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Holy Reverend Martyr Maria Gatchinskaya
1874 - †1932
Among the names of the Russian new martyrs and confessors the name of nun Maria Gatchinskaya is somewhat prominent both because of her unusual feat which she carried and the circumstances of the last two months of her life spent in the prison hospital where she died already condemned.
Lydia Alexandrovna Lelyanova (mother Maria’s name before becoming a nun) was born in 1874 in St. Petersburg. The Lelyanovs lived at 101 Zabalkansky Avenue near the Novodevichy Monastery. Lydia's father, Alexander Ivanovich Lelyanov, had a plant for red wax, and a house by it. Alexander Ivanovich’s brother, Peter, was an owner of a big fur shop on Bolshaya Morskaya Street, and took an active part in social and town life: for several years he was a member of Petersburg Duma, the town municipality. The Lelyanovs’ merchant dynasty was wellnown, respected and wealthy in the town because it had been on the list of the first guild for a long time.
The first troubles started for the Lelyanovs’ when the head of the family died. Lydia was 3.5 years then, and her sister Julia - 1,5. For Lydia it was just the beginning of the great trials that would be sent to her by Lord. Through a heavy incurable disease she would be called by the Divine Providence to equal-to-angel service to God and neighbour. Her removal of the world and total commitment to God's hands were made gradually.
At the age of sixteen the girl was struck by a serious illness, Parkinson's disease, which was a consequence of encephalitis. At the final examinations at the girls' secondary school which she was finishing Lydia was brought in a wheelchair. The long courses of treatment including abroad did not help. The disease continued to relentlessly take the girl’s bodily health: her hands and feet started to dry, her whole body was shrinking and decreasing in size. According to the memories of her contemporaries no treatment helped. She was not able to move her legs, and always had to lie down because a constant terrible pain in all tissues hindered her to sitting. After some time she could not move her hands and the whole body dried up. Only her head and face were without any changes. The face was pious and bright.
A special action of God’s Providence could be seen in the way the future Mother Maria’s disease was proceeding. Her serious illness did not get the forms usually unavoidable and which apart from corporal lesion lead to the destruction of personality. As it was noticed by the first compiler of the biographies of many Russian new martyrs and confessors, including Mother Maria, Protopresbyter Michael Polskij, "having proved to be a full physical disabled, (Mother Maria) not only survived mentally but revealed quite unusual, not typical for such patients features of personality and character: she became an extremely gentle, humble, submissive, unassuming, concentrated in herself, she became deeply absorbed in constant prayer, enduring her hard condition without the slightest murmur."
Since 1912 God’s servant Lydia completely lost mobility and was forced to lie all the time on the back. Her arms and legs did not act. In 1913 her sisters, mother and brothers moved to Gatchina, where the sick woman’s brother Vladimir Alexandrovich lived, at 41 Baggovutivska Street (now K. Marx Str.) not far from Gatchina Pavlovsk cathedral. It is this green two-story wooden house in the center of Gatchina that was destined for two decades to become a place of pilgrimage for many people who came to Gatchina with one goal: to visit the humble martyr to get from her both comfort and spiritual advice. Among the visitors of mother Maria were people of all classes and ranks: ordinary peasants and townspeople, former generals, priests, monks and even bishops.
But it would be some time before the great gift of solace and prayer which the Lord awarded the ascetic revealed. The discovery of this gift were done by a wonderful priest, archpriest Ioan Vakulovich Smolin (1867- †1927), who served in Gatchina at Pokrovsky nunnery of Pyatogorsk monastery in the 1920's. That good shepherd became mother Maria’s confessor. The basis of the prayer union of father Joan and mother Maria was a firm and uncompromising standing in the Orthodox faith.
One can feel a spirit of confession in the shepherd’s words: "No, we will not retreat a single step before the enemies of the faith and the Church; we will firmly stand for the truth of Christ, even to blood as well as many others have stood, and we’ll save the entire integrity and purity of the apostolic faith, the faith of the church, the Orthodox faith." These words accurately reflect the Christian spirit of sacrifice, which was inherent in many of the best representatives of the Orthodox Church at that time. Undoubtedly that spirit was also characteristic of nun Maria who would be granted to take over sufferings for Christ which would lead to the death of the martyr.
Her high spirit of prayer, an exceptional mellowness and compassion combined with the gift of insight and spiritual wisdom revealed mother Maria as a pious woman generously endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At first only acquaintances came to the sick woman, then they started to bring their friends, and so the number of visitors grew steadily. As the daughter of Archpriest Ioan Smolin rememberd, "the believers started to come to her (mother Maria) for comfort and good advice ... the clergy also started to come, she became a nun and was given the name Maria."
