Matrona of Moscow: Distraction from the REAL Saints

[Barbara]

Interesting that the pictures widely available of the shrine of St Xenia in the former capital show little in the way of pilgrims. Also few flowers. Contrast this with the overwhelming array for the visit of Patriarch Kirill to the purported shrine of Matrona in the old and present Russian capital as seen in the 1st post. I had found in a Saint's Life book a postcard of St Xenia's shrine in the Smolensk Cemetery which showed virtually this same scene. The date was 2009. So it seems possible that St Xenia has been slightly demoted where Matrona's cult has been vastly encouraged to either replace it or for any unrelated reasons.

[Jean-Serge]

I visited in 2010 the relics of Saint Xenia. There were many people and it was not a special day. The chapel is very small and many people are outside. The picture seems to be taken when the chapel was empty in order to have a better picture.

[Barbara]

Of course, I know what you mean. The chapel is VERY small. However, I picked this particular picture out of the surprisingly few available on the internet only because it showed no one in it. This photo came from a report on a visit to Russia by OCA hierarchs. The only other choice showed the OCA figures inside, which I didn't prefer to post.

Surprisingly, the limited number of pictures of this shrine online show only one or two people inside.

I am not saying no one goes there. I posted on a St Xenia thread that a video shows long lines weave through that area of the Smolensk Cemetery waiting for the chance to pray at her relics.

http://euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/viewto ... 675#p72675

St Xenia's reputation remains as high as ever, I am sure, amongst the believers. The difference is that the authorities SEEM to be favoring the cult of Matrona and vigorously campaigning to direct attention to her and Luke.

That is all I am suggesting for people to consider as a trend on which to keep a perspicacious eye.

[Barbara]

This having been the Sunday of the Blind Man, I can't resist mentioning Matrona.

I acknowledge that I have read only a small portion of the miracles ascribed to her. So far, all have been distinctly unimpressive. Found a job, found a spouse, small problems resolved.

Accounts such as the following show that the Orthodox population in Russia and beyond has been carefully conditioned to request help from her, rather than from much greater Saints [ like St John Maximovitch ]. Then, whenever a prayers seems to be answered, it is always ascribed to her intercession only. What if Matrona is not a real Saint and instead, it is the Mother of God who intercedes for the petitioner ? This is uncertain territory, but the reputation of Matrona has spread like wildfire due to wide circulation of tales such as this rather unremarkable 'miracle' :

"Not long ago, Matronyshka helped me: My relative went on a pilgrimage to Matushka Matronushka and brought us blessed oil as a gift. I had baked pies in the oven for the children when they arrived and in the process burned my finger on the hot baking pan. A wide, white strip appeared immediately. In a panic, I didn’t know what to use on it—a raw potato, cold water, butter, oil all passed through my mind…

But I had read contrary opinions about all of these cures at one time. Then a precise thought came into my mind: “oil from Matronushka”. I applied the oil to the burn with prayer, stood a few minutes before the icons, prayed some more (I asked that at least to take the pain away, because I had to go to work that evening, and I worked in rubber gloves with water).

After these few minutes the pain had gone away completely. I finished baking the pies, went to work, and redid various things; the burned area quickly turned red, and the expected large boils did not appear. It all went away calmly and unnoticeably thanks to Matronushka."

http://orthochristian.com/112667.html

[Barbara]

What is strange is that Matrona has been slated as a generalist in terms of saints areas of expertise. This is why she seems like a contrived substitute for much-loved St Xenia.

I wonder why Matrona was not sculpted into a patroness of eye problems. Probably there are some stories about eye difficulties being resolved, supposedly from praying to her.

But who is she, really ? She is no St Xenia and she is not the queen of Heaven's ocular department !
There are long-established, much more able women Saints to entreat for afflictions of the eye.

A little known Saint is the French St Odile of Alsace [ province in the East, on the border with Germany ]. Odile was born blind but miraculously recovered her eyesight. She founded several monasteries and convents in the region and reposed in 720.
With 13 CENTURIES of help to the visually impaired and others, too, surely St Odile has a far superior track record. The number of French women through the ages named for her testifies to the efficacy of her heavenly help.


This writing says "Patroness of the Partially Sighted and the Blind"

And of course the still more ancient Martyr St Lucy of Syracuse is another REAL Saint :


St Lucia of Syracuse, Virgin and Martyr

Curiously, both of these Saints are honored on the same day : December 13/26. Strong and popular as they are, the MP is making a bid to overthrow them with its own creation, Matrona.

I contend, however, that Matrona is a sideshow to distract attention worldwide from the true blue authentic Saints loved through the ages.

[Barbara]

Another top Saint helping solve eye troubles is St Paraskevi. There aren't many nice Icons of this Saint available on the American internet, but one can see the same exact style with the plate showing 2 eyes.



Surely Matrona is redundant...

[Barbara]

Real life photo of Matrona. Hmmm.

I hate to say, but this person looks like a Hindu "Ma" so and so, as all the women gurus are styled. [ Could it be that there is some connection here to the name of Matrona beginning with the same syllable ? ]

I have a very bad feeling when I look at this photo, though it was intended to be published as devotional item by the Pokrov Monastery in Moscow where the grave currently is [ having been moved from the Danilov Monastery ].