3/30/2026
Klim Palekha
It was she, Maria Shchegoleva, who would become the one responsible for the Church of St. Mary of Egypt, built in one of the most famous monasteries in Russia.
He had no experience in construction, he didn’t have the charisma to attract benefactors, and we still don’t even know his exact date of birth or last name. But it was him whom the Lord vouchsafed to lay the holy foundation; it was him—a simple gardener with a kind heart—whom He chose to revive the Optina Hermitage.