On the walls of the large room that served as a waiting room and was adjacent to m. Maria’s cell one could see pictures of the Holy Martyr Metropolitan Veniamin of Petrograd and Metropolitan Iosiph (Petrov). Metropolitan Veniamin wrote on his pictures: "To most honourable martyr mother Maria who among the many mourners comforted me, the sinner, too." On his picture Metropolitan Iosiph wrote a big excerpt from his spiritual diary called "In Father’s arms”. It was by the blessing of the holy martyr Veniamin that God’s servant Lydia became a nun under the name of Maria in honor of St Maria of Egypt. It happened in the year of martyrdom of the Bishop.
Taking the vow was done by Alexander Nevsky Monastery Archimandrite St. Macarius (Voskresenski) who in 1922-1924 was the dean of the monasteries of the Petrograd Diocese. Taking the vow was solemn. "I remember, – wrote Anna Alexeevna Epanchina, a sister from the circle at m. Maria’s, – that there was a lot of bishops, priests, deacons from St.Petersburg ... It was very solemn, the huge monastery church was full of people."
Mother Maria’s service blessed by our Lord continued ten years after her adoption of the angelic rank. Mother Maria always lay on her back, her body was not visible; it was covered with a black cloak from the neck to her feet. On her head there was a black nun wimple. She could not operate her hands at all but there was always a rosary on her mantle. A great number of people visited Mother ... and enjoyed her advice and wise precepts full of tender love to everybody.
"Mother Mary enjoyed a great popularity, a lot of people came to her, especially from the surrounding villages", – recalls a contemporary of hers. The widow of Vice Admiral Silman revealed during the investigation: "I have been living in Krasnogvardeisk [Gatchina] for 25-26 years; during that time I have heard that in a city on Karl Marx Street (Baggovutivska) lives Maria, who had a reputation as a curer and a holy woman in the town. Often, walking down the street, passers-by and priests used to stop me and ask where St. Maria lived." Such evidences in the investigation file are numerous. People who came brought money and food, and mother's sister, Julia, gave them to the needy, among who were former generals and their families. Such "former people" (as referred to in the investigation file) were quite a lot. General Alexei Yepanchin, generals wives Catherine Telyakovskaya and Iraida Dubrovina, widow of Admiral Paz-Pomarnatskaya and others were mother’s regular visitors.
Veneration of mother Maria grew more and more with every year.Gradually her name became known far beyond the town of Gatchina. As it is clear from the materials of the investigation file, photos of the ascetic "were distributed throughout the Soviet Union». Mother Maria was referred to as the "holy Maria” among the believers. This name was rooted and everyday. The large room adjacent to nun Maria’s cell which served as a reception, used to be full of visitors not only from Petrograd and Moscow but also from different parts of Russia. "A lot of people visited mother Maria – Alexandra Ivanovna Anz testified at the investigation – public prayers were served in her flat and there was clergy. She enjoys a great reputation and popularity in the town and if she prays, all comes true. Therefore people arrive and ask her to pray for in order to fulfill any desire." Only in recent years the number of visitors to mother Maria decreased, as many people were arrested, some died. But nevertheless from 5 to 10 people a day came to her then.
Among the visitors of m. Maria were such famous figures as Archbishop Dimitriy (Lyubimov), Reverend Martyr Archpriest Victorine Dobronravov, priest Alexiy Kibardin, monk Varsonofiy who served in the Fedorovsk cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo, arhimandite Lev (Egorov), his brother Guriy (later a Metropolitan) and others. Many of m. Maria’s visitors would later die as martyrs. The blessed sufferer strenghtened those confessors and martyrs in unshakeable standing for the truth of Christ and His Church.
Professor Ivan M. Andreevsky who in March 1927 visited the righteous woman and received from her spiritual help imprinted in his memory a vivid picture of nun Maria’s service. Mother’s power of words and prayers was so strong that the visitor, by his own admission, left her as an "other person". He complained to Mother Maria on the attacks of grief and she said to him: "Grief is a spiritual cross - it is sent to help the penitent, who can not repent, that is, who after repentance again fall into the former sins ... That is why only two drugs treat that sometimes very serious, emotional suffering. You must either learn to repent and offer fruit of repentance as a gift, or with humility, gentleness and patience and great gratitude to the Lord carry that spiritual cross, your grief, remembering that the carrying of the cross is imputed to you as the fruit of repentance by our Lord. And that is a great comfort – to realize that your grief is the unconscious fruit of repentance, subconscious self-punishment for the lack of the required fruit. You must become tender by that thought and then your grief will gradually melt and true fruits of repentance will be conceived ... " These words bear an imprint of patristic wisdom, humility and deep personal experience of patience in afflictions which led mother Maria to a fully repent before God and complete obedience to His holy will.
