Russia, St Petersburg Folder, its roads and rivers.kmz

Russia, St Petersburg Folder, its roads and rivers

St Petersburg, Russia (Peterburg or Petrograd)
St Petersburg; Icon of the Mother of God of Konevits, Commemorated on July 10 ; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19 ; Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia, Commemorated on July 20; Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova), Commemorated on July 20; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Joy of All who sorrow"Â (with coins) in St Petersburg, Commemorated on July 23; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated July 31 ; Martyr Sergius the Archimandrite of Petrograd, Commemorated July 31 ; Venerable Anthony the Roman and Abbot of Novgorod, Commemorated on August 3; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Converser"Â, Commemorated on August 14; St Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on August 30; Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7 ; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; Martyr Juvenal of Alaska, Commemorated September 24; Icon of the Mother of God of Andronicus, Commemorated on October 22 ; Icon of the Mother of God "the Joy of All Who Sorrow", Commemorated October 24 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated January 3 ; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated January 25 ; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9; St John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated February 10 ; St Vsevolod (in holy baptism Gabriel) the Wonderworker of Pskov, Commemorated February 11 ; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Icon of the Mother of God Weeping "œTikhvin"Â on Mt Athos, Commemorated on February 17 ; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19 ; Beheading of the Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of the Pskov Caves, February 20 ; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated February 23 ; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 28; Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Icon of the Mother of God "œCzestochowa"Â, Commemorated on March 6; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20 ; Venerable Seraphim of Virits, Commemorated on March 21; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Icon of the Mother of God"œStaro Rus"Â Old Russian, Commemorated on May 4; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Euphrosyne the Abbess of Polotsk, Commemorated on May 23; Hieromartyr Philosophos of St. Petersburg, Commemorated on May 31; Venerable Dionysius the Abbot of Glushetsk, Vologda, Commemorated on June 1; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Bassian the Monk of Pertomsk, Solovki, Commemorated on June 5; Repose of St Theodore Yaroslavich the older brother of St Alexander Nevsky in Novgorod, Commemorated on June 5; Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; Commemoration of the Appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to a Monk on Mt. Athos, and the Revelation of the Hymn, "œIt Is Truly Meet..."Â Or Axion Estin, Commemorated on June 11; Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Konevits, Commemorated on June 12; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25 ; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28; Icon of the Mother of God"œOur Lady of Sitka"Â, Commemorated on July 8 ; Finding of the Relics of Saint Hilarion, Archbishop of Verey, Commemorated on July 11;

Petrograd (Peterburg, St Petersburg, Neva River)
Petrograd: St Petersburg; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated on July 31; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on August 30; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ;

Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland;

Russia, St Petersburg History Folder

Russia, St Petersburg, 1100, 12th C Folder, Anthony oDymsk, solitude, mFounder, incorrupt relics

Russia, St Petersburg, 1177-1224, Anthony oDymsk, monk at Barlaam's Khutyn m, left fSolitude, struggled&founded D m, incrpt r
Russia, St Petersburg, 1177-1224, Anthony oDymsk fNovgorod, heard Christ's words, if come after me, deny, take up cross, follow me, so became monk at Barlaam's Khutyn monastery, appointed igumen b Dying Barlaam, Anthony had gone to Constantinople, returned day of B's death, but left for solitude tShores oLake Dyma near Tikhvin, struggled &founded monastery there, incorrupt relics glorified by many miracles; Tikhvin, Dymsk on Lake Dyma on the outskirts of Tikhvin; Venerable Anthony of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 17 ; Anthony of Dymsk was born at Novgorod in about the year 1157. in church he heard the words of Christ: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mt.16:24), saint resolved to leave the world and receive monastic tonsure under Saint Barlaam of Khutyn (November 6) at his monastery. he was dying, Saint Barlaam appointed Saint Anthony as igumen in his place; Anthony, shunning glory, left the monastery and settled at the shores of Lake Dyma, the outskirts of the city of Tikhvin. he founded a monastery and struggled there until the end of his own life. to Tradition, Saint Anthony made a journey to Constantinople, returned to his monastery on the day that the igumen Barlaam died. Anthony fell asleep in the Lord on June 24, 1224. the year 1330 his relics were found incorrupt, from that time they were glorified by many miracles.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1200, 13th C Folder, Battle otNeva, Alex Nevsky's Neva&Ice

Russia, St Petersburg, 1240, Battle of the Neva, over Catholic Swedes, Norwegians and Finns
St Petersburg, 1240, Battle of the Neva; Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; Repose of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on November 23 ; Venerable Xenophon the Abbot of Robeika, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 28;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1240-1263, Saint, Alexander Nevsky, battles of Neva and Ice
St Petersburg Saint, 1240-1263, Alexander Nevsky; St Charitina the Princess of Lithuania, Commemorated on October 5; Repose of St Theodore Yaroslavich the older brother of St Alexander Nevsky in Novgorod, Commemorated on June 5 ;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1300, 14th C Folder, Herman&Sergius oValaam, Cornelius oSvir River, Converser Icon wGeorge, Tihkvin Icon
Russia, St Petersburg, 1300, 14th C Folder, Herman&Sergius oValaam, Cornelius oSvir River&Lake Onega, Converser Icon wGeorge&Nick, Tihkvin Icon Fisherman LOnega

Russia, St Petersburg, 1329-1353, Saint, Herman of Valaam
Valaam Island (Lake Ladoga); Venerable Herman the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1329-1353, Saint, Sergius of Valaam
Valaam Island (Lake Ladoga); Venerable Herman the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1370-1420, St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets Svir River, and Pali Island, Lake Onega
Russia, St Petersburg, 1370-1420, St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets Svir River, and Pali Island, Lake Onega; Paleostrov and Olonets, Karelia, Russia ; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated August 21 ; Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, born at Pskov, was the founder of monastic life on Pali island in Lake Onega at the end of the fourteenth century. Despite the desolation of the island, brethren soon gathered near him. He built for them a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and a trapeza church in honor of the holy Prophet Elias. saint spent the final years of his life in a cave half a verst from the monastery, in unceasing prayer. The ascetic added the wearing of heavy chains to his struggles. saint’s blessed repose occurred around the year 1420. His relics were transferred to the monastery church by his disciple, Saint Abramius of Paleostrov (August 21), who was also glorified by his ascetical life, and was buried in the Paleostrov monastery beside his Elder. St Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19; Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, born at Pskov, was the founder of monastic life on Pali island in Lake Onega at the end of the fourteenth century. Despite the desolation of the island, brethren soon gathered near him. He built for them a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and a trapeza church in honor of the holy Prophet Elias. The saint spent the final years of his life in a cave half a verst from the monastery, in unceasing prayer. The ascetic added the wearing of heavy chains to his struggles. The saint’s blessed repose occurred around the year 1420. His relics were transferred to the monastery church by his disciple, Saint Abramius of Paleostrov (August 21), who was also glorified by his ascetical life, and was buried in the Paleostrov monastery beside his Elder.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Converser Icon, MOG and St Nick converse with S George, to replace metal cross with wood
Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Converser Icon, MOG and St Nick converse with Sacristan George, to replace metal cross with wood; depicts the Mother of God and Saint Nicholas of Myra conversing with the sacristan George. This event occurred soon after the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1383, when the Most Holy Theotokos Herself commanded sacristan George to say that they should replace the metal cross on the newly-constructed temple in Her honor at Tikhvin with a wooden one. Icon of the Mother of God the Converse, Commemorated on August 14; “Converser” Icon of the Mother of God is so named since it depicts the Mother of God and Saint Nicholas of Myra conversing with the sacristan George. This event occurred soon after the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1383, when the Most Holy Theotokos Herself commanded sacristan George to say that they should replace the metal cross on the newly-constructed temple in Her honor at Tikhvin with a wooden one. the place of this vision a chapel was built in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The chapel burned several times (the first time was in 1390 at the same time as the church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos). In 1515, a wooden church was built and a monastery founded in honor of this holy icon. Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Appearance of Tihkvin Icon, Lake Ladoga; 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake'™s waters amidst a radiant light. Lake Ladoga; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,â€ the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,â€ adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.â€ Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the Hodegetria model and is similar in style to the ancient Iveron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodegetria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Appearance of Tihkvin Icon, Fisherman, Lake Ladoga
Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Appearance of Tihkvin Icon, Lake Ladoga; 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. Lake Ladoga; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,â€ the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,â€ adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.â€ Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the Hodegetria model and is similar in style to the ancient Iveron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodegetria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Tikhvin Icon, St Petersburg area, by Luke, hovered L Ladoga, radiant light, MOG moved it there
Russia, St Petersburg, , Tikhvin, St Petersburg area (Tikhvinka River 2), Painted by Luke, from Jerusalem to Blachernae in 450, in 1383 hovered over Lake Ladoga, radiant light, Theotokos moved it there, survived fires, 1560 Ivan t T built monastery, 1613 seized Novgorod and attempted to destroy t monastery, moscow army appeared, icon copies' miracles, even preserved after Rus Revolution, taken to Pskov&Riga&Bavaria&Chicago then back to Tikvin; Tikhvin; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,” the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. Afterwards, the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. Later, the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,” adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.” Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the “Hodēgḗtria” model and is similar in style to the ancient Ivḗron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodēgḗtria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, St Petersburg, 1400, 15th C Folder, Alex oSvir apprncs incrpt r, Johah oKimetzk Onega strm vow command build tree icon m
Russia, St Petersburg, 1400, 15th C Folder, Alex oSvir miracles appearances incorpt r, Johah oKimetzk, Onega, storm vow commanded tBuild monastery tree Icon, Adrian oOndrusov

Russia, St Petersburg, 1468-1533, Alexander, Abbot of Svir, contemplative miracles, appearances, incorruptible relics, myrrh
Russia, St Petersburg, 1468-1533, Alexander, Abbot of Svir; Svirsky or Alexander of Svir (1448–1533) was an Eastern Orthodox saint, monk, and hegumen of the Russian Orthodox Church.[1] (his baptismal name) was born to a peasant family in the Novgorod Republic, east of Ladoga. At the age of 19, he left home for the Valaam Monastery and became a monk and occasional isolation. In 1506, Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, appointed him Hegumen of the Trinity monastery, which later became known as Alexander-Svirsky Monastery.[2] Alexander became known for his righteous life and contemplative miracles, including the appearances of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary with the Holy Child. His feast day is commemorated on April 17 and August 30,[3] according to the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar. of Saint Alexander were found on April 17 (27), 1641. According to the Vita of the saint, they were found incorruptible.[4] October 22, 1918, the coffin with the relics of Alexander Svirsky was opened. According to Soviet reports, instead of relics, a wax doll was supposedly found.[5][6][7] However, testimony of the monks present, as well as a later Soviet commission under the direction of Grigory Zinoviev, demonstrated that a human body instead of a wax figure was present in the coffin.[8][9][10] Russia, Moscow, 1641, Finding incorrupt relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir ; Alexander of Svir died on August 30, 1533. His incorrupt relics were uncovered in 1641 during the reconstruction of the Transfiguration cathedral. April 17, 1641, the relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were found and examined. The discovery was accompanied by special signs; on April 15 and 16 there was extraordinary thunder and lightning, which ran along the ground above the grave of the holy founder of the monastery. Then during the Divine Liturgy on April 17 (the Saturday of the Righteous Lazarus) the workers were digging a hole for the walls of the new stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord; and in the altar of the old church they found the Saint's coffin. The ground above it was in the shape of a cave, with nothing to support it. the monks came down to see the decayed coffin (only the lower board was well preserved). When Igoumen Abraham removed the top board, a strong fragrance was noticed. The Saint's body was intact, and was clothed in a mantya and the schema. His face was covered, and beneath the schema, part of his beard could be seen; both legs lay as if he were recently deceased, with the right foot upward, and the left foot facing to the side, both feet were in sandals. his body emanated a fragrance like myrrh, or flowers. Metropolitan Aphthonios of Novgorod was present at the uncovering of the relics. With reverence and joy, the relics were placed in a new coffin and were taken to the temple of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in that same Hermitage. monks, who had seen the incorrupt flesh of their heavenly patron, were amazed, and they made a detailed description of the shrine. Particularly surprising was the face, which was so life-like that the Saint seemed asleep. The face matched the icons which had been painted by his contemporaries. The authors of the description also noted the unusual position of the Saint's hands and feet and the amber-yellow color of his skin. Soon the relics were placed in a silver reliquary donated by Tsar Michael, and were moved to the newly rebuilt Transfiguration Cathedral. the same time, the commemoration of Saint Alexander was appointed on two dates: August 30, the day of his blessed repose, and April 17, the day of the uncovering of his relics. incorrupt relics of the saint were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to liquidate the relics of the saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian saints were stolen and subjected to “scientific examination” or displayed in antireligious museums. Some were completely destroyed. to prove that the relics were fakes, the Soviets conducted many tests. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy. There they remained for nearly eighty years. second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December 1997. relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were in fact the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before their return to the Svir Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them. holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous healings continue to take place before them. August 30 for the Life of Saint Alexander. Svir River; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Alexander of Svir was born on July 15, 1448, on the Feast Day of the Prophet Amos, and was named for him in Baptism. Saint Alexander was a beacon of monasticism in the deep forests of the Russian North, living in asceticism, and so he received remarkable gifts by the All-Holy Spirit. parents, Stephen and Vassa (Vasilisa) were peasants living in the village of Mandera near Lake Ladoga, on the shores of the Oyata River, a tributary of the Svira River. They had adult sons and daughters who had left the home of their parents. Stephen and Vassa longed to have another son, and prayed that God would grant their wish. The couple heard a voice from on high: “Rejoice, good man and wife, you shall bear a son, in whose birth God will give comfort to His Church.” grew up to be an extraordinary child. He was always obedient and gentle, he avoided games, jokes and foul talk; he wore poor clothing and so weakened himself with fasting that it caused his mother much anxiety. When he came of age, he met some monks from Valaam who had come to the Oyata to purchase various necessities, and on other monastery business. this time Valaam was already known as a monastery of great piety and strict ascetic life. After speaking with the monks, the young man was fascinated by their account of Skete life (with two or three monks living together) and the solitary life of the anchorite. Knowing that his parents had arranged a marriage for him, the young man fled secretly to Valaam when he was nineteen. An Angel of the Lord appeared to him the guise of a traveler, and showed him the way to the island. Amos lived at the monastery as a novice for seven years, leading an austere life. He spent his days at work, and his nights in vigil and prayer. Sometimes, he prayed in the forest bare-chested, covered with mosquitoes and gnats, until it was time for Matins. the year 1474, Amos was tonsured with the new name Alexander. After several years, his parents eventually learned where their son had gone from some Karelians visiting Mandera. Following the example of their son, the parents also went to monasteries and were tonsured with the names Sergius and Barbara. After their deaths, Saint Alexander, with the blessing of the Igumen of the monastery, settled on an island, where he built a cell in the crevice of a cliff and continued his spiritual endeavors. fame of his asceticism spread far and wide. Then in 1485, Saint Alexander departed from Valaam and, after receiving instructions from on high, chose a place in the forest by the shores of a beautiful lake, which was later called Holy Lake. Here he built a shack, living in solitude for seven years, eating only what he gathered in the forest.1 this time, Alexander experienced terrible suffering from hunger, frost, sickness and demonic temptations, but the Lord sustained the righteous one's spiritual and bodily strength. Once, he was afflicted with a terrible pain in his stomach. Not only was he unable to get up off the ground, but he couldn't even lift his head. He just lay there and chanted Psalms. Then an Angel appeared to him. Placing his hand on the sore spot, he made the Sign of the Cross over the Saint and healed him. 1493 while hunting for deer, a nearby landowner named Andrew Zavalishin happened to discover the Saint's cell. Andrew told him of a fiery pillar he had seen over this place, and begged him to tell him about his life. The Saint was deeply saddened by this, because he had not able to hide himself from men. After making the other promise not to tell anyone about him until after his death, Saint Alexander spoke to him about his life in the wilderness, where he had lived for seven years without seeing anyone, how he had subsisted on plants alone, and how he had been healed of a pain in his stomach by an Angel. After that, Andrew began to visit Saint Alexander often. Finally, following the Saint's advice, he went to Valaam, where he was tonsured with the name Adrian. Saint Adrian founded the Ondrusov monastery, and led a holy life (Saint Andrew is commemorated on August 26 and May 17). Zavalishin was unable to remain silent about the holy ascetic, despite the promise he had given. News of the righteous one began to spread widely, and soon monks gathered around him. Therefore, Saint Alexander withdrew from the brethren and built a cell 130 sazhen from the monastery. There he encountered a multitude of temptations. The demons assumed the forms of wild animals. Hissing like snakes, they ordered him to leave. Saint Alexander's prayers scorched and scattered the demons like a fiery flame. 1508, twenty-three years after he came to this secluded spot, the Life-Creating Trinity appeared to Saint Alexander. One night he was praying in his cell. Suddenly, there was a dazzling light, and he saw three Angels in resplendent white garments approaching him. They shone with a pure brightness greater than the sun. Each held a staff in His hand. Saint Alexander fell down in terror, and after recovering his senses, he prostrated himself upon the ground. Raising him by the hand, the Angels said: “Have faith, blessed one, and do not be afraid.” Saint was told to build a church and a monastery. He fell to his knees, protesting his own unworthiness, but the Lord raised him up and ordered him to carry out the instructions he had been given. Saint Alexander asked to whom the church ought to be dedicated. The Lord said: "Beloved, as you see us speaking with you in Three Persons, so build the church in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the consubstantial Trinity. Peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Saint Alexander beheld the Lord with outstretched wings, moving along the ground until He became invisible. appearance is acknowledged as unique in history of the Russian Orthodox Church After this vision, the Saint began thinking of where to build the church. Once, as he was praying to God, he heard a voice. Gazing up to the heavens, he saw an Angel of the Lord clothed in a mantiya and klobuk, such as Saint Pachomios (May 15) had seen. Angel, standing in the air with outstretched wings and upraised hands, proclaimed: “One is Holy, One is the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the Glory of God the Father. Amen.” Then he turned to Saint Alexander saying, “Build a church here in honor of the Lord Who has appeared to you in Three Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Undivided Trinity.” making the Sign of the Cross over the place three times, the Angel became invisible. that same year he built a wooden church in honor of the Life-Creating Trinity (a stone church was built here in 1526). At the same time as the church was built, the brethren urged Saint Alexander to be ordained to the holy priesthood. For a long time he refused, considering himself unworthy. Then the brethren implored Saint Serapion, the Archbishop of Novgorod (March 16), to convince him to accept this office. So that very year Saint Alexander went to Novgorod and was ordained by the holy Archbishop. Soon afterward, the brethren also asked the Saint to be their Superior. Igumen, Saint Alexander became even more humble than before. He wore tattered clothes, and he slept on the bare ground. He himself prepared food, kneaded dough and baked bread. On one occasion, there was not enough firewood, so the steward asked the Saint to send any unoccupied monks to gather firewood. Saint Alexander replied, "I am not busy." Then he began to chop firewood. Another time, he carried water. all were asleep, the saint was often busy grinding wheat with hand-stones to make more bread. Every night, he went around to all the cells, and if he heard vain conversations, he tapped softly on the door and left. In the morning, if the brother readily acknowledged his guilt and repented, he was forgiven. On the other hand, if the brother tried to justify himself, he was admonished and given a penance. the end of his life, Saint Alexander decided to build a stone church in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. One evening, after chanting an Akathist to the Mother of God, he settled down to rest in his cell. Suddenly, he said to his cell attendant Athanasios, “Child, be sober and alert, because at this very hour we shall have a wondrous and astounding visitation." a voice like thunder said, “Behold, the Lord and His Mother are coming.” Alexander hastened to the entrance to the cell, which it was illumined by a great light shining throughout the monastery, brighter than the rays of the sun. The Saint beheld the Most Pure Mother of God upon the foundation of the Protection church, and sitting where the altar would be, like a Queen upon a throne. She held the Infant Christ in her arms, and a multitude of Angels stood before her, with shining with indescribable radiance. fell down to the ground, unable to endure the great light. The Most Holy Theotokos said, “Arise, chosen one of my Son and God. I have come here to visit you, my dear one, and to see the foundation of my church. Since you have prayed for your disciples and for your monastery, henceforth they shall have all that they need; not only during your lifetime, but also after your death. I shall be with your monastery always, providing an abundance of what is required. Behold, and note carefully how many are the monks who have come into your flock. You must guide them on the path of salvation in the name of the Holy Trinity.” Saint arose and saw a multitude of monks carrying stones and bricks for the foundation. Again the Mother of God said: “My dear one, if someone brings even one brick for the building of my church, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Son and God, he shall not lose his reward.” saying this, she became invisible. year before his death, Saint Alexander foresaw the time of his departure from this life. He summoned the brethren and gave them his final instructions, commending them to the Mother of God. The brethren wept at the thought of being separated from their beloved Father. When they asked where he wished to be buried he said, "Bind my sinful body by the legs and drop it into a the marsh then, after covering it with moss, trample on it with your feet." brethren replied, "No, Father, we cannot do this.” the holy ascetic said that if they would not do as he asked, then they should bury him near the church of the Transfiguration. Saint Alexander departed to the heavenly Kingdom on August 30, 1533 at the age of 85. miracles of healing took place at his grave for those who came there with faith. 1545, his disciple and successor, Igumen Herodion, compiled his Life. In 1547 local veneration of the Saint began and a Service was composed for him. On April 17,1641, during the rebuilding of the Transfiguration church, the incorrupt relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were uncovered, and his universal veneration was established on two dates: the day of his repose, August 30, and on April 17, the day of his glorification (and the uncovering of his relics). Alexander of Svir instructed a multitude of disciples, just as the Mother of God had promised him. These Include Ignatius of Ostrov, Leonid of Ostrov, Cornelius of Ostrov, Dionysios of Ostrov, Athanasios of Ostrov, Theodore of Ostrov, and Therapon of Ostrov. addition to these saints, there are disciples and conversers with Saint Alexander of Svir, who have separate days of commemoration: Saint Athanasios of Syandem (January 18), Saint Gennadios of Vasheozersk (February 9), Saint Makarios of Orodezh (August 9), Saint Adrian of Ondrosov (May 17), Saint Nikephoros of Vasheozersk (February 9), Saint Gennadios of Kostroma and Liubimograd (January 23). these saints (except Saint Gennadios of Kostroma) are depicted on the Icon of the monastic Fathers who shone forth in the land of Karelia (the icon is in the church at the Seminary in Kuopio, Finland). The Synaxis of the Saints who have shone forth in Karelia is celebrated by the Finnish Orthodox Church on the Saturday which falls between October 31 and November 6. incorrupt relics of Saint Alexander were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to destroy the relics of the Saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian Saints were stolen and subjected to "scientific examination” or displayed in anti-religious museums. Some of them were completely destroyed.2 second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December of 1997. relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were truly the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before they were returned to the Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics, they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them. holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous cures continue to take place before them. Later at this place, Holy Lake, 36 versts from the future city of Olonets and 6 versts from the River Svira, Saint Alexander founded the monastery of the Life-Creating Trinity, and 130 sazhen (i.e. 910 feet) from it, at Lake Roschina, he built a cell on the future site of the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery. The Soviets conducted many tests, hoping to prove that the relics were fakes. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy, where they remained for almost eighty years. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1480-1550, Athanasius oSynadem&Vologda, estab hermitage near Olonets, Svir Disciple&Igumen, incorrupt r
Russia, St Petersburg, 1480-1550, Athanasius of Synadem and Vologda, estab Dormition hermitage near Olonets, near St Petersburg (Olonka River, Lake Ladoka), Alex oSvir Disciple, from his monastery tDormition hermitage Karelia, near Olonets, on island oSynadem lake, locals slander, back tSvir, igumen there, back tDormition, died 1550, great old age, buried high point Roschinsk island, incorrupt relics; Olonets; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; a disciple of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). the death of his mentor, he established the Dormition hermitage in the forests of Karelia, far from the city of Olonets, an island of Lake Synadem. slander and pettiness of the local inhabitants compelled Saint Athanasius to move back to the Svir monastery, they chose him as igumen. returning to the Dormition hermitage, Athanasius died in about the year 1550 in great old age, was buried on one of the promontories of Roschinsk island. a church was built over his grave, named for Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria. incorrupt relics of Saint Athanasius were placed in this church in 1720.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1490-1534, Johah oKlimetzk, Lake Onega, caught bStorm mVow, Lord said fMonastery, tree icon, bM&2churches
Russia, St Petersburg, 1490-1534, Johah oKlimetzk, Kizhi Island and Monastery, Lake Onega, caught by storm made vow, boat to sandbar, Lord commanded to found monastery for Trinity, Icon in tree, bM&2churches, simple monk there, plus church over relics; Kizhi Island and Monastery, Lake Onega; Venerable Jonah, Abbot of Klimetzk, Commemorated on June 6 ; Jonah of Klimetzk, in the world John, became a monk, and founded the Klimetzk Trinity Monastery in fulfillment of a vow. 1490 he had been caught by a storm on Lake Onega. When there was no hope for survival, John cried out to the Lord, entreating Him to preserve his life so he might repent and serve God. The boat was thrown onto a sandbar by the waves. There he heard the voice of the Lord commanding him to found a monastery in honor of the Life-Creating Trinity. miraculously discovered a holy icon on a juniper tree. The saint fulfilled the will of the Lord and built a monastery with two churches, one dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity and the other in honor of Saint Nicholas, protector of those who sail and those who travel. the rank of igumen, Saint Jonah remained a simple monk at the monastery. He died on June 6, 1534. A church was built over his relics, and was dedicated to Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1493-1549, Saint, Adrian of Ondrusov, aka Andrew Zavalushin
Russia, Moscow, 1493-1549, Saint, Adrian of Ondrusov, aka Andrew Zavalushin; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26; Adrian of Ondrusov (in the world the nobleman Andrew Zavalushin), was the owner of a rich estate (Andreevschina), 9 versts from the monastery of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). accidentally encountered Saint Alexander of Svir during a stag hunt in 1493, and after this he went often to him for guidance, and supplied bread for the ascetics. his estate, he took monastic tonsure at the Valaamo monastery with the name Adrian. years later, with the blessing of Saint Alexander of Svir, Saint Adrian settled in a solitary place on the peninsula of Lake Ladoga. he built a church in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. the settlement of monks in the deep forest was an island, Sala (the Thicket), where there was a gang of robbers under the leadership of Ondrusa as their ataman. the monks, the ataman demanded that they get off his land. Adrian, knowing that he did not have money to buy the place, promised the ataman to intercede for him before God. robber laughed at the monk, but he entreated him so long and so humbly, that the ataman softened and said, “Live.” ataman was soon taken captive by another gang, hidden not far from the stoney Cape of Storozhev. hapless fellow knew that after suffering, torture and death awaited him, and he bitterly repented of his former life. he saw Saint Adrian before him. He said, “You are freed through the mercy of the Lord, for Whose sake you were asked to show mercy to the wilderness brethren,” and he vanished. ataman saw himself without fetters at the shore, and with no one around. he rushed to the monastery of Saint Adrian and found all the ascetics chanting Psalms. seemed that Saint Adrian had not left the monastery. robber fell at the knees of the saint and begged to be accepted as one of the brethren. finished his life in repentance at the monastery. robber of another gang also repented. Through the prayers of Saint Adrian, he was tonsured with the name Cyprian. Afterwards, at the place of a tributary, he built a monastery and was glorified by miracles. monastery of Saint Adrian received an endowment from Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584). August 1549, Saint Adrian was godfather for Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. the saint was returning from Moscow to the monastery, robbers killed him near the village of Obzha, hoping to find money. brethren waited for a long time for their Superior, two years later, he appeared one night in a vision to a few Elders and told them of his death. On another day, May 17, the brethren found his incorrupt body in a swamp and committed it to burial in the wall of his church in honor of Saint Nicholas. memory of Saint Adrian, having received the martyr’s crown, has come to be celebrated twice: on the day of the finding and transfer of his relics (May 17), and on the day of his repose, which he shares with his namesake, the holy Martyr Adrian. Transfer of the relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Ondrusov, Wonderworker, Commemorated on May 17; the manuscript of the Olonets Trebnik under May 17 it is noted: "Today is the transfer of the relics of Venerable Father Adrian, Igoumen of Saint Nicholas Monastery on Lake Ladoga, on Ondrus Island, in the Olonets district, the new wonderworker. His memory is also celebrated on August 26."

