Venerable Eudokia the Fool for Christ of Ryazan (+ 1890)

St. Eudokia the Fool for Christ (Feast Day - October 24)

Eldress Eudokia (Plyakhanova) was born in 1830 in the city of Tula.

Throughout her earthly life she was unceasingly aflame with the Spirit of God. All her mind and thoughts were in heaven.

At the age of twenty, Eudokia decided to enter the path of monastic life. Her parents blessed her and she went to consult a Christian priest who lived in Tula. He turned his head in the direction of the Holy Protection Monastery in MIkhailova of Ryazan, and said to her: "Darling, you are for there." After this advice, the young girl with a bag on her shoulders went to the Holy Protection Monastery, where she was received by the Eldress Elpidophora (Afanasova).

Saint Symeon the Fool for Christ as a Model for our Lives

St. Symeon the Fool for Christ (Feast Day - July 21)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Symeon the Fool for Christ came from Edessa in Syria and lived in the 6th century AD. Together with his friend John, they set out, both young, to go to Jerusalem to worship. With them were the mother of Symeon, the father of John, and his young wife whom he had married a short time earlier. Along the way, the desire to dedicate themselves to God ignited in them. That is why they prayed fervently and begged God to lead them to a monastery, and to take care of their relatives and comfort them, and it happened so. Therefore, they both went to the desert of Jordan and decided to go to a monastery where they will find a welcoming door.

The Elements of Foolishness for Christ in the Sinaite Monk Fr. Ioannis Aleiferis

 By John Fourtounas,
Professor of the University of Cairo

On November 29th, 40 days have passed since the death of Fr. Ioannis Aleiferis, a monk of the Sacred Monastery of Saint Katherine of Mount Sinai.

Originally from Vatika of Laconia, Fr. Ioannis Aleiferis became a monk in the Monastery of Sinai and served the brotherhood there as an ecclesiarch for many years.

The most important gift he acquired was foolishness for Christ, which he preserved as the apple of his eye appearing to people as insane.

Stephanos "the Crazy Man With the Small Ball" (+ August 19, 2021)

The "crazy man with the small ball", the beloved Stephanos, the trademark of Piraeus, has left this world. The area of Palia Kokkinia in Attica mourns his loss. We are informed that the unfortunate man was killed under unclear circumstances, as he was hit by a car on the street, where he was staying. Employees of a cafeteria took him to the Asklipieio Voulas Hospital, where his death was announced.

He had three children, one of whom has died. In recent years he lived at the junction of Thebes and Argyrokastro streets, in a dilapidated house, behind a small park, in which he had written various slogans of his own inspiration. He always used chalk so that he could write and erase easily. He usually wrote about God, nature and various sayings in general. Stephanos used to go to the cafe right across the street and while he never asked, when he was offered a treat, his face lit up. With a small radio he listened to folk music and smoked a cigarette.

Holy Martyr Maxim Rumyantsev the Fool for Christ (+ 1928)

St. Maxim Rumyantsev (Feast Day - August 13)

By Hegumen Damaskin (Orlovsky)

Maxim Ivanovich Rumyantsev was born in the mid-fifties of the 19th century in the village of Vandyshki in the Kineshma District of the Kostroma province to a peasant family. His parents Ivan and Anna died when Maxim was barely ten years old, and he settled in the house of his brother Yegor and his wife Elizabeth, where he lived until he was fifteen, and at fifteen he left to wander. Where and how Maxim wandered is unknown, but after returning home almost thirty years later, he knew the church services by heart, although he remained illiterate; during his wanderings, he accepted the feat of foolishness, which he did not abandon until his death.

Returning to his native village, Maxim Ivanovich lived with his brother, then with the pious Gruzdev family, who revered the blessed one, then with the Kocherin family, or wherever God would lead.

Synaxarion of Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ

 

Synaxarion

On the 28th of this month [May], we commemorate our Venerable and God-bearing Father Andrew the Fool for Christ.

Verses

The saying of Paul was introduced by Andrew,
"We are fools for Christ" he cried.
On the twenty-eighth Andrew died with a prudent mind.

A rich man named Theognostos was serving as a bodyguard in Constantinople under the Emperor Leo the Great (886-912). Among his slaves there was Andrew, a Scythian by birth. He was a calm and kindhearted young man. Theognostos liked him and took care of his education. Andrew frequented the church of God, studied the Scriptures diligently and liked to read the lives of Saints, drawing inspiration especially from the Holy Martyrs. Gradually the desire to devote himself totally to God grew stronger in him and following a sign from above he took upon himself a very difficult and unusual ascetic feat - foolishness for the sake of Christ - that is, he started acting as if he was insane. His zeal often pushed him to endure mockery, humiliation and heavy insults and to take actions that are judged to be unbalanced and eccentric. But he endured the humiliations, comforted by the fact that many times he managed to bring people who were astray to the straight path.

"Madness With Meaning" - A True Miracle Story of Crazy-John

 

 

The following story was told by Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou based on the testimony of a certain lady he knows who was a spiritual child of Elder Eumenios, who had given her before his venerable repose the cane of Saint Nikephoros the Leper as well as a portion of his sacred relics. This blessed soul, said the Metropolitan, was close with the late famous Crazy-John (Trelo-Yiannis), whose name in the world was Constantine, about whom, as is well-known, books have been written, albeit in a "fictional" style.

