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Voronezh and Belgorod dioceses canonize locally revered saints. Blessed Feoktista Mikhailovna Shulgina Blessed Feoktista Voronezh miracles

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Blessed Theoktista (Voronezh)

Blessed Feoktista (in the world Feoktista Mikhailovna Shulgina) was born into a large Cossack family in the village of Oskino (near Novocherkassk). From her youth, Blessed Theoktista loved to wander to holy places. She set out to travel as soon as she received her passport, by which time her father had died. From the memoirs of the blessed old woman Theoktista: “When I was young, I walked barefoot for 7 years.” She went from Novocherkassk to Voronezh, from Voronezh to Zadonsk, visited Solovetsky Island and Kyiv.) (According to the memoirs of Agnia Y. Likhonosova)

It is known that Theoktista married a naval officer. After the death of her husband, he died during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905, Feoktista Mikhailovna took upon herself the feat of foolishness in Christ.

From the memoirs of Elder Agnia Likhonosova’s spiritual daughter: “. Mother said that she was illiterate, but she herself once named the Latin letters on silver spoons. Mother knew the entire Gospel and the entire church service, and one old nun, with whom I spent the night when I was in Novocherkassk, said that Mother knew such church prayers and chants that are rarely, sometimes read and sung once a year, and even not all priests know them. »

According to the stories of contemporaries, Blessed Theoktista had a special appearance: “She was short, thin, tired, with special facial features and the kindest eyes.”

Blessed Theoktista labored in Voronezh in 1920–1930. In Voronezh, she lived in one of the cells of the Alexievo-Akatov Monastery, and after its closure (1931) she had to wander to different places, often spending nights in the open air. Many residents of Voronezh highly revered Feoktista Mikhailovna for the height and holiness of her life and wanted to receive instructions from her, but there were also ill-wishers who hated her for her accusations. Blessed Theoktista, who humbly endured all the hardships that befell her, endured ridicule, did not shy away from beatings, and always prayed for her offenders. For her great humility and patience, the ascetic was awarded the gifts of the Holy Spirit - insight and the gift of healing through prayer.

At first, during her wanderings for the sake of Christ, the holy fool walked barefoot. Later, she put large boots on the wrong foot, with cut heels, which constantly fell off, rubbing her feet. Feoktista Mikhailovna visited Novocherkassk, villages of the Voronezh region, Zadonsk. In the last years of her life, the blessed old woman traveled to Novocherkassk by train, but she still walked to Zadonsk, barely moving her legs, sometimes choosing the most violent weather. On the way, she prayed incessantly. Both around the city and on long journeys, she was usually accompanied by some girl.

Blessed Feoktista Mikhailovna was in spiritual friendship with Archbishop Peter of Voronezh (hieromartyr Peter (Zverev, † 1929)), who sincerely respected the ascetic for the height of her spiritual life.

In the fall of 1927, Archbishop Peter arrived in Solovki. In his letters from the Solovetsky camp to his Voronezh flock (Archbishop Peter was exiled to Solovki in the fall of 1927), Vladyka invariably asked for the prayers of Blessed Theoktista.

Excerpts from the letters of the Hieromartyr Peter: “March 4, 1928. I pray for everyone without ceasing, I sincerely wish to see everyone. Let us not weaken in spirit in sorrow, let us live in hope of God’s mercy. Ask Feoktista Mikhailovna for prayers. »

“December 25, 1928. I constantly pray to our Lord that He may keep you all in the right faith, in peace, in health and prosperity, and bless you with His heavenly blessing. For your holy prayers, I am still alive and well and in my new secluded and deserted residence. I am cheerful in spirit, I submit to the will of the Lord, which does not leave me with sorrows and trials... Do not weaken in prayers and good deeds, so that in due time we will all be worthy of the mercy of the Lord. Bows and requests for prayers to Feoktista Mikhailovna. I commend you all to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. With love in the Lord, sinful Archbishop Peter.”

Archpriest Mitrofan Buchnev spoke of Elder Theoktista in the following way: “This servant of God is in the measure of Anthony the Great.” Left without a parish (in Voronezh), Father Mitrofan continued to regularly serve prayer services, during which healing was poured out to many. With the blessing of the Optina elders, Father Mitrofan cared for the community of girls who gathered around him, in the absence of monasteries. By the end of the 20s, the girls were distributed among farms and pious city families, but the connection remained. Going into exile, from which he never returned, Father Mitrofan left his community under the protection of Mother Theoktista.

From the memoirs of Agnia Y. Likhonosova: “My first meetings with Mother Feoktista Mikhailovna date back to 1928. It’s summer, the heart-sick father (Father Mitrofan) is lying in his small front garden on a folding bed. He is in a white canvas cassock, as always in good spirits. Mother Feoktista Mikhailovna sits on a stool next to him and feeds him grapes. This is a small, hunched old woman covered with a white scarf. Her eyes are large, blue, and her face is wrinkled. She loves her father very much and came to visit him. Father answers her with the same love. He honors her and inspires deep respect for her in all his family and those around him.

On March 22 (according to the church calendar), 1930, our priest died. We became orphans, became terribly lonely in soul, and then Mother Feoktista Mikhailovna came to our house.

We all got used to mother and shared all our sorrows and joys with her. Nina, as a child, directly believed that her mother could always help. Nina’s teeth hurt, she lies there and cries in pain. Mother is with us. Nina says: “Mother, pray that the teeth will go away soon.” Mother, with great difficulty, kneels in front of the icon, saying: “I’ll pray, I’ll pray,” and prays: “Save, Lord, Ninka, save, Lord, the girl,” and, turning her gray head to Nina, she simply asks her : “Well, is it easier for you?”; She answers through tears: “It’s easier.”

