Xenia of St. Petersburg

Xenia of St. Petersburg (real name Xenia Grigorievna Petrova; between 1719 and 1730 or about 1731 – about 1802, St. Petersburg) was an Orthodox yurodiya of noble origin who lived in St. Petersburg.

Life and Canonization

Documentary information about her life is absent, but the first publications of folk legends about her date back to the 1840s. According to these accounts, she was born in the first half of the eighteenth century, presumably between 1719 and 1730, or around 1731. Her father's name was Gregory, her mother's name and the surnames of both parents are unknown.

Upon reaching the age of majority, Xenia Grigorievna married a court singer – Andrei Fedorovich Petrov. She lived with her husband, who reached the rank of colonel, in St. Petersburg in a house located either at the beginning of the street, later named after her husband – "Andrey Petrov" (since 1877 – Lakhtinskaya Street), where they had a life together.

Canonization

Xenia was canonized as the Blessed on June 6, 1988, at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.