On January 28, the Old Believers of Shamary and their guests visited the place of demise of Saints Konstantin and Arkadiy. After the Sunday liturgy, having prayed to God, the believers set off on foot to the spring of the venerable martyrs. This year, the local Christians were joined by Perm residents led by priests Nikola Tataurov and Georgiy Dubrovin, as well as by guests from Revda, Nizhny Novgorod, and Moscow.
The memory of the holy passion-bearers is celebrated on January 31 – the day when they handed their holy souls over to God. On this day, prayers and services are held in many churches, where particles of the relics of these saints are kept. But in Shamary, the nearest Sunday was chosen for intense prayer so that more people would be able to visit the holy place.
“Do you have any saints?” – this question is often asked when it comes to the apology of the Orthodox Old Believer faith. Of course, the persecuted Church of Christ shone with many saints. The enemies of the Old Faith tried hard to eliminate the memory of the suffering of martyrs of faith and of the spiritual exploits of saints, as well as those who preserved that memory. However, the veneration of the Old Believer saints and the miracles they performed continue to this day. One example of such saints is the Ural saints, miracle workers, venerable martyrs Konstantin and Arkadiy.
Brothers in spirit and, perhaps, in flesh, Konstantin and Arkadiy lived in a secluded place on the Ural land and were, most likely, Christians of the ‘Chasovennye’ denomination. After the restoration of the Old Believer hierarchy in Belaya Krinitsa, the monks found an opportunity to get acquainted with the Russian first hierarch Antoniy (Shutov), became convinced of the truth of the Belaya Krinitsa priesthood, were themselves ordained into the holy orders, returned to their homeland with the good news of the existence of the true clergy, and continued their exploits. Already during their lifetime, many people resorted to them for spiritual advice. The Lord was pleased to crown them with the crown of martyrdom; the brothers died at the hands of a murderer. Six months later, local residents discovered their incorrupt bodies. At the place of their death, a spring gushed out, and many people received healings from its water. The church-wide glorification of the saints took place at the end of the 1990-s. Their incorrupt relics were solemnly transferred to the church in the village of Shamary, and the Consecrated Council confirmed the sanctity of the priests and monks Konstantin and Arkadiy.
Every summer there is a procession of the cross in Shamary from the church in the name of the Nativity of John the Baptist to the place of demise of Saints Konstantin and Arkadiy. The procession of the cross is timed to coincide with the patronal feast of the Shamary church; it takes place on the day after the festive liturgy. Under the scorching July sun, pilgrims walk 25 kilometres. The winter path to the spring, unlike the summer one, is shorter but a little more difficult. You have to walk on the ice of the river in the cold, when the wind blows about your cheeks with stinging snowflakes, sometimes through loose snowdrifts, submitting yourself to the surprises of the Ural winter. But the weather is not an insurmountable obstacle for the believers, who are warmed by love and prayerful intercession of the holy saints, who give strength to both walk this path along the icy river and sail across the lifelong sea of life…
Going to the holy place on foot is a common tradition among the local residents. On the very day of commemoration of the saints, January 31, the Christians of the Ural come to Lysva, where there is the only church consecrated in the name of the holy venerable martyrs.