One day Nina became seriously ill with a high fever, but her mother was not there. The neighbors opposite us had a child who was sick, and they called a good doctor to see him. I asked him to come and listen to Nina. After listening, he said that, obviously, pneumonia was starting. Prescribed medicine. After he left, mother came and we told her everything. She stayed overnight and promised to pray. At night, Nina moaned a lot, and I heard that she was praying loudly in her own words. And my mother ordered me to spend the night with her in the dining room, although my heart was yearning for Nina. Mother slept little. Every now and then he will lower his legs from the bed and sit down, then get up and say: “I will serve,” and walk around the room. She prayed, and our girl felt better by morning. Mother left, and a day later the same doctor came, listened to Nina and was very surprised: “It’s completely incomprehensible: there was pneumonia, but now there’s nothing - no wheezing.” Mother helped us many, many times with her prayer.

Feoktista Mikhailovna loved to feed the people. I was told that many years ago she went to the market and bought white rolls in the shops, and then distributed some of them here, sometimes near the church, and sometimes she took them to her friends in the houses where she went. The bakers invited the blessed one to buy buns from them, since everyone knew mother and said that whoever she bought from sold all their goods with special luck. And the cab drivers, who also knew mother well, tried to have her sit in their carriage, believing that this would bring them happiness. And so mother, with her hands full of rolls or loaves, rides in a cab across the city to visit one of her friends. And she often came to us, and sometimes she came, holding a bag of gingerbread or a bun in her hands. Our children really liked it, but mother gave it to whomever she wanted, and sometimes she didn’t give it to anyone who really wanted to receive it from her. Mother said: “I feed the people, we must feed them.”

In January 1931 I was planning to enter the service. Not long before this, my mother came to us one day, stood near the window and looked at the trams passing by. “I’m assigned to the trams to watch them run,” she said. Soon after that, I went to work at the tram depot as a statistician for recording tram runs. Then I remembered my mother’s words.

Mother was a great servant of God, and she was honored and known by bishops, priests, and many in the city from the most diverse walks of life. Mother did not have a place where she would constantly live, and in the last years of her life she also came and went in all kinds of weather, sometimes all wet and icy. She coughed and was sick, but only occasionally will she stay with close friends for two days and then go again.

In the last years of her life, my mother began to weaken; bouts of severe coughing with phlegm did not allow her to sleep. The thin and withered figure was shrinking before our eyes. And she walked and walked on her own in all sorts of bad weather and frosts. As before, the coat is wide open, sometimes you can tie the coat with a belt. In December 1939, she became completely ill. He will come to us for a few days and lie down. One day, mother told Polya to take her to Anna Alexandrovna on Chizhovka. When I asked why she was leaving, she said: “I can’t die with you, they’ll drag you down for me.”... Polya saw her off, and on the way she asked someone to give mother a lift on a sled. Polya told us when she returned that on the way mother talked about her imminent death.

Mother remained in Anna Alexandrovna’s house until her last day. We went to her there again with sorrows, with worries and did not think that mother would completely leave us.

The mistress of the house and Nastya, Mitrofan’s father’s girlfriend, told me that on the day of her death, in the evening, she asked: “Where will you put me to sleep?” She was pointed to the bed where she slept these days. Mother replied: “No, this is not where you put me. “The blessed woman’s words came true. That night she died, and she was laid on a small bed, and then on a table.

On the night of February 21–22 according to the church calendar (March 6, New Style) 1940, we were awakened: they came from Anna Alexandrovna to report that mother had just died. We all jumped up... It was probably about one in the morning. Mother was lying on a small narrow bed. She had already been washed and dressed... Maria Alekseevna, a doctor who had seen many dead people, said: “I have never seen such dead people - these are relics.” Mother lay bright, wonderful, asleep in the eternal sleep of blessed and righteous people. We stayed near my mother until dawn. During these days, before the burial, many people visited Feoktista Mikhailovna. We read the Psalter and simply sat near her precious body. They were buried on Saturday, March 9, 1940. In the morning they put her in a small white coffin. When they put me in the coffin, I held the legs and remembered my mother’s words: “You, mother, will put me in the coffin with the girl,” that is, with Nina.

The day was sunny. Mother’s coffin was not placed on a sleigh, but was carried in their arms all the way to the cemetery in Pridacha. There were many mourners, everyone wanted to carry the coffin.”

In 1961, the remains of the blessed one were transferred to the new cemetery “on the tanks”. The reburial was carried out by Archpriest Nikolai Ovchinnikov (in the schema Nektary), to whom, when he was still a doctor, his mother predicted the priesthood.

Blessed Mother Theoktista, pray to God for us.

1. Life of Blessed Theoktista

2. Life of the Hieromartyr Peter (Zverev), Archbishop of Voronezh

Theoktista of Voronezh prayer

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Prayer to Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh

During the years of unbelief, You accepted the feat of prayer and, like Your Blessed sister Xenia from the city of Peter, was called by another name for the world when she died. Accept spiritual guidance over us unworthy and in earthly needs help us acquire patience and humility, forgiveness of opponents, overcome the ridicule of misunderstanding and human rejection. Make us Your spiritual children, not seeking easy paths and earthly glory, but desiring with our souls to enter the Abode of the Heavenly Father with Christ our Lord, where You abide now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

And may the Grace of Christ our God descend into our souls under the shadow of Your wings, the Heavenly Angel in the flesh, we confess You and ask for Your pure prayers. Amen.

Glorification of Theoktista of Voronezh

For vain and mortal glory

But Your spirit is like a Heavenly Magnet

I'll be pulled into the universe

And to human lips

Now we will give freedom,

And the Temple - from Your works the Most Holy Temple

We will put it over Voronezh

How you lived, how you prayed,

I overcame both the snow and the storm.