Russia, St Petersburg, 1500, 16th C Folder, Martyrius oZelenets MOG Fiery Column&Icon, Adrian oOndrusov' Relics Trns tStNic's
Russia, St Petersburg, 1500, 16th C Folder, Martyrius oZelenets MOG Fiery Column&healing Icon, Adrian oOndrusov' Relics Trns tStNic's, robbers stories, swamp death relics story

Russia, St Petersburg, 1540-1603, Martyrius oZelenets, MOG Fiery column&healing Icon, MOG where fSilence, cross over Church
Russia, St Petersburg, 1540-1603, Martyrius oZelenets (Green Island), Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, St Petersburg, born Veliki Luki, mentor Boris became monk Bogolep, M joined him, work&prayer, treasurer, altar server, MOG showed tM, wFiery Tikhvin Icon and column, still hot when he kissed it, heat on forehead upon wake, sent ill monk tIcon, M filled wintense faith, pMOG show him where go for silence, 60K away, demons put to shame, asked Bogolep permission, advised return, tSmolensk&MOG Icon+relcs, Abramius&Ephraim appeared, reassured him, tTikhvin, monk told him secret place wRadiant cross stars, This time Boog approved Zelenets, harsh life there, no shake resolve, small chapel, another icon in dream, on sea, Gabriel told him venerate, M into water tV, but icon sinks, wilderness sanctified by M life, monks come, shining cross over church, visible grace on M, discernment&healing, funds fNovgorod, new heated church, MOG appeared on bench near icons, 1570 ordained priest, igumen before 1582, then wealthier benefactor, 1595 benefactor son's ressurection, his 2icons on dead boy's chest, 1595 Tsar Theodore gives land, sensing death M told brothers tTrust MOG as he had, passed wJoy 1603; Zelenets, Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, Zelenets (Green Island); Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Martyrius of Zelenets, in the world Menas, was born in the city of Veliki Luki (Great Meadow) in the sixteenth century. His parents, Cosmas and Stephanida, died when he was just ten years old. was raised by his spiritual Father, a priest of the city’s Annunciation church, and the child’s soul cleaved to God. widowed priest Boris became a monk with the name Bogolep at the Trinity-Sergius monastery in Veliki Luki. often visited him at the monastery, and later on he himself received monastic tonsure there taking the name Martyrius. seven years both teacher and disciple toiled for the Lord unrelentingly in a single cell, encouraging each other in deeds of work and prayer. Saint Martyrius had the obediences of “kellarios” [cellarer], treasurer, and “ponomar” [or altar server]. was at this time that the Mother of God first showed Her special solicitude for Saint Martyrius. mid-day he dozed off in the bell tower and beheld the Tikhvin (Hodēgḗtria) icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in a fiery column. The monk venerated it, and it was still hot from the fiery column. When he awoke, he still felt this heat on his forehead. the spiritual advice of Saint Martyrius, the grievously ill monk Abramius went to venerate the wonderworking Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, and he received healing. Martyrius was filled with intense faith in the intercession of the Mother of God. began to pray that the Heavenly Queen would show him where he might go for the ascetic feat of complete silence, for which his soul yearned. monk secretly withdrew into a desolate place situated 60 versts from Veliki Luki. As he himself writes, “in this wilderness I received fearful visitations from demons, but I prayed to God, and the demons were put to shame.” a letter to Elder Bogolep, Saint Martyrius asked his blessing to dwell in the wilderness, but the spiritual father advised him to return to the cenobitic life where he would be of use to the brethren. daring to disobey his experienced Elder, and not knowing how to proceed, Saint Martyrius went to Smolensk to venerate the wonderworking Hodēgḗtria [She who leads the way] Icon of the Mother of God and the relics of Saints Abramius and Ephraim (August 21). saints appeared to Saint Martyrius in a dream, and they reassured him that he would be permitted to live in the wilderness, “wherever God will bless and the Most Holy Theotokos will guide you.” Martyrius then went to the Tikhvin monastery, hoping that the Mother of God would resolve his dilemma. monk Abramius, who remained at this monastery in gratitude to the Mother of God for his healing, told Saint Martyrius about a secret place, over which he had seen a radiant Cross of stars. time he received the blessing of the Elder. Martyrius took with him two small icons: one of the Life-Creating Trinity, and the other of the Tikhvin Mother of God. He then settled in Zelents (the green island), which was a beautiful island in a forested swamp. and painful was the life of the monk in the wilderness, but neither cold, nor deprivation, nor wild beasts, nor the wiles of the enemy were able to shake his resolve. built a small chapel for the glorification of, and in gratitude to, the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos. was again deemed worthy to see an icon of the Mother of God in a dream. This time it was floating on the sea. To the right of the icon he saw the Archangel Gabriel who told him to venerate the icon. Martyrius went into the water, and the icon began to sink in the sea. The saint then cried out, and a wave carried him to shore. With that, the icon vanished. wilderness was sanctified by the life of the hermit, and many began to arrive, not only to be instructed by the word and example of the monk, but also to settle there with him. increased number of disciples prompted the monk to build a church dedicated to the Life-Creating Trinity, where he placed his own icons of the Trinity and of the Tikhvin Mother of God. As a sign of the grace of God resting upon the monastery of Saint Martyrius, his disciple Saint Gurias was permitted to see a Cross in the heavens, shining over the cross on top of the church. was the beginning of the Trinity Zelenets monastery, “the green wilderness monastery of Martyrius.” The Lord blessed his labors, and the grace of God shone visibly upon him. fame of his discernment and gift of healing became known to many. Many eminent people of Novgorod began to send gifts to the monastery. With funds provided by the pious boyar Theodore Syrkov, a heated church was built and consecrated in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in memory of the first church at Veliki Luki, from which the saint had begun his path to God. Martyrius continued to receive help from the Mother of God. She appeared to him on a bench in the corner where the icons stood. saint recalled: “I looked upon Her without lowering my eyes... I gazed upon Her holy face, at her eyes filled with tears, ready to trickle down Her all-pure face. awoke from the dream and was afraid. I lit a candle from the lampada, in order to see whether or not the Most Pure Virgin sat at the place where I saw Her in the dream. I went up to the icon of the Hodēgḗtria and was convinced that in truth the Mother of God had appeared to me as She is depicted on my icon.” after this (about the year 1570) Saint Martyrius was ordained priest at Novgorod by the archbishop (Alexander or Leonid). He was already an igumen in 1582. the Lord granted the Zelenets wilderness monastery an even wealthier benefactor. 1595 at Tver Saint Martyrius resurrected the son of the former Kasimov ruler Simeon Bekbulatovich, praying in front of his own icons of the Life-Creating Trinity and the Tikhvin Mother of God. He placed both icons upon the chest of the dead child, and he awoke as if from sleep. gratitude Simeon built a church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and of Saint John Chrysostom, the Heavenly patron saint of the ruler’s son John. 1595 Tsar Theodore endowed the monastery with a sufficient quantity of land for its support. reached a great old age and preparing for death, Saint Martyrius dug a grave for himself, and near it he placed a coffin fashioned by his own hands. often came there to weep. his imminent departure, the monk assembled the brethren and told his children in the Lord to have steadfast hope in the Most Holy Trinity and to trust the Mother of God, as he himself had always trusted in Her. receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he gave the brethren his blessing with the words: “Peace to all the Orthodox.” With spiritual joy he fell asleep in the Lord on March 1, 1603. saint was buried in the grave he dug near the church of the Mother of God. Later, his holy relics rested beneath a crypt in the church of the Most Holy Trinity, beneath the lower temple in honor of Saint John the Theologian. Cornelius, a former monk of the Zelenets monastery, and later Metropolitan of Kazan and Novgorod (+ 1698), compiled a service and wrote the Life of Saint Martyrius, making use of personal notes and the saint’s testament. memory of Saint Martyrius of Zelenets and Veliki Luki is celebrated also on November 11. Venerable Martyrius, Abbot of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on November 11; Martyrius was a monk in the Veliki Luki (Great Meadows) Monastery, and shared a cell with Elder Bogolep. These holy ascetics ate only once a day. After the services in church, they would fulfill the rule of prayer in their cell, then they would work during the night milling corn. Saint Martyrius went to live at Zelenets (Green Island), and founded a monastery in the midst of the swamps. By 1582, he was already the igumen of the monastery, which had twelve monks. Several benefactors donated to the monastery, including Theodore Syrkov, Simeon Bekbulatov (the ruler of Kasim), and Tsar Theodore, who donated land. Martyrius fell asleep in the Lord in 1603. He is also commemorated on March 1.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1551, Adrian of Ondrusov's Relics Trnsfr tSt Nic's, Adrian&robbers stories, A's swamp death relics story
Russia, St Petersburg, 1551, Adrian of Ondrusov's Relics Transfer to St Nicholas Monastery at Ladoga Fortress, Adrian's story & robbers release and conversion stories, A's swamp death relics story; St Nicholas Monastery &Fortress, Lake Ladoga ; Ladoga Fortress; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26; Adrian of Ondrusov (in the world the nobleman Andrew Zavalushin), was the owner of a rich estate (Andreevschina), 9 versts from the monastery of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). accidentally encountered Saint Alexander of Svir during a stag hunt in 1493, and after this he went often to him for guidance, and supplied bread for the ascetics. his estate, he took monastic tonsure at the Valaamo monastery with the name Adrian. years later, with the blessing of Saint Alexander of Svir, Saint Adrian settled in a solitary place on the peninsula of Lake Ladoga. he built a church in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. the settlement of monks in the deep forest was an island, Sala (the Thicket), where there was a gang of robbers under the leadership of Ondrusa as their ataman. the monks, the ataman demanded that they get off his land. Adrian, knowing that he did not have money to buy the place, promised the ataman to intercede for him before God. robber laughed at the monk, but he entreated him so long and so humbly, that the ataman softened and said, “Live.” ataman was soon taken captive by another gang, hidden not far from the stoney Cape of Storozhev. hapless fellow knew that after suffering, torture and death awaited him, and he bitterly repented of his former life. he saw Saint Adrian before him. He said, “You are freed through the mercy of the Lord, for Whose sake you were asked to show mercy to the wilderness brethren,” and he vanished. ataman saw himself without fetters at the shore, and with no one around. he rushed to the monastery of Saint Adrian and found all the ascetics chanting Psalms. seemed that Saint Adrian had not left the monastery. robber fell at the knees of the saint and begged to be accepted as one of the brethren. finished his life in repentance at the monastery. robber of another gang also repented. Through the prayers of Saint Adrian, he was tonsured with the name Cyprian. Afterwards, at the place of a tributary, he built a monastery and was glorified by miracles. monastery of Saint Adrian received an endowment from Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584). August 1549, Saint Adrian was godfather for Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. the saint was returning from Moscow to the monastery, robbers killed him near the village of Obzha, hoping to find money. brethren waited for a long time for their Superior, two years later, he appeared one night in a vision to a few Elders and told them of his death. On another day, May 17, the brethren found his incorrupt body in a swamp and committed it to burial in the wall of his church in honor of Saint Nicholas. memory of Saint Adrian, having received the martyr’s crown, has come to be celebrated twice: on the day of the finding and transfer of his relics (May 17), and on the day of his repose, which he shares with his namesake, the holy Martyr Adrian. Transfer of the relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Ondrusov, Wonderworker, Commemorated on May 17; the manuscript of the Olonets Trebnik under May 17 it is noted: "Today is the transfer of the relics of Venerable Father Adrian, Igoumen of Saint Nicholas Monastery on Lake Ladoga, on Ondrus Island, in the Olonets district, the new wonderworker. His memory is also celebrated on August 26."

Russia, St Petersburg, 1552-1603, Martyrius of Zelenets M, orphaned at 10, raised by priest who became monk, toiled with him 7yrs, then many experiences with Theotokos thru her icons, many came, built Z Monastery
Russia, Pskov, 1552-1603, Martyrius of Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, St Petersburg, fVeliki Luki (Great Meadow) early 16th C, parents died when he was 10, raised by priest Boris, his soul cleaved to God, often visited Boris after he became monk Bogolep at local monestary, later for 7 yrs. toiled with him single cell, MOG first showed to him in a dream as Tikhvin Icon in firery colomn, he kissed it and it was hot, Later on her forehead, demons in wilderness shamed by prayer, wanted dwell in W but Bogolep advised return, he went to Smolensk to venerate wonderworking Hodēgḗtria [She who leads the way] Icon oMOG, and Abramius & Ephriam relics, they appeared to him, reassured wilderness life, when God will bless and MOG lead, Abramius (there since his healing) told Martyrius about secret place where he saw radiant Cross of Stars. received Elder's blessing to wilderness, took 2 small icons, settled in Zelents, a beautiful Green Island in forrested swamp, harsh wilderness life, cold, deprivation, wild beasts, devils wiles, did not shake his resolve, built small chapel, again worthy to see MOG icon in dream, floating on sea, archangel Michael on the right, who told him to venerate the icon, M went into water, icon began to sink, M cried out, wave carried him to shore, icon vanished, wilderness sanctified by M, many arrived, to stay, so he built a church, his disciple Gurais permitted to see Cross in the Heavens shining over top of the church, this was beginning of Zelenets monastery in 1582, Lord blessed his labors, discernment and healings, eminent Novgorod personal gifts to monastery, exmple Pious boyar Theodore Syrkov provided heated church, MOG continued to help, appeared to him, even wealthier benefactor, 1595 at Tver M resurrected Kasimov ruler Simeon Bekbulatovich's son, while praying in fromt of his two MOG icons, resurrected after both icons placed on his chest, so M built church in honor of Tikhvin Icon and John Chrysostom (son's patron), 1595 Tsar Theodore increased land for the monastery, sufficient to sustain it, sensing imminent departure, in great old age M dug grave and fashioned coffin for himself, fell asleep Mar1, 1603; Zelenets, Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District; Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Martyrius of Zelenets, in the world Menas, was born in the city of Veliki Luki (Great Meadow) in the sixteenth century. parents, Cosmas and Stephanida, died when he was just ten years old. was raised by his spiritual Father, a priest of the city’s Annunciation church, and the child’s soul cleaved to God. widowed priest Boris became a monk with the name Bogolep at the Trinity-Sergius monastery in Veliki Luki. often visited him at the monastery, and later on he himself received monastic tonsure there taking the name Martyrius. seven years both teacher and disciple toiled for the Lord unrelentingly in a single cell, encouraging each other in deeds of work and prayer. Martyrius had the obediences of “kellarios” [cellarer], treasurer, and “ponomar” [or altar server]. was at this time that the Mother of God first showed Her special solicitude for Saint Martyrius. mid-day he dozed off in the bell tower and beheld the Tikhvin (Hodēgḗtria) icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in a fiery column. monk venerated it, and it was still hot from the fiery column. When he awoke, he still felt this heat on his forehead. the spiritual advice of Saint Martyrius, the grievously ill monk Abramius went to venerate the wonderworking Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, and he received healing. Martyrius was filled with intense faith in the intercession of the Mother of God. began to pray that the Heavenly Queen would show him where he might go for the ascetic feat of complete silence, for which his soul yearned. monk secretly withdrew into a desolate place situated 60 versts from Veliki Luki. he himself writes, “in this wilderness I received fearful visitations from demons, but I prayed to God, and the demons were put to shame.” a letter to Elder Bogolep, Saint Martyrius asked his blessing to dwell in the wilderness, the spiritual father advised him to return to the cenobitic life where he would be of use to the brethren. daring to disobey his experienced Elder, and not knowing how to proceed, Saint Martyrius went to Smolensk to venerate the wonderworking Hodēgḗtria [She who leads the way] Icon of the Mother of God and the relics of Saints Abramius and Ephraim (August 21). saints appeared to Saint Martyrius in a dream, and they reassured him that he would be permitted to live in the wilderness, “wherever God will bless and the Most Holy Theotokos will guide you.” Martyrius then went to the Tikhvin monastery, hoping that the Mother of God would resolve his dilemma. monk Abramius, who remained at this monastery in gratitude to the Mother of God for his healing, told Saint Martyrius about a secret place, over which he had seen a radiant Cross of stars. time he received the blessing of the Elder. Martyrius took with him two small icons: one of the Life-Creating Trinity, and the other of the Tikhvin Mother of God. then settled in Zelents (the green island), which was a beautiful island in a forested swamp. and painful was the life of the monk in the wilderness, neither cold, nor deprivation, nor wild beasts, nor the wiles of the enemy were able to shake his resolve. built a small chapel for the glorification of, and in gratitude to, the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos. was again deemed worthy to see an icon of the Mother of God in a dream. time it was floating on the sea. To the right of the icon he saw the Archangel Gabriel who told him to venerate the icon. Martyrius went into the water, and the icon began to sink in the sea. The saint then cried out, and a wave carried him to shore. With that, the icon vanished. wilderness was sanctified by the life of the hermit, and many began to arrive, not only to be instructed by the word and example of the monk, but also to settle there with him. increased number of disciples prompted the monk to build a church dedicated to the Life-Creating Trinity, he placed his own icons of the Trinity and of the Tikhvin Mother of God. a sign of the grace of God resting upon the monastery of Saint Martyrius, his disciple Saint Gurias was permitted to see a Cross in the heavens, shining over the cross on top of the church. was the beginning of the Trinity Zelenets monastery, “the green wilderness monastery of Martyrius.” Lord blessed his labors, and the grace of God shone visibly upon him. The fame of his discernment and gift of healing became known to many. Many eminent people of Novgorod began to send gifts to the monastery. funds provided by the pious boyar Theodore Syrkov, a heated church was built and consecrated in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in memory of the first church at Veliki Luki, from which the saint had begun his path to God. Martyrius continued to receive help from the Mother of God. appeared to him on a bench in the corner where the icons stood. The saint recalled: “I looked upon Her without lowering my eyes... I gazed upon Her holy face, at her eyes filled with tears, ready to trickle down Her all-pure face. awoke from the dream and was afraid. I lit a candle from the lampada, in order to see whether or not the Most Pure Virgin sat at the place where I saw Her in the dream. went up to the icon of the Hodēgḗtria and was convinced that in truth the Mother of God had appeared to me as She is depicted on my icon.” after this (about the year 1570) Saint Martyrius was ordained priest at Novgorod by the archbishop (Alexander or Leonid). was already an igumen in 1582. the Lord granted the Zelenets wilderness monastery an even wealthier benefactor. 1595 at Tver Saint Martyrius resurrected the son of the former Kasimov ruler Simeon Bekbulatovich, in front of his own icons of the Life-Creating Trinity and the Tikhvin Mother of God. placed both icons upon the chest of the dead child, and he awoke as if from sleep. gratitude Simeon built a church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and of Saint John Chrysostom, the Heavenly patron saint of the ruler’s son John. 1595 Tsar Theodore endowed the monastery with a sufficient quantity of land for its support. reached a great old age and preparing for death, Saint Martyrius dug a grave for himself, and near it he placed a coffin fashioned by his own hands. often came there to weep. Sensing his imminent departure, the monk assembled the brethren and told his children in the Lord to have steadfast hope in the Most Holy Trinity and to trust the Mother of God, as he himself had always trusted in Her. receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he gave the brethren his blessing with the words: “Peace to all the Orthodox.” With spiritual joy he fell asleep in the Lord on March 1, 1603. saint was buried in the grave he dug near the church of the Mother of God. his holy relics rested beneath a crypt in the church of the Most Holy Trinity, beneath the lower temple in honor of Saint John the Theologian. a former monk of the Zelenets monastery, and later Metropolitan of Kazan and Novgorod (+ 1698), compiled a service and wrote the Life of Saint Martyrius, making use of personal notes and the saint’s testament. memory of Saint Martyrius of Zelenets and Veliki Luki is celebrated also on November 11.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1590-1630, Athanasius oNovolotsk, fKargopol tOlnets land, founded Novolotsk m 78 Versts fPetrozavodsk
Russia, St Petersburg, 1590-1630, Athanasius oNovolotsk, Petrozavodsk, Lake Onega, St. Petersburg, Svir River side, fKargopol tOlnets land, founded Novolotsk monastery 78 Versts fPetrozavodsk; Petrozavodsk; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated on January 18 ; Athanasius of Navolotsk went at the end of the sixteenth century from the Kargopol region to the Olonets land, he founded a monastery 78 versts from what later became the city of Petrozavodsk. saint died at a Verkholedsk suburb not far from Shenkursk.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1600, 17th C Folder, incrrpt relics, Stockholm Icon LArmy appear, Trty wTikvin Icon&LArmy appear
Russia, St Petersburg, 1600, 17th C Folder, Diodoros oYuregorsk estab m incorrupt relics, Stockholm Icon iTikhvin LArmy appearance, Incorrupt relcs Alex oSvir, Treaty oStolbovo ending Sweden war wTikvin Icon&LArmy apprnc

