time ago.”
The path of foolishness
Thus began the difficult, God-given Xenia let foolishness. “The madness of the world has been exposed by imaginary madness,” is sung in the troparion of St. Xenia of the Blessed. Thus, having taken upon herself the feat of madness, the renunciation of all blessings, of herself, of reason, blessed Xenia begged God to have mercy on her husband and not to deprive him of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ksenia’s relatives tried to stop the “crazy” actions of the widow. The distribution of property seemed to them blasphemy. There is evidence that the doctor examined the unfortunate woman, but did not find any abnormalities in her. Healthy, they say, a woman, and does not need treatment. Which means she can do whatever she pleases.
It’s hard to imagine, but at any time of the year, day and night, Blessed Xenia in a man’s robe wandered the streets of St. Petersburg. I ate what good people served. She endured ridicule and bullying. The evil boys were especially zealous in mocking the holy fool. And called names, and threw stones. After all, for them she was like a scarecrow in tattered clothes and sometimes uttering unintelligible words.
Where Xenia lived, where she slept, ate, no one knew. She appeared as if from nowhere and went nowhere. Once the owner of a small trading shop noticed that on the days when Ksenia comes to him for alms, the proceeds are much larger than usual. Other merchants began to notice the same thing, and began to invite her to their place every time they met on the street.
“Run to the graveyard. There your son is waiting for you.”
Over the years, Blessed Xenia became for the townspeople not a “crazy” tramp and beggar, but a special homeless person. Many noticed that if she takes alms, she immediately gives it to other needy. Walks in rags, but refuses to take warmer clothes.
And then wonderful rumors spread all over the city. A new stone church was being built at the Smolensk cemetery at that time. Construction proceeded gradually, because. the walls were already high and it took a lot of work for the workers to lift the brick up and lay it. At some point, people began to notice that the wall gets higher during the night. This happened many nights in a row and the builders decided to hunt down the “assistant”. Imagine their bewilderment when they discovered that it was “Andrey Fedorovich” who was building a church all night long.
More and more people began to revere the holy fool Xenia as a saint. Mothers noted that if Xenia blesses a sick child, then it will be healed. Someone asked the blessed one about their future or asked her to pray for the resolution of some pressing problem. Ksenia did not refuse prayer help. And she prayed at night in an open field outside the city. There, in complete silence, it was more pleasant for her to communicate with God.
Another wonderful case is known. The Petersburger Paraskeva, whom Ksenia gave her house as a gift, had no children. And once Ksenia came to her and ordered her to quickly run to the Smolensk cemetery. There, they say, the Lord sent a child to Paraskeva. Son.
Paraskeva listened to Xenia and ran as fast as she could to the cemetery. Near the entrance to the graveyard, a carriage of horses knocked down a pregnant woman. Due to a severe injury, she began giving birth, and when a healthy boy was born, the unfortunate woman died. Paraskeva took the baby and thanked God and blessed Xenia. So the city’s holy fool gained fame as a clairvoyant saint.
After death
Ksenia Grigorievna was buried at the same Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg. People constantly came to her grave, asking for help. And there were often cases when the saint helped those in need with her prayers. Over time, a chapel was built on the site of her burial. Now it is a stone building, on the wall of which there is a memorial plaque:
“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Blessed Xenia Grigoryevna, the wife of the singer Andrei Fedorovich, is buried in this chapel. Left after her husband for 26 years, she wandered for 45 years. She was called in widowhood by the name of her husband: Andrei Fedorovich. Her entire life on earth was 71 years.
In 1988, Blessed Xenia was glorified as a saint.