For a believer it is always a great consolation and joy to receive help after praying to saints of God. So it was in the story of Elena who could not find a job for a long time until a saint completely unknown to her appeared in her life...
In early 2019, after working at a large financial company for a long time, Elena lost her job as a result of a reorganization. Naturally she was upset, because it was not her fault. But after a short while she started an active search.
As a professional, she had both internal ambitions and plans to find a job that would meet certain requirements and expectations. In other words, she wanted to find a job at least as good as the previous one.
After six months of searching Elena still had no offers. And this despite the fact that she used all available resources: job search websites, professional communities, social media, and sent information to all her acquaintances and friends that she was actively searching, but, unfortunately, the situation was not changing for the better. Over those six months Elena simply did not get any calls at all, and her CV was not even viewed on job search sites...
August came, but there was still no work. The weather was fine in Moscow and the sun was shining kindly, but Elena only felt the bitterness of disappointment. On August 20, while walking around the city, she went inside the Sretensky Monastery. Elena is a church-goer, but she had never been to this monastery before. Once she entered its old small church (in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God), in the center of the analogion she saw an icon of a saint completely unknown to her. Below we offer Elena’s story straight from the horse’s mouth:
“I went up to the icon and my attention was drawn to the saint’s face—he struck me with his penetrating gaze and deep understanding... It was in the afternoon; it was a little dark in the church, and the service had already finished. I prayed in front of the unknown saint’s icon and asked him to help me find a job. I did it quite simply, in the way I knew how at that time. After that I venerated the icon and suddenly felt warmth coming from it... Marveling and wondering what it was, I left the church, walked around the monastery area and entered its new large church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. It took about ten or fifteen minutes. Suddenly my cellphone rang in my bag. I got a call with my first job offer!
“We talked a little and agreed to meet, and I returned to the smaller church to thank the saint, but the icon on the analogion was already different one. Then, of course, I looked on the internet and saw that that day was the feast of the Uncovering of the Relics of St. Metrophanes of Voronezh.[1] I recognized his face at once—of course, it was his icon that had been on the analogion.
“For the next two months, new job offers rained down on me as if out of the horn of plenty. By December, I had several final options: I had the opportunity to choose. It was also surprising for me that the final offer from the company came exactly on December 6. Then I found out that it was another feast day of St. Metrophanes of Voronezh. Then I agreed to work where I now work, thank God, to this day.”
Then, in December, Elena travelled to Voronezh to thank St. Metrophanes. She visited the Annunciation Cathedral, which is located in the city center, venerated the Holy Hierarch’s relics, and ordered prayer services. Then she went to St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, of whom she had known nothing before either, and visited the monastery[2] just when his relics were being opened and venerated them. But that's another story.
Since Elena had discovered these saints she has tried to visit them regularly and asked her relatives who come to their relics to order services of intercession and forty Liturgies. And, of course, she never stops thanking St. Metrophanes for his help with employment.
Elena relates:
“It was such a difficult and bitter period, but it led me to discovering both St. Metrophanes of Voronezh and St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Thank God, now I know them, I know their Lives and read prayers to them. I remember very well how despondent I was that August, because for six months I had been unable to find any job. I kept praying, and there was one hope that a miracle would occur and something would happen. And a miracle indeed occurred. The turning point came on August 20—St. Metrophanes of Voronezh’s main feast-day. This saint of God so unexpectedly appeared in my life, and I believe that it was he who helped me with my employment, and I hadn’t even known the name of the saint from the icon who I had prayed to on that memorable day!”
Holy Hierarch Metrophanes, pray to God for us, sinners!
