February 9 is the day of the repose of Schema nun Margarita (Lakhtionova) who took the vows of monasticism in the “old” Diveyevo monastery at the beginning of the 20^th century. She is the only nun who lived to see the restoration of the monastic life in Diveyevo. Through the long years of godlessness, the living hell of the NKVD prison camps, persecution and wanderings, she, in a true ascetic spirit of humility, delivered and passed on the living memory and true atmosphere of the old “pre-revolutionary” Diveyevo monasticism to a new generation of nuns.

Schema nun Margarita’s day of repose is traditionally marked with prayers of the commemoration of the dead at Divine Liturgy. Since February 9 fell on a Sunday this year and no such services are allowed on that day, matushka Margarita was prayerfully remembered on Saturday of February 8. The memorial parastas service, Divine Liturgy with prayers for the dead at the proskomedia, and panikhida were served at the Transfiguration Cathedral followed by the litya remembrance service at the matushka Margarita’s gravesite.