Blessed Pelagia Ivanovna Serebrennikova
Pelagia Ivanovna Serebrennikova was born in Arzamas to parents Ivan and Parasceva and had two brothers, Andrew and John. After her father's death, her mother remarried a strict man named Alexei. As a child Pelagia endured a severe illness that left her bedridden for a long period.
Following her recovery her behavior changed markedly. By tradition she would go out into the garden in the depth of winter, lift up her skirt in public, stand on one leg and spin about, and cry out for no apparent reason. From childhood she was nicknamed 'fool' for this conduct, until her mother came to understand that she was gifted with the grace of foolishness for the sake of Christ. She was connected to the Diveyevo Monastery and reposed in 1884. Her individual feast is kept on January 30.
Blessed Paraskeva (Pasha) Ivanovna
Paraskeva (called Pasha) Ivanovna was born Irina into a peasant family in Tambov province. She lived fifteen years with her husband without bearing children. After his death she made a pilgrimage to Kiev, where she resolved to devote her life to God.
Expelled by landowners, she lived homeless in her native village for five years before being secretly tonsured with the name Paraskeva in Kiev. She practiced the ascesis of foolishness for Christ first at Sarov and afterward at Diveyevo. Before her repose she acknowledged Maria Ivanovna as her spiritual successor, saying that 'another is already weaving.' She reposed in 1915, and her individual feast is kept on September 22.
Blessed Maria Zakharovna Fedina
Maria Zakharovna Fedina was born in the village of Goletovka, Tambov Province. Her parents, Zachariah and Pelagia Fedina, both died before she had reached the age of thirteen. From childhood she was inclined to the spiritual life: she went often to church, was quiet and kept to herself, did not play with others, was never frivolous, and gave no attention to outward appearance.
She wandered as a homeless ascetic between Sarov, Diveyevo, and Ardatov before settling permanently at the Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent. During roughly eight years in a cold, damp monastery cell she developed severe rheumatism and lost the use of her legs; she also survived a severe scalding from boiling water and a broken hand that healed improperly. When asked about her patronymic she explained, 'All of us blessed ones are Ivanovnas, from St. John the Forerunner.'
After the closure of the monastery in 1927 she lived in various places. She reposed on August 26 / September 8, 1931, in Cherevatovo during a severe storm, and her remains were later translated to the Diveyevo Monastery. Her feast is kept on August 26.
Miracles & Traditions
Historically Documented: The synaxarion and hagiographic tradition record that Maria Zakharovna possessed gifts of clairvoyance and healing — foretelling the future, exposing hidden sins, and healing ailments including eye problems and eczema through the use of lampada oil.
Traditional Accounts: The accounts of all three women emphasize the manner of their foolishness for Christ — Pelagia's unusual public conduct from childhood and Paraskeva's homeless wandering and secret tonsure — preserved within the devotional memory of the Diveyevo community.
Relics & Shrines
The remains of Maria Zakharovna Fedina were translated to the Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent after her repose. The three blessed women are venerated together at Diveyevo, where their succession of foolishness for Christ is commemorated.