Russia, St Petersburg, 1606-1633, Diodorus t Abbot of Yuregorsk Monastery, Mt Yurev, established monastery, incorrupt relics
Russia, St Petersburg, 1606-1633, Diodorus t Abbot of Yuregorsk Monastery, Mt Yurev? (above Vodla Lake), established monastery, incorrupt relics Yuregorsk Monastery?, Mt Yurev? This is the location of the only church in the area. Venerable Diodorus the Abbot of Yuregorsk, Commemorated on November 20; Diodorus of Yuregorsk was born in the village of Turchasovo at the River Onega. parents, Jerothei and Maria, named their son Diomid. a fifteen-year-old youth he went on pilgrimage to the Solovki monastery, and then remained there as a novice. There he received monastic tonsure when he was nineteen under the igumen Anthony. lived with the hermits on desolate islands, and then he settled at Lake Vodla. He spent seven years there with his disciple Prochorus. to found a monastery in honor of the Most Holy Trinity on Mount Yurev, the monk went to Moscow, where he received approval from Tsar Michael (1613-1645) also money for the building of the monastery from the Tsar’s mother, the nun and Eldress Martha. before his death, Saint Diodorus was obliged to journey to Kargopol on monastery matters. leave of the brethren, he predicted his impending death. He died on November 27, 1633 and was buried at Kargopol. two years his incorrupt body was transferred to the Trinity monastery and buried at the south wall of the cathedral church. memory of Saint Diodorus is celebrated on November 20 because of the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign,” with which his repose coincides.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1613, Stockholm Icon in Tikhvin, St Petersburg area (Tikhvinka River 2) large army appeared
Russia, St Petersburg, 1613, Stockholm Icon in Tikhvin, St Petersburg area (Tikhvinka River 2), connected to 1383 Tikhvin Icon, 300 yrs later Stockholm Icon appeared in Tikhvin in 1613. Sweden occupied Ivangorod, Yam, Koporje and Ladoga. Novgorod then fell, Tikhvin battleground at Dormition Monastery. large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. Tikhvin; Stockholm Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on November 13; history of the Stockholm Icon of the Mother of God is closely connected with the sacred symbol of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (June 26) which appeared in Russia in 1383, on the banks of the Tikhvinka River. The appearance of the Stockholm Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurred during the XVI-XVII centuries, which was a time of great strife between Russia and the Kingdom of Sweden. of their collusion with the opponents of the Orthodox Faith, and for many other sins, the wrath of God fell upon the Russian people. Swedish troops occupied the fortresses of Ivangorod, Yam, Koporje, and Ladoga. After a long siege, Novgorod fell into the hands of the enemy. In 1613, Tikhvin became a battleground. The Swedish general Jakob Delagardi brought his troops to the Dormition Monastery and ordered them to destroy it. Three times the Swedes besieged the holy habitation, but the Queen of Heaven did not withdraw her mercy from the monks, striking fear into their enemies, who had been edging forward on every side. September 13, 1613, the eve of the Feast of the Elevation of the Honorable and Life-creating Cross of the Lord, the Swedish regiments retreated when a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. News of this miracle marked the beginning of the liberation of the entire Novgorod region from foreign troops. Soon the Stolbov Peace Treaty was signed between Russia and Sweden in the presence of the Tikhvin Icon. Thus, the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God has been the protector and patron of the Orthodox in their relations with the Swedes. this Treaty many cities were annexed by Sweden, but the Russian population had to remain in those places. The Orthodox, however, could not accept these terms and, after a short time, a mass exodus of people began from the annexed lands to the territory of Russia. Attempts by the Swedish authorities to keep people in their places by promising to reduce fees and duties did not produce the desired results. The Russian landowners and peasants, who did not wish to live in Sweden, a Lutheran country, left the region because they longed for their homes. Among them were citizens of Tikhvin. They could not forget their city with the golden cupolas of its churches, the ringing of bells, and the icons of the saints, so dear to their hearts. exodus of the Orthodox from the lands conquered by the Swedes continued in the reign of the most devout Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), called "peace-loving" by the people because of his kindness. During his reign Russia acquired the Stockholm Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. day, when the Tikhvin merchants came to the Swedish merchant Phoka in order to purchase some supplies, they saw a familiar Icon, an Icon of the Theotokos which resembled the Tikhvin Icon, only smaller. They prayed fervently, gazing at the expensive Icon, and from that time they came often to Phoka. passed, and a rumor reached Tikhvin that the Swedes in Stockholm had found a Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. The soul of every man from Tikhvin was sorrowful at seeing this holy object in the hands of foreigners. They grieved to see their Patroness, the Most Holy Theotokos, in a foreign land. So the merchants decided to redeem the Icon. wasn't easy to persuade Phoka, but in the end, afraid of losing his profitable trade connections, he agreed to sell the Icon, asking for 100 gold coins. The matter was settled, and in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of the pious Sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich, the Tikhvin merchants started back again with the newly found holy object in the autumn of 1671. They carried with them the copy of the Tikhvin Icon, adorned with pearls and gemstones. which they had purchased in Stockholm. Lake Ladoga, they were caught in a terrible storm. For several days large waves tossed the ship from side to side. The water was covered with ice, and it was snowing. Just when it seemed that there was no hope, everyone on the ship fell to their knees before the Icon of the Theotokos and began to pray. Suddenly the helmsman shouted, "The Monastery! It is the Monastery of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker." The Stockholm Icon followed the same route as the original Tikhvin Icon three hundred years before, along the rivers Svir and Oyat, and then it was brought to Tikhvin by a shipping route. miraculous rescue of the merchants, and the fact that the Icon had traveled the same route as the Tikhvin Icon, was regarded as a sign of the wonderworking power of the Stockholm Icon. On November 13, it was placed in Tikhvin's Dormition Cathedral for veneration. In the city, the Icon was greeted by a Cross Procession, and all the churches rang their bells. Together with all the people, the Superior of the Great Monastery of the Dormition knelt before the Icon and exclaimed: "The Sovereign Lady has come! She has come, not to a foreign country, but to her own place, to great and glorious Russia, to this holy monastery, where the Angels brought her ancient Icon to dwell." Stockholm Icon of the Queen of Heaven has a beautiful pearl riza, with an embossed crown, and was placed to the left of the Royal Doors, in the main row of the iconostasis of the Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral, which was built on the site of the wooden church established during the reign of Tsar Peter Alekseevich (1696-1725). the reign of Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881) the Icon was transferred to a heated cathedral, built in 1870-1872. year on November 13, there is a service in honor of the Stockholm Icon with a Cross Procession. last reliable information concerning the Icon dates back to 1928. It comes from a description of the items confiscated by the Soviet government. Since then, all traces of the Stockholm Icon have disappeared. say that the wonderworking Icon was moved to the Russian Museum in the 1930s, but it is no longer there. It is now in the church of Saint Sergius in Stockholm. This church was founded by a group of Russian Orthodox people in the late 1980s, at that time many immigrants from the former Soviet Union were living in Stockholm, but there was not a single church associated with the Moscow Patriarchate. The Savior-Transfiguration Church in Stockholm is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. icons in the altar were painted in Russia, among them is an icon of Saint Sergius, the heavenly patron of the parish. On the walls are icons, both new and old, which were brought to Sweden with the first wave of Russian emigration. Among them there is a particularly revered Stockholm Icon of the Mother of God.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1617, Treaty of Stolbovo, ended Russia's war with Sweden, Luke's Tikvin Icon, appearance large army
Stolbovo (Treaty of Stolbovo) which ended Russia's war with Sweden. Stolbovo is south of Lake Ladgoda and 33 Miles from Tikhvin ; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. According to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,” the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. Afterwards, the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. Later, the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,” adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.” Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the “Hodēgḗtria” model and is similar in style to the ancient Ivḗron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodēgḗtria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, St Petersburg, 1641, Finding incorrupt relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir
Russia, Moscow, 1641, Finding incorrupt relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir ; Alexander of Svir died on August 30, 1533. His incorrupt relics were uncovered in 1641 during the reconstruction of the Transfiguration cathedral. April 17, 1641, the relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were found and examined. The discovery was accompanied by special signs; on April 15 and 16 there was extraordinary thunder and lightning, which ran along the ground above the grave of the holy founder of the monastery. Then during the Divine Liturgy on April 17 (the Saturday of the Righteous Lazarus) the workers were digging a hole for the walls of the new stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord; and in the altar of the old church they found the Saint's coffin. The ground above it was in the shape of a cave, with nothing to support it. the monks came down to see the decayed coffin (only the lower board was well preserved). When Igoumen Abraham removed the top board, a strong fragrance was noticed. The Saint's body was intact, and was clothed in a mantya and the schema. His face was covered, and beneath the schema, part of his beard could be seen; both legs lay as if he were recently deceased, with the right foot upward, and the left foot facing to the side, both feet were in sandals. his body emanated a fragrance like myrrh, or flowers. Metropolitan Aphthonios of Novgorod was present at the uncovering of the relics. With reverence and joy, the relics were placed in a new coffin and were taken to the temple of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in that same Hermitage. monks, who had seen the incorrupt flesh of their heavenly patron, were amazed, and they made a detailed description of the shrine. Particularly surprising was the face, which was so life-like that the Saint seemed asleep. The face matched the icons which had been painted by his contemporaries. The authors of the description also noted the unusual position of the Saint's hands and feet and the amber-yellow color of his skin. Soon the relics were placed in a silver reliquary donated by Tsar Michael, and were moved to the newly rebuilt Transfiguration Cathedral. the same time, the commemoration of Saint Alexander was appointed on two dates: August 30, the day of his blessed repose, and April 17, the day of the uncovering of his relics. incorrupt relics of the saint were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to liquidate the relics of the saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian saints were stolen and subjected to “scientific examination” or displayed in antireligious museums. Some were completely destroyed. to prove that the relics were fakes, the Soviets conducted many tests. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy. There they remained for nearly eighty years. second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December 1997. relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were in fact the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before their return to the Svir Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them. holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous healings continue to take place before them. August 30 for the Life of Saint Alexander. Svir River; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Alexander of Svir was born on July 15, 1448, on the Feast Day of the Prophet Amos, and was named for him in Baptism. Saint Alexander was a beacon of monasticism in the deep forests of the Russian North, living in asceticism, and so he received remarkable gifts by the All-Holy Spirit. parents, Stephen and Vassa (Vasilisa) were peasants living in the village of Mandera near Lake Ladoga, on the shores of the Oyata River, a tributary of the Svira River. They had adult sons and daughters who had left the home of their parents. Stephen and Vassa longed to have another son, and prayed that God would grant their wish. The couple heard a voice from on high: “Rejoice, good man and wife, you shall bear a son, in whose birth God will give comfort to His Church.” grew up to be an extraordinary child. He was always obedient and gentle, he avoided games, jokes and foul talk; he wore poor clothing and so weakened himself with fasting that it caused his mother much anxiety. When he came of age, he met some monks from Valaam who had come to the Oyata to purchase various necessities, and on other monastery business. this time Valaam was already known as a monastery of great piety and strict ascetic life. After speaking with the monks, the young man was fascinated by their account of Skete life (with two or three monks living together) and the solitary life of the anchorite. Knowing that his parents had arranged a marriage for him, the young man fled secretly to Valaam when he was nineteen. An Angel of the Lord appeared to him the guise of a traveler, and showed him the way to the island. Amos lived at the monastery as a novice for seven years, leading an austere life. He spent his days at work, and his nights in vigil and prayer. Sometimes, he prayed in the forest bare-chested, covered with mosquitoes and gnats, until it was time for Matins. the year 1474, Amos was tonsured with the new name Alexander. After several years, his parents eventually learned where their son had gone from some Karelians visiting Mandera. Following the example of their son, the parents also went to monasteries and were tonsured with the names Sergius and Barbara. After their deaths, Saint Alexander, with the blessing of the Igumen of the monastery, settled on an island, where he built a cell in the crevice of a cliff and continued his spiritual endeavors. fame of his asceticism spread far and wide. Then in 1485, Saint Alexander departed from Valaam and, after receiving instructions from on high, chose a place in the forest by the shores of a beautiful lake, which was later called Holy Lake. Here he built a shack, living in solitude for seven years, eating only what he gathered in the forest.1 this time, Alexander experienced terrible suffering from hunger, frost, sickness and demonic temptations, but the Lord sustained the righteous one's spiritual and bodily strength. Once, he was afflicted with a terrible pain in his stomach. Not only was he unable to get up off the ground, but he couldn't even lift his head. He just lay there and chanted Psalms. Then an Angel appeared to him. Placing his hand on the sore spot, he made the Sign of the Cross over the Saint and healed him. 1493 while hunting for deer, a nearby landowner named Andrew Zavalishin happened to discover the Saint's cell. Andrew told him of a fiery pillar he had seen over this place, and begged him to tell him about his life. The Saint was deeply saddened by this, because he had not able to hide himself from men. After making the other promise not to tell anyone about him until after his death, Saint Alexander spoke to him about his life in the wilderness, where he had lived for seven years without seeing anyone, how he had subsisted on plants alone, and how he had been healed of a pain in his stomach by an Angel. After that, Andrew began to visit Saint Alexander often. Finally, following the Saint's advice, he went to Valaam, where he was tonsured with the name Adrian. Saint Adrian founded the Ondrusov monastery, and led a holy life (Saint Andrew is commemorated on August 26 and May 17). Zavalishin was unable to remain silent about the holy ascetic, despite the promise he had given. News of the righteous one began to spread widely, and soon monks gathered around him. Therefore, Saint Alexander withdrew from the brethren and built a cell 130 sazhen from the monastery. There he encountered a multitude of temptations. The demons assumed the forms of wild animals. Hissing like snakes, they ordered him to leave. Saint Alexander's prayers scorched and scattered the demons like a fiery flame. 1508, twenty-three years after he came to this secluded spot, the Life-Creating Trinity appeared to Saint Alexander. One night he was praying in his cell. Suddenly, there was a dazzling light, and he saw three Angels in resplendent white garments approaching him. They shone with a pure brightness greater than the sun. Each held a staff in His hand. Saint Alexander fell down in terror, and after recovering his senses, he prostrated himself upon the ground. Raising him by the hand, the Angels said: “Have faith, blessed one, and do not be afraid.” Saint was told to build a church and a monastery. He fell to his knees, protesting his own unworthiness, but the Lord raised him up and ordered him to carry out the instructions he had been given. Saint Alexander asked to whom the church ought to be dedicated. The Lord said: "Beloved, as you see us speaking with you in Three Persons, so build the church in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the consubstantial Trinity. Peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Saint Alexander beheld the Lord with outstretched wings, moving along the ground until He became invisible. appearance is acknowledged as unique in history of the Russian Orthodox Church After this vision, the Saint began thinking of where to build the church. Once, as he was praying to God, he heard a voice. Gazing up to the heavens, he saw an Angel of the Lord clothed in a mantiya and klobuk, such as Saint Pachomios (May 15) had seen. Angel, standing in the air with outstretched wings and upraised hands, proclaimed: “One is Holy, One is the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the Glory of God the Father. Amen.” Then he turned to Saint Alexander saying, “Build a church here in honor of the Lord Who has appeared to you in Three Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Undivided Trinity.” making the Sign of the Cross over the place three times, the Angel became invisible. that same year he built a wooden church in honor of the Life-Creating Trinity (a stone church was built here in 1526). At the same time as the church was built, the brethren urged Saint Alexander to be ordained to the holy priesthood. For a long time he refused, considering himself unworthy. Then the brethren implored Saint Serapion, the Archbishop of Novgorod (March 16), to convince him to accept this office. So that very year Saint Alexander went to Novgorod and was ordained by the holy Archbishop. Soon afterward, the brethren also asked the Saint to be their Superior. Igumen, Saint Alexander became even more humble than before. He wore tattered clothes, and he slept on the bare ground. He himself prepared food, kneaded dough and baked bread. On one occasion, there was not enough firewood, so the steward asked the Saint to send any unoccupied monks to gather firewood. Saint Alexander replied, "I am not busy." Then he began to chop firewood. Another time, he carried water. all were asleep, the saint was often busy grinding wheat with hand-stones to make more bread. Every night, he went around to all the cells, and if he heard vain conversations, he tapped softly on the door and left. In the morning, if the brother readily acknowledged his guilt and repented, he was forgiven. On the other hand, if the brother tried to justify himself, he was admonished and given a penance. the end of his life, Saint Alexander decided to build a stone church in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. One evening, after chanting an Akathist to the Mother of God, he settled down to rest in his cell. Suddenly, he said to his cell attendant Athanasios, “Child, be sober and alert, because at this very hour we shall have a wondrous and astounding visitation." a voice like thunder said, “Behold, the Lord and His Mother are coming.” Alexander hastened to the entrance to the cell, which it was illumined by a great light shining throughout the monastery, brighter than the rays of the sun. The Saint beheld the Most Pure Mother of God upon the foundation of the Protection church, and sitting where the altar would be, like a Queen upon a throne. She held the Infant Christ in her arms, and a multitude of Angels stood before her, with shining with indescribable radiance. fell down to the ground, unable to endure the great light. The Most Holy Theotokos said, “Arise, chosen one of my Son and God. I have come here to visit you, my dear one, and to see the foundation of my church. Since you have prayed for your disciples and for your monastery, henceforth they shall have all that they need; not only during your lifetime, but also after your death. I shall be with your monastery always, providing an abundance of what is required. Behold, and note carefully how many are the monks who have come into your flock. You must guide them on the path of salvation in the name of the Holy Trinity.” Saint arose and saw a multitude of monks carrying stones and bricks for the foundation. Again the Mother of God said: “My dear one, if someone brings even one brick for the building of my church, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Son and God, he shall not lose his reward.” saying this, she became invisible. year before his death, Saint Alexander foresaw the time of his departure from this life. He summoned the brethren and gave them his final instructions, commending them to the Mother of God. The brethren wept at the thought of being separated from their beloved Father. When they asked where he wished to be buried he said, "Bind my sinful body by the legs and drop it into a the marsh then, after covering it with moss, trample on it with your feet." brethren replied, "No, Father, we cannot do this.” the holy ascetic said that if they would not do as he asked, then they should bury him near the church of the Transfiguration. Saint Alexander departed to the heavenly Kingdom on August 30, 1533 at the age of 85. miracles of healing took place at his grave for those who came there with faith. 1545, his disciple and successor, Igumen Herodion, compiled his Life. In 1547 local veneration of the Saint began and a Service was composed for him. On April 17,1641, during the rebuilding of the Transfiguration church, the incorrupt relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were uncovered, and his universal veneration was established on two dates: the day of his repose, August 30, and on April 17, the day of his glorification (and the uncovering of his relics). Alexander of Svir instructed a multitude of disciples, just as the Mother of God had promised him. These Include Ignatius of Ostrov, Leonid of Ostrov, Cornelius of Ostrov, Dionysios of Ostrov, Athanasios of Ostrov, Theodore of Ostrov, and Therapon of Ostrov. addition to these saints, there are disciples and conversers with Saint Alexander of Svir, who have separate days of commemoration: Saint Athanasios of Syandem (January 18), Saint Gennadios of Vasheozersk (February 9), Saint Makarios of Orodezh (August 9), Saint Adrian of Ondrosov (May 17), Saint Nikephoros of Vasheozersk (February 9), Saint Gennadios of Kostroma and Liubimograd (January 23). these saints (except Saint Gennadios of Kostroma) are depicted on the Icon of the monastic Fathers who shone forth in the land of Karelia (the icon is in the church at the Seminary in Kuopio, Finland). The Synaxis of the Saints who have shone forth in Karelia is celebrated by the Finnish Orthodox Church on the Saturday which falls between October 31 and November 6. incorrupt relics of Saint Alexander were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to destroy the relics of the Saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian Saints were stolen and subjected to "scientific examination” or displayed in anti-religious museums. Some of them were completely destroyed.2 second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December of 1997. relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were truly the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before they were returned to the Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics, they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them. holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous cures continue to take place before them. Later at this place, Holy Lake, 36 versts from the future city of Olonets and 6 versts from the River Svira, Saint Alexander founded the monastery of the Life-Creating Trinity, and 130 sazhen (i.e. 910 feet) from it, at Lake Roschina, he built a cell on the future site of the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery. The Soviets conducted many tests, hoping to prove that the relics were fakes. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy, where they remained for almost eighty years. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1700, 18th C Folder, Rus Empire, Xenia Fool FC, TS wndrwrk Icon, Free Mason Iconog, Herman NVlm wndrwrkr
Russia, St Petersburg, 1700, 18th C Folder, Nishtad Peace T, Russian Empire, Xenia oStPete Fool FC, Tsarskoye Selo Icon wonderworking, Free Mason Iconogropher, Herman New Valaam wonderworker

