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Anisia, originally from Thessaloniki, the daughter of noble, rich and pious parents, received a careful upbringing and education in their house and, possessing such a rare combination of all earthly advantages, also possessed remarkable beauty. But her spiritual beauty turned out to be above all this and made her capable of counting all her earthly happiness as nothing in comparison with the afterlife bliss in which her parents taught her to believe. Having lost them in her early youth, Anisia, in a Christian manner, endured a temporary separation from them, knowing that she would be replaced by an eternal union with them in another world, and used all her efforts and concerns for saving activities to achieve a good fate in the afterlife. She used the untold wealth that she inherited from her parents for the benefit of the poor, adding to this charity her personal work of caring for the sick, visiting those imprisoned and bringing all kinds of consolation to all those in distress from various disorders. This young soul, who loved God entirely, was also familiar with the feat of internal struggle, but she already mastered the art of drawing from prayer a victorious weapon in this struggle... Whether laziness attacked her or despondency crept into her soul, she resorted to prayer and freed herself from temptation. Whether the harsh life to which Anisia voluntarily subjected herself became a burden, whether she was embarrassed by unaccountable fear, she prayed and overcame her human weakness and, strengthened and admonished from above, she again perceived her gracious mood... So, vigilant about her salvation and doing good to everyone, the young ascetic lived. And in the midst of this path, God called her to Himself, ready to appear before Him and, to top off its beauty, clothed with a martyr’s crown... Living during the reign of Maximian, during the persecution of Christians, when the safety of life was not protected for any of the confessors of Christ, since the law itself did not impute the murder of a Christian, Anisia was among such victims... Going one day to church on the day when, on the occasion of a holiday in honor of the sun, a pagan celebration was held in the temple, Anisia met a pagan warrior, who, asking her who she was and where she was going, and having learned that she was “a servant of Christ and was going to her church,” he began to force her to go with him to a pagan temple to make a sacrifice, but, irritated by her courageous resistance, he drew his sword and inflicted such a severe wound on her, from which she died a few hours later. – It was around the year 298. The pagans themselves rebelled against the murderer of the innocent young Anisia and allowed Christians to honor her remains. The daughter of an aristocratic family, the fruit of the prayers of a pious mother, Blessed Theodora was raised from childhood in the Caesarea monastery of St. Anna 375. Her father was the patrician Theophilus, and her mother was Theodora. The mother was barren for a long time and often prayed for the resolution of her infertility; When her daughter was born, her mother made a vow to dedicate her to God. In fulfillment of her vow, the daughter was raised in the monastery and fell in love with its solitude. At St. Basil, Archpastor of Caesarea, the question was resolved: “at what age should one be allowed to pronounce a vow to dedicate oneself to God?” As can be seen, in his time there were strict judges of matters of piety and condemned for accepting children into the monastery. He writes: “since the Lord says: leave the children to come to Me (Mark 13:14), and the Apostle praises those who have studied the Scriptures from childhood (2 Tim. 3:15), then we consider every time and the time of the first age capable of receiving those who come. We accept children who have no parents out of competition for Job (Job.29:12) to be fathers of orphans; those who depend on the will of the parents and whom the parents themselves bring, we accept in front of many witnesses, so as not to give an opportunity to those who want to find an opportunity; but to stop all unrighteous lips that speak blasphemy against us.” Having said that adopted children must be given a special room, he continues: “but the prayers that are established to be performed during the day should be common for both children and elders, because children, through competition with elders, become ingrained in the skill of contrite prayer.” The activities of children in the cell should be learning to read and write and learning some kind of craft. “When the mind opens and the intellect comes into action, then one must accept the vow of virginity as already firm, pronounced according to one’s own disposition and reasoning with the perfect maturity of the mind 376. Imp. Leo the Isaurian (717–740), the first iconoclast of the emperors, did not like monasticism. He found himself in the right to dispose of young Theodora at his own discretion, contrary to her mother’s vow and contrary to the will of the daughter herself. At his command, young Theodora was forcibly taken from the monastery and taken to the court. Leo appointed a groom for her - one of the young aristocrats. Everything was prepared for the marriage - both outfits and dowry. It was hard, very hard for the unwilling bride: We can’t help but remember our recent “advice to the bride”: What can you do to get along with the world as best you can? Walk with hope in God's path, And that path will be smoothed with love and faith. Trouble from a robber, trouble from a relative The holy apostle experienced it himself, And the family secret of God's saint He told us clearly from his own experience. The robbers are in the world, and the relatives are at home, As in the spiritual world, the devil and