In a certain church in Athens, on the formal and festive day of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the faithful entered, holding icons they had brought from their homes, in commemoration of the restoration of the icons on this bright day. During this Service the lady who is well known to us was present, who at one point saw Crazy-John enter the church, holding above his head a flowerpot with withered flowers! During the procession of the sacred icons, which takes place on this day in some churches, certain Christians were making fun of Crazy-John, for his strange "lifting" of the flowerpot. This good lady of ours, who was processing with Crazy-John, tried to knock some sense into him, saying: "My Constantine, put down the flowerpot now! You're not being serious on such a day and time!" He responded to her: "What you see, is madness with meaning! You see a flowerpot. In the end you will see everyone fall down in veneration!"

Miracles of Saint Lyubov of Ryazan the Fool for Christ

 

After the death of Saint Lyubov in 1920, a monument was erected on her grave by the diligence of the deacon of one of the churches of Ryazan and other worshipers. Years passed. That monument had long been gone. Over the years, the grave had become almost forgotten. And the cemetery had become little visited. And then one day a military man came to Lyubov's grave and soon put a cross and a metal fence at his own expense. He told about himself that his life was extremely unfortunate. He was ill and the doctors could not help him. But Lyubov appeared to him in a dream and said: “Do not grieve and do not worry. Go to Ryazan, find the grave of Lyubov Semyonovna Sukhanovskaya in the cemetery, and put a fence around it. After this you will be healthy and happy." He did everything she told him to do and was healed. In gratitude for her help, he annually came to her grave and served a memorial.

Saint Xenia of Petersburg Resource Page

 

St. Xenia the Fool for Christ (Feast Day - January 24)

Verses

 

They that are at a loss invoke Blessed Xenia,

Who having lost all things, won Christ as her Bridegroom.

On the twenty-fourth Xenia was in Heaven.

 

Saint Xenia the Fool for Christ of St. Petersburg

 

The Life of Saint Xenia the Fool of St. Petersburg

 

The Location Where Saint Xenia of Petersburg Lived With Her Husband

Foolishness for the Sake of Christ

 By Father Chrysostomos,
Monastery of the Panagia Lampidonos

Once, on Mount Athos, I went to the Skete of the Monastery of Xenophontos, in a Cell, where Saint Athanasios the Athonite was being celebrated on his feast. Many pilgrims had come to the festival of the Cell. I was impressed by someone, whose clothing was poor, trying to make himself look like a servant of the belly, and he would go out every now and then to smoke. I asked about him and most of the comments were that he was crazy or something. I got up at some point and I approached him and told him, "Let's go outside for a while." I asked him how he found himself to be on Mount Athos and where he lived. And I said to him, "Have you been on Mount Athos for so many years and you smoke?" In fact, as he smoked, he just took the smoke in and then he released it out. We moved away from the others and I gained his trust and I said, "You will tell me the truth," and he explained to me how he came to be on Mount Athos. He lived in a cell on a hill, which had no windows, just a sleeping mattress, a candle and some books. His survival was made by serving the fathers of the Skete, shopping for them in Karyes and generally doing their chores. He never told anyone, "I'm tired and can't go." Karyes was about forty-five minutes on foot. And he told his story and I realized that I did not have a common man next to me. In the end I asked him, "Have they not proposed to make you a monk who has lived in the Skete for so many years?" And he said, "Of course, and the Abbot said it, but I believe if I was going to become a monk I could not do it." This was an excuse I did not believe. He struggles, he struggled and I am sure that at that time when his soul will rise, those who made fun of him will understand. Many years have passed since then and I do not know if he is alive.

The Close Bond Between Blessed Salome the Fool for Christ and Saint Nektarios

 

 

Salome took care of several churches in Thermo. However, her spiritual refuge was the Church of Saint Nektarios. There she experienced intensely the presence of the Saint.

With her simplicity and reverence for the Saint, she developed a personal holy spiritual communion. She often saw the Saint, consulted him on spiritual matters, and together they visited the homes of the poor and sick.

This was not a unique phenomenon of Salome, but we find it in other sanctified modern figures, such as that of Saint Sophia, the ascetic of Kleisoura.

The experiences of the blessed Salome seem incomprehensible and paradoxical to us and refer us to similar experiential situations of the Holy Fathers.

"When I Start Thinking of Myself as Being Better Than Others..." (St. Gabriel of Georgia)

 

 

"When I start thinking of myself as being better than others, then I put a diadem on my head and go outside without shoes. People stare at me and laugh, but I see how insignificant I am."

