Житие преподобной матери нашей Ксении, в мире Евсевии

There lived in Rome one noble and respectable man, who belonged to the class of senior senators, a Christian by faith, deeply pious, who had an only child, like the apple of his eye, a daughter named Eusebius. When she reached girlhood, one nobleman, also from the senatorial class, asked Eusevia's parents to give their daughter to his son. Eusevia's parents, having consulted among themselves, betrothed her to a noble young man, equal to them in honors and wealth, and the day had already been appointed when the legal marriage was to take place. The maiden, filled with love for God, wished to remain the eternal bride of the incorruptible Bridegroom, the most beautiful in His perfections of all the sons of men, Christ the Lord Himself, and to preserve her virginity forever. However, she hid her desire from her parents, because she knew that if they guessed her intention, they would not want to hear about it. They would have prevented her in every possible way, and either by flattery and caresses, or by orders, they would have forced her into marriage, especially since she was the only heir to all their wealth; they would wish to be consoled by her marriage and her children. Blessed Eusevia had two slaves faithful to her, who grew up with her from childhood and served her with all zeal and devotion. Having retired with them, she said: “I want to reveal one secret to you, but first I conjure you by the Lord God so that you do not tell anyone what you will hear from me: I want to tell you the innermost thought and desire of my heart.” Be careful that no mortal knows my secret; It’s even better if you yourself agree with me. Then you will save your souls and help my unworthiness. “We will carry out everything that you command us, our lady, especially since our souls will benefit from your plan.” We are ready to die for you rather than tell anyone what you have to reveal to us. “You know that my parents want to marry me off; but it never even occurred to me to think about marriage. This task that my parents advise me to do is too difficult for me. What is this life for me? Only a ghost, fog and sleep. Listen to me: let’s decide together to live a pure life, and if the will of the Lord blesses my intention, and you follow my advice and keep what I told you secret, then we’ll think about everything that we should do. Believe me, even if my parents found out about this and wanted to force me into marriage, then, with God’s help, they would never be able to change my intentions, even if they betrayed me to fire, sword or wild beasts. Having heard this, both slaves said: - May the will of the Lord be done! We agree with your intention and strive for the same thing as you, our lady. We would rather die with you than reign without you. Hearing such speeches from her slaves, blessed Eusevia glorified God. After this, all three girls, who had the same love for Christ, constantly thought about what they could do so that their desire could come true. And they prayed to God to give them good advice. Starting from the day when they devoted themselves with love to the Lord, deciding to live a celibate life, Eusevia secretly from her parents distributed to those in need, with the hands of her young women, everything she had: gold, silver and all precious things. The young women also distributed their property, which they had, preparing for poverty for the sake of love for Christ. When the day of the marriage was already approaching and everyone was preparing for it, Blessed Eusevia, having consulted with her young women, changed into men’s clothes with them and, taking a little of the necessary property, left the house with them secretly, since the doors were unlocked. Having made the sign of the cross, they turned to Christ God with the prayer: “Abide with us, Son of God, and show us the path we must go, for for the sake of love for You we leave home and everything in it, and decide rather to wander and live in sorrows, striving for You and wanting to find You.” So they prayed with tears, leaving the house, and then they went, crying and rejoicing at the same time. During the journey, Saint Eusebia addressed her slaves: - From now on, be my sisters and mistresses; I’d rather serve you throughout my entire life. Only, my ladies, let us leave everything for the sake of God and will not seek anything else on earth other than the salvation of our souls. Let us avoid all vain worldly worries that are harmful to the soul; Let us believe the Lord, who commanded: “Whoever has left houses, or father, or mother, or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). Yes, my sisters, let us take care of the salvation of our souls. While the saint was talking to them like this, they came to the sea and, having found a ship ready to sail to the borders of Alexandria, they gave payment and boarded it. Since the wind was blowing favorably, they reached Alexandria a few days later. Leaving the ship, they arrived at an island called Koya, located fifteen thousand paces from the Carian city of Halicarnassus 949. They moved from place to place, wanting to find an unknown area, so as not to be found by their parents. Being on this island