The venerable martyrs of Diveyevo, holy saints Pelagia and Martha (Testov) were born in Mordovia, the Moksha village of Arga, Atiuryevsky district. Arga used to be surrounded by swamps deep inside the woods on the bank of the river of the same name. Arga means “rapids” in Moksha language. These days, it can be reached over a well-built road, but despite being road-accessible, it still suffers from depopulation. Therefore, the sisters of Diveyevo were happy to receive an invitation to visit Arga, because the village is currently mostly populated by the elderly. They preserve their national heritage, so that their visitors can still learn what life was like at the time the saints Pelagia and Martha were growing up there.

A “landing party” consisting of nuns who arrived from the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery was greeted upon their arrival to Arga with the traditional bread and salt. The monastics also came well prepared: they greeted their hosts in the Moksha language. The local residents donned brightly colored national clothing and jewelry, as is customary during ceremonial occasions and served a meal that included national dishes, such as fluffy and delicious flatbread made from semolina. During the meal, they sang the unusually beautiful, tuneful folk songs that intricately connect the visions of nature with the lives of the characters, their concerns and worries. As is customary with the Moksha people, “very yuvadi,” or a song leader, began by singing loudly that gave amazing authenticity to the singing, making it sound as if everything was taking place at the times when the holy Testov sisters still lived here.

Besides, the last name of Testov is typical for Arga, but sadly the locals couldn’t locate the origins of the family of Pelagia and Martha. We know that the Testov sisters arrived in the monastery four years apart and the younger Pelagia was the first to enter Diveyevo. However, a local tradition has it that they held hands as they were both going away to the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery.

The sisters and their hosts walked in the village observing its so-called Lower and Upper Ends, the shrub-lined River Arga, and the School Street. They tried to guess where was the house of Timothy Testov and his daughters and everyone consented it was most likely somewhere on the Upper End.

We prayed to the Queen of Heaven, all the saints of Diveyevo and, of course, the martyrs Pelagia and Martha.