Mary of Ustyug

Holy Righteous Mary of Ustyug was the wife of the righteous John, who had earlier been called Buga, a pagan Tatar, the baskak sent by Batu to Great Ustyug to collect the tribute for the khan. He was greedy and insolent, and having seen Mary, the daughter of a respected citizen, took her by force as a concubine, despite the tears and gifts of her parents. The people of Ustyug, who had borne his robberies until then, rose up and spoke of killing him, for in 1262 baskaks had already been killed at Rostov, Suzdal and Vladimir. To escape danger, Buga followed Mary's advice, received Baptism with the name John, after the holy Martyr John the Warrior, and married her in a Christian marriage.

The fruit of a faith begun in fear

John was baptized only from fear of death, but Mary's pure life, her counsels and stories touched his heart, and he came to love the Orthodox faith. He became an exemplary Christian and won the love of the townspeople. Once, hunting with a falcon, he fell asleep and saw in a dream a majestic man who commanded him to build a church of the Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner. Mary explained who John the Baptist was and advised him to carry out the command. The church was built, and Falcon Hill became John's Hill. The two adorned it richly.

Veneration

At Ustyug there then laboured the Venerable Cyprian, founder of the Archangel monastery, whom John admired, and the fool for Christ Procopius, who had also received the Orthodox faith as an adult and often came into their house to strengthen them. The couple, leading a pure and temperate life, won already in life the name of righteous ones. They departed to the Lord in old age and were buried at the city church of the Ascension. Later their grave came inside a new church, a shrine was made over it and a service was composed for them; after many rebuildings only their image in a niche on the wall remained. The old handwritten calendars call them the "chiefs" of ancient Ustyug.

They are commemorated on the movable day around 11 July, in the new style, in the Synaxis of the Saints of Vologda.