without fear of searches, they again changed their male appearance to a female one and, having rented a small secluded house, lived in it, thanking God, to Whom they constantly prayed that He would send them a man of spiritual rank who could clothe them with the monastic order and take care of their souls. Saint Eusebia convinced her friends, saying: “I pray to you, my sisters, for the sake of the Lord: let us keep our secret and not tell anyone about our fatherland and the intention for which we left home, as well as about my name, so that by my name, by which I am called, and by the fatherland from which we left, my parents will not find me.” I conjure you by God that you keep all this a secret until the end of my life and tell no one anything about what happened to us or what is about to happen. If anyone asks you about my name, say that I am called Ksenia, which means foreigner 950; for, as you see, I am wandering, leaving home and parents for the sake of God. Henceforth you call me not Eusevia, but Xenia, since I do not have permanent residence here, but, wandering with you in this life, I am looking for a future. In response to this speech of Saint Eusebia to her friends, they promised to keep everything said to them secret, and from that time on, the holy bride of Christ began to be called, instead of Eusevia, Xenia. One day, she knelt down with her friends and began to cry and say: - God, do with us, strangers and the poor, Your great mercy, as You have done with all Your saints. Send us, O Lord, a man pleasing to You, through whom we, the humble, could be saved. Having prayed like this, Saint Xenia and her sisters left the house in which they lived, and then they saw a venerable gray-haired old man walking from the pier, dressed in monastic fashion, whose face was like the face of an Angel. Approaching him, the holy maiden fell at his feet and, crying, began to say: - Man of God, do not despise a woman wandering in a foreign country, do not reject a wretched beggar, do not disdain the prayer of a sinner, but become like the holy Apostle Paul and be for us a mentor and teacher, as he was for Saint Thekla. Remember the reward prepared for the righteous by God, and save me along with these two sisters. Hearing this, the servant of God felt pity and, looking at their tears, asked: -What do you want and what should I do for you? - Be our father in God and teacher. Lead us to where we might be saved; we are strangers and do not know where to go; we are ashamed to show ourselves to people. – Where are you from and what is the reason that you are so lonely? – We are from a very distant country, servant of Christ. We agreed to leave our homeland together and came to this area. We prayed to God day and night to send us a person who would help us to be saved. And so God showed us you, a spiritual father who can accept our infirmities. The holy elder said to this: “Believe me, sisters, and I am a stranger here, as you see.” I am coming from holy places; Having bowed there, I return to my fatherland. - What country are you from, my spiritual father? – I am from the Carian country, from the city of Milassa. Then the servant of Christ turned to him again: “I beg your holiness: tell us what your rank is, for I think that you are a bishop.” - Forgive me, sister! I am a sinful person and unworthy of monastic rank. By the bounty of God, I am a presbyter and abbot of a small congregation of brethren in the monastery of the holy and glorious Apostle Andrew; my name is Pavel. Hearing this, the servant of Christ glorified God, saying: - Glory to You, God, that You heard me, poor one, and sent me, like Saint Thecla once did, Saint Paul with these two sisters. Then she turned to the elder: “I beg you, servant of God, do not reject us, strangers, but be our father according to God.” Blessed Paul answered them: “I told you that I, too, am a wanderer, and I don’t know what good I can do for you here?” If you want to go to my city, then I hope that the Lord will show His mercy to you, and I, to the best of my ability, will take care of you. The virgins, bowing before the elder with tears, said: - Yes, servant of God! Take us with you. We will go where you command us, but only show mercy to the strangers and be our guide to eternal life. The man of God took the holy virgins with him and went with them to the city of Milass. There he found them dwellings in a secluded place, located near the church. The holy maiden bought them with money taken from home, and then built a small church in the name of the Holy Protomartyr Stephen and soon established a nunnery, gathering several maidens and dedicating them to Christ. The abbot, Saint Paul, took care of them. He tonsured Saint Xenia and her two slaves into the monastic rank. No one ever knew, until her death, where this holy maiden was from and for what reason she left her fatherland and what her true name was, while she called herself Xenia, that is, a wanderer. The Monk Paul said to those who asked about these virgins: “I took them from Koi Island and brought them here.” So everyone thought that they came from there. That is why the monastery was called after the island of Koi. A short time later, Cyril, the bishop of that