Blessed Pelageya (Pelagia) of Zakharovo, Ryazan

MAJOR CORRECTION: the previous date "October 8/21" has nothing to do with this woman — it is the canonical feast of a completely different, much more famous saint, Venerable Pelagia of Antioch (not in this batch), and was apparently copied into this card by contamination. The correct (unofficial, grassroots) commemoration date is December 6, the day of her repose.

IMPORTANT STATUS CAVEAT: Pelageya (Pelagia) Aleksandrovna Lobacheva, known as "Pelagia of Ryazan" or "of Zakharovo" (October 20, 1890 – December 6, 1966), was a peasant woman blind from birth from the village of Zakharovo, Ryazan Governorate, venerated informally by some believers as a blessed elder/clairvoyant, but SHE IS NOT OFFICIALLY GLORIFIED BY THE CHURCH. Orphaned young, she endured hardship before being taken in by the devout Orlov family.

According to oral tradition among her devotees, she possessed gifts of healing, unceasing prayer, and prophecy. In autumn 1966 she was brought to Moscow by the Orlovs' daughter, where she died shortly after; she is buried in Zakharovo.

Her popular reputation grew mainly after 1993, when collections of "prophecies" attributed to her were published posthumously. These have been strongly criticized by church authorities — Patriarch Alexy II and Deacon Andrei Kuraev called them doctrinally distorted and occult-flavored, and priest Georgy Maksimov suggested much of the material was fabricated by her godson P. G. Glazunov after her death. There has been no official canonization.