Russia, St Petersburg, 1721, Nishtad Peace, Treaty of Nystad. August 30, 1721
Nishtad Peace, Treaty of Nystad. August 30, 1721; Great Northern War 1700-1721; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on August 30;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1721-1917 , Russian Empire (capital normally St Petersburg)
Russian Empire, Capital St Petersburg except for two years in Moscow of the 200 years of the Empire 1721-1917 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Andronicus, Commemorated on October 22 ;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1739-1803, Xenia of St Petersburg, when her husband died drinking, she became a Fool for Christ
Russia, St Petersburg, 1739-1803, 18th Century, Xenia of St Petersburg, she was 26 when her husband died a colonel, she became a Fool for Christ for 45 years, wandering the S P streets wearing husband's uniform; St Petersburg; Xenia of Saint Petersburg; Grigoryevna Petrova, also known as Saint Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg ( c. 1719–1730 – c. 1803) is a patron saint of St. Petersburg, who according to tradition, gave all her possessions to the poor after her husband died. husband had been Colonel Andrey Fyodorovich Petrov, a chanter at the Saint Andrew Cathedral. his death, Xenia became a "fool-for-Christ" and for 45 years wandered around the streets of St. Petersburg, usually wearing her late husband's military uniform. grave is in the Smolensky Cemetery of St. Petersburg. It has been marked by an ornate chapel since 1902. was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on September 24, 1978 (O. S. September 11, 1978) in Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York, USA and by Russian Orthodox Church on June 6, 1988 during Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Her feast day in the O.S. is January 24, which is February 6 in the New Calendar. In July 2020, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church also resolved to include Xenia of St. Petersburg in its calendar on January 24.[1] a saint, she is noted for her intercessions in helping those with employment, marriage, the homeless, for fires, for missing children, and for a spouse.[2] She is venerated in several countries. There are about 40 churches and chapels built in her name.[3] Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ; Xenia lived during the eighteenth century, but little is known of her life or of her family. She passed most of her life in Petersburg during the reigns of the empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II. Grigorievna Petrova was the wife of an army officer, Major Andrew Petrov. After the wedding, the couple lived in Saint Petersburg. Saint Xenia became a widow at the age of twenty-six when her husband suddenly died at a party. She grieved for the loss of her husband, and especially because he died without Confession or Holy Communion. her earthly happiness ended, she did not look for it again. From that time forward, Xenia lost interest in the things of this world, and followed the difficult path of foolishness for the sake of Christ. The basis for this strange way of life is to be found in the first Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-24, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Cor. 3:18-19). The Lord strengthened her and helped her to bear sorrow and misfortune patiently for the next forty-five years. started wearing her husband’s clothing, and insisted that she be addressed as “Andrew Feodorovich.” She told people that it was she, and not her husband, who had died. In a certain sense, this was perfectly true. She abandoned her former way of life and experienced a spiritual rebirth. When she gave away her house and possessions to the poor, her relatives complained to the authorities. After speaking to Xenia, the officials were conviced that she was in her right mind and was entitled to dispose of her property as she saw fit. Soon she had nothing left for herself, so she wandered through the poor section of Petersburg with no place to lay her head. She refused all assistance from her relatives, happy to be free of worldly attachments. her late husband’s red and green uniform wore out, she clothed herself in rags of those colors. After a while, Xenia left Petersburg for eight years. It is believed that she visited holy Elders and ascetics throughout Russia seeking instruction in the spiritual life. She may have visited Saint Theodore of Sanaxar (February 19), who had been a military man himself. His life changed dramatically when a young officer died at a drinking party. Perhaps this officer was Saint Xenia’s husband. In any case, she knew Saint Theodore and profited from his instructions. Xenia eventually returned to the poor section of Petersburg, where she was mocked and insulted because of her strange behavior. When she did accept money from people it was only small amounts, which she used to help the poor. She spent her nights praying without sleep in a field outside the city. Prayer strengthened her, and in her heart’s conversation with the Lord she found the support she needed on her difficult path. a new church was being built in the Smolensk cemetery, Saint Xenia brought bricks to the site. She did this in secret, during the night, so that no one would know. her great virtue and spiritual gifts began to be noticed. She prophesied future events affecting the citizens of Petersburg, and even the royal family. Against her will, she became known as someone pleasing to God, and nearly everyone loved her.They said, “Xenia does not belong to this world, she belongs to God.” People regarded her visits to their homes or shops as a great blessing. Saint Xenia loved children, and mothers rejoiced when the childless widow would stand and pray over a baby’s crib, or kiss a child. They believed that the blessed one’s kiss would bring that child good fortune. Xenia lived about forty-five years after the death of her husband, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy-one. The exact date and circumstances of her death are not known, but it probably took place at the end of the eighteenth century. She was buried in the Smolensk cemetery. the 1820s, people flocked to her grave to pray for her soul, and to ask her to intercede with God for them. So many visitors took earth from her grave that it had to be replaced every year. Later, a chapel was built over her grave. who turn to Saint Xenia in prayer receive healing from illness, and deliverance from their afflictions. She is also known for helping people who seek jobs.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1739-1791, Theodore oSanaxar, Mordovia, exiled bJealous superiors, revived 2 Monasteries
Russia, Mordovia, 1739-1791, Theodore oSanaxar, Mordovia (Tyosha River 1, near Volga River 9), fRomanov, Yaroslavl, 1719, Prince's son, enlisted Petersburg Guard regiment, obtained rank sargent, God delivered him from great spiritual danger in Capital, example drinking party one suddenly collapsed and died, affected him greatly, similar to Xenia's hisband's death, Major Andrew Petrov, decided leave and live in wilderness, dedicating self to God, reminded of life luxury by seeing his uncle and servants, abandoned cell in forrests by White Sea, there 3yrs oHardship, Govt regs citizens not permitted allow monks in forrests, beaten by villagers, Ploschansk m south oKiev, said son oPriest, no admit sargent otGuard, legal obsticles, igumen no accept long time, no ID papers, Finally did accept, assigned reader, hearing him read relized probably nobility, ordered J live in forrest, fearing autohority problem, found empty cell, caught by authorities, admitted sargent otGauard, taken to empress Elizabeth, she asked why did you desert, to save his soul, forgave him, did not want former rank, why snuck away not asking discharge, you wouln not have believed my terrible burden, I have been tested in spiritual life and want to return till death, Liz agreed, but stipulated he remain at Alex Nevsky Lavra in St Pete, tonsured at Liz' express command at 29 in 1748, Archbishop Theodosius gave him name Theodore, for Theodore oYaroslavl, people came tAsk him how to please God, tried tell them more experienced monks, he found he could not answer all the questions so he began to read books and Chrysostom, Praying God enlighten him, able to instruct people, this caused jealousy among some older monks, disturbing tranquility, hierarch ordered no visitor requesting Theodore admitted, Theodore asked why, told he presumed instruct people, routine oMonastery disrupted, T said if something unlawful to Eminence, then should question me. it sinful tCause unneccessary sorrow those seeking spiritual profit, furious but archbishop ordered people allowed see T again, jealousy continued 10 yrs, T patiently endured, 1757 he wanted transfer tSarov, when brethern found out they insisted he submit written request to transfer, Fr T left St Pete with many followers male and female, settled his women disciples aSt Nicholas Convent in Arzamas, they soon moved to vacant Alexeyevsky Convent, male disciples went with him to Sarov, 1759 T asked Igumen Ephraim let him have Samaxar M, because disciples had increased, S had been closed after 50 yrs by Peter I, property under Sarov, at Sanaxar began building cells and storerooms, Bishop Tambov appointed T as Superior, and ordained reluctant T as priest in 1762, established rule for reverent unhurried celebration oServices, cell rule, monks continued increase, not all tonsured, number monks allowed regulated by law, 1763 Emperess Catherine II decreed all his monks should be tonsred, 1764 she limited number of monasteries, Sanaxar scheduled closed, but remained open for T's efforts, 1764 T became Igumen, Sanaxar reclassified a monastery 1765, needed larger stone church, foundation, swarm of bees on altar spot, sign oIncrease and abundant grace, Monk named Herman ordered brush bees off, or Gerasimus, Father herman now in America, Theodore may have been one of Herman's early instructors, T once visited Tikhon at Zadonsk, Tikhon also knew suffer offences from superiors and worldly minded monks, and layman, perhaps advised T how endure trials ahead, Royal edict ordered him exiled to Soovki as troublemaker, deprived of rank, igumen and Hiermonk, Solovki superior ordered keep close eye on him, there 9yrs, release by his disciple Archmandrite Theophanes, who was cell attendant to Met Gabriel oSt Pete, who asked Theophanes prepare memo of case facts in detail, resule Met G asked Emperess Catherine II release T and permit return tSanaxar, 1783 return, weakened condition from cold&Stove fumes, took long time get back Sanaxar, arrived Arzamas Oct 1783, greeted by sisters and 2Hiermonks fSanaxar, plus others, monastery superiors, respected nobles, merchants, ordinary men and women, stayed 1Week, instructing nuns each day, Entire Sanaxar brotherhood met him at the ferry on Moksha River, accompanied him walk tSanaxar, few days later renewed persecution, Hierodeacon Hillarion acccused him being heretic and atheist, before Holy Synod, they determined Hillarion at fault, should be punished, Hillarion asked T's forgiveness before whole community, Sanaxar Superior Bennedict jealous of T because otCrowds oVisitors, complained tLocal Bishop, that monastery quiet being disturbed, investigators sent, did not interview anyone favorable to T, so T forbidden receive visitors, once again Theophanes brought T's plight tMet Gabriel, bit more freedom, but only by writing letters, Bennedict became ill, T went to B' cell to ask forgiveness, B turned his face and refused to speak, B suffered a while and died 1778, T again permitted visit nuns Alexxeyevsky Convent aArzamas, delivered moving homily Pslam 136 (by rivers oBabylon), left Arzamas, stopped aSarov, asked forgiveness everyone, rushed back tSanaxar, arrived wed oCheesefare week, spoke tHis disciples around noon, dismissed them tTheir Cells, 2Noble disciples remained behind tAsk advice, Suddenly expression changed and began to weep for 15minutes, lamenting how he had sinned in his youth, then order them to their cells, saying feeling weak, unusual weakness, soon cell attendant knocked, no answer, entered and found him praying on his bed, left and reported, they all came to see him but he would not speak, 5hrs later he surrended his soul to God; Sanaxar; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19 ; Theodore was born near the town of Romanov in the province of Yaroslavl in 1719, son of Prince Ignatius Ushakov and his wife Paraskevḗ (or Irene). his Baptism, he was named John. a young man, John Ushakov enlisted in the Preobrazhensky Guard Regiment in Petersburg, attained the rank of sergeant. in the capital was fraught with great spiritual danger for a young person, God delivered John from the wrong path. John was twenty, at a drinking party with his friends, one of them suddenly collapsed and died. They all experienced fear and sadness, but this seemed to affect John more than the others. incident is remarkably similar to the circumstances surrounding the death of Major Andrew Petrov, the husband of Blessed Xenia of Saint Petersburg (January 24), it may be only coincidental. any case, John decided to leave Saint Petersburg and live in the wilderness, dedicating himself to God. walking near the city of Yaroslavl disguised as a laborer, saw his uncle out with his servants. uncle did not recognize him because of his poor clothing, but John was reminded of his former life of luxury and ease. soon banished this thought and resolved to dwell in the wilderness. walking in the forests near the White Sea, came upon an abandoned cell, he decided to remain there in solitude and pray to God. lived there for three years in great hardship and affliction. regulations of the time enjoined citizens not to permit monks to live in the forests. John came to the village for supplies, he was beaten within an inch of his life, and was forced to flee. eventually came to the region south of Kiev, reaching the Ploschansk Monastery. begged the igumen to accept him, saying that he was the son of a priest. could not admit to being a sergeant of the Guard, since legal obstacles would have made it very difficult for him to enter monastic life. igumen would not accept him for a long time, since he did not have the proper identification papers. he did accept John and assigned him to read in church. hearing him read, the igumen realized that John was not from a priestly family, but probably belonged to the nobility. trouble with the authorities, he ordered John to live in the forest near the monastery where other ascetics were living. found an empty cell and received the blessing of these Fathers to remain there. a team of investigators came to the forest looking for monks living there illegally, John was caught. he had no documents and admitted to being a sergeant in the Guard, he was brought to Saint Petersburg and taken to the empress Elizabeth. he was taken to the empress, she asked, “Why did you desert my regiment?” explained that he had done so in order to save his soul. forgave him and was willing to restore him to his former rank, but John said that he did not want his former life or rank. empress then asked why he had snuck away in secret instead of asking to be discharged. replied, “If I had troubled Your Majesty with such a request, you would not have believed that a young man such as I could have borne such a burden. I have now been tested in the spiritual life, and I ask Your Majesty to bless me to continue in it until my death.” agreed to this, but stipulated that he should remain in the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. at her express command, John was tonsured in August of 1748 at the age of twenty-nine. Archbishop Theodosius, who then governed the monastery, ordered that he be named Theodore, in honor of Saint Theodore of Yaroslavl (September 19). Father Theodore was in the Lavra, people would visit and ask him about how to please God while living in the world. tried to tell them that there were older, wiser monks there who would be able to instruct them better than he could. they insisted, so he tried to help them. found, however, that he could not always answer their questions or find solutions to their problems, he began to read patristic books, especially the works of Saint John Chrysostom, God to enlighten him so he could understand the Scriptures and the teachings of the Fathers. learned many things from his reading, and he was able to instruct people for their spiritual profit. caused jealousy among some of the older monks, who complained to the archbishop that this young monk was attracting people to himself and disturbing the tranquility of the monastery. hierarch ordered that no visitor requesting to see Father Theodore should be admitted. Theodore went to the steward of the monastery, asking him why people could not see him. was told that because he presumed to instruct people, attracting many visitors, that the routine of the monastery was disrupted. “If there is something in my teaching which seems unlawful to His Eminence,” Father Theodore responded, “then he should question me. is sinful, however, to cause unnecessary sorrow to those seek spiritual profit.” archbishop was furious, but he ordered that people should be allowed to see Father Theodore again. jealousy and difficulties continued for ten years, and Father Theodore endured his trials with patience. 1757, he wanted to transfer to Sarov Monastery, and when the brethren of the Lavra found out about this, they insisted that he submit a written request for transfer. his release, Father Theodore left Saint Petersburg with many of his disciples, male and female. the way they stopped at Saint Nicholas Convent in Arzamas, where he settled his women disciples. they moved to the vacant Alexeyevsky Convent. male disciples went with him to Sarov. 1759, after two years at Sarov, Father Theodore asked Igumen Ephraim to let him have the Sanaxar Monastery, the number of his disciples had increased. had been founded in 1659, but was closed by Tsar Peter I in the first half of the eighteenth century, and the property was administered by the Sarov Monastery. moving to Sanaxar Hermitage, Father Theodore began the work of building cells and storerooms. Pachomius of Tambov appointed Father Theodore as the Superior. also ordained the reluctant Father Theodore to the holy priesthood on December 13, 1762. Theodore began setting things in order, establishing a Rule for the reverent, unhurried celebration of the services. also set down a cell Rule for the monks to follow. shared in the work (except those who were too old or too sick), including the Superior. number of monks at Sanaxar continued to increase, but not all of them had been tonsured. was necessary to obtain permission to have them tonsured, the number of monks allowed to live in a monastery was regulated by law. April 23, 1763 Empress Catherine II decreed that all of Father Theodore’s monks should be tonsured. following year, she issued a decree limiting the number of monasteries, those not specifically approved would be closed. Hermitage was among the monastic institutions scheduled to be closed, it remained open through Father Theodore’s efforts. Theodore was raised to the rank of igumen in October of 1764, Sanaxar was reclassified as a Monastery on March 7, 1765. of the number of brethren, it became necessary to build a larger stone church to replace the small wooden one. foundation was dug and a Molieben served at the site. a swarm of bees came and settled on the spot where the altar would be. was taken as a sign of an increase in the number of brethren, and an abundance of grace in the monastery. to N. Subbotin’s 1862 book on Archimandrite Theophanes of the Saint Cyril of New Lake Monastery (who was a novice at Sanaxar at the same time that Saint Herman was), Theodore ordered a monk named Herman to brush the bees into a hive. is probable that this was the future Saint Herman of Alaska (December 13). another edition of the book, the brother’s name is given as Gerasimus. this account, Subbotin mentions “Father Herman, who is now in America.” discrepency in names may be explained if Saint Herman’s name before his tonsure was Gerasimus. Herman, in one of his letters to Father Nazarius, says that he had friends at Sarov and Sanaxar, Saint Theodore may have been one of Saint Herman’s early instructors. Theodore once visited Saint Tikhon (August 13) at the Zadonsk Monastery. is not known how long the two had known one another, but the retired bishop received him with love. visit was providential, because Saint Tikhon also knew what it was to suffer offenses from superiors, from worldly-minded monks, and from laymen. he even advised Father Theodore on how to endure the trials which lay ahead of him. Father Theodore returned to Sanaxar a royal edict was delivered to him by a courier. ordered him to be sent as an exile to Solovki Monastery as a troublemaker. was deprived of the rank of Igumen and Hieromonk, the Superior of Solovki was ordered to keep a close eye on him. Theodore remained there for nine years (1774-1783). release came about thanks to his disciple Archimandrite Theophanes (Sokolov), who found himself assigned as cell attendant to Metropolitan Gabriel of Saint Petersburg. to help his Elder, Father Theophanes made the Metropolitan aware of Father Theodore’s situation. Eminence asked Father Theophanes to prepare a memorandum setting forth the facts of the case in detail. a result, Metropolitan Gabriel asked Empress Catherine II to release Father Theodore and permit him to return to Sanaxar. April 18, 1783 she issued a decree authorizing his release. of his weakened condition from the cold and fumes from smoky stoves, it took him a long time to make his way back to Sanaxar. arrived at Arzamas Monastery on October 9, 1783 where he was greeted by the sisters, and by two hieromonks from Sanxar. were also on hand to meet the Elder: superiors from other monasteries, respected nobles, merchants, and ordinary men and women. stayed about a week, instructing the nuns each day. he prepared to return to Sanaxar. entire brotherhood came to meet him at the ferry on the Moksha River. receiving his blessing, they accompanied him on the walk to Sanaxar. Theodore thanked the brethren for their continued love, and for completing the church without him. a few days after his return, Father Theodore faced renewed persecution. Hilarion accused him of being “a heretic and an atheist,” placed these accusations before the Holy Synod. determined that Hierodeacon Hilarion was at fault and should be punished. later asked Father Theodore’s forgiveness in front of the whole community. Superior of the Monastery, Father Benedict, was jealous of Father Theodore because of the crowds of visitors who came to see him. complained to the local bishop, saying that the quiet of the monastery was being disturbed by so many people. were sent, but they did not interview anyone who might have said anything favorable to Father Theodore. a result, Father Theodore was forbidden to receive visitors. again, Father Theophanes brought the Elder’s plight to the attention of Metropolitan Gabriel. Eminence sent a note saying that he was well-disposed toward Father Theodore. a result, he was given a bit more freedom, his disciples could only seek his advice by writing letters. Benedict became ill, and Father Theodore went to his cell to ask his forgiveness. Benedict turned his face to the wall and refused to speak to the Elder. suffering for a while, Father Benedict died on December 27, 1778. the Superior’s death, Father Theodore was once again permitted to visit the nuns of the Alexeyevsky Convent at Arzamas. delivering a moving homily on Psalm 136 (“By the rivers of Babylon”) left Arzamas and stopped at the monastery in Sarov. he asked forgiveness of everyone, rushed back to Sanaxar. arrived on Wednesday of Cheesefare Week and spoke to his disciples in his cell around noon. Then he dismissed them to return to their cells. noble disciples of Saint Theodore remained behind to ask his advice. his expression changed and he began to weep for about fifteen minutes, lamenting how he had sinned in his youth. he ordered them to their cells, saying that he was feeling weak. was not rare for the Elder to be ill, but this weakness seemed unusual. two disciples left and returned to their cells. after this, his cell attendant knocked on the door with the customary prayer, but received no reply. entered the cell and found Father Theodore lying on his bed and praying, so he left and told the brethren about this. all came to see him, but he would not speak. five hours later, around nine o’clock on the evening of February 19, 1791, Saint Theodore surrendered his soul to God. Theodore’s relics were uncovered on April 21, 1999, and he was glorified for local veneration on June 28, 1999. He was glorified for national veneration by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 2004. Theodore of Sanaxar, who is also commemorated on April 21 (the uncovering of his relics in 1999), should not be confused with his famous relative Saint Theodore (Ushakov), Admiral of the Russian Fleet (October 2).

