St. Petersburg, June 8, 2018
The most beloved saint of the Russian northern capital of St. Petersburg was festively celebrated on Wednesday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of her glorification by the Russian Orthodox Church.
St. Xenia of St. Petersburg is also one of the most beloved saints of the entire Russian Orthodox Church and enjoys worldwide veneration.
The Divine Liturgy in her honor was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Markell of Tsarskoe Selo in the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in the Smolensk cemetery, which St. Xenia had secretly helped to build under the cover of night. St. Xenia’s relics also repose in a nearby chapel in the cemetery.
His Grace was concelebrated by a number of local clergy, reports the site of the Russian Orthodox Church.
During the service, Bp. Markell read out a message from His Eminence Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga in which he reflected upon the people’s veneration for the great saint:
The veneration of Blessed Xenia appeared long before her Church-wide glorification. Even during her lifetime she manifested many miracles of prayerful help. Pilgrims from all parts of our Fatherland come to the grave of the saint, some with their needs, others to thank her for her love. Even the godless persecutions of the 20th century did not stop the flow of people. Blessed Xenia is a special protectress for the northern capital, where for many decades she bore the feat of foolishness-for-Christ and acquired the gift of wonderworking and clairvoyance. Even today, by the grace of God, she does not leave her city today.
Following the Divine Liturgy, a cross procession was held, with a moleben in the nearby chapel of St. Xenia, where her relics repose.
The 30th anniversary of her glorification was also celebrated in a new church built in her honor on the spot where house once stood on Pakhtinskaya Street in St. Petersburg. The feast was marked with a moleben for the blessing of waters and an akathist to St. Xenia.
The church has been under construction for 8 years, and is nearing completion. The building of the church was initiated by a society for disabled people in the St. Petersburg region, and they hope to celebrate the first Divine Liturgy there by winter.
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