Features, such lovely features

Now all of Russia will know.

Your eyes, Your smile

Heavenly pure beauty,

And Mother's wrinkles.

You look through my soul

You have spiritual sisters,

Having created no less,

And from the worldly so free -

Matrona, Ksenia's motive.

And the highest wisdom of Heaven,

Your soul is like a ripe ear of corn,

With you I rose from the dust.

Lines of people praying

We've already reached out. Help.

Pages of destinies are like birds

Save from evil and pain

Smile. Even the look is cheerful,

You love everyone - that’s what I know,

Your destiny is a school for the worldly

And faith is a clear path.

Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh

The believers of Voronezh, where the blessed one lived in 1920-30, knew that she was struggling in the feat of Christ for the sake of foolishness, but for the world she was just a fool. She walked in the cold with her coat open, the shoes on her feet were always on the wrong feet, and a cut was made in the back so that they would press and fall off. And all this while having terrible bumps on my legs.

- Mother, give me a shirt.

The hostess went to the kitchen and said to the nanny who lived in their house and looked after the children:

- Anna, get a shirt from the chest of drawers, just don’t give me a linen one.

And she returned to the bedroom where the blessed one remained. A few minutes later Anna brought a shirt. Unfolding it, blessed Theoktista said:

- Why not linen?

From then on, Blessed Theoktista began to visit them. The owner of the house was angry with her for this and lost his temper - he was afraid for his official position. The hostess also began to fear for her husband. And the blessed one, as if on purpose, came through the front entrance, and meanwhile the house stood on the main street. The hostess tried to get her through as quickly as possible so that she would be seen less, but she stood on the threshold and did not pass through and opened the doors wide open. Mistress to her:

- Mother, come quickly.

- No, I feel better here, I can breathe some air here.

Everyone was testing patience. She called the owner of the house “good uncle,” their son “boy,” one of the daughters “sister,” the housewife in a good mood “mother,” and if she got angry, which often happened to her, she called her “badass.” This went on for a long time. And suddenly the blessed one began to behave somehow strangely, and one day she came sad and said to the hostess:

- Mother, you are still alone.

- How are you, mother, alone? Dmitry will come home from work now.

- No, mother, alone, he is not with you.

Soon the owner was arrested. This was in the thirties. They accused him of some kind of sabotage and called him the leader of an armed uprising that was allegedly being prepared. He was sentenced to ten years in a camp with confiscation of property. OGPU officers came to their house and made an inventory of all their things. And the children were left with their mother, housekeeper and nanny. The owner of the house had not worked before, but tried to get a job - they wouldn’t hire her anywhere - “the wife of an enemy of the people.” And difficult times came: they gave one hundred and fifty grams of bread per dependent. They probably would have disappeared if the blessed one had not diligently helped them. Before the arrest of the head of the family, she fed only one of her daughters, and only sweets. And then she began to perform various tricks so that they would not think that she was a completely reasonable person. Then, when he leaves them, he will leave money under the pillow, and the hostess, remaking the bed, will find it. And awaits the next visit of the blessed one.

- Mother, you forgot the money under the pillow.

- Why are you lying, I didn’t forget anything, it’s your money.

Next time the same thing.

- Mother, what should I do with this money?

- Spend them, that's what.

And the need pressed ever harder - there were four children. So the hostess will spend it. Sometimes the blessed one will call the nanny and say: “Anna, I want a bird.” This means chicken noodles. Annushka gets dressed and soon returns with a chicken bought with the blessed one’s money. An hour later the noodles are ready.

- No, I don’t want to, I’ll go.

And he leaves, and the family has food for two days. It must be said that the blessed one ate almost nothing, and with the money that was given to her, she took care of many families.

The owners' belongings were described by the authorities, and the property of everyone involved in the same case was confiscated. And they came to take their things. And before that, the blessed one said that their things would not be taken away, and they somehow hoped a little. But then we came to get our things. Two trucks drove up, two people entered with an inventory and began to check whether everything was in place. Six loaders entered and, leaning against the wall, began to wait for orders. “Eh, mother, you promised to leave us things,” everyone at home thought in grief almost at the same time. But then the two with the inventory began to talk about something among themselves. Then one of them got into the car and drove away. An hour later he returned and said something to the rest; he shrugged his shoulders in bewilderment and said to the movers: “Let’s go, guys.” Not a word to the hostess. With that we left. They waited for them a day, two, and so all the property remained with them.

Some time has passed, but the need is getting worse.

- Mother, can I sell things?

So a year passed. Suddenly the blessed one began to behave somehow strangely again. He comes to them and asks everything:

- Mother, has yours arrived?

- No, mother, who will release the prisoner? They gave him ten years.

- Oh, mother, you’re lying - he’s arrived. Perhaps you hid it under the bed?

And he starts looking under the beds. She behaved like this for some time. Finally the hostess asked her:

- Mother, tell me straight, what does this mean?

And the blessed one then answered reasonably and calmly:

- He will come, mother, he will come on leave.

What type of leave can a prisoner have? But then they receive a telegram: “I’ll be passing through.” And the father arrives. He arrived with a guard and stayed with them for three days. It turns out that he was sent to Kyiv to select purebred pigs, and he begged the guard to come home.

At this time, a friend of the owner, Agnia Yakovlevna, and her daughter Nina constantly visited them, and the children played together. The owner's son was six years older than Nina. Blessed Theoktista used to say:

- Mother, we are marrying the boy to Ninka.

- What do you mean, mother, - after all, Nina is still eight years old.

