Today is the 36^th anniversary of falling asleep of Anna Vasilyevna Bobkova, the last blessed elder of Diveyevo.

 She foresaw that Fr. Nikolay Shevkov, a priest from Arzamas, would be the first to serve a litya in her memory. Not long before her death, she declared: “You will come to serve at my funeral!”  Then, a moment later, she remarked: “No, you won’t be able to…” On May 14, 1984, Prot. Nikolay, matushka Maria, and the church choir members were traveling from Arzamas towards Diveyevo on some business. While on the road, they learned that Anna Vasilyevna departed this life and immediately made a turn towards Vertyanovo onto Lesnaya Street. They came to see her lying in a coffin. Fr. Nikolay served first panikhida service for the newly departed maiden of God and a blessed elder Anna. The choir ended up being quite useful, too!

The weather was really warm that May. The departed nun lay in a small stuffy cell room without any sign of decay. Of course, the Psalter was read without ceasing! The mourners would arrive and later witness how “she would lay there with her face as light as snow. She looked as if she were in a deep sleep.”

Hegumen Anthony (Buravtsev) arrived for the funeral from Lithuania after undergoing surgery. The blessed elder used to tell about him: “The priest from Kruglovo will come and put me to rest!” Mother Anna used to call Hegumen Sabbas (Kocherygin) a “wolf of Sarov.” Fr. Sabbas returned to Diveyevo from his parish community near Cheboksary in the morning of May 17^th on the day of the funeral. He was notified about the blessed elder’s last request about him serving at her funeral. The funeral was held in the elder’s cell. The choir was headed by an experienced choir director from the town of Marganets. During the service, Fr. Sabbas made a mistake (as the previous night spent on the road traveling took its toll on him) and intoned as if during the liturgy: “and grant that always guarded by Your power…” The choir sang “Amen!” and concluded with the unexpected singing of the Cherubic Hymn.

From a small cell on 16, Lesnaya Street, there emerged a procession quite formidable for that time. For the first time in many years, the funeral procession was headed by the fully vested Frs Hegumens Sabbas and Anthony. Their participation in the procession required a permission notice from the local authorities, which was granted. The students of Moscow’s Theological Seminary who arrived for the funeral were carrying the coffin. Everyone has all of a sudden discovered a secret preserved safe within the confines of the elder’s cell. It spread and set everything alight. The residents of Diveyevo filled the streets with voices heard exclaiming: “We are baptized, too. We believe in God. Forgive us, o Lord!” Most of the locals could not care less about the blessed elder during her lifetime. On this day though, a lot of them attempted to approach her coffin with some of them heard in the crowd saying: “Mother Anna! Forgive us. Mother Anna, teach us how we should live our lives! We did not know you and would not let you get to your house… Mother Anna, forgive us!”

Arguably, blessed Anna received a far greater recognition after her death. Those who missed her funeral would visit Diveyevo to learn about her last days and funeral. Schema nun Margarita was known to say that Mother Anna was truly honored as a blessed elder of Diveyevo. Recalling her burial service, she would remark: “ Just think of it! They sang the Cherubic Hymn reserved usually for liturgy!” The last words spoken by the blessed elder were: “The Venerable one blessed me…” The bright ray of mystery shone for that single moment lighting her life only to be extinguished later.