Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

DIscussion and News concerning Orthodox Churches in communion with those who have fallen into the heresies of Ecumenism, Renovationism, Sergianism, and Modernism, or those Traditional Orthodox Churches who are now involved with Name-Worshiping, or vagante jurisdictions. All Forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.


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Barbara
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Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

Post by Barbara »

This engineered 'saint' Matrona of Moscow is an obvious fake. I skimmed through some of her "Life" and stopped right here :

"When St. Matrona was still young, God granted her a chance to be a pilgrim. The daughter of a local estate owner, a devout kind girl, Lydia Yankova, took Matrona with her on pilgrimages: to the Kiev Caves Lavra, the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra, St. Petersburg, and other holy places in Russia. Once Matrona met Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt. After the Liturgy in Andreevsky Cathedral, St. John asked the people to make way for the fourteen-year-old Matrona and said loudly: “Matronushka, come, come to me. Here is my replacement, the eighth pillar of Russia"

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This is patently absurd. Since when did St John of Kronstadt speak in such an uncharacteristic way ?
How do we know that Matrona ever crossed paths with him ? There is no independent confirmation of that.
Then, to have the humble Saint boast of himself as "the seventh pillar of Russia" is a giveaway that the author of Matrona's 'Life' is highly prone to invention in order to shore up MP claims to trot out their chosen superstar as a figure worthy of mass devotion.

How many discerning people will believe this purported statement of the luminary of that pre-revolutionary age, St John of Kronstadt ? I am surprised at how far the cult of this made-up saint has traveled. The Rocor-MP has had a parish dedicated to her in Dania Beach, Florida since 2011. Small surprise that it similarly grandiosely calls itself the spiritual center of Florida.
No surprise that the rector, Archimandrite Alexander [Belya] and founder, Ivan Belya, were awarded by Patriarch Kirill via Met Hilarion [Kapral] the Order of St Innocent, 3rd Class after a mere 5 years service there. It always helps to do the MP's bidding : rewards arrive promptly when one promotes the MP's pet 'saints'.

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Pat Kirill deep in apparent heartfelt prayer at the shrine of Matrona in the Pokrovsky Convent in Moscow. It seems that this new 'saint' has rescued the nuns of that Convent financially, since money has poured in due to all the propaganda about the so-called miracle-worker.

Recently, the World Orthodox Romanian synod obligingly added Matrona to its calendar of saints. How many rubles and/or leu changed hands to accomplish the proclamation of May 2 as her official day in Romania, one wonders ?

Meanwhile, the MP has managed to squeeze in another day for its false saint : March 8, the translation of her 'relics', as I recall.

But all the theatrics are merely a way to pull attention away from the TRUE Saints, canonized and not yet canonized. Today was the repose day of Eldress Dosithea, also titled "of Moscow". We know she was authentic because we have the word of the holy Abbot Moses [Putilov] of Optina for it. He wrote a letter to the Ivanov Convent where this Eldress had resided. In it, St Moses of Optina testified that he and his younger brother, the later Abbot of Sarov, had met the recluse on a few occasions for consultation. The proof of this assertion is that Elder Moses recalled the watercolor portrait on her wall of her mother, Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Who would invent that detail ?
Then, the wise Elder Philaret of Novospassky revered Eldress Dosithea - see : http://euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/viewto ... 071#p72071
These low-key demonstrations of respect are believable. No one has suggested that Eldress Dosithea may have been the 5th or 6th Pillar of Russia, preceding St John of Kronstadt !

The Matrona cult should be curtailed.

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Jean-Serge
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Re: Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

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I think that since they saw the popularity of Matrona in Russia, the Romanian adopted it. No need to get paid for it. It is like the fake Luke of Crimea.

Priidite, poklonimsja i pripadem ko Hristu.