Soon these families separated. The owner and the children had to go to Kazakhstan, and then to Siberia. The son lived separately from them in another city and studied at the institute. Soon he got married; the marriage was non-church, since the wife's parents were non-believers. The war began, he was called to the front. After the end of the war, returning home at the beginning of 1946, he stopped at his sister’s in Moscow while passing through. From her he learned that their second nanny, Evdokia, now also lives here. They visited her and met Agnia Yakovlevna, who, after long ordeals in evacuation, lived with her blind husband and daughter Nina in Moscow. She invited them to visit her. Thus, blessed by the blessed bride and groom, they met eighteen years later and fell in love with each other. Nina was then twenty-six years old. He filed for divorce from his wife, and he and Nina got married.

Three years have passed since Dmitry's arrest. Unexpectedly, his wife Evgenia Pavlovna met F. G. Smidovich, who was well acquainted with her husband. He gave her a note to his brother P. G. Smidovich, Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Kalinin. She went to see him in Moscow, and thanks to these efforts, her husband was released.

There was a famine in Central Russia, Dmitry remained to work in the administration of the Karaganda camps as a civilian, and the family decided to go to him. Where can I get money? And then the blessed one said:

- Now sell things.

Usually the blessed one seemed like a fool. She scolded often. It happened that she would run after her mistress with a shoe in her hands and shout: “Plyokha.” And in a good mood, she began to clap her hands, sing and say to the children: “Girls, dance.” And then she wrote poetry and read it herself, and very fluently. The hostess’s friend, Agnia Yakovlevna, a very educated woman, said many times: “Believe me, Evgenia Pavlovna, Mother Feoktista is fluent in French, this can be seen from the turns of her speech.”

One of the blessed woman’s feats was to “walk the roads.” From Voronezh she often went to Zadonsk. And all on foot. The boots are always put on the wrong foot, cut at the back so that they can clap and rub bloody blisters. The fur coat is unbuttoned to freeze. On the way, she always and incessantly prayed. She was almost constantly accompanied on her travels by Anna, whom she called “the red-nosed water carrier” for her red nose, or Anna Vasilievna - “white,” as the blessed one called her. Anna Vasilievna had a higher education, but out of obedience she refused all benefits and tolerated all the eccentricities of the blessed one. Feoktista Mikhailovna warned her: “Don’t be afraid of anything with me.” But how could one not be afraid in such a case, for example? Anna Vasilievna is walking with the blessed one and a policeman comes across them on the way. “Well,” Anna Vasilievna thinks, “now he’ll ask for a passport, but I don’t have one. Yes, I’m still walking with someone like my mother. It’s good that she doesn’t know that I don’t have a passport, otherwise she would have posted it now.” And the blessed one is right there, and says to the policeman:

- Officer, take this girl, she doesn’t have a passport.

Anna Vasilievna just froze. The policeman to her:

“I don’t remember what I brought him here,” said Anna Vasilievna, “but somehow the matter was resolved with the prayers of the blessed one.”

One day they were walking through a field, there was no one around. Only a herd of cows and a bull are very formidable. Anna Vasilievna asked the blessed one:

“Mother, let’s go around the herd, I’m afraid of the bull.”

“By,” says the blessed one, “don’t be afraid.”

And she went straight at the bull. And he buzzed and rushed at Anna Vasilievna. She closed her eyes and prepared for death. And suddenly she hears the blessed one calling her:

- Girl, what are you doing there?

Anna Vasilievna looked, and the bull moved away.

“Forgive me, mother, I won’t be afraid anymore,” she said.

The blessed one was known in all the villages around Voronezh. They passed through one village. Anna Vasilyevna suggested that the blessed one go to spend the night with her friends in the hut, especially since it was not far to go. But the blessed one decided otherwise. Already in the darkness she went in the other direction, and they made a long detour before stopping in front of a hut, the owners of which were unknown to them.

“Well,” thought Anna Vasilyevna, “something must have happened here, since mother is in a hurry here.” Indeed, as soon as they entered, the hostess rushed crying to the blessed one and told her sadness. Her husband left and there was no news from him for a long time. Probably died somewhere. And the blessed one wisely, as always happened in such cases, began to calm the woman down.

- Alive, alive, he will come by Easter.

A year later they passed through the same village. Anna Vasilievna began to persuade Feoktista Mikhailovna to come to the woman. She really wanted to know if the blessed one was telling the truth then. But she didn’t agree to anything. Anna Vasilievna still ran into that house and found the owner. “Thank God, mother told the truth. Arrived just in time for Easter,” she said.

In Voronezh, Blessed Theoktista lived in one of the cells of the Alekseevsky Monastery, and after its closure in 1931, she wandered, often spending nights in the open air.

Some people hated the blessed one because she accused them of atrocities and sins, and for this they beat the holy fool and mocked her. Blessed Theoktista humbly endured reproaches and prayed for her offenders. While leading an ascetic life, she acquired the gift of clairvoyance. Orthodox residents of Voronezh revered the blessed one for her feat and holiness of life. She was revered as a great ascetic by Archbishop Peter (Zverev), priest John Steblin-Kamensky and many other priests and believers of Voronezh, who often resorted to her prayerful help.

The Lord revealed to the blessed one the day of her death. The ascetic, preparing for the day of her death, increased her labors. Shortly before her death on February 22, 1940, Feoktista Mikhailovna, dressed in white robes, entered the territory of one of the closed monasteries of Voronezh, where she died.

Blessed Mother Feoktista Mikhailovna was buried in the left bank cemetery, in the Baki district, in plot No. 3, in the sixth row.

on the old Nikropolis of Svyato-Alekseev Akatov convent Voronezh

For Christ's sake, the holy fool came from a noble family and had a good education, but she still pretended to be a fool.

For many Voronezh residents it is already extremely important to know what events will mark the coming 2018 for them. The uncertainty of the future has always attracted people, so from the beginning of the world they have gone to astrologers, fortune tellers, and clairvoyants. However, in our city in the last century there lived its own Voronezh Vanga (the legendary Bulgarian soothsayer), who during the harsh Stalinist times helped spiritually a large number of our ancestors. Her name was Blessed Theoktista (Shulgina).

