Venerable Martha of Diveyevo (Milyukova)

Venerable Martha of Diveyevo, secular name Maria Semyonovna Milyukova, was born in 1810. At thirteen, in 1823, she entered the Diveyevo Convent under the spiritual guidance of St. Seraphim of Sarov, who became her chief spiritual mentor. She was known for deep obedience, meekness, and diligence in prayer, earning special love and care from Elder Seraphim, who himself called her a chosen one of the Mother of God and foretold a special spiritual destiny for her. Shortly before her death she was tonsured into the great schema with the name Martha. She reposed in 1829 at nineteen years of age. St. Seraphim deeply mourned her death and honored her memory, speaking of her elevated spiritual life. She was glorified as a locally venerated saint of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese in 2000, and canonized for universal veneration at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of 2004. Feast: August 21/September 3.