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Barbara
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Re: Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

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Thanks for your input, Jean-Serge. Glad to hear you agree about Fake Luke, whose every word is promoted right and left by the MP in an unrelenting campaign to legitimize him as the competition for St John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco [ my opinion ].

I suspect there was some 'agitation and propaganda' [ always called 'agitprop' by Soviet schemers ], however, to spread the word in Romania about Matronushka, as Russians familiarly call Matrona.

Remember, as I am sure you know, that Romanians are not a Slavic people. Thus, unlike Serbs, and to some extent, Bulgars, they do not at all look to Russia as their elder brother. Rather, the Romanians are determined to highlight their different ethnicity. I know that from visiting the country. Romanians quickly point to their language, which has a Latin root, as a proof, and are immensely proud of the fact that this territory was originally the province of Dacia in the Roman Empire. Thus, they look West to Paris and Europe for inspiration rather than East. At least since the happy demise of the Soviet-installed Communist regime in Bucharest.

Therefore, I am not sure how prone Romanians would be to copy Russians - even in Church matters - in this post-Communist generation.

My guess is that they had a little 'friendly encouragement' from the External Relations Dept of the MP and/or other sources !

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Barbara
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Re: Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

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Today being the Feast of St Daniel of Moscow, we wonder why Matrona was allowed by Soviet authorities to be buried at the Danilov Monastery Cemetery. That by itself may be telling. Why ? Because the tombs of all sorts of great figures of the 19th century who had been buried there were summarily extracted and shipped off to the Novodevichy Convent cemetery which would become chock full of Soviet and Communist idols [ one can't say heroes ]. Quite a putdown for the likes of Alexey Stepanovich Khomiakov, his brother in law Nikolai Yazykov, and disciple Nikolai Gogol, and many other outstanding figures.

So why Matrona was permitted to have a small tomb there which was visited by pilgrims even in Soviet times ?? Suspicious to me. People had previously made informal pilgrimages to the graves of the forenamed writers, poets, intellectuals, and philosophers, along with others. Surely that veneration was galling to the Communist government. Then why would a little-known [ at the time ] religious figure, Matrona, be permitted to rest there ?

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Barbara
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Re: Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

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Reading the report below, one can see that at last the foreign branches of the Moscow Patriarchate and associated organizations struck gold. Finally someone built a "St Matrona" Monastery !

Where Romania only [ one senses, reluctantly ] assented to the inclusion of Matrona in their calendar, a small Slavic part of the former Yugoslavia called Republika Srpska [ translated as Serbian Republic ] has embarked on building an entire Russian-Serbian Friendship complex. For those who studied such topics, doesn't this sound EXACTLY like the Soviet behavior with satellite nations ? :

"A meeting was held on Tuesday, March 27 between the Russian Military-Historical Society and the leadership and activists of the volunteer organization The Society of Russian-Serbian Friendship and Unity of Orthodox Peoples from Republika Srpska during the latter’s visit to Moscow, during which the ongoing construction of a monastery in honor of Russia’s greatly beloved St. Matrona of Moscow in Republika Srpska was discussed, reports the Russian Military-Historical Society.

“We have been building the first monastery complex in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow in the Balkans for several years already. The church building is already built—we just have to find artists who can do the icons,” said Friendship Society head Zoran Gajić.

Construction on the monastery complex of St. Matrona of Moscow has been underway since 2009. The project received the blessing of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and has been met with a positive response in broad public circles. The church is designed in the neo-Russian style with five domes.

According to Gajić, there are also plans to build a Russian ethno-village with a cultural center near the monastery. “There will be days of Russian culture, academic conferences, and also the reception of tourists and pilgrims,” he added.

In addition to the religious sites, the project includes a hospital, a recreation-hotel center with traditional dwellings of Orthodox people, and cultural and tourist centers. The streets will be named for famous Serbian and Russian figures, squares will be decorated with memorials to great people who have made a great contribution throughout history to the protection and preservation of Orthodoxy, and the Russian and Serbian people.