Russia, St Petersburg, 1747,Tsarskoye Selo Icon, St Petersburg, ancient, wonderworking, Plague, cholera, fires, shipwrecks
Russia, St Petersburg, 1747,Tsarskoye Selo Icon, St Petersburg, ancient, wonderworking, Peter I, Church, Plague 1771, cholera 1831, epidemics, fires, shipwrecks; Tsarskoye Selo; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated November 27 ; Tsarskoe Selo Sign Icon of the Mother of God an ancient wonderworking icon, brought by way of a present to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich by one of the Eastern Patriarchs, supposedly by Saint Athanasius of Constantinople (October 28). Peter I transferred the icon, together with other sacred items from Moscow, to his new capital city. the year 1747, a church was built for the icon at Tsarskoe Selo. Moliebens were served before it during times of national catastrophe, for example, during a plague in 1771, and of cholera in 1831. the intercession of the Mother of God, the terrible epidemics only barely touched Tsarskoe Selo. before the Tsarskoe Selo Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “of the Sign,” were also offered entreating the Mother of God’s help during fires and shipwrecks. the icon, Cherubim shade the head of the Mother of God. More recent copies of the icon depict the Apostle Peter, Saints Zachariah, Alexis the Man of God, and Righteous Elizabeth.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1757-1825, Iconographer, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, Free Mason
St Petersburg Iconographer, 1757-1825, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky; Lukich Borovikovsky (July 24 O.S. (August 4, N.S.) 1757, Mirgorod - April 6 O.S. (April 18, N.S.) 1825, St. Petersburg) was a prominent Russian artist of Ukrainian background,[2] who served at the court of Catherine the Great and dominated portraiture in the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19th century. Borovikovsky was born in Mirgorod,[3][4] Cossack Hetmanate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) on July 24, 1757 in a family with Ukrainian Cossack background.[5] His father, Luka Borovik, was an icon-painter.[6] According to the family tradition, all four of Borovik's sons served as Cossacks in Mirgorod regiment, but Vladimir retired early at the rank of poruchik and devoted his life to art — mostly icon painting for local churches. lived in Mirgorod until 1788, where he painted icons and portraits in the Cossack Baroque tradition.[7] His friend Vasily Kapnist was preparing an accommodation for Empress Catherine II in Kremenchuk during her travel to newly conquered Crimea. Kapnist asked Borovikovsky to paint two allegoric paintings (Peter I of Russia and Catherine II as peasants sowing seeds and Catherine II as a Minerva) for her rooms. The paintings so pleased the Empress that she requested that the painter move to Saint Petersburg. September 1788 Borovikovsky lived in Saint Petersburg where he changed his surname from the Cossack Borovyk to the more aristocratic-sounding Borovikovsky. For his first ten years in Saint Petersburg, he lived in the house of the poet, architect, musician and art theorist, Prince Nikolay Lvov, whose ideas strongly influenced Borovikovsky's art. At the age of 30 years, he was too old to attend St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts, so he took private lessons from Dmitry Levitzky and later from Austrian painter Johann Baptist Lampi. 1795 he was appointed an academician. He became a popular portrait painter and created about 500 portraits during his lifetime, 400 of which survived to the 21st century. He had his own studio, and often relied on assistants to paint the less important parts of a portrait. His sitters included members of the imperial family, courtiers, generals, many aristocrats, and figures from the Russian artistic and literary worlds. Most of his portraits are intimate in style. most notable are: Portrait of Catherine II, Empress of Russia (1794) Portrait of E. N. Arsenyeva (1796) Portrait of M. I. Lopukhina (1797) Portrait of F. A. Borovsky (1799) Portrait of Paul I, Emperor of Russia (1800) Portrait of Prince A. B. Kurakin (1801–1802) Portrait of Princess A. G. Gagarina and Princess V. G. Gagarina (1802). Portrait of Serbian Prince Karadjordje' 1816 never taught in the Imperial Academy of Art but pupils lived in his home. Among them were Alexey Venetsianov and Bugaevsky-Blagodarny (who painted the only survived portrait of Vladimir Borovikovsky). 1819 Borovikovsky became a Freemason, member of a lodge Dying Sphinx. At that time he mostly painted icons, including Iconostasis of the Smolensky Cemetery church and some icons for Kazan Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg. April 6, 1825 he died suddenly of a heart attack and was interred in the Lazarevskoe Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. Icon of the Mother of God œOur Lady of SitkaÂ, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1776-1837, Herman, Wonderworker, N Valaam Spruce Is Alaska, what do you love, 40 years & can't completely
Russia, St Petersburg, 1776-1837, Herman, Serpukhov merchants, Trinity-Sergius St Petersburg, Sarov, Nazarius, Sanaxar, Sergius Hermitage, Valaam on Lake Ladoga, Innocent, Serdobol marble q, Herman's wilderness, Aleutian Is, chain Kamchatka to N America, natives, 10 men selected, holy zeal several thousand accepted, school, church, Phoenix, The New Valaam — Spruce Island, his home, clothes, bed, blanket, pillow, food, fertilizer, visits, reestablish understandng in families, children, Epedemic, admonished fear, spiritual teacher, school, chapel near cell, powerful sermons w students singing, Sophia Vlasova lived there, Yanovsky, naval captain and educated men lost for an answer before him, one general question, what do you love above all, certainly we love god, but I have been trying 40 yrs, and can't love him completely, always remember him, try to please him, he talked of eternity, salvation, our destinies under God, lives of Saints, Prologue, nothing frivolous, description- short, pale, sparkly grey-blue eyes, few grey hairs, pleasant voice, Peter's martyrdom, Spanish Jesuit torture, saved by Monterey order, Supernatural gifts, icon stopping flood, moss fire break, epedemic unites the aleuts, I will not be forgotten, 30 yrs from now you will be old when I will be remembered, death prophecies; Valaam Monastery ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ; Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America. A spiritual mission was organized in 1793 with volunteers from the monks of the Valaam Monastery. were sent to preach the Word of God to the native inhabitants of northwestern America, who had come under the sovereignty of Russia only ten years before. Saint Herman was one of the members of this mission. Herman came from a family of merchants of Serpukhov, a city of the Moscow diocese. name before he was tonsured, and his family name are not known. There is a possibility, however, that his baptismal name was Gerasimus. had a great zeal for piety from his youth, and he entered monastic life at sixteen. (This was in 1772, if we assume that Herman was born in 1756, although sometimes 1760 is given as the date of his birth.) he entered the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage which was located near the Gulf of Finland on the Peterhof Road, about 15 versts (about 10 miles) from Saint Petersburg. also spent time at at Sarov, where he first met Father Nazarius, who became his Elder at Valaam. Later, Saint Herman followed him to Sanaxar where Saint Theodore (February 19) was their igumen. Healing the Saint Sergius Hermitage there occurred the following incident to Father Herman. On the right side of his throat under his chin there appeared an abscess. The swelling grew rapidly, disfiguring his face. It became difficult for him to swallow, and the odor was unbearable. In this critical condition Father Herman awaited death. He did not appeal to a physician of this world, but locking his cell he fell before an icon of the Mother of God. With fervent tears he prayed, asking of Her that he might be healed. He prayed the whole night. Then he took a wet towel and with it wiped the face of the Most Holy Mother, and with this towel he covered the swelling. He continued to pray with tears until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion on the floor. In a dream he saw the Virgin Mary healing him. Herman awoke in the morning, he found to his great surprise that he was fully healed. The swelling had disappeared, even though the abscess had not broken through, leaving behind but a small mark as though a reminder of the miracle. to whom this healing was described did not believe it, arguing that it was necessary for the abscess to have either broken through of its own accord or to have been cut open. But the words of the physicians were the words of human experience, for where the grace of God operates there the order of nature is overcome. Such occurrences humble human reason under the strong hand of God’s Mercy. at Valaam five or six years Father Herman continued to live in the Saint Sergius Hermitage, and then he transferred to the Valaam Monastery, which was widely scattered on the large islands in the waters of the great Lake Ladoga. came to love the Valaam haven with all his soul, as he came to love its unforgettable Superior, the pious Elder Nazarius, and all the brethren. wrote to Father Nazarius later from America, “Your fatherly goodness to me, humble one, will be erased out of my heart neither by the terrible, unpassable Siberian lands, nor by the dark forests. Nor will it be wiped out by the swift flow of the great rivers; nor will the awful ocean quench these feelings. In my mind I imagine my beloved Valaam, looking to it beyond the great ocean.” praised the Elder Nazarius in his letters as, “the most reverend, and my beloved father,” and the brethren of Valaam he called, “my beloved and dearest.” The place where he lived in America, deserted Spruce Island, he called “New Valaam.” And as we can see, he always remained in spiritual contact with his spiritual homeland, for as late as 1823, that is after thirty years of his life within the borders of America, he wrote letters to the successor of Father Nazarius, the lgumen Innocent. Barlaam, later lgumen of Valaam, and a contemporary of Father Herman, who accepted his tonsure from Father Nazarius, wrote thus of the life of Father Herman. “Father Herman went through the various obediences here, and being ‘well disposed toward everything’ was in the course of events sent to Serdobol to oversee there the work of quarrying marble. Brothers loved Father Herman, and awaited impatiently his return to the cloisters from Serdobol. Recognizing the zeal of the young hermit the wise elder, Father Nazarius, released him to take abode in the wilderness. wilderness was in the deep forest about a mile from the cloister: to this day this place has retained the name ‘Herman’s.’ On holy days, Father Herman returned to the monastery from the wilderness. Then it was that at Little Vespers he would stand in the choir and sing in his pleasant tenor the responses with the brethren from the Canon, ‘O Sweetest Jesus, save us sinners. Most Holy Theotokos, Save us,’ and tears would fall like hail from his eyes.” First Mission to America the second half of the 18th century the borders of Holy Russia expanded to the north. In those years Russian merchants discovered the Aleutian Islands which formed in the Pacific Ocean a chain from the eastern shores of Kamchatka to the western shores of North America. the opening of these islands there was revealed the sacred necessity to illumine with the light of the Gospel the native inhabitants. the blessing of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Gabriel gave to the Elder Nazarius the task of selecting capable persons from the brethern of Valaam for this holy endeavor. Ten men were selected, and among them was Father Herman. chosen men left Valaam for the place of their great appointment in 1793. (The members of this historical mission were: Archimandrite Joseph (Bolotoff), the Hieromonks, Juvenal, Macarius, Athanasius, Stephan and Nectarius, Hierodeacons, Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Joasaph, and Herman.) a result of the holy zeal of the preachers the light of the evangelic sermon quickly poured out among the sons of Russia, and several thousand pagans accepted Christianity. school for the education of newly-baptized children was organized, and a church was built at the place where the missionaries lived. by the inscrutable providence of God the general progress of the mission was unsatisfactory. After five years of very productive labor, Archimandrite Joasaph, who had just been elevated to the rank of bishop, was drowned with his party. (This occurred on the Pacific Ocean between Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. The ship, Phoenix, one of the first sea-going ships built in Alaska, sailed from Okhotsk carrying the first Bishop for the American Mission and his party. The Phoenix was caught in one of the many storms which periodically sweep the northern Pacific, and the ship and all hands perished together with Bishop Joasaph and his party.) this the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal was granted the martyr’s crown. The others died one after another until in the end only Father Herman remained. The Lord permitted him to labor longer than any of his brethren in the apostolic task of enlightening the Aleutians. New Valaam — Spruce Island America, Father Herman chose as his place of habitation Spruce Island, which he called New Valaam. This island is separated by a strait about a mile and a quarter wide from Kodiak Island on which had been built a wooden monastery for the residence of the members of the mission, and a wooden church dedicated to the Resurrection of the Savior. (New Valaam was named for Valaam on Lake Ladoga, the monastery from which Father Herman came to America. It is interesting to note that Valaam is also located on an island, although, this island is in a fresh water lake, whereas, Spruce Island is on the Pacific Ocean, although near other islands and the Alaskan mainland.) Island is not large, and is almost completely covered by a forest. Almost through its middle a small brook flows to the sea. Herman selected this picturesque island for the location of his hermitage. He dug a cave out of the ground with his own hands, and in it he lived his first full summer. winter there was built for him a cell near the cave, in which he lived until his death. The cave was converted by him into a place for his burial. A wooden chapel, and a wooden house to be used as a schoolhouse and a guest house were built not too distant from his cell. A garden was laid out in front of his cell. For more than forty years Father Herman lived here. Herman’s Way of Life Herman himself spaded the garden, planted potatoes and cabbage and various vegetables in it. For winter, he preserved mushrooms, salting or drying them. The salt was obtained by him from ocean water. It is said that a wicker basket in which the Elder carried seaweed from the shore, was so large that it was difficult for one person to carry. The seaweed was used for fertilizing the soil. But to the astonishment of all, Father Herman carried a basket filled with seaweed for a long distance without any help at all. By chance his disciple, Gerasim, saw him one winter night carrying a large log which normally would be carried by four men; and he was bare footed. Thus worked the Elder, and everything that he acquired as a result of his immeasurable labors was used for the feeding and clothing of orphans and also for books for his students. clothes were the same for winter as for summer. He did not wear a shirt; instead he wore a smock of deer skin, which he did not take off for several years at a time, nor did he change it, so that the fur in it was completely worn away, and the leather became glossy. Then there were his boots or shoes, cassock (podrasnik), an ancient and faded out cassock (riasa) full of patchwork, and his headdress (klobuk). He went everywhere in these clothes, and at all times; in the rain, in snowstorms, and during the coldest freezing weather. this, Father Herman followed the example of many Eastern Ascetic Fathers and Monks who showed the greatest concern for the welfare and needs of others. Yet, they themselves wore the oldest possible clothes to show their great humility before God, and their detachment from worldly things. small bench covered with a time-worn deerskin served as Father Herman’s bed. He used two bricks for a pillow; these were hidden from visitors by a skin or a shirt. There was no blanket. Instead, he covered himself with a wooden board which lay on the stove. This board Father Herman, himself called his blanket, and he willed that it be used to cover his remains; it was as long as he was tall. “During my stay in the cell of Father Herman,” writes the creole Constantine Larionov, “I, a sinner, sat on his ‘blanket’-and I consider this the acme of my fortune!” (‘creole’ is the name by which the Russians referred to the children of mixed marriages of native Indians of Alaska, Eskimo and Aleuts with Russians.) the occasions when Father Herman was the guest of administrators of the American Company and in the course of their soul-saving talks he sat up with them until midnight. He never spent the night with them, but regardless of the weather he always returned to his hermitage. for some extraordinary reason it was necessary for him to spend the night away from his cell, then in the morning the bed which had been prepared for him would be found untouched; the Elder not having slept at all. The same was true in his hermitage where having spent the night in talks, he never rested. Elder ate very little. As a guest, he scarcely tasted the food, and remained without dinner. In his cell his dinner consisted of a very small portion of a small fish or some vegetables. His body, emaciated as a result of his labors, his vigils, and fasting, was crushed by chains which weighed about sixteen pounds. These chains are kept to this day in the chapel. Telling of these deeds of Father Herman, his disciple, the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, added, “Yes, Apa led a very hard life, and no one can imitate his life!” (The Aleutian word “Apa” means Elder or grandfather, and it is a name indicative of the great affection in which he was held). writing of the incidents in the life of the Elder deal, so to speak, with the external aspects of his labor. “His most important works,” says the Bishop Peter, “were his exercises in spiritual endeavor in his isolated cell where no one saw him, but outside the cell they heard him singing and celebrating services to God according to the monastic rule.” This witness of the Bishop is supported by the following answers of Father Herman, himself, “How do you manage to live alone in the forest, Father Herman? Don’t you ever become lonesome?” He answered, “No I am not there alone! God is here, as God is everywhere. The Holy Angels are there. With whom is it better to talk, with people, or with Angels? Most certainly with Angels.” Herman and the Native Alaskans way in which Father Herman looked upon the natives of America, how he understood his own relations with them, and how he was concerned for their needs he expressed himself in one of his letters to the former administrator of the colony, Simeon Yanovsky. wrote, “Our Creator granted to our beloved homeland this land which like a newly-born babe does not yet have the strength for knowledge or understanding. It requires not only protection, because of its infantile weakness and impotence, but also his sustenance. Even for this it does not yet have the ability to make an appeal on its own behalf. And since the welfare of this nation by the Providence of God, it is not known for how long, is dependent on and has been entrusted into the hands of the Russian government which has now been given into your own power, therefore I, the most humble servant of these people, and their nurse (nyanka) stand before you in their behalf, write this petition with tears of blood. Be our Father and our Protector. Certainly we do not know how to be eloquent, so with an inarticulate infant’s tongue we say: Wipe away the tears of the defenseless orphans, cool the hearts melting away in the fire of sorrow. Help us to know what consolation means.” Elder acted the way he felt. He always interceded before the governors in behalf of those who had transgressed. He defended those who had been offended. He helped those who were in need with whatever means he had available. Aleuts, men, women and children, often visited him. Some asked for advice, others complained of oppression, others sought out defense, and still others desired help. Each one received the greatest possible satisfaction from the Elder. discussed their mutual difficulties, and he tried to settle these peacefully. He was especially concerned about reestablishing understanding in families. If he did not succeed in reconciling a husband and wife, the Elder prevailed upon them to separate temporarily. The need for such a procedure he explained thus, “it is better to let them live apart, or believe me, it can be terrible if they are not separated. There have been incidents when a husband killed his wife, or when a wife destroyed her husband.” Herman especially loved children. He made large quantities of biscuits for them, and he baked cookies (krendelki) for them; and the children were fond of the Elder. Father Herman’s love for the Aleuts reached the point of self-denial. Epidemic Strikes ship from the United States brought to Sitka Island, and from there to Kodiak Island, a contagious disease, a fatal illness. began with a fever, a heavy cold, and difficult respiration, and it ended with chills; in three days the victim died. On the island there was neither a doctor nor medicine. The illness spread rapidly through the village, and then throughout the nearby areas. The disease affected all, even infants. The fatalities were so great that for three days there was no one to dig graves, and the bodies remained unburied. An eyewitness said, “I cannot imagine anything more tragic and horrible than the sight which struck me when I visited an Aleutian ‘Kazhim’. This was a large building, or barracks, with dividing sections, in which the Aleuts lived with their families; it contained about 100 people. Here some had died, their cold bodies lay near the living; others were dying; there were groans and weeping which tore at one’s soul.” “I saw mothers over whose bodies cold in death crawled a hungry child, crying and searching in vain for its food...My heart was bursting with compassion! It seemed that if anyone could paint with a worthy brush the full horror of this tragic scene, that he would have successfully aroused fear of death in the most embittered heart.” Herman, during this terrible sickness which lasted a whole month, gradually dying out towards the end, visited the sick, never tiring. He admonished them in their fear, prayed, brought them to penance, or prepared them for death. He never spared himself. Herman as a Spiritual Teacher Elder was concerned in particular for the moral growth of the Aleuts. With this end in mind a school was built for children-the orphans of the Aleuts. himself taught them the Law of God and church music. For this same purpose he gathered the Aleuts on Sunday and Holy Days for prayer in the chapel near his cell. Here his disciple read the Hours and the various prayers while the Elder himself read the Epistle and Gospel. also preached to them. His students sang, and they sang very well. The Aleuts loved to hear his sermons, gathering around him in large numbers. The Elder’s talks were captivating, and his listeners were moved by their wonderous power. He himself writes of one example of the beneficial results of his words. “Glory to the holy destinies of the Merciful God! He has shown me now through his unfathomable Providence a new occurrence which I, who have lived here for twenty years had never seen before on Kodiak,” he wrote. “Recently after Easter, a young girl about twenty years of age who knows Russian well, came to me. heard of the Incarnation of the Son of God and of Eternal Life, she became so inflamed with love for Jesus Christ that she does not wish to leave me. She pleaded eloquently with me. Contrary to my personal inclination and love for solitude, and despite all the hindrances and difficulties which I put forward before accepting her, she has now been living near the school for a month and is not lonesome. looking on this with great wonder, remembered the words of the Savior: ‘that which is hidden from the wise and learned is revealed to babes’” (Matthew 11:25). woman lived at the school until the death of the Elder. She watched for the good conduct of the children who studied in his school. Father Herman willed that after his death she was to continue to live on Spruce Island. Her name was Sophia Vlasova. writes about the character and the eloquence of the talks of the Elder thus: “When I met Father Herman I was thirty years old. I must say that I was educated in the naval corps school; that I knew many sciences having read extensively. But to my regret, the Science of sciences, that is the Law of God, I barely remembered the externals—and these only theoretically, not applying them to life. I was a Christian in name only, but in my soul and in reality, I was a freethinker. I did not admit the divinity and holiness of our religion, for I had read through many atheistic works. Father Herman recognized this immediately and he desired to reconvert me. To my great surprise he spoke so convincingly, wisely—and he argued with such conviction—that it seemed to me that no learning or worldly wisdom could stand one’s ground before his words. conversed with him daily until midnight, and even later, of God’s love, of eternity, of the salvation of souls, and of Christian living. his lips flowed a ceaseless stream of sweet words! By these continual talks and by the prayers of the holy Elder the Lord returned me completely to the way of Truth, and I became a real Christian. I am indebted for all this to Father Herman he is my true benefactor. “Several years ago,” continues Yanovsky, “Father Herman converted a certain naval captain G. to Orthodoxy from the Lutheran Faith. This captain was well educated. Besides many sciences, he was well versed in languages. He knew Russian, English, German, French, Italian and also some Spanish. for all this he could not resist the convictions and proofs of Father Herman. He changed his faith and was united to the Orthodox Church through Chrismation. When he was leaving America, the Elder said to him while they were parting, “Be on guard, if the Lord should take your wife from you then do not marry a German woman under any circumstance. If you do marry a German woman, undoubtedly she will damage your Orthodoxy.” Captain gave his word, but he failed to keep it. The warning of the Elder was prophetic. Indeed, after several years the Captain’s wife did die, and he married a German woman. There is no doubt that his faith weakened or that he left it; for he died suddenly without penance.” on Yanovsky writes, “Once the Elder was invited aboard a frigate which came from Saint Petersburg. The Captain of the frigate was a highly educated man, who had been sent to America by order of the Emperor to make an inspection of all the colonies. There were more than twenty-five officers with the Captain, and they also were educated men. In the company of this group sat a monk of a hermitage, small in stature and wearing very old clothes. All these educated conversationalists were placed in such a position by his wise talks that they did not know how to answer him. The Captain himself used to say, ‘We were lost for an answer before him.’ “Father Herman gave them all one general question: ‘Gentlemen, What do you love above all, and what will each of you wish for your happiness?’ answers were offered ... Some desired wealth, others glory, some a beautiful wife, and still others a beautiful ship he would captain; and so forth in the same vein. ‘It is not true,’ Father Herman said to them concerning this, ‘that all your various wishes can bring us to one conclusion—that each of you desires that which in his own understanding he considers the best, and which is most worthy of his love?’ They all answered, ‘Yes, that is so!’ He then continued, ‘Would you not say, Is not that which is best, above all, and surpassing all, and that which by preference is most worthy of love, the Very Lord, our Jesus Christ, who created us, adorned us with such ideals, gave life to all, sustains everything, nurtures and loves all, who is Himself Love and most beautiful of all men? Should we not then love God above every thing, desire Him more than anything, and search Him out?’ “All said, ‘Why, yes! That’s self-evident!’ Then the Elder asked, ‘But do you love God?’ They all answered, ‘Certainly, we love God. How can we not love God?’ ‘And I a sinner have been trying for more than forty years to love God, I cannot say that I love Him completely,’ Father Herman protested to them. then began to demonstrate to them the way in which we should love God. ‘If we love someone,’ he said, ‘we always remember them; we try to please them. Day and night our heart is concerned with the subject. that the way you gentlemen love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you always remember Him? Do you always pray to Him and fulfill His holy commandments?’ had to admit that they had not! ‘For our own good, and for our own fortune,’ concluded the Elder, ‘let us at least promise ourselves that from this very minute we will try to love God more than anything and to fulfill His Holy Will!’ Without any doubt this conversation was imprinted in the hearts of the listeners for the rest of their lives.’ “In general, Father Herman liked to talk of eternity, of salvation of the future life, of our destinies under God. He often talked on the lives of the Saints, on the Prologue, but he never spoke about anything frivolous. was so pleasant to hear him that those who conversed with him, the Aleuts and their wives, were so captivated by his talks that often they did not leave him until dawn, and then they left him with reluctance;” thus witnesses the Creole, Constantine Larionov. Description of Father Herman writes a detailed description of Father Herman. “I have a vivid memory,” he said, “Of all the features of the Elder’s face reflecting goodness; his pleasant smile, his meek and attractive mien, his humble and quiet behavior, and his gracious word. He was short of stature. face was pale and covered with wrinkles. eyes were greyish-blue, full of sparkle, on his head there were a few gray hairs. voice was not powerful, but it was very pleasant.” relates two incidents from his conversations with the Elder. “Once,” he writes, “I read to Father Herman the ode, ‘God,’ by Derzhavin. The Elder was surprised, and entranced. He asked me to read it again. I read it once more, “Is it possible that a simple, educated man wrote this?” he asked. “Yes, a learned poet,” I answered. “This has been written under God’s inspiration,” said the Elder. Martyrdom of Peter “On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in California had imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits were forcing all of them to accept the Catholic Faith. this Aleut would not agree under any circumstances, saying, ‘We are Christians.’ The Jesuits protested, ‘That’s not true; you are heretics and schismatics. If you do not agree to accept our faith then we will torture all of you.’ Then the Aleuts were placed in cells until evening; two to a cell. At night the Jesuits came to the prison with lanterns and lighted candles. They began to persuade the Aleuts in the cell once again to accept the Catholic Faith. ‘We are Christians,’ was the answer of the Aleuts, ‘and we will not change our Faith.’ Then the Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was the witness. cut the toes off his feet, first one joint and then the other joint. And then they cut the first joint on the fingers of the hands, and then the other joint. Afterwards they cut off his feet, and his hands; the blood flowed. The martyr endured all and steadfastly insisted on one thing: ’I am a Christian.’ In such suffering, he bled to death. Jesuit promised to torture to death his comrades also on the next day.... that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under escort. Therefore, in the morning all were dispatched to Monterey with the exception of the martyred Aleut. was related to me by a witness, the same Aleut who was the comrade of the tortured Aleut. Afterwards he escaped from imprisonment, and I reported this incident to the supreme authorities in Saint Petersburg. I finished my story, Father Herman asked, ‘And how did they call the martyred Aleut?’ I answered, ‘Peter; I do not remember his family name.’ The Elder stood up before an icon reverently, made the sign of the Cross and pronounced, ’Holy newly-martyred Peter, pray to God for us!’” Spirit of Father Herman’s Teaching order to express the spirit of Father Herman’s teaching, we present here a quotation from a letter that was written by his own hand. “The empty years of these desires separate us from our heavenly homeland, and our Love for these desires and our habits clothe us, as it were, in an odious dress; it is called by the Apostle ‘the external (earthy) man’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). who are wanderers in the journey of this life call to God for aid. We must divest ourselves of this repulsiveness, and put on new desires, and a new love for the coming age. Thus, through this we will know either an attraction or a repulsion for the heavenly homeland. It is possible to do this quickly, but we must follow the example of the sick, who wishing for desired health, do not stop searching for means of curing themselves. But I am not speaking clearly.” desiring anything for himself in life, when he first came to America, he refused in his humility the dignity of hieromonk and archimandrite, deciding to remain forever a common monk, Father Herman, without the least fear before the powerful, strove with all sincerity for God. With gentle love, and disregarding the person, he criticized many for intemperate living, for unworthy behavior, and for oppressing the Aleuts. Evil armed itself against him and gave him all sorts of trouble and sorrow. But God protected the Elder. Administrator of the Colony, Yanovsky, not having yet seen Father Herman, after receiving one of those complaints, had already written to Saint Petersburg of the necessity of his removal. He explained that it seemed that he was arousing the Aleuts against the administration. But this accusation turned out to be unjust, and in the end Yanovsky was numbered among the admirers of Father Herman. an inspector came to Spruce Island with the Administrator of the Colony and with company employees to search through Father Herman’s cell. This party expected to find property of great value in Father Herman’s cell. But when they found nothing of value, an employee of the American Company, Ponomarkhov, began to tear up the floor with an axe, undoubtedly with the consent of his seniors. Then Father Herman said to him, “My friend, you have lifted the axe in vain; this weapon shall deprive you of your life.” Some time later people were needed at Fort Nicholas, and for that reason several Russian employees were sent there from Kodiak; among them was Ponomarkhov; there the natives of Kenai cut off his head while he slept. Temptations of Father Herman great sorrows were borne by Father Herman from evil spirits. He himself revealed this to his disciple, Gerasim. Once when he entered Father Herman’s cell without the usual prayer he received no answer from Father Herman to any of his questions. The next day Gerasim asked him the reason for his silence. On that occasion Father Herman said to him, “When I came to this island and settled in this hermitage the evil spirits approached me ostensibly to be helpful. They came in the form of a man, and in the form of animals. I suffered much from them; from various afflictions and temptations. And that is why I do not speak now to anyone who enters into my presence without prayer.” (It is customary among devout laymen, as well as clergy, to say out loud a prayer, and upon hearing a response ending with Amen, to enter and go to the icon in the room to reverence it, and to say a prayer before greeting the host). Gifts from God dedicated himself fully for the Lord’s service; he strove with zeal solely for the glorification of His Most Holy Name. Far from his homeland in the midst of a variety of afflictions and privations Father Herman spent several decades performing the noblest deeds of self-sacrifice. He was privileged to receive many supernatural gifts from God. the midst of Spruce Island down the hill flows a little stream into the sea. The mouth of this stream was always swept by surf. In the spring when the brook fish appeared the Elder raked away some of the sand at its mouth so that the fish could enter, and at their first appearance they rushed up the stream. His disciple, lgnaty, said, “it was so that if ‘Apa’ would tell me, I would go and get fish in the stream!” Father Herman fed the birds with dried fish, and they would gather in great numbers around his cell. Underneath his cell there lived an ermine. This little animal can not be approached when it has had its young, but the Elder fed it from his own hand. “Was not this a miracle that we had seen?” said his disciple, Ignaty. They also saw Father Herman feeding bears. But when Father Herman died the birds and animals left; even the garden would not give any sort of crops even though someone had willingly taken care of it, Ignaty insisted. Spruce Island there once occurred a flood. The inhabitants came to the Elder in great fear. Father Herman then took an icon of the Mother of God from the home where his students lived, and placed it on a “laida” (a sandy bank) and began to pray. After his prayer he turned to those present and said,“Have no fear, the water will not go any higher than the place where this holy icon stands.” The words of the Elder were fulfilled. After this he promised the same aid from this holy icon in the future, through the intercessions of the Mother of God. He entrusted the icon to his disciple Sophia; in case of future floods the icon was to be placed on the “laida.” This icon is preserved on the island to this day. the request of the Elder, Baron F. P. Wrangel wrote a letter to a Metropolitan (his name is not known) which was dictated by Father Herman. When the letter was completed and read, the Elder congratulated the Baron upon his attaining the rank of admiral. The Baron was taken aback. This was news to him. It was confirmed, but only after an elapse of some time, and just before he departed for Saint Petersburg. Herman said to the administrator Kashevarov, from whom he accepted his son from the font (during the Sacrament of Baptism), “I am sorry for you, my dear ‘kum.’ It’s a shame; the change will be unpleasant for you.” In two years, during a change of administration, Kashevarov was sent to Sitka in chains. the forest on Spruce Island caught fire. The Elder, with his disciple Ignaty, in a thicket of the forest made a belt about a yard wide in which they turned over the moss. They extended it to the foot of the hill. The Elder said, “Rest assured, the fire will not pass this line.” On the next day, according to the testimony of Ignaty, there was no hope of salvation (from the fire) and the fire, pushed by a strong wind, reached the place where the moss had been turned over by the Elder. The fire ran over the moss and halted, leaving untouched the thick forest which was beyond the line. Elder often said that there would be a Bishop for America; this at a time when no one even thought of it, and there was no hope that there would be a Bishop for America. This was related by Bishop Peter, and his prophecy was fulfilled in time. “After my death,” said Father Herman, “there will be an epidemic, many people shall die during it, and the Russians shall unite the Aleuts.” And so it happened. It seems that about a half a year after his passing, there was a smallpox epidemic; the death rate in America during the epidemic was tremendous. In some villages, only a few inhabitants remained alive. This led the administration of the colony to unite the Aleuts; the twelve settlements were consolidated into seven. “Although a long time shall elapse after my death, I will not be forgotten” said Father Herman to his disciples. “My place of habitation will not remain empty. A monk like me, who will be escaping from the glory of men, will come and he will live on Spruce Island, and Spruce Island will not be without people.” (This prophecy has now been fulfilled in its entirety. Just such a monk as Father Herman described lived on Spruce Island for many years; his name was Archimandrite Gerasim, who died on October 13, 1969. This monk took on himself the responsibility of taking care of the Chapel under which the Elder Herman was first buried. Metropolitan Leonty, soon after his elevation to the primacy of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, made a pilgrimage to Spruce Island, and the grave of Herman. for the Future Creole Constantine, when he was not more than twelve years old, was asked by Father Herman, “My beloved one, what do you think; this chapel which they are building now, will it ever stand empty?” The youngster answered, “I do not know, Apa.” “Indeed,” said Constantine, “I did not understand his question at that time, even though the whole conversation with the Elder remains vivid in my memory.” The Elder remained silent for some time, and then said, “My child, remember, in time there will be a monastery in this place.” Herman said to his disciple the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, “Thirty years shall pass after my death, and all those living on Spruce Island will have died, but you alone will remain alive. You will be old and poor when I will be remembered.” And indeed after the death of Father Herman thirty years passed when they were reminded of him, and they began to gather information and facts about him, on the basis of which his Life was written. “It is amazing,” exclaims Ignaty, “how a man like us could know all this so long before it happened! However, no, he was no ordinary man! He knew our thoughts, and involuntarily he led us to the point where we revealed them to him, and we received counsel from him.” “When I die,” the Elder said to his disciple, “you will bury me alongside Father Joasaph. You will bury me by yourself, for you will not wait for the priest. Do not wash my body. Lay it on a board. Clasp my hands over my chest, wrap me in my mantia (the monk’s outer cloak), and with its wings cover my face and place the klobuk (monastic head covering) on my head. If anyone wishes to bid farewell to me, let them kiss the Cross. Do not show my face to anyone....” Repose of Father Herman time of the Elder’s passing had come. One day he ordered his disciple Gerasim to light a candle before the Icons, and to read the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After some time his face glowed brightly and he said in a loud voice, “Glory to Thee, O Lord!” He then ordered the reading to be halted, and he announced that the Lord had willed that his life would now be spared for another week. A week later, again by his orders, candles were lit, and the Acts of the Holy Apostles were read. Quietly, the Elder bowed his head on Gerasim’s chest; the cell was filled with a sweet-smelling odor; and his face glowed, and Father Herman was no more! Thus he died in blessedness, he passed away in the sleep of a righteous man in the eighty-first year of his life of great labor the 25th day of December 1837. (It was the 13th of December according to the Julian Calendar, although there are some records which state that he died on November 28th and was buried on December 26th). sent with the sad news to the harbor returned to announce that the administrator of the colony Kashevarov had forbidden the burial of the Elder until his own arrival. He also ordered that a finer coffin be made for Father Herman, and that he would come as soon as possible and would bring a priest with him. But then a great wind came up, a rain fell, and a terrible storm broke. The distance from the harbor to Spruce Island is not great—about a two hour journey—but no one would agree to go to sea in such weather. Thus it continued for a full month, and although the body lay in state for a full month in the warm house of his students, his face did not undergo any change at all, and not the slightest odor emanated from his body. Finally, through the efforts of Kuzma Uchilischev, a coffin was obtained. No one arrived from the harbor, and the inhabitants of Spruce Island alone buried the remains of the Elder in the ground. Thus the words which Father Herman uttered before his death were fulfilled. After this the wind quieted down, and the surface of the sea became as smooth as a mirror. evening, above the village Katani (on Afognak) an unusual pillar of light which reached up to heaven was seen above Spruce Island. Astonished by the miraculous appearance, experienced elders and the Creole Gerasim Vologdin and his wife Anna said, “It seems that Father Herman has left us,” and they began to pray. After a time, they were informed that the Elder had indeed passed away that very night. This same pillar was seen in various places by others. On the night of his death a vision was seen in another of the settlements on Afognak; it seemed as though a man was rising from Spruce Island into the clouds. disciples buried their father, and placed a wooden memorial marker above his grave. Father Peter Kashevarov, the priest on Kodiak, says, “I saw it myself, and I can say that today it seems as though it had never been touched by time; as though it had been cut this day.” witnessed the life of Father Herman glorified by his zealous labors, having seen his miracles, and the fulfillment of his predictions, finally having observed his blessed falling asleep, “in general, all the local inhabitants,” Bishop Peter witnesses, “have the highest esteem for him, as though he was a holy ascetic, and they are fully convinced that he has found favor in the presence of God.” 1842, five years after the passing away of the Elder, Archbishop Innocent of Kamchatka and the Aleutians, was near Kodiak on a sailing vessel which was in great distress. He looked to Spruce Island, and said to himself, “If you have found favor in God’s presence, Father Herman then may the wind change.” It seems as though not more than fifteen minutes had passed, said the bishop, when the wind became favorable, and he successfully reached the shore. In thanksgiving for being saved, Archbishop Innocent himself conducted a Memorial Service (Panikhida) over the grave of the blessed Father Herman. O Holy Father Herman of Alaska, pray unto God for us!

