The cult of "Saint Slavik", or How a simple schoolboy was almost canonized

Vyacheslav Krasheninnikov is treated differently. Someone believes that he is a saint and a prophet, and someone is sure that his glorification was an attempt to create another false cult. There is also an opinion that the deceased child was simply used to organize a profitable business related to religion. Who is this boy really and why did such a stir arise around him after his death?

Vyacheslav Krasheninnikov was born in the city of Yurga, Kemerovo region on March 22, 1982. His father was a soldier, and his mother was a housewife. Slavik became the second child in the family, he had an older brother Konstantin. The Krasheninnikovs often moved, which was an integral part of the life of a military family. Slavik spent the last few years of his short life in the city of Chebarkul, in the Chelyabinsk region.

Now some claim that Krasheninnikov was an unusual child. But at the high school where he studied, none of the teachers can remember anything extraordinary. Slavik died on the morning of March 17, 1993 at his home from leukemia. The funeral of a 10-year-old child went unnoticed. Relatives, family friends and neighbors saw him off on his last journey. But soon they started talking about Krasheninnikov, first in Chebarkul, and then far beyond its borders.

It all started with the stories of his mother, Valentina Afanasyevna. The woman began to talk about the unusual abilities and posthumous phenomena he had shown during his lifetime. She claimed that her son worked miracles and made prophetic predictions. There were a lot of them, and the woman regularly recalled more and more new moments.

She also quoted the words allegedly said by Slavik during his lifetime:

And Valentina Krasheninnikova also said that the fate of the world was predetermined and that her son told her that God would soon descend to earth. Unusual statements often featured extraterrestrials who were identified with demons. The woman spoke with fervor and conviction, carrying her thoughts to the masses. She began to be invited to radio and television, she was interviewed by metropolitan journalists.

Then pilgrims came to Slavik's grave in Chebarkul cemetery. The resting place of the prophet was ennobled by installing a closed pavilion around the monument. Icons, lamps and candles appeared inside, which were brought by people from all over Russia. There are also images of Slavik himself among the icons. On one of them he holds a cross in his hands, like a martyr, although his death was not violent.

Everything that is around the grave is considered miraculous and healing. Pilgrims even collect snow and earth, believing that they will help them. You can also buy small marble stones here. They are brought from a nearby quarry by Slavik's father. They are supposed to be filled with water, which then becomes curative. Interest in marble is fueled by Valentina Krasheninnikova. She says that Slavik assured her that evil spirits are afraid of marble.

But not everyone believes in the sanctity of the child. Archpriest Dimitri from the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Chebarkul, is sure that it's all about the thirst for profit.

There was also an opposite opinion. The rector of the Church in the name of Saints Joachim and Anna in the village of Nosovskoye, Archpriest Peter Borodulin, said that he believes in the holiness of Vyacheslav Krasheninnikov. Such ferment in spiritual circles could not remain without the attention of the church leadership. In 2007, a commission to expose the cult began its work. It was headed by Metropolitan Job of Chelyabinsk and Zlatoust himself. By this time, they were openly talking about the canonization of the deceased boy and letters with such a request came by the hundreds.

The missionary department of the Chelyabinsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has officially stated that the teaching of Valentina Krasheninnikova, headed by her late son, has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. It was not difficult to draw such a conclusion, because the statements attributed to Slavik were contrary to Christian teaching. The Commission recognized that Vyacheslav's "prophecies" are just a retelling of the plots of popular Hollywood films about aliens.

In 2010, literature somehow related to the "holy Slavik" was banned from being sold through the church book network. Of course, the canonization was also refused. Despite this, pilgrims still come to the grave of the child and ask him for healing and signs. But the cult of Vyacheslav Krasheninnikov is far from the strangest one that exists today. No less amazing things are professed by the Raelites, whose religion is connected with space and alien intelligence.