The main goal of the project is to promote the idea of the unity of all Orthodox peoples, and the Russian language, culture and literature, to organize pilgrimages in Orthodox countries, and later the creation of a confederation of societies of Serbian-Russian friendship in the Balkans."

http://orthochristian.com/112002.html

One gets the strongest feeling reading this that Matrona is merely a cover for exporting Russian influence throughout receptive parts of the world. The Balkans are historically easy for Moscow to bring to heel due the largely shared Slavic heritage as well as the historical record of military intervention. The Balkan nations are also famous for being weak and fractious.

Thus, whether the Russian Empire or today's RF, there has always been a drive to expand Russian power in this area.
If it takes a quaint image of a blind woman 'saint' to do the trick, Matrona is made to order. As a woman, she would not offend Balkan countries who already have powerful national Saint figures. We recall St Boris-Michael of Bulgaria for example [ ruled 852-889 ]. Bulgarians would be right to suspect a Russian male Saint being foisted on them. But a weak woman of no political power is just the ticket to cause local people to let down their heavily built up guard against Soviet/KGB tricks. Matrona's perceived vulnerability due to her sad handicap would open their hearts.

Let's see where they go next in exporting Matrona.

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Barbara
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Re: Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

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Surely churches dedicated to Matrona will pop up over the years in Greece, where Abp Luke "Krimsky" is already a hit, due to some MP External Relations Dept maneuverings. See

Let's go back, though, to the church cited above. Calling itself the biggest Cathedral in Florida, we find out it is located near Fort Lauderdale, not Miami, as the website makes it appear. I was reading it through google translate, so there could have been a mixup. The fact that there is no English language option, as most Rocor-MP parishes offer, is sinister by itself. Is the MP / KGB aiming at wealthy Russian Floridians ? American and other retirees flush with cash ? A camouflaged jumping off point for the Kremlin's quiet dealings with Havana, Cuba ? One can not say except to marvel at how quickly this parish has sprouted into existence.

One can not tell whether the actual cathedral has been built, or is only a design at this stage for which funds are being raised. I looked through the pictures selected in the photo galleries and saw only one part of a façade. The status of the building is confusing : one assumes that either the website is not a high priority for the church's founders, or the google-translate service is rather faulty when describing "Matronushka's" Florida domicile.

And domicile it is. For this church boasts having a relic or relics of Matrona. How did the parish gain these prized possessions ?
On May 20, 2012, celebrating the 5th anniversary of the MP takeover of Rocor, Patriarch Kirill bestowed a grand Icon with an 'ark' containing fragments of her 'relics' upon Rocor's Met. Hilarion [Kapral].

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Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow : Pat. Kirill (left) presents Matronushka's 'icon' to vassal head of Rocor

Six months later, the latter brought these to the budding parish and later agreed for the stay to become permanent.

However, we can see from the remarks of Pat Kirill how closely the netting of Rocor by his MP is linked with the exportation of MP-favored 'saints' :

"Vladyka Kirill also wished that this image reminded about the importance of the event of 5 years ago".
- http://stmatrona.com/ikona-svyatoj-matr ... -kirillom/

Now what on earth would a gift of a major Life icon of Matrona have to do with the incorporation of the Russian Church Abroad into the controlling fold of the Moscow Patriarchate ? Pat Kirill gave himself away by these words.
Surely, it would be soon ordered that Rocor and all subservient jurisdictions heavily promote Matrona of Moscow. Why such importance on her, we can wonder ? The lie is always opposed to the Truth. Surely the existence of a galaxy of holy figures in Rocor, such as St John Maximovitch, Metropolitan Philaret, Bishop Constantine [Essensky, likewise found to be incorrupt] and great Church leaders like Metropolitans Anthony, Anastassy and Philaret, must have created envy and fury in the hearts of the Soviet-run Moscow Patriarchate, which produced zero such authentic figures.

