February 6 is one of the days of memory of Xenia of Petersburg. In general, there are two of them: the sixth of February and the sixth of June. One of them took place last Tuesday. By the way, if someone thinks that remembering Saint Blessed Xenia of Petersburg is an exclusively church matter and, in fact, the business of Orthodox believers, then he is mistaken. Xenia of Petersburg is just one of the saints revered by people, regardless of church life or even simply faith in God in its fullness. A person can visit the temple purely formally, as many of us do (dedicate cakes, eggs, go to Christmas after bathing in the ice-cold water), but at the same time, he honors the memory of blessed Xenia. Or maybe not at all go to church and treat God as some kind of abstraction, but anyway, at the mention of Xenia of Petersburg, he thinks,and it becomes calmer in his soul. Why is this so? Who is she anyway - Ksenia Petersburgskaya?
Church history
If we follow the biographies of Xenia of Petersburg, which are in use in church circles, then we will learn little about Xenia the man herself. We learn about the saint. And this, in general, is not the fault of the church. It's just that Xenia's life is really full of mysteries. For example, the exact date of her birth is unknown. It is said only that she was born in the eighteenth century, in the first half of it. And if, nevertheless, a little more precisely, that in the period from 1719 to 1730 in St. Petersburg the time of its formation.
Little is known about her pedigree either. Only there is an assumption that she was still from some noble family, since her husband, Andrei Petrov, served as a court choir and generally served with the rank of colonel. Given the customs of that time, it can be assumed that he would hardly have married a commoner.
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Tragic shock
It is not known how the quite successful, apparently measured life of Xenia would have developed in the future, if not for the family tragedy. Her husband died suddenly. The woman was then only twenty-six years old. And, apparently, the death of her husband was a terrible blow for her. At least after that, her fate completely changed. Rather, she herself changed her.
For Christ's sake
Ksenia and Andrey Petrovs did not have children. Perhaps this prompted the young woman to take a further course of action in a desperate situation. Or it was at least one of the reasons for what happened: Ksenia gives out all her property to the poor people, gives a house to her friend and … becomes a holy fool. Fool for Christ's sake.
This is not a disease
I must say that, despite all the technical progress and all its kind of civilization, humanity hardly changes behaviorally, internally, mentally and spiritually. In our reactions, we are often the same as a century, and two, and three, and even ten centuries ago. Here's what you would do if one of your relatives began to distribute to the right and to the left acquired by back-breaking labor? Probably, they would have tried to somehow persuade him to refuse it. In extreme cases, they would probably turn to psychiatrists. This is exactly what Xenia's relatives did. Only they did not turn to psychiatrists, who did not exist in nature at that time, but went under the direction of her deceased husband. Like, it is necessary to somehow pacify a woman who has gone mad from terrible grief. The authorities promptly responded to the request of relatives and spoke with Xenia. However, during the conversation it became clearthat she is quite healthy and aware of her actions. After that, the authorities just threw up their hands.
The phenomenon of foolishness
What is foolishness? In general, this is a deliberate, seeming madness. Acting in a way. This phenomenon has been known since ancient times, when someone in this way deliberately tried to draw attention to something or induce fellow citizens to take such action when it was impossible to do this directly, for example, because of danger. The same can be said about the Old Testament prophets.
They could walk naked, they could behave in completely strange ways, they could eat bread mixed with cow dung, or cohabit with harlots. But all this was not austerity. All this was done for the sake of pointing out something, for the sake of greater impact on others. Not at all, however, foolishness for Christ's sake.
Religious feat
Foolishness in Christianity is one of the most revered religious feats. After all, this is neither more nor less than a total rejection of everything: family, home, society, and in fact from oneself. This is self-humiliation. This is acceptance of the sign of God, following the deed of Christ. It is clear that this is unattainable, but no one forbids going along the path. On the contrary, this is, in fact, the Path in its highest manifestation.
As for the madness
Now about the frequent attempts to equate foolishness with madness. Here, as they say, a finger to the sky. Let us repeat what was said above: foolishness is a completely conscious intentional act, a completely conscious behavior, and in the case of Orthodox asceticism, it is also a way of life. And in general, according to the Christian approach, just the wisdom of this world is madness. Madness before God. The Apostle Paul often spoke of this. Or did the Monk Anthony predicted that the time would come when the world would become insane, and then whom would the madmen declare insane? Of course, those who are not. Athanasius of Alexandria has wonderful words. Directly about the present time. He said that those who know how to trade and take away from their neighbors, who cunningly oppress and covetous are called smart and wise. As they would say now, those who "know how to live."But this is precisely what is utter madness from the point of view of Christianity. Is not it?
On the Petrograd side
However, let's return, in fact, to Xenia herself. So, she gave away the property to the beggars, gave her friend her own home, so what? And nothing that somehow distinguished her as a divine person. In the sense of a respected man of God. People saw her wandering around the Petrograd side, often stopping at the church of the Apostle Matthew, she simply lived some kind of inner life, but … It is already clear from the above that the foolishness revered in Russia was not a kind of indulgence. People have always been wary of the weird. And they often hurt them.
By humility you will rise
It is clear that Xenia also got it. Especially from street kids. Children generally behave evil sometimes. Simply because they often do not understand that this is evil. But the young woman did not react in any way to ridicule and insults. Humility is her main virtue. They got used to it. We got used to how she walks all the time in the same clothes: in a green skirt and a red jacket. Who says that, on the contrary, in a red skirt and a green jacket. Legend has it that she thus adapted the uniform of her deceased husband to herself.
Ksenia and her miracles
As people of faith would say, according to Xenia's humble life, life in Christ, she was probably given the strength to help the suffering. Legends say that she could heal with a touch, and mothers knew who could help a sick child. Or here's another: after Xenia has visited a house, something good happens there, she goes into some shop, where trade becomes brisk.
People's saint
Gradually, Ksenia earned great respect from the residents of St. Petersburg. People did their best to help her. For example, they tried to give her some things, because her clothes were badly worn out. But the woman did not accept the gifts, so she wore the same clothes, altered from her husband's uniform. Ksenia, as they write, lived for forty-five years. And after her death she was buried at the Smolensk cemetery. And almost two hundred years after her death, she was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Holy Blessed Xenia of Petersburg.
Mark Raven