city, rested in the Lord, and in his place the Monk Paul, abbot of the St. Andrew's Monastery, was elected. After receiving the episcopal rank, he came to the nunnery and consecrated Ksenia, against her wishes, as a deaconese, as being fully worthy of this rank. For she, while still living in the flesh, led an angelic life. Although she, as the daughter of a senator, was raised in luxury and among all sorts of comforts, she nevertheless strived for such a difficult and ascetic life and noticeably discovered completely new, unusual and difficult paths to fasting perfection. Even demons were afraid of her abstinence; overcome by her fasting and exploits, they ran away, not daring to approach her. She ate food either on the second or third day, and many times she remained without food for the entire week. When the time came for her to eat, she ate neither herbs, nor beans, nor wine, nor oil, nor garden vegetables, nor any other nutritious food, but only a little bread, watered with her own tears. She took ashes from the censer and sprinkled them on the bread. She did this throughout all the years of her life, fulfilling the prophetic saying: “I eat ashes like bread, and I dissolve my drink with tears” (Ps. 101:10). At the same time, she tried in every possible way to hide her abstinence from the other sisters, and only her two slaves, who lived with her, secretly watched what she was doing and themselves imitated her virtuous life. At the same time, she always retained such great cheerfulness that from evening until morning she stood all night in prayer, stretching out her hands upward. In this form, the sisters watched her secretly all the days of her life. Sometimes she, kneeling in the evening, prayed until the morning, shedding copious tears. So she always served the Lord and did it with such humility, as if she considered herself worse than all people. But who can list all her other virtues? What word will be sufficient to describe all her exploits! What, first of all, can we say about her meekness? No one had ever seen her angry; no vanity or pride darkened her life. Her face was always humble, her mind was without any exaltation, her face was without embellishment, her body was exhausted by fasting labors, her heart was calm, not disturbed by any doubts. What kind of virtue did she not have! She was characterized by: constant vigilance, extraordinary abstinence, unspeakable humility, immeasurable love. She helped the poor, showed compassion for the suffering, was merciful to sinners, and guided those who were tempted on the path of repentance. There is nothing to say about her clothes: she wore very shabby ones - a dress and a shirt, but even those she considered herself unworthy. Her whole life was spent in heartfelt tenderness and constant shedding of tears. One could rather see the abundant water sources dry up in the hot weather than her eyes stop shedding tears. Always looking at her beloved Bridegroom Christ, her eyes shed streams of tears. She wanted to see Him face to face and speak with David: “When will I come and appear before the face of God,” to the face of my sweetest Bridegroom? “My tears were bread to me day and night” (Ps. 41:3–4). When the time of departure from this earthly life approached for this ever-memorable virgin, the immaculate bride of Christ, a holiday came in memory of Saint Ephraim, who was once a bishop in that city. Blessed Bishop Paul went with all his clergy to a village called Levkin. There was the church of St. Bishop Ephraim, and his honest relics rested in it. On this day, the Monk Ksenia called all her sisters to the monastery church and began to say to them: - My ladies and sisters! I know what kind of love you showed towards me - how you endured my infirmities and helped me, a wanderer. Now I beg you: extend your love for me, your servant, to the end; remember me, poor, sinful and strange, in your prayers, propitiating God towards me, so that my sins do not hinder me, but so that, through your prayers, I can move unhindered to my Christ. My death is already approaching; My soul suffers and grieves greatly, since I leave my body without proper preparation. Now our father and master, Bishop Paul, is not here. Therefore, you, instead of me, tell him when he comes: this is what poor Xenia said: “For God’s sake, honest father, remember me, a wanderer: you set me on the path and brought me into this life - pray for me, so that the Lord does not shame me in my hope.” Hearing this, all the sisters began to cry and say: – Our mistress and teacher of our souls! You leave us orphaned and in trouble. Who will guide us on the true path of life? Who will teach us? Who will pray for us in our despondency? No, our lady. At this time, do not leave us. Remember how you yourself gathered us into this fence. Take care, madam, of our souls and pray to God that He will extend some more time for you for the sake of us poor ones, so that you will guide us on the path of salvation. Both of her slaves also began to bow down at her feet and weep bitterly, saying: “You are already leaving us, our lady, and leaving here without us.” What will we do without you, poor people? What will we do, strangers, in a foreign country? Oh woe to