This woman was born in 1855 in Novocherkassk into a noble family. When the girl was born, her father, Colonel Mikhail Shulgin, gave her the name Anfisa. She received a good education, which she then tried to carefully hide. When Anfisa grew up, she married a naval officer. However, he died during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Here, in fact, is all that is known about the childhood and youth of Voronezh Blessed Theoktista. However, her further fate became an example of true service and asceticism, which religious people still talk about. Feoktista is often called the Voronezh Vanga, since all her predictions came true with amazing accuracy.

Blessed Theoktista (Shulgina)

Orthodox priests say that the tragedy of her husband’s death in the Russo-Japanese War prompted Anfisa Shulgina’s decision to take on the feat of foolishness in Christ. This is how Orthodox believers call the properties of individual wandering monks and ascetics who look like real madmen. Their main goal is to expose the outside world, deliberately hiding their own virtues from prying eyes. Fools deliberately incur insults, beatings and humiliation upon themselves. They need all this in order to find their home in the Kingdom of Heaven.

In general, foolishness, as Orthodox priests point out, is a heavy cross that almost no one can bear. However, Blessed Theoktista (this is the name Anfisa Shulgina received when she was tonsured as a nun) was able to carry out this vow until the end of her life. She fooled around, deliberately hid her noble origins, but selflessly helped people and worked miracles.

This is what the elder’s spiritual stepdaughter Agniya Yakovlevna Lomonosova recalled:

Mother said that she was illiterate, but she herself once named the Latin letters on silver spoons. Mother knew the entire Gospel, and the entire church service, and one old nun... said that mother knows such church prayers and chants that are rarely, sometimes only once a year, read and sung, and not even all the priests know them, said Agniya Lomonosova .

Blessed Theoktista ended up in Voronezh in 1920. She lived in our city until her death. At first, the holy fool settled down in one of the cells of the Aleksivo-Akatov Monastery on Liberation of Labor Street (formerly Vvedenskaya Street). However, after the closure of this religious place, Theoktista began to wander the streets. Often she had to sleep in the open air. She endured beatings, ridicule and humiliation. For all the humility with which the holy fool endured suffering, as the clergy say, the Holy Spirit descended on her. And from that moment the miracles of blessed Theoktista began.

Aleksivo-Akatov Monastery in the 30s of the XX century

So, they say that in the 30s the nun became a frequent guest in one of the Voronezh families, where the head was one of the Voronezh party bosses. Fearing for their position, our fellow countrymen were afraid of these visits. However, Theoktista tirelessly went to these people and sometimes made sure that others saw her visiting the eminent family.

One day the holy fool came to the Voronezh residents and found only one mistress. The nun made a sad face and said:

Mother, are you still alone?...

How are you, mother, alone? Dmitry will come home from work now.

No, mother, alone, he is not with you.

The owner did not know that her husband had already been repressed and sent to concentration camps. How the holy fool could know this still remains a mystery. Nevertheless, Blessed Theoktista did not abandon the family, but began to constantly help him with money, food, and advice.

Fresco of Blessed Theoktista (Shulgina)

Another time, Feoktista walked with a woman to a village near Voronezh. However, suddenly the holy fool stopped and walked in the other direction. She approached an unfamiliar house and went inside. The hostess immediately threw herself on the blessed woman’s neck with tears and began asking about her husband. He, they say, left a long time ago and does not give any news about himself. “Is he alive?!” - the mistress of the house asked with sobs. To this, the holy fool calmed the woman and said that her husband was unharmed. He will return by Easter. Amazingly, it later turned out that Theoktista told the stranger the absolute truth. My husband returned home just in time for Easter.

And once, as the priests said, the holy fool was even able to drive away an angry bull. Theoktista walked with the woman accompanying her past a herd of cows. Suddenly the blessed woman’s companion noticed a huge bull and said that she was afraid to continue the road.

Mother, let’s go around the herd, I’m afraid of the bull,” the woman said to Theoktista.

Bye,” answered the blessed one, “don’t be afraid.”

Theoktista went straight at the bull. The animal began to let off steam and rushed straight at the blessed companion. She closed her eyes and prepared for death. However, then she heard Theoktista’s voice:

Girl, what are you doing there? – the holy fool called her.

The woman saw that the bull moved aside.

Sorry, mother, I won’t be afraid anymore,” she said.

Many Voronezh residents hated the blessed one because she called a spade a spade. However, for Theoktista none of this mattered. She continued to bring the truth to this world. The holy fool died in 1940. First she was buried at the left bank cemetery "Baki". However, in 2009 she was reburied in the necropolis of the Alexievo-Akatov Monastery. They say that then Bishop Sergius delivered a secret speech in front of the holy fool’s grave.

Ilya Ershov

News on Notepad-Voronezh

Blessed Theoktista (Voronezh)

According to the stories of contemporaries, Blessed Theoktista had a special appearance: “She was short, thin, tired, with special facial features and the kindest eyes.”

On March 22 (according to the church calendar), 1930, our priest died. We became orphans, became terribly lonely in soul, and then Mother Feoktista Mikhailovna came to our house.

Mother remained in Anna Alexandrovna’s house until her last day. We went to her there again with sorrows, with worries and did not think that mother would completely leave us.

Blessed Mother Theoktista, pray to God for us.

1. Life of Blessed Theoktista

2. Life of the Hieromartyr Peter (Zverev), Archbishop of Voronezh

Prayer to Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh

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Prayer to Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh

And may the Grace of Christ our God descend into our souls under the shadow of Your wings, the Heavenly Angel in the flesh, we confess You and ask for Your pure prayers. Amen.