Where none existed, such figures would have to be made up. Thus came about Luke of the Crimea, Matrona, and other eyebrow - raising figures.
Where Abp. Luke of Simferopol seems to be a foil for St John Maximovitch's true and abundant medical healing miracles, Matrona might be a counter to St Xenia of St Petersburg, long popular with the Rocor Russian emigration, and canonized by Metropolitan Philaret and his Synod in September 1978. The state-directed MP lagged behind, only managing to glorify her ten years afterwards.

From the above website, Matrona helped with
"family matters, when looking for a life partner, looking for and finding a job", among other very common things. This sounds strikingly like Blessed Xenia, who was much loved for her saintly assistance in these areas. So is Matrona a counter to St Xenia, even conveniently being from the rival capital ?

Patriarch Kirill made another revealing comment while giving [ pushing ?? ] the icon of Matrona. He characterized her as 'the most vivid saint of recent times'. Perhaps the word 'vivid' is not the best translation from the original Russian. Regardless, how can anyone make any such superlative statement about Matrona when there lived the greatest wonderworker of the 20th century across the ocean, in Shanghai, Europe and San Francisco, performing astonishing miracles at every turn both while he was alive on earth and after his repose, only 14 years later than Matrona's ? Doesn't St John Maximovitch qualify for such a description ? Ah, but he belonged to the wrong jurisdiction, Rocor. And was a monarchist instead of a rumored spiritual guide to Stalin...

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Barbara
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Re: Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

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No matter what, Rocor parishes wishing to display loyalty to the MP can't escape the Matrona Cult. Nor the Luke Cult.

A Rocor-MP parish, St John the Forerunner in Brooklyn, NY, writes on its website [ machine translation of the list below ] that it has a portion of the so-called relics of Matrona of Moscow in a shrine with a multi-relic display below containing the holy - and not so holy - relics of the following:

Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow; St. blessing. Prince Daniel of Moscow; St. blessing. Prince Alexander Nevsky, prep. Kiev-Pechersky fathers; prep. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna; prep. Herman of Alaska; prep. Job Pochaevsky; prep. Kuksha of Odessa; holy. Luka Krymsky. Ignatius of Rostov; holy. Theodosius of Chernigov; holy. Nifont of Novgorod; holy. Simon of Suzdal and many others. - http://stjohnbrooklyn.com/svyatyni-hrama/

I would have posted the pictures of the Matrona shrine and the reliquary itself, but these were blocked from being copied, perhaps due to fear of someone misusing the information. Neither was a date in the report for the installation of this shrine.

It is unsettling to see how Matrona's image [ assumedly so, though there is no label on the picture ] is the one selected to preside over the entire display of famous national Russian Saints throughout the ages ! To me, this is ill-chosen and calculated only to please Moscow's present rulers. What about the great figures of the past, such as St Alexander Nevsky and his son, St Daniel, the 1st Prince to bring Moscow into its central role in governing the vast expanses of the country ? No, no. Matrona, a 20th century citizen of the capital, was so much greater than they or than old-time Rocor favorite St Job of Pochaev or newer favorite - especially with American converts - St Herman of Alaska.
Another woman is included here, St Elizabeth Romanov, who married a Grand Duke and was the sister-in-law of the Tsar, and later became a famous Abbess and New Martyr. But no, neither was Grand Duchess Elizabeth worthy of that central placement : only Matrona's cult is considered top priority by the MP to propagate.

[Kuksha of Odessa seems to be another of this heavily promoted bunch. I read about his life but it wasn't memorable. Until I research it more, I won't comment except to say that Kuksha seems to be another on the de rigueur visit list for foreign clergymen ( never a good sign ).]

Note that the rector of this Cathedral, Archimandrite Alexander [Belya], is Dean of New York area parishes as well as rector of the new Dania Beach, Florida cathedral dedicated to Matrona. The websites are identical in format.

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