Russia, St Petersburg, 1800, 19th C Folder, JoKronstadt wconvict exiles, m preachr Philosophos, hstorn Nick oBelgrd, Gatekpr Icn

Russia, St Petersburg, 1836-1882, Antipas oValaam monastery, fMoldavia Romania, tValaam 1865, clairvoyant hermit
Russia, St Petersburg, 1836-1882, Antipas oValaam monastery (Valaam Island, Lake Ladoga), father deacon mother became schemanun, fMoldavia Romania, tValaam 1865, clairvoyant hermit, fell asleep 1882; Valaam Monastery ; Venerable Antipas of Valaam Monastery, Commemorated January 10 ; Antipas was born in Moldavia, Romania in 1816. father was a deacon in the village church, and his mother ended her life in a women’s monastery as a schemanun. Antipas came to Valaam Monastery from Mt Athos on November 6, 1865. spent the rest of his life in the skete at Valaam, living like a hermit. with the gift of clairvoyance, Saint Antipas fell asleep in the Lord on January 10, 1882.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1855-1908, John of Kronstadt, convict exiles, t gospel purposel, joy of living C values, m miracles t Nick
Russia, St Petersburg, 1855-1908, John of Kronstadt Island, St Petersburg, poor, difficult time to keep up in studies, prayer, veil lifted, remembered clearly, first in class, forgiveness, meekness, love, center of C, one path, C death and resurrection, m to china, m girl f Kronstadt, deacon 1855, account for deeds of his flock, daily devine services, murders etc exiled to K, hovels, stay for hours, material needs, Brotherhood for Charity, taught purpose of Gospel, joy of living C values, more miracles than Nick; Kronstadt Island (Kotlin Island, St Petersburg); Kronshtadtsky District; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.” After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.” John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.” conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.” He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.” appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with bov 1`redom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.” To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.” John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1880-1918, Philosophos oSt Pete, Jo Kronstadt protege&kin, moral preacher, almshouses, c builder, more
Russia, St Petersburg, 1880-1918, Philosophos oSt Petersburg, Russia (Peterburg or Petrograd), St Kronstadt protege&kin, moral education, city council, shelters, orphanages, almshouses, church builder, modest lifestyle, but handled millions, large family, needed give private lessons, mag editor&censor, friend of Tikhon&Kazansky, rector Kazan Cathedral St Pete, gave apt for infirmary WWI, support tFront Lines, preached anti communism, our intellectuals must become russian, 1918 defense oShrines, arrested, impassive&calm, Chekists broke promise, prophecy perishing like dogs Russia to be Russia again, shot, body floated in Bay near Oranienbaum; St Petersburg; Hieromartyr Philosophos of St. Petersburg, Commemorated on May 31; Hieromartyr Archpriest Philosophos N. Ornatsky was born on May 21, 1860 in the churchyard of Novaya Yerga, Cherepovets County, Novgorod Governorate,1 the family of a village priest. of his brothers was married to the niece of Saint John of Kronstadt. studied first in Kirillov Theological School, and then in the Novgorod Theological Seminary. 1885 he graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy with the degree of Candidate. the summer of 1885, Philosophos married Elena Zaozerskaya, the daughter of the former subdeacon of Metropolitan Isidore, and soon he was ordained to the priesthood. the young priest served as rector in the church of the orphanage of the Prince of Oldenburg, where he had once taught the Law of God (catechism). 1892 to 1912, he served as the rector of the church at the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers. twenty-six years he was the chairman of the Society for the Dissemination of Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church, successfully counteracting anti-church movements. 1893, Father Ornatsky was elected as a member of the St. Petersburg City Duma from the clergy and held this office until 1917. took part in the establishment of shelters in the city: orphanages and almshouses. Through his efforts in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area, twelve churches were built, the largest of which was the church of the Resurrection of Christ at the Varshavsky railway station. addition, we should also mention the churches of Daints Peter and Paul in Lesnoy, Saint Sergius of Radonezh on Novosivkovskaya Street, Saint Seraphim of Sarov behind the Narva outpost, the church of the Forerunner on the Vyborg side, Saint Gerasimos church, and Saint Isidore of Yuriev church. Saint lived quite modestly, though his was a large family (he had ten children). The whole array of public titles and offices which he held for the glory of God, did not bring in any means of subsistence. Chairman of the Temple Building Committees, large sums of money passed through his hands, yet he was obliged to give private lessons in order to feed his family. Ornatsky was also the editor and censor of such metropolitan spiritual magazines as "St. Petersburg Spiritual Herald" (published from 1894), "The Christian's Rest" (1901), and "Orthodox-Russian Word" (1902). Philosophos was one of the closest companions of the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazansky), of Petrograd and Gdovsk, when he was a student of the Theological Academy, was actively engaged in preaching activities in the working neighborhoods of St. Petersburg. of spiritual friendship also sprang up between him and His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. almost twenty years, Father Philosophos was the spiritual son of Saint John of Kronstadt, who often visited him at home and blessed all his undertakings for the good of the Church. holy pastor entrusted Father Philosophos with being an intermediary in his correspondence with Saint Theophanes, the Recluse of Vysha. 1913, the Archpriest was appointed to the post of rector of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. the First World War, Father Philosophos gave up his apartment to be used as an infirmary for wounded soldiers, and he and his family moved to a small state-owned room. he went to the areas of hostilities, accompanying the transports with needed supplies for the soldiers, and trying with all his might to inspire and support the defenders of Russia. son Nicholas (born in 1886) was a military doctor who was part of the Ninth Russian Army; another son, Boris (born in 1887), was a staff captain of the 23rd Artillery Brigade, who graduated from the Konstantinov Artillery School, and fought heroically on the Austro-Hungarian front. Ornatsky's gift of preaching attracted those who were seeking the words of life, and he repeatedly urged his flock not to accept the corrupting ideas of Bolshevism. that Orthodoxy is at the heart of Russian life, Batiushka urged the intelligentsia to realize this. He never tired of repeating: "Our intellectuals have to become Russian." the Revolution, he saw his wife's sister's husband, Peter Skipetrov (+ January 20) shot before his eyes. the funeral service, Father Philosophos gave a sermon, fearlessly denouncing the Bolsheviks. He repeatedly called upon his flock to surround the churches and to protect the shrines of their land. January 1918, when Father Peter Skipetrov was killed at the Lavra, Father Philosophos organized a defense of the shrines of Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra, organizing Cross Processions to it from all the churches of the capital. August 9, 1918, he was arrested, along with his two eldest sons, Nicholas and Boris. the time of his arrest he was absolutely impassive and calm. gathered by the thousands and walked along Nevsky Prospekt, demanding the release of their shepherd. Chekists received the delegation of believers, promising to do what they asked. on the same night (July 20, 1918), Father Philósophos was transported to prison in the city of Kronstadt. October 30, 1918, thirty-two men were brought from different prisons, all officers of the Imperial Army, who were being taken to be shot. Some were young, and others were older. said he was a Colonel of the Guards. He told their escorts, "You will all perish, perhaps in twenty years, but you will perish like dogs. will be Russia again, but you will perish." Their escorts said nothing. they were being led to the place of execution, Father Philosophos read aloud the prayer for the departure of the soul over his two sons and the rest of the convicts. say the place of execution was in Kronstadt, while others say it was not far from the Gulf of Finland, between Ligovo and Oranienbaum. bodies of those who were shot were dumped into the bay. Ornatsky's body did not sink, but was tossed onto the shore by the waves near Oranienbaum. There it was buried secretly by the inhabitants. Saints were canonized as New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for general Church veneration. Philosophos is also commemorated on July 20, and on the Third Sunday after Pentecost (Movable Feast: Synaxis of the Saints of St. Petersburg. 1 Now the Cherepovetsky District of Vologda Oblast.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1891-1918, Hiermrtr Nikodemos, Bishop of BelgorodBelgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), historian
Mongol, Scythia, 1891-1918, Hieromartyr Nikodemos, Bishop of Belgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), from line of missionary priests itNorth, 1896 Superintendent of Petersburg TSchool & ctaker Pedagogical Courses, many awards, 1899 tKaluga arector KSpiritual seminary, 1909 r Olonets Seminary, taught students obey authorities, at least for awhile, Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom which he wrote in college, but genius write for genius, 1911 Bishop, 1913 BoBelogorod&Vicar of Kursk, composer church hymns, as spiritual writer&Church historian, author of books about ascetics of Arkhangelsk and Olonets, compiler Biographies of the National Ascetics of Piety ot XVIII-XIX centuries, he wrote of Lives of the Saints of the St. Petersburg.and Vologda dioceses, as well ascetics Solovki Monastery, 1911 -he worked hard on discovery relics St. Joasaph of Belgorod, composed prayers, wrote miracle cases, 1918 martyred; Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 28; Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod (in the world Alexander Mikhailovich Kononov) was born on June 18, 1871 in Arkhangelsk province, son of Father Michael Kononov and his wife Claudia. Kononov family traces its roots back to the XVII century, and there were many remarkable priests who served as missionaries in the north. Kononov graduated from the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. 1896 he was tonsured as a monk with the name Νikόdēmos, in honor of Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozha Lake (July 3), and he was ordained as a Hieromonk. the same time, he was appointed Superintendent of the Alexander Nevsky Theological School in St. Petersburg, as well as the caretaker of the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Courses. his work, Father Νikόdēmos received many awards. In 1901, he received a Bible from the Synod "in encouraging his love for children, which he showed in his deeds and in truth." On August 30 of that same year, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. three years, Father Νikόdēmos was sent to Kaluga as rector of the Kaluga Spiritual seminary, in 1909 he was appointed as rector of the Olonets Seminary. this time Archimandrite Νikόdēmos received thanks from the Kaluga bishop for his "vigilant labors, recently incurred, his impact on the excitable minds of the pupils, so that they stopped fermenting and the thought, if not forever, then for a long time - not to obey the lawful orders of the authorities," as the bishop declared in expressing his gratitude. Holy Synod blessed Archimandrite Νikόdēmos to compose an Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom, which was printed by the Synod for ecclesiastical use. Νikόdēmos had originally written the Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom while he was still a student of St. Petersburg Theological Academy. at that time the censor had rejected the Akathist in approximately these terms: "An Akathist to a genius ought to be written by a genius, not by some unknown Hieromonk." 1911, at St. Petersburg, Father Νikόdēmos was consecrated as a bishop by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow and Kolomensk. 1913, Bishop Νikόdēmos became Bishop of Belgorod, and Vicar of the Kursk Diocese. the time of his pastoral activities, Vladyka was a composer of Church hymns, he composed Akathists to his patron Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozha Lake Monastery, Tryphon of Pechenga (December 15), and the Monastic Martyr Job the Gorge-dweller, wonderworker of Solovki (August 5). a spiritual writer and Church historian, Bishop Νikόdēmos was the author of books about the ascetics of Arkhangelsk and Olonets, he was also one of the main compilers of the multi-volume work "Biographies of the National Ascetics of Piety of the XVIII-XIX centuries." book "Elder Father Naum of Solovki, the Ascetic of Karelia" was published in 1910. addition, he wrote several collections of Lives of the Saints of the St. Petersburg.and Vologda dioceses, as well as those of the ascetics Solovki Monastery. also wrote a history of Eldership. worked hard in connection with the discovery of the holy relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod (on September 4, 1911). his service in the Diocese, he composed two prayers to Saint Joasaph, as well as his great opus "The Life, Glorification and Miracles of Saint Joasaph." the direction of Bishop Νikόdēmos, and with his direct participation, three volumes of consistory cases related to the activities of Saint Joasaph were published. chambers in the Holy Trinity Monastery were reconstructed, and a unique museum of Saint Joasaph was created, which contained an extensive collection of documents. 1918, on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Belgorod Hierarch was arrested right in the altar of Trinity Cathedral by the Red Commissar Saenko, for preaching against robbery and violence. the request of the faithful who demanded Vladyka's release, the local Chekists "released" him for one day, and those who those who requested it were arrested. of the groups of believers protesting against the Bishop's arrest was led by the wife of a priest, the head of the second women's gymnasium, Maria Dmitrievna Kiyanovskaya, who was arrested as a "leader of a counter-revolutionary demonstration" and was shot. next day, Vladyka was arrested again. days after his arrest on the orders of Commissar Saenko, Bishop Νikόdēmos was shot secretly and was buried in a common grave outside the city. the capture of Belgorod by the Volunteer White Army (six months after Vladyka's execution), his grave was opened. Medical examination of the remains found that in addition to the presence of a non-lethal gunshot wound in the Saint's chest, there was a skull fracture caused by a heavy blow with a blunt object, a huge bruise at the top of the head, and a break in the laryngeal cartilage, indicating that he had been strangled by someone. holy relics of Saint Νikόdēmos were given due honors, and were buried at Holy Trinity Monastery near the shrine of Saint Joasaph of Belgorod. October 29, 2017, Metropolitan John (Popov) performed the rite of the great consecration and the first Liturgy in the church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos (Kononov), located in the Belgorod Metropolis at the place where the relics of the Saint were found. This coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start of the persecution of the Church, and the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos. Belgorod;

Russia, St Petersburg, 1894, Gatekeeper Icon, sick St Petersburg merchant dream, MOG told him go tIcon aUglich, healed, Wwork
Russia, Rostov, 1894, Gatekeeper Icon, Uglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), sick St Petersburg merchant, dream vision, MOG told him go to icon at Uglich pray before it tbHealed, Igumen ordered search, found &Moved to Dorm Church, merchant healed, wonderworking since, Alekseev Womens M; Uglich; Úglich Portaίtissa (Gatekeeper) Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 23; Most Holy Theotokos first appeared to Igoumen Evangelos, who was the Superior of the Monastery from 1864-1872. late XIX century researcher I. Vinogradov dates the Icon's presence in the Monastery to that period. he was correct in thinking that the Icon was painted during that time, then it was lost for almost thirty years. Icon was found in the Monastery storeroom in 1894. June 23 of that year, a sick merchant from St. Petersburg arrived alone at the Monastery. Speaking to the Igoumen, he told him in detail about his illness, and of the vision he had in a dream. The Mother of God told the merchant to go to Úglich, where her Icon was located, and to pray before it, promising that he would be healed. Igoumen ordered that a search be made for the Icon. This was done, and the Icon was moved into the Monastery's Dormition church in great triumph. When the sick merchant prayed before the Icon, he soon recovered. In gratitude for the healing he had received, he covered the Icon with a silver gilded riza. that time, the wonderworking Úglich Portaίtissa Icon of the Theotokos has granted healing and consolation to those who resort to the Queen of Heaven with faith in her intercession before God. this Icon the Mother of God is depicted as a nun with a staff and a prayer rope in her left hand, and a candle in her right hand. This image is located in the Alekseev Women's Monastery in Úglich, Yaroslavl Province, and it is also known as the "Inextinguishable Candle." Úglich Portaίtissa Icon of the Mother of God bears a striking resemblance to the Igoumeness of Mount Athos Icon, which is commemorated on the second Sunday after Pentecost, along with All Saints of Mount Athos.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1900, 20th C Folder, Maria Skbtsv Orthdx socl wrk, Ben oPetrgrd nresistConfictns& ko Lvng Ch, Kilarn's r
Russia, St Petersburg, 1900, 20th C Folder, Maria Skbtsv Orthdx social wrk, Ben oPetrgrd nresistConfiscations& ko Lvng Chrch, Kilarn's rlcs

