Matrona Dmitrievna Nikonova (russian: Блаженная Матро́на Дими́триевна Ни́конова (Московская) lazhennaya Matrona Dimitrievna Nikonova (Moskovskaya)}; 1881/1885 – 2 May 1952) is a canonized saint of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

who is said to have had the gifts of prophecy, spiritual vision, and healing from early childhood.

Early life

Matrona was born to Dmitry and Natalia Nikonov in the village of Sebino in Tula Province.''Blessed Matrona, Pravmir Portal, May 2009, in Russian'' She was the fourth child in the family. Her struggling parents planned to place her in an orphanage after her birth but her mother changed her mind after she had a dream, in which she saw that a white bird of divine beauty, with empty eye sockets, landed on her breast. When Matrona was born, she was blind, with eyelids closed over empty eye sockets. Her mother took this as a heavenly sign. According to legend, by the time she was eight, she had revealed prophetic and healing powers.

Revolution

Following the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, she and her friend Lydia Yankova became homeless peasants who left their villages to find work and food in larger cities. By 1925, Matrona moved to Moscow, possibly following her two brothers, and took to a life of wandering, finding shelter with friends and relatives in houses, apartments, and basements. She could not stay with her two brothers, both Communists, because Matrona preached the Russian Orthodox faith.

Later life

At a time when other religious people were sent to the

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

or sent into exile for their beliefs, no one ever betrayed Matrona's location. People continued to come to Matrona for advice and for help with their troubles. A story, related by her biographer, Zinaida Zhdanova, tells how Matrona told Zinaida's mother, Evdokia, described as a plain 28-year-old, that she would marry a handsome nobleman. Evdokia moved to Moscow and became a cook at the house of a rich nobleman whose son, Vladimir, was betrothed to one Shukhova. Shortly thereafter, Vladimir is said to have had a dream in which a voice told him to marry a woman named Evdokia. The next morning he asked if there was such a woman in the household, met her, and nearly fainted. Later, he was sent for training to

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

with Evdokia, and Zinaida was born shortly thereafter. In another of her reported miracles, she helped a college architecture student revise a paper required for graduation by describing in detail some of the great architectural achievements in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, including the

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

. She is said to have predicted her own death three days in advance, accepting all visitors during those final days. Following her death in 1952, her gravesite became a pilgrimage site. She was recently canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Her remains are now in the Church of the Protecting Veil of Our Lady at Intercession Convent in Moscow. The lines of people waiting to visit her gravesite is reported as regularly being quite long (often needing three or four hours to make a short visit to the gravesite) and well-behaved...

Veneration

Her day is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on

May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. * 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...

. On February 15, 2018, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Patriarchate resolved that the Blessed Matrona of Moscow also be included in the Calendar of the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

for veneration. A monastery in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow is being built in

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...

with the blessing of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

.
MONASTERY OF ST. MATRONA OF MOSCOW BEING BUILT IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
'' Orthodox Christianity. April 4, 2018.

Notes

References

Sources

*''The Moscow Miracle Worker", by Polina Volidina, ''Aeroflot'' #6, 2006, retrieved February 26, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Matryona Of Moscow 1885 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Christian mystics Russian blind people Eastern Orthodox mystics Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church People from Kimovsky District Holy Unmercenaries Miracle workers Christian female saints of the Late Modern era