Xenia of Saint Petersburg
Xenia of St. Petersburg | |
|---|---|
| File:Saint Xenia of St. Petersburg.jpg Saint Xenia painted by Alexander Prostev, circa 2014. | |
| Fool for Christ and Wonderworker | |
| Born | Xenia Grigoryevna Petrova c. 1719–1730 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | c. 1803 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Canonized | 1978 and 1988, United States and Russia by Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Russian Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Smolensky Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Feast | January 24 February 6 |
| Attributes | Wearings rug garments with old Admiral jacket with cross and staff in her hands |
| Patronage | Saint Petersburg |
Xenia Grigoryevna Petrova (Russian: Ксения Григорьевна Петрова), also known as Saint Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg (Russian: Святая блаженная Ксения Петербургская, c. 1719–1730 – c. 1803) is a patron saint of St. Petersburg, who according to tradition, gave all her possessions to the poor after her husband died.
Her husband had been Colonel Andrey Fyodorovich Petrov, a chanter at the Saint Andrew Cathedral. After his death, Xenia became a "fool-for-Christ" and for 45 years wandered around the streets of St. Petersburg, usually wearing her late husband's military uniform.
Xenia's grave is in the Smolensky Cemetery of St. Petersburg. It has been marked by an ornate chapel since 1902. She was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on September 24, 1978 (O. S. September 11, 1978) in Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York, USA and by Russian Orthodox Church on June 6, 1988 during Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Her feast day in the O.S. is January 24, which is February 6 in the New Calendar.
As a saint, she is noted for her intercessions in helping those with employment, marriage, the homeless, for fires, for missing children, and for a spouse.[1] She is venerated in several countries. There are about 40 churches and chapels built in her name.[2]
Literary references
Xenia is a major figure in the historical fiction novel The Mirrored World by Debra Dean.[3]
See also
- Basil Fool for Christ
- Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ
- John the Hairy
- Sign of contradiction
Further reading
- Xenia Cherkaev, "St. Xenia and the Gleaners of Leningrad." The American Historical Review, Volume 125, Issue 3, June 2020, Pages 906–914
References
- ^ "Life Of St. Blessed Xenia of Petersburg". Father Nektarios Serfes. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
- ^ "St. Xenia Parish in Concord CA". Saintxeniaparish.com. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
- ^ Dean, Debra (2012), The Mirrored World, New York: Harper Collins, pp. 132–136, ISBN 978-0-06-123145-2
External links
- Life Of Saint Xenia Of Petersburg by Nun Nectaria McLees
- Life of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg by Jane M. deVyver
- Saint Xenia of Petersbourg Parish in Canada
- St. Xenia Orthodox Church, Methuen, MA, USA (founded 1989)
The 35th Anniversary of the Canonization of St Xenia
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1720s births
- 1800s deaths
- 18th-century people from the Russian Empire
- 19th-century people from the Russian Empire
- 19th-century Christian saints
- 18th century in Saint Petersburg
- Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
- Yurodivy
- 18th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians
- 19th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians
- Christian female saints of the Late Modern era