Стяжавшая любовь. Том III

Who are «saints,» who are «holy ones»? For many people, the term «saint» refers to some special kind of being, most importantly, someone infinitely removed from us, someone whose makeup contemporary man does not even find entirely comprehensible. In ordinary usage, we tend to call «saints» those who think of others rather than themselves, or who devote their lives to serving some lofty ideal. To some extent, that is so. However, there are far more important, far more profound teachings about holiness to be found in the Bible. The Gospels reveal to us that each and every person is not only called to holiness, but also is holy – inasmuch as he is God's creation, made in God's Image. In light of the teachings in the Gospels, the purpose of man's life lies in overcoming everything that renders him not holy, everything that removes him from the perfection of God's holiness. Viewing holiness in that way, we can see that to be a saint, to be holy, is not the province of only a small number of chosen ones: to join and become part of the Church is already an act of being chosen, of being dedicated to a new life «in spirit and truth,» decidedly different from that of people who have not come to know God, people who live merely according to the dictates of limited earthly existence.

A saint is someone who with his whole being bears witness to the truth of Divine revelation and in so doing enlightens both himself and the world around him.

All of the foregoing applies in full measure to Holy Righteous Matushka Alipiya. One need only spend a few minutes in prayerful contemplation near her grave in the Goloseyev Monastery crypt in order to clearly sense in one's heart that Matushka loves us, and that invisibly, quietly, and imperceptively, she helps us to come to her, that we might not lose faith, and that we might also be saved, and become like her.

«To become like her» means to fully restore in ourselves the Image of God that had been instilled in us at the very beginning of creation. We fell, we shattered that Image, we lost our unity, and each person found himself estranged. In our alienation, we concocted the idea that death was the end. That is why we harbor doubt, why we agonize: we do not perceive the Image of God either in ourselves or in others.

Holy Righteous Matushka Alipiya! Help us to follow your good example of love for God and our neighbor, and to obey at least to some extent the Gospel challenge to «be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.»

Archpriest Victor Potapov Washington (USA)

In the Orthodox Church there are ascetic strugglers who are particularly loved by the people, strugglers dear to, and understood by, everyone. One person for whom the people have such love is Nun Alipiya (Avdeyeva), a spiritual struggler of our times. A constant stream of people seek her out — people distressed over life's misfortunes, the impoverished and those in despair, the sick, the indigent, and orphans — and all of them receive from her attention, concern, love, kindness, and consolation. This all resonates in the heart of the people, and they respond to the blessed Eldress' love. Matushka reposed in the Lord on October 30, 1988. Over 20 years have passed since Matushka's death, but her name has not been forgotten.

Books have been written about her life, and an enormous amount of information about miracles she has worked has been collected. However, those tomes are insufficient to record every instance of help rendered by the Eldress. Thousands of such accounts are treasured not in the pages of books, but in the hearts of the recipients of her blessed kindness. Their sheer number makes it impossible to relate them all. However, by God's will, God-loving readers are learning of some of them.

In life, Matushka Alipiya did not enjoy the renown which the blessed one has gained since her repose. Her life was quiet, inglorious, and severe. All of her life, the Eldress avoided fame, and was a stranger to praise. Quite often, she sought refuge in that most difficult of ascetic struggles, that of being a Fool for Christ. For much of her life, she had no haven; she avoided rest, and made her life more arduous through ascetic struggles which she hid from human sight.

The fact that she was a chosen one was made manifest in her childhood; as a child, she was already being visited with revelations from God, was clairvoyant, and could read others' thoughts.