Russia, St Petersburg, 1911-1945, Maria Skobtsova, Riga, Latvia, athiest a14, radical ideas nAction, Orthodox Social Work
Latvia, 1911-1945, Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova) Riga, Latvia (Westerb Dvina River 19, Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea), Russian Empire, tBlack Sea shore, Anapa, wNun a7, Athiest a14, 1906 St Petersburg, radical ideas, but do nothing, married Bolshevik, politics poetry theology, no connection to ordinary people, above actual Church, any old beggar woman's prostrations, church wIdea not community, read lives oSaints, concluded need not revolutionary theories but Christ, accepted by Theological Academy, 1913 marriage collapsed, daughter born, WWI, back to Southern Russia, lead weights, needs oOther people not self mortification, 1917 iSt Pete for Bolshevik overthrow, Trotsky's dismissing people from the party, actual revolution vs dreams, 1918 elected deputy mayor Anapa, arrested, defense loyalty to tPeople, married tJudge Daniel Skobtsov, fled to Georgia1921, tYugoslavia, tParis1923, dolls&scarves money, Orthodox lectures, 1926 daughter death grief devoted self to mother for all, social work theological writing, retold saints lives, 1930 Christian Movement traveling secretary, in contact wRussian Refugees, taught personal alms giving, vision new type community, monastic&fraternal, free church can perform miracles, devotion to social work&wanning marriage, Nun suggestion, Daniel accepted, 1932 ordination, monasticism itWorld, house oHospitality, young Russian women guests, chapel upstairs wIconostasis she painted, dining room lecture hall, new location from 25 people to 100, each person icon of God incarnate, venerate that image, other locations&rural sanatorium, not all responded to trust, theft common, said money found and thief cried, they sought the homeless, 1939 WWII German Occupation fFrance, Jews ask for babtismal certificates, arrested for helping Jews, several camps & gas chamber; Riga; Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova), Commemorated on July 20; Pilenko, the future Mother Maria, was born in 1891 in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire, and grew up in the south of Russia on the shore of the Black Sea. Her father was mayor of the town of Anapa, while on her mother's side, she was descended from the last governor of the Bastille, the Parisian prison destroyed during the French Revolution. parents were devout Orthodox Christians whose faith helped shape their daughter's values, sensitivities and goals. As a child she once emptied her piggy bank in order to contribute to the painting of an icon that would be part of a new church in Anapa. At seven she asked her mother if she was old enough to become a nun, while a year later she sought permission to become a pilgrim who spends her life walking from shrine to shrine. the age of 14, her father died, an event that seemed to her meaningless and unjust and led her to embrace atheism. "If there is no justice," she said, "there is no God." decided God's nonexistence was well known to adults but kept secret from children. For her, childhood was over. her widowed mother moved the family to Saint Petersburg in 1906, she found herself in the country's political and cultural center — also a hotbed of radical ideas and groups — and became part of radical literary circles that gathered around such symbolist poets as Alexander Blok, whom she first met at age 15. many of her contemporaries, she was drawn to the left, but was often disappointed at the radicals she encountered. Though regarding themselves as revolutionaries, they seemed to do nothing but talk. spirit longed to engage in heroic feats, even to perish, to combat the injustice of the world," she recalled. Yet no one she knew was actually laying down his or her life for others. her friends hear of someone dying for the Revolution, she noted, "they will value it, approve or not approve, show understanding on a very high level, and discuss the night away till the sun rises and it's time for fried eggs. But they will not understand at all that to die for the Revolution means to feel a rope around one's neck." 1910, she married Dimitri Kuzmin-Karaviev, a Bolshevik and part of a community of poets, artists and writers, but she later commented that it was a marriage born "more of pity than of love." addition to politics and poetry, she and her friends also talked theology, just as their political ideas had no connection at all to the lives of ordinary people, their theology floated far above the actual Church. There was much they might have learned, she reflected later in life, from "any old beggar woman hard at her Sunday prostrations in church." many intellectuals, the Church was an idea or a set of abstract values, not a community in which one actually lives. still regarding herself an atheist, gradually her earlier attraction to Christ revived and deepened, not yet Christ as God incarnate but Christ as heroic man. time, she found herself drawn toward the religious faith she had abandoned after her father's death. prayed and read the Gospel and the lives of saints and concluded that the real need of the people was not for revolutionary theories but for Christ. wanted "to proclaim the simple word of God," she told Blok in a letter written in 1916. Desiring to study theology, she applied for admission to Saint Petersburg's Theological Academy of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, in those days an entirely male school whose students were preparing for ordination. surprising as her wanting to study there was the rector's decision that she could be admitted. 1913, her marriage collapsed. Later that year, her first child, Gaiana, was born. as World War I was beginning, she returned with her daughter to southern Russia, where her religious life grew more intense. a time she secretly wore lead weights sewn into a hidden belt as a way of reminding herself both "that Christ exists" and also to be more aware that minute-by-minute many people were suffering and dying in the war. realized, however, that the primary Christian asceticism was not self-mortification, but caring response to the needs of other people. October 1917, she was present in Saint Petersburg when Russia's Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks. part in the All-Russian Soviet Congress, she heard Lenin's lieutenant, Leon Trotsky, dismiss people from her party with the words, "Your role is played out. Go where you belong, into history's garbage can!" grew to see how hideously different actual revolution was from the dreams of revolution that had once filled the imagination of so many Russians! February 1918, she was elected deputy mayor of Anapa. she was arrested, jailed, and put on trial for collaboration with the enemy. court, she rose and spoke in her own defense: "My loyalty was not to any imagined government as such, but to those whose need of justice was greatest, the people. Red or White, my position is the same — I will act for justice and for the relief of suffering. I will try to love my neighbor." It was thanks to Daniel Skobtsov, a former schoolmaster who was now her judge, that she avoided execution. After the trial, she sought him out to thank him. Eventually they married. the course of the civil war was turning in favor of the Bolsheviks, the Skobtsovs fled to Georgia, where she gave birth to a son, Yura, in 1920. year later, having relocated to Yugoslavia, she gave birth to Anastasia, long journey ended with their arrival in Paris in 1923, where to supplement their income she made dolls and painted silk scarves, often working ten or twelve hours a day. friend introduced her to the Russian Student Christian Movement, an Orthodox association founded in 1923. She began attending lectures and other activities and felt herself coming back to life spiritually and intellectually. 1926, she grieved the death of her daughter Anastasia. She emerged from her mourning determined to seek a "new road before me and a new meaning in life, to be a mother for all, for all who need maternal care, assistance, or protection." devoted herself to social work and theological writing. 1927 two volumes, Harvest of the Spirit, were published, in which she retold the lives of many saints. 1930, she was appointed traveling secretary of the Russian Student Christian Movement, work which put her into daily contact with impoverished Russian refugees throughout France and neighboring countries. often lectured, but she was quick to listen to others as they related some terrible grief that had burdened them for years. She took literally Christ's words, that He was always present in the least person. "Man ought to treat the body of his fellow human being with more care than he treats his own," she wrote. "Christian love teaches us to give our fellows material as well as spiritual gifts. We should give them our last shirt and our last piece of bread. Personal alms-giving and the most wide-ranging social work are both equally justified and needed." time, she began to envision a new type on community, "half monastic and half fraternal," that would connect spiritual life with service to those in need, in the process showing "that a free Church can perform miracles." Sergei Bulgakov, her confessor, was a source of support and encouragement, as was her bishop, Metropolitan Evlogy [Georgievsky], who was responsible from 1921 to 1946 for the many thousands of Russian expatriates scattered across Europe. her devotion to social work, and knowing of her waning marriage, he suggested to her the possibility of becoming a nun. time, Daniel came to accept the idea after meeting with Metropolitan Evlogy. the spring of 1932, in the chapel at Paris' Saint Sergius Theological Institute, she was professed as a nun with the name Maria. made her monastic profession, Metropolitan Evlogy recognized, "in order to give herself unreservedly to social service." Mother Maria called it simply "monasticism in the world." "to share the life of paupers and tramps," she began to look for a house of hospitality and found it at 9 villa de Saxe in Paris, which she leased with financial assistance from Metropolitan Evlogy. began receiving guests, mainly young Russian women without jobs, giving up her own room to house them while herself sleeping on a narrow iron bedstead in the basement. A room upstairs became a chapel — she painted the iconostasis icons — while the dining room doubled as a hall for lectures and dialogues. need of larger facilities, a new location was found two years later in an area of Paris where many impoverished Russian refugees had settled. While at the former address she could feed only 25, here she could feed a hundred. her guests could regain their breath "until the time comes to stand on their two feet again." Her credo was: "Each person is the very icon of God incarnate in the world." this recognition came the need "to accept this awesome revelation of God unconditionally, to venerate the image of God" in her brothers and sisters. her ministry evolved, she rented other buildings, one for families in need, and another for single men. A rural property became a sanatorium. 1937, she housed several dozen women, serving up to 120 dinners every day. Every morning, she would beg for food or buy cheaply whatever was not donated. a seemingly endless array of challenges, Mother Maria was sustained chiefly by those she served — themselves beaten down, people in despair, cripples, alcoholics, the sick, survivors of many tragedies. not all responded to trust with trust. Theft was not uncommon. On one occasion a guest stole 25 francs. Everyone guessed who the culprit was, a drug addict, but Mother Maria refused to accuse her. Instead she announced at the dinner table that the money had not been stolen, only misplaced, and she had found it. "You see how dangerous it is to make accusations," she commented. At once the girl who stole the money burst into tears. Maria and her collaborators would not simply open the door when those in need knocked, but would actively seek out the homeless. place to find them was an all-night café at Les Halles where those with nowhere else to go could sit for the price of a glass of wine. also were cared for, and a part-time school was opened at several locations. her attention toward Russian refugees who had been classified insane, Mother Maria began a series of visits to mental hospitals. In each hospital five to ten percent of the Russian patients turned out to be sane and, thanks to her intervention, were released. Language barriers and cultural misunderstandings had kept them in the asylum. time, she and her associates helped establish clinics for TB sufferers and a variety of other ministries. Another landmark was the foundation in September 1935 of a group named "Orthodox Action" — a name proposed by her friend, philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev. Cofounders included Father Sergei Bulgakov, historian George Fedotov, the scholar Constantine Mochulsky, the publisher Ilya Fondaminsky, and her long-time coworker Fedor Pianov, with Metropolitan Evgoly serving as honorary president. financial support from supporters across Europe and the United States, a wider range of projects and centers were made possible: hostels, rest homes, schools, camps, hospital work, help to the unemployed, assistance to the elderly, publication of books and pamphlets, etc. all of these growing ministries, Mother Maria's driving concern was that it should never lose its personal or communal character. October 1939, Father Dimitri Klepinin, then 35 years old, began to assist Mother Maria as she began the last phase of her life — a series of responses to World War II and Germany's occupation of France. Mother Maria could have fled Paris when the Germans were advancing, or even sought refuge in America, she would not budge. "If the Germans take Paris, I shall stay here with my old women. Where else could I send them?" She had no illusions about the Nazi threat, which to her represented a "new paganism" bringing in its wake disasters, upheavals, persecutions and wars. defeat came greater poverty and hunger, and the local authorities in Paris declared her house an official food distribution point, where volunteers sold at cost price whatever food Mother Maria had bought in that morning. refugees were among the particular targets of the occupiers. June 1941, a thousand were arrested, including several close friends and collaborators of Mother Maria and Father Dimitri, who launched an aid project for prisoners and their dependents. in 1942, their registration now underway, Jews began to knock at Mother Maria's door, asking Father Dimitri if he would issue baptismal certificates to them. The answer was always yes. names of those "baptized" were also duly recorded in his parish register in case there was any cross-checking by the police or Gestapo, as indeed did happen. Father Dimitri was convinced that in such a situation Christ would do the same. the Nazis issued special identity cards for those of Russian origin living in France, with Jews being specially identified, Mother Maria and Father Dimitri refused to comply, though they were warned that those who failed to register would be regarded as citizens of the USSR — enemy aliens — and be punished accordingly. the subsequent mass arrest of Jews — 12,884, of whom 6,900 (two-thirds of them children) were brought to the Velodrome d'Hiver sports stadium and held for five days before being sent to Auschwitz — Maria entered the stadium and for three days offered comfort to the children and their parents, distributing what food she could bring in. even managed to rescue a number of children by enlisting the aid of garbage collectors and smuggling them out in trash bins. her house house was bursting with people, many of them Jews. "It is amazing," Mother Maria remarked, "that the Germans haven't pounced on us yet." Father Dimitri, Mother Maria and their coworkers set up routes of escape to the unoccupied south. It was complex and dangerous work. Forged documents had to be obtained. A local resistance group helped secure provisions for those Mother Maria's community was struggling to feed. February 8, 1943, while Mother Maria was traveling, Nazi security police entered the house and found a letter in her son Yura's pocket in which Father Dimitri was asked to provide a Jew with a false baptismal document. now actively a part of his mother's work, was taken to the office of Orthodox Action, soon after followed by his distraught grandmother, Sophia Pilenko. The interrogator ordered her to bring Father Dimitri. Once the priest was there, said the interrogator, they would let Yura go. His grandmother Sophia was allowed to embrace Yura and give him a blessing. It was last time she saw him in this world. following morning, after celebrating the Divine Liturgy, Father Dimitri set off for the Gestapo office, where he was interrogated for four hours, making no attempt to hide his beliefs. The next day, February 10, Mother Maria was arrested and her quarters were searched. Several others were called for questioning and then held by the Gestapo. She was confined with 34 other woman at the Gestapo headquarters in Paris. Her son Yura, Father Dimitri and their coworker of many years, Feodor Pianov, were held in the same building. Pianov later recalled witnessing Father Dimitri being prod and beaten by an SS officer while Yura stood by, weeping. Father Dimitri "began to console him, saying the Christ withstood greater mockery than this." April, the prisoners were transferred to Compiegne, where Mother Maria was blessed with a final meeting with Yura, who said his mother "was in a remarkable state of mind and told me ... that I must trust in her ability to bear things and in general not to worry about her. Every day [Father Dimitri and I] remember her at the proskomidia ... We celebrate the Eucharist and receive Communion each day." Hours after their meeting,Mother Maria was transported to Germany. December 16, Yura and Father Dimitri were deported to Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany, followed several weeks later by Pianov. In January 1944, Father Dimitri and Yura were sent to another camp, Dora. Within ten days of arrival, Yura contracted furunculosis. On February 6, "dispatched for treatment" — a euphemism for "sentenced to death." Four days later Father Dimitri, lying on a dirt floor, died of pneumonia. His body was disposed of in the Buchenwald crematorium. Mother Maria — now "Prisoner 19,263" — was sent in a sealed cattle truck to the Ravensbruck camp in Germany, where she endured for two years, an achievement in part explained by her long experience of ascetic life. was assigned to Block 27 and befriended the many Russian prisoners who were with her. Unable to correspond with friends, little testimony in her own words has come down to us, but prisoners who survived the war remembered her. of them, Solange Perichon, recalls: "She was never downcast, never. She never complained.... She was full of good cheer, really good cheer. We had roll calls which lasted a great deal of time. We were woken at three in the morning and we had to stand out in the open in the middle of winter until the barracks [population] was counted. She took all this calmly and she would say, 'Well that's that. Yet another day completed. And tomorrow it will be the same all over again.' ... She allowed nothing of secondary importance to impede her contact with people." that her own exit point from the camp might be via the crematoria, Mother Maria asked a fellow prisoner whom she hoped would survive to memorize a message to be given at last to Father Sergei Bulgakov, Metropolitan Evlogy and her mother: state at present is such that I completely accept suffering in the knowledge that this is how things ought to be for me, and if I am to die, I see this as a blessing from on high." work in the camp varied. There was a period when she was part of a team of women dragging a heavy iron roller about the camp's pathways for 12 hours a day. In another period she worked in a knitwear workshop. legs began to give way. As her health declined, friends no longer allowed her to give away portions of her own food, as she had done in the past to help keep others alive. the Red Army approaching from the East, the concentration camp administrators further reduced food rations while greatly increasing the population of each block from 800 to 2,500. serious decline, Mother Maria accepted a pink card freely issued to any prisoner who wished to be excused from labor because of age or ill health. January 1945, those who had received such cards were transferred to what was called the Jugendlager — the "youth camp" — where the authorities said each person would have her own bed and abundant food. Mother Maria's transfer was on January 31. the food ration was further reduced and the hours spent standing for roll calls increased. Though it was mid-winter, blankets, coats and jackets were confiscated, and then even shoes and stockings. The death rate was at least fifty per day. Next all medical supplies were withdrawn. Those who still persisted in surviving now faced death by shootings and gas, the latter made possible by the construction of a gas chamber in March 1945, in which 150 were executed every day. Mother Maria survived five weeks in the "youth camp" before she was returned to the main camp on March 3. Though emaciated and infested with lice, with her eyes festering, she began to think she might actually live to return to Paris, or even go back to Russia. was not to be the case. On March 30, 1945 — Great, Holy and Good Friday that year — Mother Maria was selected for the gas chambers, in which she perished the following day, on Great and Holy Saturday. are at odds about what happened. According to one, she was one of the many selected for death that day. According to another, she took the place of another prisoner, a Jew, who had been chosen. perishing in the gas chamber, she did not perish in the Church's memory. Survivors of the war who had known her would again and again draw attention to the ideas, insights and activities of the unusual nun who had spent so many years coming to the aid of people in desperate straits. after the end of World War II, essays and books about her began to appear in France and Russia. A Russian film, "Mother Maria," was made in 1982. There have been two biographies in English and, little by little, the translation and publication in English of her most notable essays. January 18, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized Mother Maria Skobtsova as a saint, along with her son Yuri; the priest who worked closely with her, Fr. Dimitri Klépinin; and her close friend and collaborator Ilya Fondaminsky. Their glorification took place in Paris' Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky.

Russia, St Petersburg, 1917-1922, Benjamin of Petrograd, not resist confiscations, kicked L Church out, trial, shot
Russia, St Petersburg, 1917-1922, Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, 1922 Communists confiscating Church treasurers, for food for starving, he did not resist, wanted it to be voluntary, comission agreed but Moscow not, 12 living church priests called for unconditional surrender valuables, B met with authorities, substituted other property, L Church tried control from Tikhon, L Church outside C until repent, Soviets enraged, B ordered to rescind, did not, trial, false witnesses, shot; Petrograd: St Petersburg; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated on July 31; New Hieromartyr Benjamin (Kazansky) was appointed Metropolitan of Petrograd in the summer of 1917. those tumultuous times, he was one of the few people in Russia with no interest in politics. He was more concerned with caring for his diocese and his flock. 1922, the Communists began confiscating Church treasures. They professed that they wanted to sell them in order to buy food for the starving population. the people protested, there were bloody reprisals. Benjamin did not resist turning over the Church’s valuables, for he believed it was his duty to help save people’s lives. wanted this sacrifice to be voluntary, however, and not a plundering of church property by the government. March 6, 1922 Metropolitan Benjamin met with a commission which had been formed to help the starving. They agreed to his request that the dispersal of funds from voluntary contributions should be controlled by the parishes. Newspapers of that time praised the Metropolitan and his clergy for their charitable spirit. leaders in Moscow did not approve of the decision made by the Communists of Petrograd allowing voluntary contributions to be administered by the parishes, and declared that the confiscation of Church property would continue. gathered in Petrograd, shouting and throwing stones at those who were stealing from the churches. March 24, 1922 “Pravda” printed a letter from twelve priests who broke ranks with the other clergy, referring to them as “counter-revolutionaries” and blaming them for the famine. of these twelve would later be active in the “Living Church.” They called for unconditional surrender of all Church valuables to the Soviets. clergy of Petrograd were outraged by the letter from the twelve. Benjamin, hoping to avoid confrontations between the people and the Communists, tried to calm his priests. also asked for a meeting with the authorities. and Boyarsky, two of the twelve, were delegated to talk with Soviet leaders, and came to an agreement. Parishes would be permitted to keep their sacred vessels if they substituted other property of equal value. This program seemed to work well for a time. Boyarsky, and others tried to wrest control of the Church from Patriarch Tikhon and the bishops. informed Metropolitan Benjamin of the new state of affairs, declaring that Vvedensky had been appointed as the Petrograd representative of the new Church administration. Metropolitan could not accept this threat to Church order, so he proclaimed that Vvedensky would be regarded as being outside the Church until he repented of his error. decree was published in the newspapers, and served to enrage the Soviets. and the Petrograd commandant Bakaev went to see the Metropolitan and ordered him to rescind his decree. If he did not, they told him, he and others close to him would be placed on trial. They warned Metropolitan Benjamin that he and others would be put to death if he made the wrong choice. He refused to submit. courageous archpastor began meeting with his friends in order to say farewell. He also gave instructions for the administration of the diocese. A few days later, the Metropolitan was placed under house arrest. Not long after that, he was taken to prison. his trial began, the Metropolitan entered the courtroom with Bishop Benedict and other clergy. When everyone stood up for him, Metropolitan Benjamin blessed them. judges tried to get the Metropolitan to renounce the idea of the parishes voluntarily contributing church valuables in order to feed the hungry, or to provide the names of those who had conceived this idea. It would suit their purposes very well if he could be made to “repent” or back away from his previous statements and submit to the authorities. other clergy and civilians on trial with Metropolitan Benjamin did not try to ingratiate themselves with the court, and did not accuse others in order to win leniency for themselves. the trial, Archimandrite Sergius (Shein) explained that as a monk he had renounced the world in order to dedicate himself to God. Only the flimsiest of threads still connected him with the outside world, he asserted. “Does this tribunal imagine,” he said, “that severing this thread which connects me with life could frighten me? Do your deed. I pity you, and I pray for you.” trial lasted for two weeks, and the prosecutors presented witnesses who had been hired to bring false accusations against the defendants. witnesses were called, and their testimony seemed to support Metropolitan Benjamin and to weaken the government’s case against him. certain professor of the Technological Institute named Egorov angered the court by his testimony. He was accused of being a follower of the Metropolitan, so he was arrested on the spot. spite of all the evidence, the defendants were found guilty. Government supporters and members of the Red Army in the court broke into applause. defense attorney addressed the court, saying that he knew that any pleas he might offer would be useless. “Political considerations come first with you, and all verdicts must favor your policy,” he declared. though everyone understood that the trial was a farce, the Soviet government could not afford to make a martyr out of Metropolitan Benjamin. The example of history, he pointed out, should warn them against such a course. the defense attorney had finished, there was loud clapping. The judges tried to restore order, but found that many Communists in the audience had also joined in the applause. defendants were given a chance to speak, and the Metropolitan stood to address the court. He said it grieved him to be called an enemy of the people, for he had always loved the people and dedicated his life to them. The rest of his comments were a defense of the others on trial with him. the presiding judge asked him to say something about himself, he said that no matter what sentence the court decreed he would thank God by saying, “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee for all things.” 9:00 P.M. on July 5, the chairman of the tribunal announced that ten defendants, including the Metropolitan, were to be shot. Benjamin and those with him (Archimandrite Sergius, George, and John of Petrograd) were executed on July 31, 1922. had been shaved and dressed in rags so that the firing squad would not know that they were shooting members of the clergy. saints are also commemorated at the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (January 25 or the Sunday after the 25th).

Russia, St Petersburg, 1990, Glorification oSt John oKronstadt Island, St Petersburg
Kronstadt Island (Kotlin Island, St Petersburg); Kronshtadtsky District; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. His neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. When John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. At first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. I don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.â€ After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. He also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.â€ John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. To him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.â€ He conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.â€ He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.â€ These appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with boredom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.â€ To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.â€ John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990. Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; Glorification of Saint John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 14; John of Kronstadt was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990. He is also commemorated on December 20.

Russia, St Petersvurg, 1998, Finding Hilarion's Rlcs, Vereiya, Kaluga, a 6 yrs labor camps, died 1929, age 50, looking old&grey
Russia, Kaluga, 1998, Finding Hilarion's Relics, Vereiya, Kaluga (Protva River 1), after 6 yrs labor camps, died 1929, age 50, looking old&grey; Vereiya; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated December 15 ; Finding of the Relics of Saint Hilarion, Archbishop of Verey, Commemorated on July 11; New Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) fell asleep in the Lord on December 15, 1929 after spending six years in labor camps. Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) of Leningrad obtained permission from the authorities to take Saint Hilarion's body from the prison hospital for burial, he vested him in white vestments and a mitre, and then brought him to the church at Novodevichii Monastery in Leningrad. the Saint's relatives saw his body, they barely recognized him. His years in the labor camps had changed his appearance from that of a man of forty-four into a grey-haired old man. Seraphim presided at the funeral service and burial, assisted by Archbishop Alexei (Simansky), the future Patriarch of Moscow, and five other hierarchs. Saint Hilarion was buried in the cemetery of Novodevichii Monastery in Leningrad. relics of Saint Hilarion were found on July 11, 1998. May 10, 1999, Saint Hilarion, the Archbishop of Verey, was glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. On the eve of his canonization, the Holy Hieromartyr’s relics were uncovered and transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow and were placed in the church of the Sretensky Monastery. Hilarion is commemorated on December 15 (his repose in 1929); May 10 (his glorification in 1999); the Third Sunday after Pentecost (All Saints of St. Petersburg); July 11 (The Finding of his relics in 1998); on the Sunday nearest to August 26 (All Saints of Moscow).

Russia, St Petersburg, North Side Folder, Karelian Isthmus, Sestra River

Sestra River

Sestra River Source (Karelian Istmus)
The Sestra River is the natural boundary between both Russia and Sweden, and Russia and Finland.

Karelian Isthmus, North Side St Petersburg
Karelian Isthmus; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated February 23 ; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18;

Vysotsk, North St Petersburg, Russia
Vysotsk; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; Venerable Athanasius of Serpukhov, Commemorated on September 12

Kakisalmi, Russia (Karelian Isthmus)
Kakisalmi; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7;

Sestra River 1

Sestra River Mouth (Gulf of Finland)

Peter and Paul cathedral, northside St Petersberg, 1712
Peter and Paul Cathedral St. Petersburg; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10;

Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy
Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy; Uncovering of the relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Russian Thebaid of the North, Saint Petersburg
Russian Thebaid of the North; Venerable Dionysius the Abbot of Glushetsk, Vologda, Commemorated on June 1;

Kronstadt Island, St Petersburg
Kronstadt Island (Kotlin Island, St Petersburg); Kronshtadtsky District; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. His neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. When John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. At first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. I don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.â€ After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. He also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.â€ John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. To him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.â€ He conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.â€ He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.â€ These appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with boredom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.â€ To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.â€ John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990. Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; Glorification of Saint John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 14; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25 ;

Saint Andrew's Cathedral, Kronstadt Island, North St Petersburg
Saint Andrew's Cathedral, Kronstadt; Repose of Saint John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on December 20; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. His neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. When John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. At first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. I don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.â€ After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. He also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.â€ John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. To him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.â€ He conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.â€ He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.â€ These appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with boredom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.â€ To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.â€ John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990. Glorification of Saint John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 14;

Russia, St Petersburg, Volkhov River Folder

Volkhov River

Volkhov River Source (Novgorod, Lake Ilmen)

Volkhov River 1 (Novgorod, St Georges Monastery)

Volkhov River 2 (Khutyn or Xenophon Monastery)

Volkhov River 3 (Oskuya Mouth)

Oskuya River Mouth (Volkhov River 3)

Volkhov River 4 (Tigoda Mouth)

Tigoda River Mouth (Volkhov River 4)

Volkhov River 5 (Volkhov)

Volkhov, St Petersburg (Volkhov River 5)
Volkhov; Venerable Anthony the Roman and Abbot of Novgorod, commemorated August 3;

Zelenets (Green Island), Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, St Petersburg, 1582
Zelenets, Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, Zelenets (Green Island); Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1;

Staraya Ladoga
Staraya Ladoga; St Nicholas Monastery &Fortress, Lake Ladoga ; Ladoga Fortress; a rural locality (a selo) in Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) north of the town of Volkhov, the administrative center of the district. used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was dominated by Scandinavians who were called by the name of Rus'. For that reason, it is sometimes called the first capital of Russia.[7] Transfer of the relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Ondrusov, Wonderworker, Commemorated on May 17;

Volkhov River Mouth (St Petersburg, South Central Lake Ladoga)

St Nicholas Monastery &Fortress, Lake Ladoga
St Nicholas Monastery &Fortress, Lake Ladoga ; Ladoga Fortress; a rural locality (a selo) in Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) north of the town of Volkhov, the administrative center of the district. used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was dominated by Scandinavians who were called by the name of Rus'. For that reason, it is sometimes called the first capital of Russia.[7] Transfer of the relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Ondrusov, Wonderworker, Commemorated on May 17;

Ladoga Fortress (Volkhov River 5.5)
Ladoga Fortress; a rural locality (a selo) in Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) north of the town of Volkhov, the administrative center of the district. used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was dominated by Scandinavians who were called by the name of Rus'. For that reason, it is sometimes called the first capital of Russia.[7] Transfer of the relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Ondrusov, Wonderworker, Commemorated on May 17;

Russia, St Petersburg, Syas River Folder

Syas River

Syas River Source (Valdai Hills)

Syas River 1

Syas River 2 (Overview)

Syas River 3

Syas River 4

Syas River 6 (Tikhvinka River)

Russia, St Petersburg, Syas River 6, Tikhvin River Folder

Tikhvinka River

Tikhvinka River Source (Lake Yeglino)

Tikhvinka River 1

Dymsk, Novgorod (near Tikhvin, St. Petersburg)
Dymsk on Lake Dyma on the outskirts of Tikhvin; Venerable Anthony of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 17 ; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26;

Dyma Lake, Tikhvin, St Petersburg
but Anthony, shunning glory, left the monastery and settled at the shores of Lake Dyma, on the outskirts of the city of Tikhvin Venerable Anthony of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24;

Tikhvinka River 2 (Tikhvin)

Tikhvin, St Petersburg area (Tikhvinka River 2)
Tikhvin; Icon of the Mother of God œthe ConverserÂ, Commemorated on August 14; Translation of the Icon of the Mother of God in Triumph to Russia, Commemorated on September 18; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7 ; Venerable Anthony of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated January 17 ; Icon of the Mother of God Weeping "Tikhvin" on Mt Athos, Commemorated February 17; Icon of the Mother of God Weeping œTikhvinÂ on Mt Athos, Commemorated on February 17 ; Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Icon of the Mother of God œStaro RusÂ Old Russian, Commemorated on May 4; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Dymsk, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26;

Tikhvin Assumption Monastery, 1560
Tikhvin Assumption Monastery; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7 ;

Tikhvinka River Mouth (Syas River 6)

Syas River Mouth (Lake Ladoga, St Petersburg)

Russia, St Petersburg, South Side Folder, Winter Palace, Spiritual Academy, Gatchina Road

Izhora River

Trinity-St. Sergius Hermitage (near St Petersburg) 1734
St Sergius Hermitage; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30;

Sergius Coastal Monastery of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in Petrograd, 1734
Sergius Coastal Monastery of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in Petrograd The poustinia was founded in 1734 as a branch of the great Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in the immediate vicinity of the new Russian capital, St. Petersburg. Catherine Ivanovna, Peter the Great's niece, owned a manor on the bank of the Gulf of Finland. After her death Empress Anna presented the land to her confessor Varlaam, who was also in charge of the Trinity Lavra. katholikon, as photographed by Count von Nostitz in the 1860s earliest buildings of the monastery, including the pentacupolar cathedral, the outer wall and the towers, were designed by Pietro Antonio Trezzini. They were Baroque in character. It was not until 1764 that Strelna Monastery was designated a separate poustinia. Many monks from Strelna entered the Navy to serve as ship chaplains. Saint Herman of Alaska was one of those monks. golden age of the monastery is associated with Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov who was in charge of the poustinia between 1834 and 1857. Bryanchaninov had the monastery transformed by Aleksey Gornostayev into a showcase for the Russian Revival style. The new Ascension Cathedral was built to a Neo-Byzantine design. the Russian Revolution the Soviets suppressed the monastery (1931), destroyed the cemetery and adapted the grounds to serve as a labor camp, or a work farm. The buildings sustained further damage during World War II. After the property was occupied by a police school in the early 1960s, Trezzini's cathedral and several other churches were blown up. The remaining buildings were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1993. Martyr Sergius the Archimandrite of Petrograd; - Martyr Sergius the Archimandrite of Petrograd, Commemorated on July 31 Sergius (Shein) was executed along with Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd on July 31, 1922. During his trial, he explained that as a monk he had renounced the world in order to dedicate himself to God. Only the flimsiest of threads still connected him with the outside world, he asserted. “Does this tribunal imagine,” he said, “that severing this thread which connects me with life could frighten me? Do your deed. I pity you, and I pray for you.” a short deliberation, the chairman of the tribunal announced that Metropolitan Benjamin and ten others were to be shot. The prisoners were taken from jail and executed a few miles from Petrograd.