Having received comfort from Mother Maria himself, Prof. Andreevsky was also a witness of her miraculous influence on the others. "A young man, losing heart after his father-priest’s arrest and exile came out from mother with a happy smile, being resolved to take the diaconate. A young woman came from sadness to bright joy, having decided to become a nun. An elderly man who suffered deeply from his son's death, came out from mother straightened and encouraged. An elderly woman who had entered with a weep, went out calm and firm." And not dozens were such people but many and many hundreds.
Memories of m. Maria’s contemporaries collected in recent years, witness about the power of mother’s prayer and her gift of insight. Mother Maria’s personality significantly influenced the spiritual atmosphere of Gatchina during the 1920s. Among the gloom of militant atheism and moral corruption a comunity of girls appeared; their pure souls longed for the Lord and sought to build their lives in accordance with the God’s commandments. An Orthodox Sisterhood engaged in prayer, reading and studying Scripture and help the neighbours was formed around mother Maria. That sisterhood was called the circle of worship of Fr Ioan of Kronstadt. From the very beginning mother Maria directed the spiritual life of the circle; she determined the need of those or others deeds that the sisters carried for the glory of God. With the death of her father Ioan Smolin in January 1927, the value of her leadership still further increased. Supporting the sisters’ circle with prayers, mother Maria became its actual spiritual leader; she directed and guided the sisters in a challenging environment of church and public life during those years, teaching them unflinching firmness in the matters of faith and piety.
After the death of Fr. John Smolin a young priest Fr. Peter Belavsky (1892 - +1983) who served at that time in the church of St. Alexiy the Metropolitan of Moscow in Thaitsi became a spiritual father of mother Maria. Father Peter was ordained a priest by Holy Metropolitan Veniamin on Dec.19 / Jan.1, 1921. Thus both he and mother Maria received a blessing on the ministry from this holy bishop. The bright personality of the reverend martyr Veniamin was an example of fortitude and steadfastness in upholding the righteousness of God, and at the same time of prayer, humility and love of neighbour.
Mother Mary gave father Peter who served in her room and confessed and gave her the Holy Communion, a small triptych depicting the Saviour, the Virgin and St. George which miraculously survived and went along with the pastor-confessor to all prisons and exiles ... Father Peter’s spiritual care of mother Maria and the Sisters of Ioan circle lasted for nearly three years. In autumn of 1929 he together with Archbishop Dimitriy (Lyubimov) was arrested at his home in Thaitsi and then sent to Solovki. Mother Maria maintained correspondence with father Peter imprisoned in Solovki. She dictated her letters to her sister Julia. One of her letters to Fr. Peter in Solovki survived. Spirit of Christian love and hope breathes from its soulful lines. It was written on Forgiveness Sunday, February 22, 1931, that is, a year before the martyr’s arrest and was signed by the mundane name of nun Maria - Lydia (because of those who would check it).
From the letter one could learn that after father Peter’s arrest the circle around mother Maria continued to exist, and also that her physical suffering increased incredibly and even any touch caused a severe pain. "My sister and chicks bow deeply and congratulate you, we kiss thy fatherly hand. – said the letter. – I'll say a few words about myself. My health has deteriorated; I feel pain all over and Ihave become touchy but still the Lord is merciful to me."
Father Peter Belavsky’s daughter, Ksenia Petrovna, indicated that when she and her mother Ksenia Vasilyevna and sister Alexandra came to mother Maria, Ksenia Vasilyevna warned the girls that they in no case did the careless movement: pushed the bed on which mother Maria lay or touched her since any touch brought her severe physical suffering. This was confirmed by a medical report made by the chief doctor of the home detention.
Near the bed on which mother Maria lay, above her pillow was always an icon of the Savior carrying His cross that silently reminded everyone who came to her of the need to endure all the hardships and sorrows of life which the saints called bloodless martyrdom. Killing her will and subordination of it to holy and perfect God’s will for the sake of serving God and neighbour became for mother Maria a way of carrying her cross. Seeing with her spiritual eyes our Lord, mother Maria was an example of an uncomplaining carrying of one’s cross and self-sacrifice; she went to the glory of heaven along the road of earth martyrdom.
On February 18, 1932 there were mass arrests of monks and nuns everywhere. In Gatchina sisters of Nezhadovsky monastery and Pokrovsky nunnery of Pyatogorsky Vohonovsky monastery were arrested.The next day, Friday, February 19 mother Maria and her sister Julia Alexandrovna were arrested, too. In the decree for mother Maria’s arrest she was openly accused of a confession of faith: "She participates in illegal gatherings where the Gospel is read, and the local population is welcomed and she conducts anti-Soviet propaganda in conversations on religious topics."
As her contemporaries remembered "mother Maria was being dragged by two security officers from the second floor of her home right on the floor, despite her cries of pain,they loaded her into the truck and took to Leningrad.” You can imagine what incredible physical pain m. Maria experienced both during her arrest and transportation in the back of the frozen truck. But her sufferings would not be over with that ...