Glorification of Theoktista of Voronezh

For vain and mortal glory

But Your spirit is like a Heavenly Magnet

I'll be pulled into the universe

And to human lips

Now we will give freedom,

And the Temple - from Your works the Most Holy Temple

We will put it over Voronezh

How you lived, how you prayed,

I overcame both the snow and the storm.

Features, such lovely features

Now all of Russia will know.

Your eyes, Your smile

Heavenly pure beauty,

And Mother's wrinkles.

You look through my soul

You have spiritual sisters,

Having created no less,

And from the worldly so free -

Matrona, Ksenia's motive.

And the highest wisdom of Heaven,

Your soul is like a ripe ear of corn,

With you I rose from the dust.

Lines of people praying

We've already reached out. Help.

Pages of destinies are like birds

Save from evil and pain

Smile. Even the look is cheerful,

You love everyone - that’s what I know,

Your destiny is a school for the worldly

And faith is a clear path.

Prayer to Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh

BLESSED THEOKTISTA OF VORONEZH

« This servant of God is in the measure of Anthony the Great»

The blessed mother was buried in the left bank cemetery, in the Baki district, in the third plot, in the sixth row.

Memories of Blessed Theoktista by her contemporary Agnia Likhonosova.

From the letters of Archpriest Nikolai Ovchinnikov, who reburied the remains of the blessed one in 1961.

The blessed fool for Christ, Feoktista Mikhailovna Shulgina, performed her feat in Voronezh in the 20-30s of the twentieth century.

During this atheistic period of Russian history, when all the churches in the city were gradually captured by renovationists, three ascetics of piety - Archpriest Mitrofan Buchnev and the holy fools for Christ's sake Maxim Pavlovich and Feoktista Mikhailovna strengthened the Orthodox faith in people who had been knocked out of their usual rut in life. Maxim Pavlovich and Mother Theoktista continually walked around the city, maintaining the spirit of piety in it.

Everyone in the city knew Feoktista Mikhailovna, but if the believers revered her and looked to her for guidance, consolation and help, then to others she was just a fool.

Until 1931, that is, until the closure of the Alexievo-Akatov Monastery, the blessed one lived in one of the monastery’s cells. Then I lived with different people. She had her own circle, which she constantly visited. Mother Theoktista did not sleep at night and spent them in prayer and vigil.

About people who carry out the feat of Christ for the sake of foolishness, little is usually known from pre-ascetic life. They knew about Feoktista Mikhailovna that she was from Novocherkassk. Judging by some of her statements and turns of phrase, observant people concluded that she received a good education, although she said that she was not literate. Later it became known that Mother Theoktista was born into a noble family, her father was an officer.

One of the blessed woman’s feats was to “walk the roads.” She set out to travel as soon as she received her passport, by which time her father had died. From a young age, Mother Theoktista visited many holy places - from the Solovetsky Islands to Kyiv. I also visited Pochaev, although this monastery was located abroad. For the first seven years of her wanderings, for the sake of Christ, the holy fool walked barefoot. When she began to wear shoes, her feat did not diminish because she wore large shoes, put on the wrong foot and certainly with cut heels. They constantly fell off, rubbing their legs. In winter, the blessed one wore her coat open, despite her cough and other illnesses. Feoktista Mikhailovna constantly visited Novocherkassk, villages in the Voronezh region and, of course, Zadonsk. During these years, mother traveled to Novocherkassk by train, but she still walked to Zadonsk, barely moving her legs, sometimes choosing the most violent weather. On the way, she prayed incessantly. Both around the city and on long journeys, she was usually accompanied by some girl.

During the period described, Mother Theoktista was already very old. Everyone who knew her notes that she was small, although, according to the ascetic, in her youth she was of average height. Voronezh old women recalled that in the old days, when they were younger, Feoktista Mikhailovna was already old. She loved to buy armfuls of different buns from shops and took them to prisons and hospitals in a cab, and even distributed them at churches. Bakers and cab drivers invited the holy fool, knowing from experience that whose services she used would have good income that day. Feeding people was part of the blessed one’s feat. And after the revolution, in the 20-30s, visiting the families under her care, she often came with rolls and gingerbread, and when these families were in need, under the guise of foolishness, she helped them with food and money.

In Voronezh, Archpriest Mitrofan Buchnev was then known for his spiritual authority and righteous life. Left without a parish, he continued to regularly serve prayer services, during which healing was poured out to many. With the blessing of the Optina elders, Father Mitrofan cared for the community of girls who gathered around him, in the absence of monasteries. By the end of the 20s, the girls were distributed among farms and pious city families, but the connection remained. Going into exile, from which he never returned, Father Mitrofan left his community under the protection of Mother Theoktista. When asked why he revered the holy fool, the priest replied that “this servant of God is in the measure of Anthony the Great.”

Voronezh Archbishop Peter (Zverev) also highly appreciated Blessed Feoktista Mikhailovna for her spiritual feat and asked for her prayers.

Through the holiness of her life, Mother Theoktista acquired from the Lord the gift of insight and the gift of healing, with which she more than once helped her charges. Sometimes she denounced one of the passers-by on the street. Many hated her because she awakened their conscience. They mocked her and even attacked her, but the blessed one humbly endured the reproaches.

Doctors diagnosed Feoktista Mikhailovna with consumption and wondered how one could live with rotten lungs. In 1939, the blessed one became very ill. She rested for two or three days in the houses she usually visited. The time of death was revealed to her. One night, despite great weakness, she left the house of Agnia Yakovlevna Likhonosova, with whom she was staying due to illness. To the hostess’s protests, she replied: “I can’t die with you, they will drag you down for me.”

