All her life, Matushka Matrona prayed for people. They turned to her for help in difficult life situations, asked for healing in case of serious illnesses, asked for advice and waited for consolation. She did not refuse anyone. Everyone who had a chance to communicate with the holy eldress received hope and reassurance. More than half a century has passed since the death of mother, but many sufferers are still waiting for her help and support. Thousands of pilgrims come to the relics of the righteous woman every day
Blind bird
Blessed Matrona, in the world Matryona Dmitrievna Nikonova, was born in 1881 (according to other sources, in 1885) in the village of Selino, Tula province. She became the fourth child in a poor peasant family. The mother, exhausted by poverty, was going to give the child to an orphanage immediately after birth. But miracles began even before the birth of the girl. Natalya Nikonova saw a prophetic dream in which a white bird sat on her arm with its head bowed and eyes closed. The woman recognized in this image her still unborn daughter, and the thought of an orphanage was forgotten.
Matryushka was born blind, instead of eyes she had only cavities tightly covered by eyelids. Village children, with their usual cruelty, scoffed at the helpless girl - they teased her, lashed her with nettles, put her in a hole to see how she would get out. Matryona sought consolation in prayers, early fell in love with being in church, and at night she made her way into the corner with the images and played with them for hours. It soon became clear that, without giving the girl an eye, the Lord rewarded her with great spiritual strength and insight.
With her inner vision, the blind baby saw much more ordinary people. By the age of seven, Matryona predicted events, and all her prophecies came true. Rumors of an extraordinary child quickly spread throughout the neighborhood, and people flocked to the Nikonovs' house. They asked the girl for advice in everyday troubles, prayed for a cure. And Matryonushka really helped - with the help of prayers she raised even bedridden patients to their feet.
By the age of seventeen, Matryon faced another test - unexpectedly, his legs gave up. From this age until her death, she could no longer walk. The daughter of a neighboring landowner, Lydia Yanovskaya, helped to survive, for some time she voluntarily became her eyes and feet. But no one saw Matryonushka in tears and despondency. She humbly said that it was God's will and continued to heal only others.
The beginning of wanderings
In 1917, a revolution broke out in Russia. From devastated and ruined villages, people flocked to cities in search of work and food. Matryona's family ended up in Moscow, where she moved in 1925. By this time, her brothers had joined the Communist Party, and the presence of the blessed sister in the house, constantly receiving crowds of suffering and asking for help, could cause them serious trouble.
In order not to incur repression on her brothers and aged parents, Matryona leaves her family and lives in Moscow until her death, having neither her own corner nor even a passport. She lives wherever she has to, constantly moving from house to house. It is known that the authorities persecuted my mother and she had to move urgently on several occasions. Thanks to this, the legless and blind woman explored almost all of Moscow. She was accompanied by volunteer assistants - “cell attendants”.
Living for the people
At the same time, Saint Matrona, as people called this woman during her lifetime, continued to work miracles, helping the sick and predicting events. The eldress received up to forty people per day. But she always repeated: “God helps, and Matrona is not God,” and never took a dime for her labors. Grateful visitors only left food for her. This is how the life of Matushka Matrona proceeded - prayers, help to people and short hours of rest.
Moscow has always remained a "holy city" for mother. Foreseeing the onset of the Great Patriotic War and prophesying about the upcoming trials, she argued that the Germans would not take the capital, it was impossible to leave Moscow. During the war years, desperate people often turned to Matrona. She comforted, encouraged, taught to pray and to believe. She said that God sends trials for the impoverishment of faith, but everything will be fine.
Being completely illiterate, Matrona Matrona could very accurately describe what was happening thousands of kilometers away from her, predict not only the fate of individuals who went to the front, but also events of national importance. There is even a legend that Stalin came to meet the saint, but there is no reliable confirmation of this. But it is known for sure that she knew in advance about the outcome of the war, about what trials awaited the people after the Great Victory, about the fate of Stalin himself. Matrona also predicted her own death.
Mother died on May 2, 1952 in Moscow and was buried at the Danilovskoye cemetery. And in 1999, her ashes were transferred to the Intercession Monastery, located on Taganka, in the very center of her beloved city. In 2000, Matrona was canonized as a locally revered Moscow saint. And in October 2004 she was canonized as a church-wide saint. But even after her death, mother continues to help and heal, in search of consolation, thousands of people come to her grave every day.
