In the world, Andrey Ilyich Ogorodnikov was born on July 17, 1763, in Simbirsk, into a merchant family. From the age of 7, he began to act as a fool for Christ, taking upon himself the feat of asceticism and silence. In 1813, he was left without relatives and lived with his widowed sister. The landowner E.A. Milgunova built a house for him and appointed a lifelong maintenance.
Andrey was a parishioner of the Ascension Cathedral, where he partook of the Sacrament weekly. He could pray all night, standing by the walls of the church. All the alms he received, he distributed to the poor, was meek, and subdued his flesh, moving about in a run.
Possessing the gift of clairvoyance and healing, he calmed the possessed. His actions, although seeming strange, always led to good. He humbly and meekly endured slanders and mockeries, which caused confusion among his offenders.
He passed away on November 27, 1841, in Simbirsk, and was buried in the Simbirsk Pokrov Monastery. A magnificent chapel was erected at his grave. In 1991, a desecrated grave was discovered, and in 1998, his relics were found, leading to his canonization. In 2004, he was glorified in the ranks of saints of the Russian Orthodox Church.