Mother remained until her death in one of the houses on Chizhovka. On the evening before her death, the blessed one asked the hostess: “Where will you put me to sleep today?” She was shown an ordinary bed. “No, this is not where you will put me today.” Her words came true.

Blessed Theoktista died on March 6, 1940, Wednesday, at 10 pm. Everyone who cared about Mother was notified that same night. She was buried on Saturday, March 9, at the Pridachenskoe cemetery.

Holy blessed mother Theoktista, pray to God for us.

Religious reading: Theoktista Voronezh prayer to help our readers.

The history of the burial of the remains of a locally revered saint - Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh

In the last years of her life, mother began to weaken. A. Likhonosova recalled: “In December 1939, she became completely ill. When I asked why she was leaving, she said: “I can’t die with you, they will drag you down for me.” In 1940, mother died. Before the burial, many people visited Feoktista Mikhailovna. We read the Psalter and simply sat near her body. Mother was buried on Saturday, March 9, 1940 at the Pridachenskoye cemetery in Voronezh.

On June 15, 1966, the remains of the blessed one were transferred to a new cemetery - “On the Bakki”. The reburial was carried out by Archpriest Nikolai Ovchinnikov (later he became a monk and received the name Nektary in the schema). Blessed Theoktista predicted the priesthood for this priest.

From a letter from Father Nikolai Ovchinnikov: “...They set the condition to exhume only at night: at 1 hour 45 minutes we were at the cemetery... At the bottom of the grave there was a small coffin... Having kissed the coffin, I began to transfer (the remains) into the coffin with my fingers spread wide... with feeling and tenderness they placed the coffin on the bus... singing “Holy God...” they moved to her new resting place. In front of the open grave, I served a full memorial service... At the new cemetery, our memorial service was the first, and for the first time the surrounding air was shaken by a powerful... funeral Orthodox chant.”

An important and interesting meeting for us was with Priest Victor Prazdnichny, rector of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Birch Grove. Father Victor said that when he served in the Spassky Church, relatives of Archpriest Nikolai Ovchinnikov came to him and told Father Victor about Blessed Theoktista. The grave of the blessed one is constantly visited by believers; it is almost never empty. Such popular veneration confirms that Feoktista Mikhailovna is not an ordinary person. Therefore, with the blessing of Metropolitan Sergius of Voronezh, beautification of the tombstone began at the saint’s resting place. Father Victor entrusted this important task to the parishioners of the Spassky Church. One of these people is Gennady Ivanovich Ivanchev, the father of our classmate, and the other is now a priest, Father Oleg.

On September 1, 2009, the whole class, after the service at the Assumption Seminary Church, headed to the Left Bank Cemetery to visit the grave of Blessed Theoktista. It is immediately obvious that this place is often visited by people: a lamp is burning, there are candles, there are fresh flowers and sweets at the cross. Our history teacher A. Yu. Simonchik spoke about the difficult feat of the blessed, holy fools for the sake of Christ. We already knew that the remains of Mother Feoktista would soon be transferred to a new place, and we decided to be present at this event, to participate in the procession and memorial service.

Soon it was announced in all the churches of the city that on September 16, 2009 the remains of Blessed Theoktista would be transferred to the Alexievo-Akatov Monastery. The director and confessor of our gymnasium, Archpriest Sergius Vasin, blessed us to participate in this event. Our whole class arrived at the cemetery at 10 o’clock in the morning, where believers, priests, and nuns of the Alexievo-Akatov Monastery had already gathered. By 12 o'clock the remains were placed in a small coffin, everyone venerated it, then it was taken away by bus. Until 4 p.m., the remains of Blessed Theoktista were in the Vvedensky Church, and then in a religious procession they were transferred to the monastery.

Now Mother Theoktista has returned to the Alexievo-Akatov monastery, where she served God during her lifetime. Here are the relics of the Holy Martyr Peter (Zverev), Archbishop of Voronezh (in August 2009, his relics were transferred from the Solovetsky Monastery to Voronezh). Mother Theoktista was an associate of the bishop, who deeply revered her. On the day of the solemn reburial of the remains of the locally revered saint, Metropolitan Sergius performed a memorial service for the blessed old woman, and now Feoktista Mikhailovna Shulgina rests next to the Voronezh archpastors buried in the monastery. After the funeral service, Vladyka Sergius delivered a sermon and said that Blessed Theoktista “like the voice of God reminded people of God.”

Veneration of Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh as a Saint

Feoktista Mikhailovna is well known and revered abroad, in the USA. Above we cited the memoirs of nun Ksenia (Novikova) from the Monastery of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in San Francisco. The life of the Voronezh blessed one became known abroad through the memoirs of emigrants who left Russia after the revolution. Some sources indicate that the Orthodox Church Outside of Russia venerates Elder Theoktista as a saint. Her icon was painted and a troparion was compiled. To clarify this information, we turned to the chairman of the Commission for the Canonization of Saints of the Voronezh Diocese, Archpriest Andrei Izakar, and he explained to us that when the Commission checked the lists of canonized saints of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the name of Mother Theoktista was not found in them. But here’s an interesting fact: in the church in the village of Godenovo, Yaroslavl region, our pilgrims saw the icon of Blessed Theoktista.

1. Information about the life of Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh has been collected and systematized.

2. Facts from the biography of Feoktista Mikhailovna in Voronezh have been clarified.

3. A presentation was compiled on the biography of Saint Theoktista, which was shown to middle-level students of the Traditional Gymnasium on the Day of the Elderly.

4. A story has been prepared about the meetings of Blessed Theoktista with the Hieromartyr Peter (Zverev), Archbishop of Voronezh, as part of an intra-school event dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression (for students in grades 8–9 of the gymnasium).

5. The results of the educational and research work carried out were presented at the regional conference “Voronezh Orthodox Region”.