us, the wretched, the poor and the wanderers. We did not take care of ourselves, and that is why you want to leave us alone, our lady. Remember our sorrows, which we grieved with you. Remember our common journey, in which we were your companions. Remember how diligently we have always served you. Remember us and pray to God for us; take us with you too, so that we will not be separated from you, our lady. When loud sobs then set in and confusion ensued, Ksenia herself began to speak with tears: “You know, my sisters, how long ago the Holy Apostle Peter proclaimed: “The Lord is not slack in fulfilling his promise, as some count slackness; but he is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:9-10). Knowing this, my sisters, let us not be lazy during this little time, but let us watch. Let us light our lamps, fill our vessels with oil, and prepare to meet the Bridegroom, since we do not know at what hour the Lord will call us: for the harvest is coming and the workers are ready, but only awaiting the command of the Master. When the saint said this, and everyone was crying and fell at her feet, she raised her hands to heaven and, shedding copious tears, began to pray: - God, who has provided for my earthly journey to this day! Hear me, Thy poor and sinful servant: be merciful to these Thy servants, my sisters. Save them and save them from all the snares of the devil for the sake of the glory and greatness of Your holy name. I pray to You, my God: remember these two sisters of mine, who wandered with me for the sake of Your love. Just as in this temporary life they were not separated from me, so do not separate us in Your Kingdom, but make us all worthy of Your palace. Having prayed like this, she asked all the sisters to go out for a while and leave her alone for prayerful reflection. When everyone left the church, she locked herself there alone, and her two slaves, remaining in front of the doors, watched inside through the well. They saw how she prayed, kneeling on the ground, and then, in the midst of prayer, she prostrated herself crosswise on the ground. When she lay there for quite some time, a light suddenly shone in the church, similar in appearance to lightning; at the same time, a strong fragrance began to emanate from the church. The sisters hastily went inside and wanted to lift her from the ground, but they had already found her resting in the Lord. It was January 24, 951, Saturday, at six o'clock in the afternoon. These two sisters left the church weeping and called the others, saying: - Our mothers and sisters! Let us go and weep over our common orphanhood. Let us go and weep over the death of her who was our pillar. We have lost our honest mother. Our mentor left us, and we were left alone. Saint Xenia, our mother, has rested. Entering the church, everyone saw her having passed from her life here to another world. Then the crying and great sobbing began. God, the lover of mankind, wanting to show everyone what treasure was hidden from everyone on earth, showed a great and holy sign in heaven. At that very hour when the Monk Xenia gave up her holy soul into the hands of the Lord, in the afternoon, in completely windy and clear weather, a very bright crown of stars appeared in the sky above the nunnery, with a cross in the middle that shone brighter than the sun. This sign was visible to everyone. The citizens of Milas, who were together with their bishop, the Monk Paul, in the village of Leukia, seeing a sign in the sky, were surprised and asked each other in bewilderment: what could this mean? Blessed Bishop Paul, having understood in spirit the meaning of the sign, said to the entire assembly of the people: “Our lady Ksenia died, and on this occasion the sign of the crown appeared. Immediately after the end of the liturgy, he returned to the city with all the people who were at the holiday, and there the citizens found, as the bishop had told them, Saint Xenia had died. Immediately a large crowd of people gathered at the nunnery, many husbands and wives with children, attracted by a sign visible in the sky. They loudly exclaimed: – Glory to You, Christ God, that You have many saints who secretly please You! Glory to You, the Son of God incarnate and willingly crucified for us sinners - for the fact that You have revealed to everyone Your great treasure, which until now has been hidden here! Glory to Thee, Lord, that Thou hast vouchsafed the poor city of Milass to be the abode and repository of this Thy treasure. You have kept in it hitherto an expensive pearl, valuable beads, Your holy bride! Having accepted her into Your heavenly palace, You left her pure and holy body for safekeeping in Your city. So everyone, crying, exclaimed and looked at the crown and the cross visible in the sky. Then all the Christ-loving people, and especially the women, excited by jealousy, cried out in a loud voice to the holy Bishop Paul: – Do not hide the glory of our city, Reverend Bishop! Do not remain silent about our glory, do not hide the beads that God revealed to us. Show everyone the bright candle that was previously hidden and shining in secret. Show it to everyone, so that our opponents can see and know which Lord we serve. Let the pagans