Reverend Seraphim of Sarov said that there are three paths of salvation that should not be taken without a special calling from above: seclusion, abbotship and foolishness. Emphasizing the uniqueness and complexity of the feat of foolishness, the great elder said that “there are few true blessed ones and Christ for the sake of holy fools; most of them are wandering around Russia, spontaneously taking upon themselves this great and difficult feat, vicious people led by the enemy of humanity. But the true blessed ones are recognized by the purity and holiness of their gaze, inexplicable in words, penetrating into the heart of a person, by the way they live and especially by the inimitability of speech, which is the same for everyone...” Indeed, foolishness for Christ’s sake is one of the rarest and most complex types of Christian asceticism. This feat was taken upon by special blessing by the zealots of piety, God's chosen ones, whose entire activity of the spirit was focused only on crucifying their flesh with passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24), rising above their sensuality, subduing the highest spiritual law all the impulses of a nature damaged by sin, so that, to the best of one’s ability, gradually growing in spirit, one can live entirely in God and for God. The holy fools, or blessed ones, as they are also called, followed the path of extreme self-denial. Posing themselves as people devoid of common sense, renouncing the generally accepted rules and customs of this world, these imaginary madmen performed the greatest feats: like the ancient prophets, they exposed all untruths in people, regardless of their rank and position in society, returned those who were perishing to the path of truth and goodness, revealed the innermost secrets of the human heart, healed physical and more spiritual ailments, prophesied about events affecting not only the lives of individual people, but also entire states, and sometimes the whole world. Source: .org/forum/viewtopic.php?tu003d3941688 Contents: On the foolishness of Christ for the sake of 3 The Life of the Holy Blessed Pelagia of Diveyevo 9 Childhood, marriage and life in the world 11 Moving to the Diveyevo monastery and first years of life in it 18War for truth during the unrest in the Diveyevo monastery in 1861 36Life of the blessed one after the establishment of order in the monastery 45Relations with cell attendants 51Elderhood 53Caring for the monastery 56Pelagia Ivanovna and other blessed ones 61On the communion of the Holy Mysteries 64Unusual visits 67Last days of life and death 68After combing 73Other evidence and information about the grace-filled gifts of Blessed Pelagia Ivanovna 80Appearances of the Blessed to the Diveyevo sisters after her death 94Veneration of Blessed Pelagia Ivanovna after death 96The Life of Saint Blessed Paraskeva of Diveyevo 101The Life of Saint Blessed Maria of Diveyevo 135Glorification in the ranks of saints and the discovery of the holy relics of the Diveyevo Blesseds 15 9Discovery of the holy relics of Blessed Maria Diveyevo 161Discovery of the holy relics of Blessed Pelagia and Paraskeva Diveevsky 164Literature 168