- St. Gabriel (Urgebadze) of Georgia

Saint Timothy of Sviatogorsk the Fool for Christ (+ 1563)

St. Timothy the Fool for Christ (Feast Day - July 17)

In 1563, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, in the suburbs of the Pskov region of Voronich, there lived a fifteen-year-old shepherd named Timothy, whom everyone considered a holy fool. Once he grazed his flock near the Lugovitsa River and suddenly in the air he saw the Eleousa Icon of the Mother of God, which was in the Voronich parish church of Saint George. This vision of Timothy was repeated a second time in another place, on Mount Sinica, and this time he also heard a voice foretelling that in six years the grace of God would shine on this mountain. Timothy did not tell anyone about his wonderful vision.

Saint John of Ustiug the Fool for Christ (+ 1494)

St. John of Ustiug (Feast Day - May 29)

Saint John was born in the village of Pukhovo, near Old Ustiug, of pious parents Savva and Maria. From his youth he distinguished himself by a strict life of fasting. On Wednesdays and Fridays he ate nothing, and on other days he ate only bread and water. His parents moved to the city of Orlets along the River Iug, forty versts from Ustiug. Left widowed, the Saint’s mother took monastic tonsure with the name Natalia at the Orletsk Trinity Monastery. The young John started by keeping silence, and then he embraced the struggle of foolishness for the sake of Christ.

What Saint Andrew the Fool Once Saw When He Went To Church

Andrew's Vision of the Demons at Work During the Divine Service

When the righteous man had given this advice, they stood up and entered the church. The reading began and Epiphanios sat down on one of the benches, while the blessed Andrew sat down on the floor like one of the poor, his body covered by a cheap rag. When those present noticed him sitting on the floor they wondered, "What happened to this demoniac, since he has come in here?" And some said, "Perhaps for a moment he was relieved from the evil spirit that disturbs his mind." Others said, "He happened to pass by and went in to see as if it were an ordinary house, for how could he know that this is a church? May the Lord punish similarly the one who did this to him!"

Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ and the Plague in Constantinople

(Life of Andrew the Fool, 30)

At that time a great plague broke out in this queen of cities, and one could see the blessed man sitting on the ground in the middle of the avenues and streets of the city, as well as in the porticoes, wailing and lamenting loudly, for he was entreating the Lord, who loves mankind, to forgive us our sins and have pity on us and stop the terrible pestilence. When the passers-by saw him thus upset they said, "Look how he wails and laments over his mother who just passed away!" Others said, "Look how the crazy man bewails his sins, as the Holy Writ says, for one can also shed tears under the influence of demons. Ο that there were Christians who had such tears, so that they could drown the abyss of their trespasses!" Still others said, "Who knows? Maybe regaining his reason for a moment he laments over his own fate?" With these remarks they went away.

Blessed Matrenushka the Barefooted of St. Petersburg, the Fool for Christ (+ 1911)

Matrona (Matrenushka) Petrovna Mylnikova was born in 1814 to a peasant family in the Kostroma province. Her parents Peter and Agafia also had three sons named Macarius, Allexander and Ivan. Nothing is known about her childhood except that she was never educated.

She married Egor Mylnikov, a tradesman of the city of Kostroma. The family had their own house and grocery store. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 her husband was drafted into the army, and Matronushka went with him to the front where she served as a nurse. Even then, her humble soul, which received from God a great gift of compassion, was fully manifested. She helped everyone as she could, distributing all her meager belongings to poor soldiers.

Saints Pimen of Salosi, Enlightener of Dagestan and the North Caucasus People, and Anthony Meskhi, the Censurer of Kings

Sts. Pimen and Anthony of Georgia (Feast Day - March 16)

Saint Pimen the Fool for Christ and Anton Meskhi (of Meskheti, in southern Georgia) lived in the 13th century, when the Mongols were regularly invading Georgia. The entire country, and the Church in particular, languished under the yoke of Mongol oppression. The Georgian people were once again faced with a terrible choice: to preserve their temporal flesh or attain spiritual salvation. Most would not yield to the temptation of the enemy and chose instead to die as martyrs for Christ.

Saint Nicholas of Pskov the Fool for Christ (+ 1576)

St. Nicholas of Pskov (Feast Day - February 28)

Venerable Nicholas of Pskov lived the life of a holy fool for more than three decades. Long before his death he acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit and was granted the gifts of wonderworking and of prophecy. The Pskov people of his time called him Mikula [Mikola, Nikola] the Fool. Even during his lifetime they revered him as a saint, even calling him Mikula the saintly.

In February 1570, after a devastating campaign against Novgorod, Tsar Ivan the Terrible moved against Pskov, suspecting the inhabitants of treason. As the Pskov Chronicler relates, “the Tsar came ... with great fierceness, like a roaring lion, to tear apart innocent people and to shed much blood.”

Saint Theodore the Fool for Christ

St. Theodore the Fool for Christ (Feast Day - February 25)

Verses

Like David you willingly deserted your reason,
Escaping not from Anchus, all-blessed one, but from life.

This Theodore is mentioned in the Synaxarion of Constantinople without any biographical information. As an enigmatic figure unknown to scholarship or ecclesiastical tradition, he does appear depicted in a fresco from 1317 in the Serbian Church of Saint George in Staro Nagoričane, where he is shown with other Saints commemorated on February 25th, with an inscription that says Άγιος Θεόδωρος ο διά Xριστόν σαλός (Saint Theodore the Fool for Christ).