On the photos from the archives of Saint Elisabeth Convent, the sisters in black and white are standing together. The ones in black are monastics, and those in white are our sisters of mercy. Both are members of our family, united in Christ and pursuing a common mission of charity and service to God and the neighbour.
Today, we bring in the limelight our monastic sisters in black. What brought them to monasticism? What circumstances of their lives influenced their decision? Our spiritual father Andrey Lemeshonok has said, "In monasticism, we renounce the temporary things of this world and let God act by submitting our lives and desires to His Divine Will and start building the Kingdom of God in us on this earth. Monasticism is our ultimate way to serve God and unite with Him fully."
Our brothers and sisters become monastics in many different ways. Everyone is unique, and answers the calling of the Lord at different times and under different circumstances. The Lord speaks to His every child in the language of their heart.
Nun Nadezhda (Korzhina) was born in 1948 in the Kostroma Region of Russia, she spent the greater part of her life in Minsk. She worked as a technologist in an electronics plant before joining the lay sisterhood in honour of Saint Elisabeth Romanov in 2001. She served as a sister of charity, taking prayer notes and gathering donations in different locations throughout the capital. She joined the Convent in 2011 and took tonsure as a conventual in 2018. Here is her story.
Before I begin to tell you about my coming to the Convent, let me say how much I love this place. I love it so much that I cannot find anything that I would change in it. As for my past life in the world, it was full of all sorts of events. For many years, I lived without God. It was otherwise a decent life, but there was no room for Him in it. Suddenly, my cosy little world began to crumble.
I had lived with my husband and his parents for thirty years. I was preparing to take care of them when they grew old. We had spent so many years together that I had come to know their likes, dislikes and habits. Suddenly, my husband left me and filed for divorce - after thirty years of married life. They say that you cannot win love by force, so I let him go.
I loved my in-laws very much. I saw myself as their only hope. They had worked hard to have a roof of their head. They had built their house themselves, and it was difficult. My mother-in-law told me multiple times how fortunate they had been to have completed it. But their son divorced me, so I had to leave.
I moved in with my children. Soon after that, a car ran me over. That accident almost killed my hopes of ever becoming a nun. What monastery would need a disabled woman like me? My recovery took a long six years. I had to learn to walk again, like a baby. All that time, I did not stop praying before Saint Luke, and he came to my help. Finally, I was fit enough to return to work at the church stalls in one of Minsk's supermarkets. Living with my children was not easy. I could not help criticising them for the programmes they watched or the diets that they had. They were so upset that the thought of me coming home from work made them cringe.
Finally, when the tension became too much to bear, I went for a confession to the Convent. I found Father Andrey there. Earlier, he had offered me all kinds of obediences to help me find peace, but nothing seemed to work. This time, he just said,"Come join the Convent."
"When can I join," I asked.
"Tomorrow."
Finally, I made up my mind.
Something was telling me that I would do well here. At the end of my first day at the Convent, it occurred to me that I had finally come home.
My first seven years were full of unbelievable grace. It continued after my tonsure. I was successful at any task I was given. My coming to Saint Elisabeth Convent was a calling from God. My new name, Nadezhda, translates as hope. And it makes sense. I have new hope in my life and a new purpose.
Recorded by Nun Olga (Velikaya)
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