The martyr was taken to the hospital, situated on the Fontanka River and called October 25 Hospital (formerly Alexander's). The next day after her arrest the helplessness nun was subjected to an examination in the home detention hospital. The chief physician signed the medical certification of mother Maria’s serious illness stating that the patient had been suffering from "rheumatism and gout, for twenty years in so strong form that she is forced to lie on her back throughout all the time of her illness. She currently represents a rare deformity and the disease in her present condition is incurable." It was also noted that the patient needed constant care of at least two people. In addition the chief physician indicated that the patient had to be transferred to a civilian hospital or to a poorhouse. But the cruel mechanism did not give the flyback.
M. Maria was included into the case of “nuns of Vohonovsky, Nezhadovsky monasteries, the Pokrovsky nunnery of Pyatogorsky monastery and Sergiev desert." Nun Maria was charged under paragraph 58/10. In fact the reason for her arrest was the huge spiritual and social significance of mother Maria. She, as it was stated in her criminal case, "was so popular that people even consider her a clairvoyant and fortune teller ... The fame of her holiness was large far beyond the region, too."
Evidences of Yulia Alexandrovna Lelyanova and Gatchina residents gave the college of GPU (Chief Political Administration) a clear picture of mother Maria’s life and ministry, and her own testimony, recorded on March 16, 1932, signed her sentence. Mother Maria told the investigator that her religious belief is truly Orthodox. In addition, she said: "I believe that Metropolitan Sergius in vain commanded to pray for the Soviet power, as it does not have any need of that. And anyway, let those who want themselves pray for it ... "When asked by the investigator who had come to her, mother Maria replied briefly that "people visited me but not in large numbers. They came for advice on different issues." M. Maria did not give the names of people who had come except the names of several priests who were well known by “the authorities", and by that time had already been sent to exile.
The indictment which was signed on March 19, 1932 states: "In terms of acute class struggle and fierce resistance exerted by the counter-revolutionary elements to the development of socialist forms of economy, church sectarians play an active role trying all sorts of ways to oppose the cause of socialist construction ..." The verdict of OGPU College of March 22, 1932 read: "Lelyanova Lidia Alexandrovna is deprived of the right of residence in Moscow, Minsk, Kharkov, Odessa region ... Dagestan, Kazan, Chita, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Omsk, Omsk region, in the Urals and the border districts for a period of 3 years, from 22.03.32 with an attachment to the chosen place of residence." This meant an exile in a remote province which was tantamount to a death sentence because mother Maria would not be able to withstand such a travel.
But the Lord spared the martyr from further sufferings. One day it was announced to those who brought food and necessary things to mother Maria: "She died in the hospital." According to the information from the archive register her death was on April 17, 1932. The martyr died in the hospital of the 2nd department of the house of detention. The holy remains of the blessed martyr were given to her sister-in-law.It was ordered to bury the body of Mother Maria without any announcing.The burial took place at the Smolensk cemetery near the chapel of St. Ksenia of Petersburg.
In 1981 nun Maria Gatchinskaya was glorified in the assembly of the Russian new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. On July 17, 2006 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church ranked m.Maria among the saints in the assembly of the Russian new martyrs and confessors.
On March 26, 2007 the finding of her holy relics was held and then they were ceremoniously carried to Gatchina Pavlovsk cathedral where now they lie in a carved sarcofagus for worship. Evidences of new wonders of Reverend Martyr Maria of Gatchina are gathered to whose holy relics in Gatchina believers from all parts of our country and from abroad throng in seeking solace and spiritual strengthening by the prayers of the blessed martyr.
Thy Agnus, Lord, Maria/ appeared as a solace for Thy servants in terrible years/ having shown strenghtness of faith and piety/ she endured tortures from theomachists./ By her prayers as Merciful save our souls.
Martyr and most wonderful kind herald,/ suppliant for all the sorrowing and suffering,/ holy reverend martyr mother Maria,/ pray the Lord together with all Russian new martyrs/ to present us with salvation and have mercy on our souls.
Oh, reverend martyr mother Maria, praise of angels and glory of new martyrs and connfessors! Look at us, the sinful, who stand and pray to you as to a cordial and humble intercessor before the Lord Whom you have pleased with a prayer and fast, faith and enduring sorrows. You, as an enlightener of Christ faith, the Lord generously endowed with insight and miracle working. Look at our tears and repentance, beseech merciful God to present us (names) forgiveness of our sins, unhupocritical love to the neighbour, constant steadfastness in the faith, chastity and piety in life.
Oh, most kind mother, light up all people who venerate your memory with your benevolence. Get for us by your prayers from merciful God solace in sorrows, deliverance in times of need, curing in illnesses.
Beseech, holy reverend martyr, our merciful Creator that malice could not overcome His inexpressible kindness and that we are granted to live that temporary life in all kind of piety and purity glorifying Father and Son and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
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