On May 2, the memory of the blessed old lady Matrona — Matrona Dmitrievna Nikonova, a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church, is celebrated.
Matrona Dmitrievna was born in 1881 in the village of Sebino, Tula province. The girl was blind from birth. The parents even wanted to send their daughter to an orphanage, but Matrona’s mother had a strange dream about a white bird of extraordinary beauty, but blind. After this, the parents changed their minds about abandoning the child.
According to her life, Matrona already at the age of eight treated the sick and predicted the future for people. At the age of 18, the girl’s legs became paralyzed.
In 1925, Matrona moved to Moscow and lived with friends and acquaintances. There is a legend that in 1941 Joseph Stalin came to the fortune teller to ask about the outcome of the war. True, this version is not confirmed by any evidence. In any case, during the war, many people came to Matrona with questions about their loved ones, and she said who was alive and who died.
It is interesting that Matrona was concerned not only about the souls of those who came to her, but also about their bodies. She advised people who suffered from various diseases to be treated without neglecting medicinal herbs or medical achievements. «Body — house, created by God, it needs to be kept in order», — said mother.
The seer predicted her death in three days. Matrona Dmitrievna died on May 2, 1952. Mother was buried at the Danilovsky cemetery in Moscow; later her grave became a place of pilgrimage. In August 1999, Matrona was canonized as a local saint, and already in October of the same year, church-wide canonization took place.
Today Saint Matrona — is one of the most beloved saints among the people. Thousands of pilgrims from all over Russia and abroad come to her grave every year. They pray to Saint Matrona for a cure for illness and for the health of loved ones. Many believers affectionately call the old lady Matronushka.
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