Eudokia Shikova, known as Blessed Dunia, was born on February 11/24, 1856, in the village of Puzo (now Suvorovo) to peasant parents Alexander and Alexandra Shikov. Both were deeply devout, but her mother died early, and her father remarried. Dunia’s stepmother was of a different spirit and poisoned her father with arsenic. Raised by her aunt and uncle, who was a churchwarden, Dunia grew up in a pious household that prayed devoutly both in church and at home.
From a young age, she was deeply religious, and zealous for God, frequently visiting holy places, and always singing. She exhibited signs of holy foolishness early on, always wearing a warm shawl and coat, never revealing her face.
Dunia had a close friend named Maria, with whom she went everywhere inseparably. Their relatives would beat them, and people on the street would throw stones at them. After Maria passed away, Dunia endured even more stone-throwing. She was frail and sickly and eventually became bedridden in her twenties due to severe illness. Young women from the village would visit and care for her.
Icon of the Martyr Uedokia Shikova
Eudokia had five disciples. Three of them suffered martyrdom alongside her, while the fourth, Natasha, was sent home by Blessed Dunia a few days before her martyrdom — a testament to the saint’s great spiritual foresight. The fifth disciple, Pelagia (Pola), was with Dunia during her arrest but was spared by God to witness and testify about the lives and sufferings of the martyrs.
The life of Blessed Eudokia is astonishing, akin to the feats of ancient ascetics. Much of it seems incredible for our times. She instructed her disciples in the same spirit, bearing the yoke of holy foolishness for Christ’s sake. She wore chains as a form of asceticism. Even during her lifetime, God granted her the gifts of far-sightedness and healing.
Dunia loved to sing church hymns with her disciples and visitors. They sang stichera, troparia, and kontakia dedicated to the Mother of God and the saints. Dunia held the Iveron Icon of the Theotokos in high esteem and observed the Akathist to this icon every Tuesday without fail. They often sang the troparion “From Your Holy Icon.” Dunia instructed those visiting her grave to sing this troparion three times. She foresaw her own death and the torments she would endure.
The Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
After their arrest, Dunia was continuously beaten, dragged by her hair, and whipped. The godless authorities arrived at six in the evening and beat her in her cell until ten at night, then continued to beat her throughout the night in turns, whipping and trampling her underfoot until morning. No one was allowed near her. The icons were trampled underfoot as well. The beating continued throughout the next day. However, on the following morning, a kind soldier refrained from beating her. She asked him to bring a priest so she could partake in the Holy Mysteries.
The priest secured a permit, and just two hours before their martyrdom, he heard Dunia’s confession and administered Holy Communion to her and her disciples. Shortly after, their tormentors led them to their execution. Witnesses recounted their faces shone with such radiant beauty that it was almost unbearable to look at them. They all carried prayer ropes as they walked. Facing the church, they offered a prayer, only to be beaten again. At that moment, an unbeliever named Ivan Anisimov saw a white dove perched on their shoulders. Wherever the soldiers struck, the dove would settle, and the blows would land upon it. Ivan was so moved by this sight that he declared, “I would give my last cow to save them from being killed.”
Three men — Peter, Ivan, and Macarius — tried to intervene on their behalf and were mercilessly whipped for their efforts. Dunia, witnessing this, remarked, “Look, Macarius’s sins are falling away like leaves in a bathhouse as they beat him for my sake.” Peter Karasev later said that he felt no pain when the soldiers beat him for Dunia.
One woman saw four pillars of light over Dunia’s cell; two merged while the remaining two stood separate.
Soldiers took them to the execution site, where a grave had been prepared. They seated them by crosses — Eudokia and one Daria by one cross, the other Daria by another, and Maria by yet another cross. Then the soldiers began the execution. One Tatar soldier refused to shoot, so another took his place. Dunia was the first to be killed. As she died, many witnesses saw what appeared to be a chalice or a prosphora rising into the sky. One woman saw Dunia walking through the air above her cell, blessing the place with the sign of the cross and saying, “It’s a pity that only one gold remains here, but let it stay.” Maria was not immediately killed by gunfire and was subsequently bayoneted. They buried them without coffins. The soldiers intended to throw their bodies into the grave, but one man jumped in to receive their bodies and covered their faces with handkerchiefs.
Icons of the Martyrs Daria Timagina and Daria Ulybina
Their martyrdom occurred on August 5/18, 1919. That day, all believers sensed a strong fragrance emanating from their graves. Soldiers were ordered to guard the site to prevent a priest from performing funeral rites. Afterwards, people reported seeing a burning candle at the grave and observed the sun dancing above Dunia’s cell shortly after the execution. Blessed Maria Ivanovna of Diveyevo urged, “Visit Dunia’s grave often; there, angels sing unceasingly.” Once, when a memorial service was to be held at the martyrs’ grave, a woman arrived early and saw a deacon in vestments censing and serving the memorial. But as she approached, he vanished, and later the parish deacon arrived with others for the service.
Numerous testimonies attest to the sanctity of Martyr Eudokia. Many miracles have occurred at the martyrs’ gravesite. Following their glorification, the relics of Blessed Eudokia and her disciples Daria, Daria, and Maria were exhumed and rest in the Dormition Church in Suvorovo (formerly Puzo). Divine grace continues to pour abundantly upon all who venerate these holy relics with reverence and faith.
Photo 1: The Dormition Church in Suvorovo (formerly Puzo)
Photo 2: Reliquary with the holy relics of Puzo village martyrs
Photo 3: Personal belongings of the martyr Eudokia
Holy Martyrs Eudokia, Daria, Daria, and Maria, pray to God for us!
