В северной столице России есть «свои» особо beloved and revered saints - John of Kronstadt and Xenia of Petersburg. On the national importance these two people are very far from each other. But they are both canonized and both enjoy the infinite trust and love of both the indigenous inhabitants of the city and numerous visitors.
Particularly popular is Xenia.This can be judged by the nickname given to it by the inhabitants of the city - Blessed Xenia. St. Xenia of St. Petersburg itself, the prayer and rituals associated with it - all this is an integral part of the life of the city. The holiday in her honor falls on February 6, the time of fierce cold weather, but the huge queues to her chapel on this day are becoming more and more.
The legends associated with her name tell ofnumerous feats of blessed Xenia. She possessed an amazing gift of foresight, predicted the dates of death and the healing of incurable patients. Many believe that the true defender of St. Petersburg is she, Xenia of Petersburg. A prayer addressed to it with true faith and sincerity will certainly help in any, most difficult matter. The number of evidence of her miracle-working is infinitely large. By love of her and reverence, she can only be compared with Nicholas the Wonderworker and Seraphim of Sarov, the great saints of Orthodoxy.
Many people who survived the blockade of Leningrad,are confident that it was Xenia of Petersburg that helped them to survive. Prayer to her raised the fallen, gave faith in a speedy liberation, united people. Notes, addressed to her then, have reached our days. To her, as to the native, they were treated with any requests - from the victory over the fascists to the increase in daily rations by several grams.
From time immemorial the holy fools were honored in Russia.Xenyushka, who did not survive the death of her beloved husband, who distributed her entire fortune to the poor, who accepted all the burdens of foolishness in the name of Christ, was loved especially. Gradually, the glory grew that everything she touches turns to good, even a meeting with her heralds something good. Many were happy to give her a roof over her head and food, but Xenia continued to torture herself with cold and hunger.
When they began to build the Smolensk church, sheAt night I wore stones, helping builders. Here, near the church, is her grave. The exact date of her death, like birth, is unknown. It is believed that this is the very beginning of the XIX century. Over time, a wooden temporary chapel was replaced with a stone chapel. But the grave and the memory of Xenia were periodically subjected to bans and persecutions. But even when the chapel was turned into a utility room, and the memory of the fact that Xenia of Petersburg was buried here, the prayer at the walls of the tomb was being created every day, and daily notes were written in the crevices of the walls to Kseniaushka. Such letters have become a special kind of communication between city residents and their "own" saint.
In 1988, the chapel was returned to the church by the efforts of the rector of the Smolensk church of Father Victor, and Xenia herself was canonized.
According to legend, a couple about to marry,must go around Xenia’s chapel several times, and the family will never fall apart. Belief in the miraculous power of the saint among the Orthodox is infinite, and the prayer of Ksenia Pererburzhskaya takes the form of a panacea.
They pray to her about everything that makes up the foundation.human life: about your health and people close to you, about well-being. However, they especially pray for the family: for love, marriage, pregnancy. The saint is revered as the keeper of the hearth.
A special place is occupied by the prayer of Xenia.Petersburg about children. In this city, which suffered an unprecedented cruelty and cynicism of the enemy, whose children were the first victims, the request for them acquires a special meaning. They pray for the talent of the little ones, for their upbringing and health, for the passing away of all their sorrows and misfortunes, so that the terrible tragedy that befell the great city will never be repeated.