6. A video film “The history of the burial of the remains of Blessed Feoktista Mikhailovna” was made.

7. The article “Biography of Blessed Theoktista of Voronezh, the history of the burials of her remains” is being prepared for publication in the “Church Gazette” (publication of the Rostov diocese).

8. A report on the trip to the city of Novocherkassk was compiled and submitted to the Commission for the Canonization of Saints of the Voronezh Diocese.

Mother Theoktista humbly endured all the hardships that befell her. She acquired the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit, with which she served her neighbors. The gift of insight and healing is not always a necessary sign of holiness in Christianity, but if it is a gift of God, then it is often the holy fools who are granted it.

Feoktista Mikhailovna had no children, no relatives left, but her grave was preserved for 70 years by the residents of Voronezh; in difficult times of atheism, they saved her from destruction in the old cemetery. All these years, the flow of people to the resting place of the blessed one did not stop, and prayer did not stop. People turned to her as a saint asking for help, and many received this help. We believe that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill will bless the church-wide veneration of Elder Theoktista. She is now so close to the Lord and prays for us. God grant that we can sing to her like a saint, and troparia, and kontakion, and always ask for the intercession of the Lord with her prayers.

List of references and sources

1. Akinshin A.N. Temples of Voronezh. – Voronezh, 1994.

2. Archimandrite Mitrofan of Paris. “Blessed Feoktista Mikhailovna” // Russian Pilgrim, 1999. No. 19.

3. Devyatova S. Blessed Theoktista. // Website “For You” (www.ForU.ru). 2007.

4. Hegumen Damascene (Orlovsky). Martyrs, confessors and devotees of piety of the Russian Orthodox Church of the 20th century. T.2. – M., 2000.

5. Ilyinskaya A. Myrrh-Bearing Women of the 20th Century. – M., 2005.

6. Likhonosova A.Ya. "She went to her home." // Usman Orthodox, 2001. No. 14–19.

7. Nun Ksenia (Novikova). “Blessed Theoktista” // Russian Pilgrim, 1999. No. 19.

8. Orekhov D. Holy places of Russia. – St. Petersburg, 2002.

9. Panova V.I. History of the Voronezh region. Educational and methodological allowance. – Voronezh, 2008.

10. Transfer of the honorable remains of Blessed Feoktista Mikhailovna (Shulgina). // www.veramolodih.ru.

11. Orthodox ascetics of the 20th century. – M., 2008.

12. Archpriest Anatoly Stadnyuk. // Voronezh diocesan bulletin. 1992. No. 3.

13. The path of the hesychasts. Orthodox elders of the 20th century. Blessed Theoktista // www.russian-inok.org. February 2006

14. Holy lands of Voronezh and Lipetsk. Website of the Voronezh-Borisoglebsk diocese. // www.vob.ru. 2008.

15. Chicherina E.V. With God everyone is alive. – M.: Danilovsky Blagovestnik, 1996.

Oral sources

1. Interview with Priest Victor Prazdnichny, rector of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord (Voronezh).

2. Interview with G.I. Ivanchev.

3. Interview with P.V. Novikov.

4. Story by Kirill Ivchenko.

You managed to conduct an interesting and necessary study. But it’s not clear which of you was responsible for which part of the study?

You have a good bibliography on your research topic. But literature and sources should be separated. The literature provides the theoretical basis for the study; Literature, not sources, should include articles and monographs written before you on the topic of your research. In the bibliographic list, the author's surname must be given first, even if he is in the priesthood or monastic rank. For example: Ksenia Novikova, nun; Stadnyuk Anatoly, archpriest. It should also be noted that when you link, you must indicate the pages, in your case the page must be indicated in square brackets. It would be great if you could supplement the introduction with historiography.

While conducting your research, you recorded the stories of those who retained in their memory eyewitness accounts of the blessed old woman’s feat. This is what in the scientific community is called the author’s field materials, abbreviated as PMA. When you use them in text, they should be accompanied by an appropriate reference. In your case, it may be worth indicating which of the two of you collected these field materials, while necessarily indicating the locality where the conversation with the informant took place, the year it took place, the informant’s last name, first name, and patronymic and year of birth.

The work is written in good language. However, no one is immune from unsuccessful expressions and typos. So, on page 1 you write, listing the objectives of the study: “To clarify the information that introduces inaccuracies into the biography of Blessed Theoktista.” We propose to slightly change the sentence: “Clarify the points in the biography of the blj. Theoktists, for whom there is conflicting evidence.” At the very beginning of page 2 we also suggest correcting the sentence. Here is one of the options: “The shabby clothes and old shoes that she always wore could not hide her aristocratic manners, noble origin and good upbringing. She possessed... (hereinafter referred to in the text).”

You give a brief comparative analysis of the lives of blessed Fectista of Voronezh, Ksenia of St. Petersburg and Matrona of Moscow. But here, unfortunately, an inaccuracy crept in. As you know, blzh. Ksenia of Petersburg was married to the singer of the court choir, Andrei Feodorovich Petrov.

On page 5 you provide a quote in quotation marks that also has quotation marks inside it. Usually in such cases, to avoid confusion, the internal quotation marks are made different. Schematically, it looks like this: “…”…”…”.

Until Blessed Theoktista is glorified in the Voronezh diocese as a locally revered saint, it is better not to call her that, despite the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (and not the Orthodox Church Abroad, as on page 7) venerates the blessed one as a saint.

We hope you will continue your research activities. So, you can continue your research about the fate of the devotees of piety of the Voronezh land, try to collect material about the fate of the monks and nuns of Voronezh monasteries, about the life of ordinary Orthodox residents of Voronezh during the period of persecution. While witnesses of that era are still alive, it is important to have time to record their memories.

Theoktista Voronezh prayer