Blessed Matrona of Moscow (Nikonova) (1881-1952) is one of the most highly revered saints among the people. In 1999 she was canonized as a locally revered saint of the Moscow diocese, and in 2004 she was glorified throughout the church. However, many know more not about the saint herself, but about the miracles that happened through prayers to her. The life of Matrona is covered with so many rumors and legends that it is sometimes difficult to separate the truth from fiction.
Unfortunately, the excitement that developed for a long time around the relics of Matrona, now located in the Pokrovsky stauropegic convent on Taganka, had a detrimental effect on the memory of her. In the minds of many ordinary people, including believers, the image of Matrona is inseparable from quackery, divination and clairvoyance. Often, the attitude towards the saint is utilitarian and pragmatic, people are attracted to the relics not only by the desire to be healed, but also to satisfy their everyday needs: to get an apartment, find a well-paid job, and it is profitable to get married. Few people turn to Matrona for help in gaining spiritual wisdom or guidance on the true path.
Veneration of Matrona has always been massive, which was facilitated by numerous stories about getting rid of ailments or fulfilling desires after being attached to her relics. However, those who turned to Blessed Matrona for help lacked a canonical biography of the saint, in which the facts and evidence of spiritual exploit had to undergo a thorough check of the church commission.
For a long time, the main source of information about Matrona was Zinaida Zhdanova's book "The Legend of the Life of the Blessed Eldress Matrona", published by the Novo-Golutvinsky Monastery in 1993 in 100,000 copies. Zinaida Vladimirovna personally knew Matrona Nikonova, as she and her mother sheltered her in her apartment on the Arbat. Here, at 30 Starokonyushenny Lane (the building has not survived), Matrona lived for at least 5 years.
Many of those who familiarized themselves with this work could not help but ask the question: does Matrona really claim to be an Orthodox ascetic? Too obvious parallels arise here with the life of the famous Bulgarian clairvoyant Vanga, whom, as you know, the Orthodox Church refused to canonize. The biography is filled with a kind of religious folklore, mixed with witchcraft and magical rituals that are not related to Orthodoxy.
An inexperienced reader in religious matters after reading this book can conclude that for salvation it is not necessary to turn to Christ, it is enough to connect all his thoughts with Matrona. According to Zhdanova, to the question: "how to be saved?", - mother answered: "Cling everything to my heel and you will be saved, and do not tear yourself away from me, hold on tight!" Here is one more statement attributed to Blessed Matrona: “I will die, go to my grave, I will always be there, do not look for anyone else. Don't look for anyone, otherwise you will be deceived."
Very often in Zhdanova's "Tale" you can find phrases reflecting belief in the power of damage or the evil eye. “There are imaginary diseases, they are sent. God forbid, to pick up on the street something of things or money, "- so Matrona allegedly said. There are also descriptions of rituals very reminiscent of witchcraft. Zhdanova cites a case of healing a "spoiled patient", from which, after Matrona's manipulations, "an enemy emerged" - a living "lizard with horns". The reptile was doused with boiling water and immediately flushed down the toilet. At the same time, according to the author, mother allegedly said that the lizard had to be put in a jar so that the witch would come for it herself.
The book repeatedly talks about how Matrona read prayers over water and gave them to her visitors. Nothing is known about the content of the prayers. If we assume that it was about the blessing of water, then this can only be done by clergymen and only in two ranks - the Great Consecration and the Small Consecration. In other cases, prayer over water is "from the evil one", because often the water is "spoken" in this way by folk healers.
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Another example is when what is attributed to mother is contrary to Scripture. The author recalls that during the demonstrations, Matrona asked everyone to close doors and windows through which demons could enter the house, as well as hide food and water from evil spirits. This is completely inconsistent with the statement of St. Anthony the Great, who pointed out to us that if the demons had such bodies as ours, then we would be able to hide from them by locking the doors.
Despite the fact that The Legend of Matrona, compiled by Zinaida Zhdanova, was the only work describing the life of the holy eldress in detail, the Russian Orthodox Church recognized the book as inappropriate to the status of life. By the way, the author himself admitted that there is a grain of fiction in her “life”. A commission created by the Holy Synod of teachers of the Moscow Theological Academy compiled a new, canonical text of the life of Blessed Matrona, relying, among other things, on Zhdanova's book, from which it excluded all unverified and doubtful facts.
Nevertheless, Matrona's words about locking doors and windows from demons remained in the canonical version - however, they were supplied with a comment that the old woman, probably in an allegorical form, reminded people of the need to keep the “windows of the soul” closed from the spirits of anger. But the episode about Stalin's visit in the fall of 1941 to Matrona was withdrawn. Historians have not found any evidence that the Soviet leader came to his mother for advice on how to defeat Hitler.
Philologist Andrei Zaitsev notes that Zhdanova's “folk life” is a reflection of the aspirations of mainly ordinary believers who survived the war and personal tragedies, and are ready to see confirmation of holiness in any miracle, be it healing or magic. But for that part of people whose faith makes higher demands, the occult component of the book causes acute rejection. That is why, according to the scientist, some unconditionally accept the "Legend of Matrona", others categorically reject it.
Confirmation of the words expressed by Zaitsev is the position of the famous writer and theologian Andrei Kuraev. In his book Occultism in Orthodoxy, the publicist draws attention to the fact that all the superstitious excitement that has developed for a long time around the image of Matrona continues to negatively affect after the acquisition of the blessed relics. “It is unlikely that I will be able to sincerely pray to her,” writes Kuraev, “since all these images saturated with pagan magic, which are reflected on the pages of“folk biographies”, will float before my eyes.
Archpriest Alexander Bilokur, explaining the position of Kuraev, notes that the theologian is not critical of the personality of Matrona, but of the human perception of her figure. The compositions of people from the people, according to Bilokur, leave an imprint of human infirmities and passions, which brings in fictional facts and events, diluted with spiritual delight.
Taras Repin