Oranienbaum, Russian Royal Residence, St Petersburg
Oranienbaum, Russian Royal Residence, St Petersburg; (Russian: Ораниенба́ум) is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 1707, four years after Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg, he gave the grounds near the seaside to his right-hand man, Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov. commissioned the architects Giovanni Maria Fontana and Gottfried Schädel, who built his residence, the Grand Menshikov Palace from 1710 to 1727 (not to be confused with Menshikov Palace in Saint Petersburg, built by the same architects around the same time). central part of the Palace is connected by two galleries with two domed Japanese and Church Pavilions. The Lower Garden, decorated with fountains and sculptures, and the Upper Garden were laid out at the same time. The Palace is located near the Lower Park, whose composite axis is a channel leading to the sea. This channel is an imitation of one designed by Peter himself at his nearby residence of Peterhof Palace. was deposed shortly after Peter's death, and died in exile, and the palace passed out of his family. 1743, Oranienbaum became the summer residence of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch, the heir of Empress Elizabeth (the future Emperor Peter III). the last ten years of Elizabeth's reign, Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli reconstructed the Grand Palace, adding beauty to its decor. 1756 to 1762, the architect Antonio Rinaldi built the Peterstadt Fortress ensemble on the bank of the Karost River for Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch. 1762, Empress Catherine II ordered the construction of the suburb residence called "My Own Countryside House". that purpose Rinaldi built the Chinese Palace (1762–1768), a mix of Baroque architecture, Classicism and Chinese motifs, the Katalnaya Gorka (roller coaster) Pavilion (1762–1774), a cupola pavilion, and the Gates of Honor with the tower crowned by a spire. Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum the outside, the Chinese palace is a relatively simple building, single-storey except for the small central pavilion, painted in a mellow combination of ochre and yellow. seventeen rooms inside, decorated by Rinaldi and other leading artists and craftsmen of the day, feature pink, blue and green scagliola, painted silks, and intricate stucco work. Rinaldi's parquet floors are wonderfully ornate, using several types of rare Russian and imported wood. the highlights of the Chinese Palace interiors are the Glass Beaded Salon, the walls of which are hung with 12 panels of richly coloured tapestries depicting exotic birds and fauna. fine white glass beads that form the backdrop of the tapestries give the whole room a diaphanous, shimmering quality that was designed to be particularly effective in the glowing twighlight of the White Nights. full influence of Chinoiserie is in evidence in the Large Chinese Salon, where the walls are covered with marquetry paneling of wood and walrus ivory depicting oriental landscapes, and large Chinese lanterns hanging in the corners. The room also contains an English-made billiard table with superb wood carving. Upper Park was laid out from 1750 to 1770. palace was the site of two opera premieres to libretti by Metastasio in the middle of the eighteenth century, Amor prigioniero (one act, composed by Francesco Araia, 1755), and Semiramide riconosciuta (three acts, composed by Vincenzo Manfredini, 1760).[1] the 19th century Oranienbaum became a noble manor. World War II, Oranienbaum suffered to a much lesser extent than other suburbs of St. Petersburg, since defense was deployed here on the so-called “Oranienbaum Bridgehead”. the ensemble became desolate in the post-war period, and its serious restoration began only in the late 1990s. Restoration Of Oranienbaum has been a slow process. Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof restorations were given higher priority, and that is one reason Oranienbaum is a less-visited attraction. the city which grew up around the palace see Lomonosov, Russia. Hieromartyr Philosophos of St. Petersburg, Commemorated on May 31;

Kopore Fortress (relative high point, southwest of St Petersburg)
Kopore; Repose of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated November 23, The Teutonic Knights remained a dangerous enemy. In a lightning-quick campaign in 1241 St Alexander recaptured the ancient Russian fortress of Kopore, expelling the knights. But in 1242, the Germans succeeded capturing Pskov.;

Orlov (Gatchina Palace)
Hieromartyr and Venerable Kuksha of the Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on August 27; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated October 11 ; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, October 12 ; Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated January 7 ;

Gatchina Palace, 1766
Gatchina Palace; Hieromartyr and Venerable Kuksha of the Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated August 27 ; Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated January 7 ; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, October 12 ;

Gatchina (Road St Petersburg to Pskov)
Gatchina (Road St Petersburg to Pskov); Gatchina Palace; Translation of a Particle of the Life Giving Cross from Malta to Gatchina, Commemorated October 12 ; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, October 12 ; Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated January 7 ;

Pavlovsk Institute - Pavlovsk Palace, St Petersburg, 1777
Pavlovsk Institute - Pavlovsk Palace; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4

Sophia Cathedral, Pushkin, St Petersburg
Sophia Cathedral, in Sophia, near Pushkin and St. Petersburg ; St John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated February 10 ; Venerable Euphrosyne the Abbess of Polotsk, Commemorated on May 23;

Tsarskoye Selo, St Petersburg
Tsarskoye Selo; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated October 31 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated November 27 ;

Saint Katherine'™s Cathedral, Tsarskoye Selo, St Petersburg
Saint Katherine'™s Cathedral, Tsarskoye Selo, St Petersburg; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31;

St. Petersburg University, 1724
St. Petersburg University; St Euthymius (Takaishvili);

Moscow Triumphal Gate, St Petersburg, 1834, for 1829 victory over Turks
Moscow Triumphal Gate; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated November 19 ; Metropolitan Philaret was asked to dedicate the new Triumphal Gate in Moscow, and Tsar Nicholas I was also present. Seeing statues of pagan gods on the Gate, the Metropolitan refused to bless it. The Tsar became angry, and many people criticized the saint™s refusal to participate. He felt that he had followed his conscience in this matter, but still felt disturbed by it, and so he prayed until he finally dropped off to sleep. He was awakened around 5 A.M. by the sound of someone opening the door which he usually kept locked. The Metropolitan sat up and saw Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25) leaning over his bed. œDon'™t worry,Â he said, It will all pass.Then he disappeared.

Resurrection-New Divyevo Monastery, Moskovskiy Ave., 100, St. Petersburg 196084
Resurrection-New Divyevo Monastery, Moskovskiy Ave., 100, St. Petersburg 196084; Moscow Triumphal Gate; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated November 19 ; Metropolitan Philaret was asked to dedicate the new Triumphal Gate in Moscow, and Tsar Nicholas I was also present. Seeing statues of pagan gods on the Gate, the Metropolitan refused to bless it. The Tsar became angry, and many people criticized the saint™s refusal to participate. He felt that he had followed his conscience in this matter, but still felt disturbed by it, and so he prayed until he finally dropped off to sleep. He was awakened around 5 A.M. by the sound of someone opening the door which he usually kept locked. The Metropolitan sat up and saw Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25) leaning over his bed. œDon'™t worry,Â he said, It will all pass.Then he disappeared. Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21;

St Petersburg Theological Academy, 1797
St Petersburg Theological Academy; Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova), Commemorated on July 20; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated October 9 ; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated November 19; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated December 3; Saint Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on January 10; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated January 25 ; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 28; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ;

St Alexander Nevsky Spiritual Academy, St Petersburg, 1797
St Alexander Nevsky Spiritual Academy; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Khar'kov and Akhtyrsk, Commemorated on February 12; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 28; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ;

St Petersburg Naval Academy, 1701
St Petersburg Naval Academy; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26;

Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, 1801, western, enlightened, modeled on Peter's Basilica Rome
Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg; Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor , also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan, one of the most venerated icons in Russia. of the cathedral started in 1801 and continued for ten years under the supervision of Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov.[2] its completion in 1811, the new temple replaced the Church of Nativity of the Theotokos, which was disassembled when the Kazan Cathedral was consecrated. architect Andrey Voronikhin[3] modelled the building on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.[2] Some art historians assert that Emperor Paul (reigned 1796–1801) intended to build a similar church on the other side of Nevsky Prospect that would mirror the Kazan Cathedral, but such plans failed to materialize.[citation needed] Although the Russian Orthodox Church strongly disapproved of the plans to create a replica of a Catholic basilica in Russia's then capital, several courtiers supported Voronikhin's Empire Style design. Napoleon invaded Russia (1812) and the commander-in-chief General Mikhail Kutuzov asked Our Lady of Kazan for help, the church's purpose altered. The Patriotic War over, Russians saw the cathedral primarily as a memorial to their victory over Napoleon.[3] Kutuzov himself was interred in the cathedral in 1813; and Alexander Pushkin wrote celebrated lines meditating over his sepulchre. In 1815 keys to seventeen cities and eight fortresses were brought by the victorious Russian army from Europe and placed in the cathedral's sacristy. In 1837, Boris Orlovsky designed two bronze statues of Kutuzov and of Barclay de Tolly which stand in front of the cathedral. 1896 Photochrom print 1876 the Kazan demonstration, the first political demonstration in Russia, took place in front of the church. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the authorities closed the cathedral (January 1932). In November 1932 it reopened as the pro-Marxist "Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism".[4] or, as one contemporary writer put it more baldly, "Leningrad's largest antireligious museum", complete with Spanish Inquisition waxworks.[5] Services resumed in 1992, and four years later the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. As of 2017 it functions as the mother cathedral of the metropolis of St. Petersburg. cathedral's interior, with its numerous columns, echoes the exterior colonnade and is reminiscent of a palatial hall, being 69 metres in length and 62 metres in height. The interior features numerous sculptures and icons created by the best Russian artists of the day. A wrought-iron grille separating the cathedral from a small square behind it is sometimes cited as one of the finest ever constructed.[6][7] cathedral's huge bronze doors are one of four copies of the original doors of the Baptistery in Florence, Italy (the other three are at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, United States, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, United States, and at the Florence Baptistery itself). Kazan Cathedral is considered to be the model for the neoclassical style of Helsinki Cathedral, one of the most iconic landmarks of Helsinki, Finland.[8] Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27; Icon of the Mother of God œCzestochowaÂ, Commemorated on March 6;

Alexandrovsky (Shuvalov) Palace
Alexandrovsky Shuvalov Palace; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31;

Alexander Nevsky Lavra, St Petersburg, 1710
Alexander Nevsky Lavra ; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated August 30 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated November 26 ; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19 ; Venerable Seraphim of Virits, Commemorated on March 21; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925);

Trinity Cathedral, Alexander Nevsky Lavra, St Petersburg, 1778
Alexander Nevsky Lavra ; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated August 30 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated November 26 ; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19 ; Venerable Seraphim of Virits, Commemorated on March 21; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925);

Smolensk cemetery, St Petersburg
Smolensk cemetery; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ;

Vasili Island, St Petersburg
Vasili Island; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7;

Petersburg Cossack Staff Officers"™ School
Petersburg Cossack Staff Officers™ School or Imperial Military Aademy in Saint Petersberg; Orenburg Cossacks; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1;

Imperial Military Academy
Petersburg Cossack Staff Officers' School or Imperial Military Aademy in Saint Petersberg; Orenburg Cossacks; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1;

Academy of Arts in St Petersburg, Russia
Academy of Arts in St Petersburg, Russia; Icon of the Mother of God "œOur Lady of Sitka"Â, Commemorated on July 8 ;

Saint Petersburg State University, 1724
Saint Petersburg State University; Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia, Commemorated on July 20;

Winter Palace Cathedral, southside St Petersburg, 1763
Winter Palace Cathedral; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10;

Winter Palace, southside St. Petersburg, 1732
Winter Palace; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10; Translation of a Particle of the Life Giving Cross from Malta to Gatchina; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, Commemorated October 12 ; Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated January 7 ;

Izhora Plateau
Izhora Plateau;

Izhora River Source (Skvoritsy springs, Izhora Plateau)

Izhora River 1

Izhora River 2

Izhora River Mouth (Neva River)
Izhora River;

Gatchina Road (Pskov to St Petersburg by Gotchina Palace)

Gatchina Road 1 - Pskov

Gatchina Road 2, Batesky, high point between Pakov, Novgorod and St Petersburg, many lakes, Basin. source of rivers

Gatchina Road 3, Oredezhsk

Gatchina Road 4, high point source of Oredezh River

Gatchina Road 5, Gatchina Palace

Gatchina Road 6, St Petersburg University

Gatchina Road 7, St Petersburg

Russia, St Petersburg, Lakes Onega and Lagoda Folder

Lake Onega, Eastern St Petersburg area
Lake Onega; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Jonah, Abbot of Klimetzk, Commemorated on June 6;

Lake Ladoga, St Petersburg area
Lake Ladoga; Icon of the Mother of God of Konevits, Commemorated on July 10 ; St Macarius of Oredezhsk, Commemorated August 9; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7 ; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28;

Valaam Island (Lake Ladoga near St Petersburg) settled 1329
Valaam Island (Lake Ladoga); Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated August 26 ; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated December 4 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ; Venerable Antipas of Valaam Monastery, Commemorated January 10 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20 ; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28;

Shlisselburg Fortress, 1323, Lake Ladoga
Shlisselburg Fortress; Translation of the relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on August 30;

Valaamo monastery (Valaam Island, Lake Ladoga) 1329
Valaam Monastery ; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated on October 11; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated December 4 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ; Venerable Antipas of Valaam Monastery, Commemorated January 10 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28;

an island, Sala (the Thicket)
Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26;

The Peninsula of Lake Ladoga
Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26;

Serdobol (near St Petersburg) marble quarry, Father Herman of Alaska
Serdobol at the north end of Lake Ladoga. Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ;

Konevits Island, , Lake Ladoga, St Petersburg
Konevits; Icon of the Mother of God of Konevits, Commemorated on July 10 ; Konevits Icon of the Mother of God: It was with this icon of Greek origin that John, igumen of one of the Athonite monasteries, blessed Saint Arsenius, founder of the Konevits monastery (June 12). The holy icon was glorified by many miracles. the year 1610, during an invasion of the Swedes into the Novgorod territory, the icon was transferred from the Konevits monastery to the Novgorod Derevianits monastery with the blessing of Archbishop Isidore of Novgorod. Each year on July 10 a festal celebration of the Most Holy Theotokos took place at this monastery in honor of Her holy icon. In the year 1799, with the blessing of the Metropolitan Gabriel of Petersburg and Novgorod (+ January 26, 1801), the wonderworking icon was returned to the Konevits monastery. The return of the icon to the Konevits Monastery is celebrated on September 3. Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Konevits, Commemorated on June 12;

Konevits Monestary, Lake Ladoga, St Petersburg, 1393
Konevits Monestary; Konevits; Icon of the Mother of God of Konevits, Commemorated on July 10 ; Konevits Icon of the Mother of God: It was with this icon of Greek origin that John, igumen of one of the Athonite monasteries, blessed Saint Arsenius, founder of the Konevits monastery (June 12). The holy icon was glorified by many miracles. the year 1610, during an invasion of the Swedes into the Novgorod territory, the icon was transferred from the Konevits monastery to the Novgorod Derevianits monastery with the blessing of Archbishop Isidore of Novgorod. Each year on July 10 a festal celebration of the Most Holy Theotokos took place at this monastery in honor of Her holy icon. In the year 1799, with the blessing of the Metropolitan Gabriel of Petersburg and Novgorod (+ January 26, 1801), the wonderworking icon was returned to the Konevits monastery. The return of the icon to the Konevits Monastery is celebrated on September 3. Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Konevits, Commemorated on June 12;

Russia, St Petersburg, Lakes Onega and Lagoda, Svir River Folder

Chud People, Land of the Chud People (east of St Petersburg)
Chud People; St Sergius of Malopinega, Commemorated on November 16 ; St Vsevolod (in holy baptism Gabriel) the Wonderworker of Pskov, Commemorated February 11 ; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8;

Kizhi Island in Lake Onega, St Petersburg area
Mucha (Murom) Island in Lake Onega; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19;

Kizhi Island and Monastery, Lake Onega
Kizhi Island and Monastery, Lake Onega; Venerable Jonah, Abbot of Klimetzk, Commemorated on June 6 ;

Mucha (Murom) Island in Lake Onega, St Petersburg area
Mucha (Murom) Island in Lake Onega; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19;

Murom monastery, Church of the Ressurection of Lararus, 1360
Mucha (Murom) Island in Lake Onega; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8;

Kizhi Pogost, 1360 & 1690
Kizhi Pogost, 1690; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8;

Pali island in Lake Onega
Pali island in Lake Onega; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated on August 21; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19;

Petrozavodsk, Lake Onega, St. Petersburg, Svir River side
Petrozavodsk; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated on January 18 ; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Bassian the Monk of Pertomsk, Solovki, Commemorated on June 5;

Svir River

Svir River Source (Lake Onega)

Obonezh Pyatina, division of Novgorod Northeast of Novgorod to White Sea, Svir River
Pyatina; Obonezhskaya Pyatina; Obonezhskaya Pyatina was located to the northeast of Novgorod, on the right bank of the Volkhov. This pyatina continued north to Lake Onega and further to the White Sea. In terms of the current administrative division, it included parts of Novgorod, Leningrad, Vologda, and Arkhangelsk Oblasts, and the Republic of Karelia.

Khavronin on the River Svira, St Petersburg
Khavronin on the River Svira; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30;

Svir River 1 (Holy Lakes, Svir)

Holy Lakes
Holy Lakes ; Alexander-Svirsky Monastery ; Alexander-Svirsky Monastery was founded in 1487, when a monk of the Valaam Monastery, named Alexander, settled between Roschinsky and Holy lakes, 20 km to the east from Lake Ladoga and 6 km from the Svir River. Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Alexander-Svirsky Monastery of the Holy Trinity, St Petersburg area, 1487
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery ; This monastery was orignally the rich estate Andreevschina of Saint Adrian of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated August 26 ; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; St Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7 ; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated on October 11; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Svir (Siya), St Petersburg area (Lake Ladoga, Svir River 1)
Svir River; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; St Macarius of Oredezhsk, Commemorated on August 9 ; St Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated August 26 ; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Nicander the Hermit of Pskov, Commemorated on September 24; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9 ; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated January 23 ; Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Andreevschina Estate
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery ; This monastery was orignally the rich estate Andreevschina of Saint Adrian of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated August 26 ; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Svir River Mouth (Lake Ladoga)

Mandera (River Oyata Mouth at Svir River near Lake Ladoga)
Mandera (River Oyata Mouth at Svir River near Lake Ladoga); Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated August 30 ;

Olonka River

Olonets Land (Northwestern Imperial Russia, Finland to White Sea)
Olonets Land; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated on August 21; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated on January 18 ; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19;

Olonets, near St Petersburg (Olonka River, Lake Ladoka)
Olonets; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated on August 21; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated on January 18 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19;

Paleostrov and Olonets, Karelia, Russia
Paleostrov and Olonets, Karelia, Russia ; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated August 21 ; Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, born at Pskov, was the founder of monastic life on Pali island in Lake Onega at the end of the fourteenth century. Despite the desolation of the island, brethren soon gathered near him. He built for them a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and a trapeza church in honor of the holy Prophet Elias. saint spent the final years of his life in a cave half a verst from the monastery, in unceasing prayer. The ascetic added the wearing of heavy chains to his struggles. saint’s blessed repose occurred around the year 1420. His relics were transferred to the monastery church by his disciple, Saint Abramius of Paleostrov (August 21), who was also glorified by his ascetical life, and was buried in the Paleostrov monastery beside his Elder. St Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19;

Russia, St Petersburg, Lakes Onega and Lagoda, Neva River Folder

Neva River

Neva River Source (Lake Ladoga)

Shlisselburg, Neva River Source, Lake Ladoga
Shlisselburg; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated August 30;

Neva River Mouth (Neva Bay, Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea)

Battle of the Neva, 1240, Orthodox over Catholic Swedes, Norwegians and Finns, and Teutonic Knights
St Petersburg, 1240, Battle of the Neva; Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; Repose of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on November 23 ; Venerable Xenophon the Abbot of Robeika, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 28;

Russia, St Petersburg, Lakes Onega and Lagoda, Volda Lake Folder

Ileksa River

Ileksa River Source, Above Vodla Lake

Yuregorsk Monastery?, Mt Yurev? (above Vodla Lake)
Yuregorsk Monastery?, Mt Yurev? This is the location of the only church in the area. Venerable Diodorus the Abbot of Yuregorsk, Commemorated on November 20;

Ileksa River Mouth (Vodla Lake)
Ileksa River;

Vodla River

Vodla River Source (Vodla Lake)

Vodla Lake, St Petersburg drainage
Lake Vodla or Lake Vodlozero; Venerable Diodorus the Abbot of Yuregorsk, Commemorated November 20 ;

Vodla River Mouth (Lake Onega)
Vodla River;

Russia, St Petersburg, Luga River Folder

Luga River

Luga River Second Source

Luga River Source (high point Pskov Novgorod - St Petersburg divide, along the border)

Luga River 1 (Oredezh, Oredezh River Mouth)

Russia, St Petersburg, Luga River 1, Oredezh River Folder

Oredezh River

Oredezh Source, Lake Kyurlevsky Karyer high point

Oredezh River 1

Oredezh River 2 (Vyritsa)

Vyritsa, South of St Petersburg (Oredezh River 2)
Vyritsa; Venerable Seraphim of Virits, Commemorated on March 21;

Oredezh River 3

Oredezh River Mouth (Luga River 2)

Oredezhsk (O River Mouth, Luga River 1)
Oredezhsk; St Macarius of Oredezhsk, Commemorated on August 9 ;

Luga River 3

Luga River 4 Yam

Yam, Russia (Luga River 4)
Yam, Russia; is an ancient town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the Luga River 138 kilometers (86 mi) southwest of St. Petersburg, 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Narva, and 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of the Gulf of Finland.

Luga River Mouth (Gulf of Finland)

Batetsky District (basin of Rivers Verenda and Sheldon)
Batetsky District (basin of Rivers Verenda (southeast) and Sheldon (southwest));

Russia, St Petersburg, St Petersburg Roads Folder

Dnieper (Varangian) Trade Route 9 (Sehzharovo, Volga River 2)

Dnieper (Varanigan) Trade Route (Varangia to Constantinople)
The chief trade route of Rus, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, was then called œthe Way from the Varangians to the Greeks.

Volga Trade Route 1 (Ladoga, Lake Ladoga, St Petersburg)

Volga Trade Route (St Petersberg, Lake Ladoga to the Caspian Sea)

Moscow to St Petersburg 12 (St Petersburg)

Moscow to St Petersburg Trade Route

Amber Road 20 (St Petersberg)

Amber Road (Mediterranean Sea to Baltic Sea)

Gatchina Road from Peskov at 1, by Gatchina Palace at 5, to St Petersburg at 7