the holy new martyrs of eastern russia - Coptic Orthodox teaching

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came to the house of a woman who believed that she was a real nun, and not
an artist. And so they later called her 'artist'...
"'Oh matushka, matushka!' she sighed, calling the simple laywoman
'matushka' as if in forgetfulness.
"'The Lord be with you, but how am I 'matushka'?
"'Oh, forgive me, dear sister, I said that out of habit. You know, I'm always
among nuns, and I took you for a matushka... But perhaps you will be a nun!'
"Of course, such a device might appear to be the best proof that she was a
true nun. The more so since she always acted and spoke in a monastic way.
On sitting down to eat lunch or supper, she read the prayers in a monastic
way. After the meal and prayers she thanked the mistress of the house with a
deep bow and prayed for the repose of her parents' souls. She particularly
won over the mistress with her rapid prostrations, which showed that the
'nun' did many prostrations secretly.
"'Oh, ma... - forgive me, sister, what kind of life are we living now! I don't
want to live any longer. These are the last times! Faith has diminished in
people. You can no longer find a monk to ask his advice on how to live. But
the Lord has led me to you, may Christ save you. You don't know where else
to go. You might land up with some OGPU agents!'
"'But, by the mercy of God, there are still some lamps of God left!'
"'What are you saying?! I have gone round almost half Russia, and there's
no-one!'
"'There is! I tell you that there is...'
"'Where, dear one! For Christ's sake, tell me!'
"'Only don't tell anyone!'
"'What are you saying? How could I?!'
"And so in this cunning way the agent found out the address. The
laywoman told her everything, only she couldn't remember the number of the
house:
"'It doesn't matter, I'll explain it to you... It's the third, or maybe the fourth
house from the corner. There's a high gate covered with tin-plate. . As you go
in, you'll see a narrow path to the corner of the house. Turn left past the
corner. Knock three times on the first window past the turn. And ask...'
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