see and be ashamed; let the Jews also see the mystery of the cross and let them know that the One whom they crucified is God. Let all those who are hostile to the Cross of Christ see this and weep. Let them see how the Lord of Angels glorifies His servants even after death. Let them see with what glory from Christ God his bride Xenia, whom people considered a completely unknown wanderer and captive, is crowned. Let everyone see what a gift and grace our poor city has been honored with! When the people zealously cried out to the bishop, he and the presbyters approached the venerable body of Saint Xenia. Having laid it as it should be on a carrier’s bed, having lit many candles and burned incense, the bishop bowed his neck and, together with the elders, lifted the bed onto their shoulders, after which they carried it with singing to the middle of the city. Everyone was amazed at the glorious miracle that took place, for when the carried bed with the body of the saint was walking, a crown with a cross, which appeared in heaven, was also walking over the bed. When they placed the bed in the middle of the city, the crown at the top of the bed also stopped. Then countless people gathered from the surrounding villages, seeing a wonderful sign in the sky. The whole city was filled with the gathering of many people, and there was great crowding in it. Blessed Bishop Paul, together with the people, remained with the saint all that Sunday night, staying awake and singing songs until the morning. There were also many healings from her relics: anyone who suffered from any illness, as soon as he touched the saint’s bed, immediately received healing. Когда наступил воскресный день, честное тело преподобной Ксении покрыли чистыми покровами и с пением надгробных песен понесли к месту, находившемуся у входа в город с южной стороны и называвшемуся сикинией (смоковничьим): там, прежде кончины своей, святая завещала похоронить свое тело. Весь народ опять видел, что во время несения ее тела с одром венец с крестом из звезд, видимый на небе, шел вслед за одром. And again, when the bed was placed, the crown also stopped at the top. Когда же совершалось погребение, то ближе стоявшие люди разделили покровы, находившиеся на честных мощах, на мелкие части и хранили их с верою – для исцеления от различных болезней. Епископ, помазав по обычаю миром святое тело преподобной Ксении, положил его в новом гробе. Как только совершено было честное погребение, тотчас сияющий на небе звездный венец с крестом стал невидим. При этом много исцелений подавалось от святого гроба всем, приходившим к нему с верою. A short time later, one of the slaves of the Monk Xenia died; then, quite soon, the other one departed to eternal life. Both of them were buried at the feet of their holy mistress. When another slave was passing away, all the nuns came to her and, conjuring her, begged her to tell them about all the deeds of her mistress Xenia. She, seeing herself already on her deathbed, told them in detail everything about the saint: where she was from, who her parents were, for what reason she fled from home and from her fatherland with her two slaves, how she hid her name; for her real name was Eusevia, and she was called Xenia because she wandered for the love of God. Thus, everyone learned about the previously unknown life of the bride of Christ, Xenia. Thus the saint pleased God: for the world she was a stranger, and for heaven a citizen; she was visible in the flesh, and was compared to the disembodied Angels; she freed herself from the body as from clothing, and trampled on the devil like a serpent; she considered everything worldly as rubbish, but preserved her immaculate virginity as a bottomless treasure; She became the bride of Christ with her love, was crowned with faith, and what she hoped for, she received, and now rejoices in the palace of her immortal Bridegroom. With her prayers she helps believers a lot, for death did not destroy her strength and did not limit the place of her benefits to any limits. Since she did many virtues for the sake of Christ, then for her sake Christ shows us many mercies, accepting the holy prayers of his beloved bride. Several years after the repose of Saint Xenia, the Venerable Bishop Paul, her spiritual father, also reposed. He also pleased God to the end, for through his prayers demons were driven away and all sorts of illnesses were healed. He was buried in the church of St. Andrew the Apostle, where he had previously been abbot, and his holy soul appeared before God in the glory of the saints. Through his warm intercession for us before God, through the prayers of the Venerable Eusebia, who took the name of Xenia, and through the intercession of both of her holy slaves, may the Lord grant us His mercy, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen. We honor your strange disposition, Ksenia, in memory of you, honoring you with love, we sing of Christ in all of you, giving you the strength of healing, and always pray to Him for all of us. Caria is the southwestern part of the Asia Minor Peninsula. Halicarnassus is one of the most important cities in Caria. From the Greek word stranger, foreign. 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