the flesh. Both are the cause of sodom. God protect us from both of them 377. The holy bride Theodora, who fervently prayed, was preserved by the Lord. Unexpectedly, enemies burst into the empire. The groom was sent with an army and was killed in battle 378. When news of this was received in the capital, the blessed virgin thanked the Lord for the freedom sent to her: the cause of human arbitrariness was crumbling, Theodora hastened to board the ship and returned to her beloved monastery. Having donated her wedding attire and gifts to the monastery, she accepted monasticism, put on chains and began to lead an approximately austere life. Her food was a piece of bread and then every two or three days; clothes - harsh hair shirt, bed - stones covered with rags. If they were to say that the violence used by Leo to remove himself from monastic life aroused fiery jealousy for the monastic exploits in Theodore, then they would not be telling the complete truth. The energy of the soul is irritated by obstacles; but when the soul is not strengthened by grace, over time, in rest, it weakens and disappears. Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune: for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, says the Lord. And with the best dispositions, we will not be saved without the grace of God, just as we will not be saved if, hoping for grace, we ourselves live idly, without labor and deeds. The ardor of the soul in itself is so unreliable that if one is carried away by it without reasoning, it can turn into coldness towards everything good; it is reliable only when, illuminated by reasoning, it is supported by forcing oneself to goodness and fervent prayer. Do not quench the spirit, the Apostle taught. Blessed Theodora, with a high love for virgin purity, prayed and labored to the grave; prayers brought grace into her soul and with grace she accomplished her deeds; she removed from the soul what was unclean and offensive to grace. Her blessed death followed no later than 755. Theodora was a wealthy citizen of Constantinople 379. After the death of her husband, she devoted herself to serving others and prayer. When Blessed Basil began to live in the house of the pious Constantine, in the neighborhood of Theodora’s house, Theodora, at the invitation of Constantine, served Blessed Basil with full zeal, as a servant of God. If anyone came to see the recluse Vasily, Theodora reported this to Vasily, and Vasily in Theodora’s cell talked with those who came to him. Whoever accepts in the name of the righteous will receive the reward of the righteous, said the Lord. “Each of us must please our neighbor for his good, so that he can return,” taught the Apostle (Rom. 15:2). Theodora was also a zealous prayer book. This was at a time when, in the same capital, Rev. Simeon the Theologian zealously inspired those who strive with instructions about love for God. Preaching about pure love for God, he taught together: “one must fast in three fasts. During Great Lent, fasting is intensified, except for the great holiday, Saturday and week, and on the other two - every other day. On other days of the year, you should eat once a day, except Saturday, week and holiday, and not when you are full 380. This means that pure love for God is not a dreamy love, content with the delights of feeling and thoughts of self-will, but a hardworking love, a strict follower of the commandments of God and the statutes of the Church. This is how blessed Theodora lived. Before her death, she accepted monasticism and died on December 30, 940. Vasily’s student, Gregory, earnestly asked his mentor to reveal where and how the deceased Theodora was? Through the prayers of Vasily, Gregory was shown in a dream in images the states that Theodora went through until she reached peace; It is also shown that the prayers of the righteous man served as a great help for Theodora in her afterlife. About her Sipaksar Greek. Menaia on December 30 Prologue and Chet-Minea Dec. 30. Space right question 15. In another case, St. Vasily wrote: “We allow confession of a vow at the age of full intelligence. It is not proper to take children’s words as true in these things. That virgin who is 16 or 17 years old and has a mature mind, has been tried for a long time and has constantly asked for acceptance, should be included among the virgins; its confession must be accepted as correct, and violation of it must be severely punished. Many (girls) are brought by parents, brothers, relatives, before their age, who are not willingly disposed towards virginity, but have their own benefits in mind. We should not accept such people easily until we know their own disposition.” Epist. 199. Or. s. Basilii 4, 719 ed., Migne. St. Theodore the Studite condemned the fact that other abbots took a vow of virginity from those of no age and considered 16 years of age to be the age at which one could take a vow. “When they already master the mind, that is, at the age of 16 and later; then both honors and punishments are appropriate for them.” For this reason, he was strict towards those who, having made a vow, went out into the world. “From that time on, if they want to return to worldly life, then do not open the gates for them if they appear again, even if it was in a short time.” Epist. 165, lib. 2. Home conversation 1866 No. 30. The Greek synaxarion says that Theodora's groom was the son of Pmn. Leo Christopher. But Du Cange (Familiae byzant. p. 125) rightly noted that Christopher was alive even under Copronymus, who blinded him. About her prologue Dec. 30 and Chet-Minea Mar. 26. History of the blessed. Theodora separately from the life of Vasiliev - in Greek. hands (Lambeicomm. bibl. Vindob. IV, 422) and in the life of Basil according to Greek. hands Synod. Bible (Mattaei descr. N. 236). Philokalia, active chapters, ch. 142.