Ark with a particle of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The relics of St. Nicholas will be placed in a silver ark

On May 21, 2017, the ark with part of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was delivered on a special flight from the Italian city of Bari to Moscow.

The shrine was accompanied by the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and Metropolitan Volokolamsk Hilarion, Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Office for Foreign Institutions, Bishop Anthony of Bogorodsk.

The Italian delegation included the Archbishop of Bari Bitonto, Monsignor Francesco Cacucci, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Monsignor Andrea Palmieri, the Secretary of the Archbishop, Monsignor A. Romita, the Prior of the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, Ciro Capotosto, and the employee of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Priest Iakinthos Destivelle. , as well as the Governor of Apulia Michele Emiliano, the Mayor of Bari Antonio de Caro, the Director of the Department of Forensic Medicine of the University of Bari, Professor Francesco Introna.

Among the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the rector met the shrine at Vnukovo airport temple complex in honor of the icon Mother of God"The Queen of All" and the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth in Shcherbinka, Archpriest Alexander Balgley and Deacon Mikhail Emelyanov.

The ark with the holy relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was solemnly carried through the ranks of the honor guard company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

The first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for Moscow, Metropolitan Arseny of Istra, performed a prayer service to St. Nicholas at the plane's ramp and an akathist in the airport building.

Concelebrating with His Eminence was the Deputy of Andreevsky stauropegic monastery Bishop of Dmitrov Theophylact, abbot of the Novospassky stauropegial monastery, first deputy administrator of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop of the Resurrection Savva, dean of Mikhailovsky church district Moscow, Archpriest Georgy Studenov, Dean of the St. George Church District of Moscow, Archpriest Seraphim Nedosekin, clergy of Moscow.

In a brief interview with media representatives, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said:

“This event is unprecedented in its significance for our Church. It was the Russian Church, back in the 11th century, several years after the relics of St. Nicholas were transported from Myra Lycia to Bari, that established a holiday in honor of this event. And every time the summer holiday of St. Nicholas, May 22, comes, we hear the words during the service: “The day of bright celebration has arrived, the city of Barsky rejoices, and with it the whole universe rejoices.” That is, the day of bright celebration has come, the city of Bari rejoices, and the whole universe rejoices with it.

And today the entire Russian Orthodox Church rejoices along with the Italian city of Bari, because St. Nicholas is visiting the country where the people honor and love him. In Moscow and other Russian cities, many churches are dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Saint Nicholas is the saint who answers prayers especially quickly, and many people have learned from their own experience that whatever you ask him for, he fulfills all requests. It is because of this that people venerate St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.”

From the airport, the ark with the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was delivered to the cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where evening service headed His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and All Rus' Kirill.

The bringing of part of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, stored in the Papal Basilica of Bari (Italy), to the Russian Orthodox Church is a unique event for all 930 years of the presence of the holy relics in Bari, during which they never left the city. The agreement on this unprecedented act was reached following the historical meeting of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' with Pope Francis on February 12, 2016.

Saint Nicholas is one of the most revered saints not only in Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, but in everything Christendom. Every year hundreds of believers of the Moscow Patriarchate arrive in Bari to worship honest relics great saint of God. However, for most Orthodox in Russia such long-distance pilgrimages are difficult to implement. Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' hope that prayer at the miraculous relics of the Saint will serve to strengthen faith in the hearts of people.

From May 22 to July 12, the relics of St. Nicholas will be available for veneration by believers in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

More than 18 thousand believers were able to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the first day of the pilgrimage alone. Or rather, to the ark in which they were brought. This meter-long jewelry sarcophagus weighing more than 50 kilograms was made of silver and plated with gold at the Russian art production enterprise Orthodox Church"Sofrino". Liquid wax with incense is poured inside. And in the depression there is only one bone - the ninth left rib of the saint.

ON THE TOPIC

It is impossible to bring the entire remains of St. Nicholas the Pleasant anywhere - in the crypt of the Italian city of Bari they rest below sea level, under three heavy stone blocks that were laid back in 1087 after the saint was transferred from the city of Myra in Lycia. Between these plates there are small holes – 6 centimeters in diameter. In ordinary times, myrrh is collected through them.

Yes, yes, the relics of Nicholas of Myra are still streaming myrrh to this day, although more than one and a half thousand years have passed since his death. Once a year in May, a special recess under the sarcophagus is opened and the precious myrrh is scooped out from there. It is added to holy water and distributed to all believers hoping for healing.

And in order to deliver part of the saint to Russia, the director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, professor at the University of Bari, Francesco Introna, lowered medical equipment and a miniature video camera into these holes. As a result, the left ninth rib of St. Nicholas was taken. Believers noted the symbolism of the choice of the rib located on the side of the heart, which, according to contemporaries, burned with love for people.

After the bone was separated, it was sent to the laboratory. There the rib was dried in a special way. And only after that it was placed in the ark.

The bringing of the only bone of St. Nicholas the Pleasant is often spoken of as an event that took place for the first time in almost a thousand years. But there is a grain of deceit here - particles of the biological tissue of the recognized archbishop are constantly stored in many churches and monasteries, where you can venerate them without any queues. For example, parts of the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker are found in the St. Danilovsky and Nikolo-Ugreshsky monasteries, the Church of St. Nicholas in Kotelniki, the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands in Setun and the Church of the Epiphany in Khimki, the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at Tretyakov Gallery, the Church of All Saints on Kulishki, the Church of the Archangel Michael in Troparevo and the Church of St. Nicholas on Three Hills.

A fair question may arise: how does the church feel about the fact that the body of a saint is cut into pieces and transferred to different parishes? The tradition of scattering relics, or, in other words, dividing the remains of saints into particles, was founded in early Byzantium. Here is what the theologian John Chrysostom wrote about this: “Holy relics are inexhaustible treasures and are incomparably higher than earthly treasures precisely because they are divided into many parts and are reduced through division; and those from division into parts not only do not decrease, but are even more their wealth: such is the property of spiritual things that through giving they increase and through division they multiply."

The relics that scientists have access to can tell a lot. For example, using the radiocarbon method it is possible to determine the age of the deceased and establish the date of death. Any organic matter contains carbon, which, from the moment of death of a biological being, begins to decay at a certain speed - the so-called half-life. Scientists measure the amount of carbon that is left in the object being studied and then compare this data with how much there should have been originally.

In the case of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, this is especially true, because information about the date of his death varies greatly. But whether scientists will be allowed to examine the bone removed from the tomb is a big question.

On Friday, July 28, the ark with a particle of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is solemnly escorted from St. Petersburg. From ten in the morning a patriarchal service is held in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Before it began, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' himself arrived at the temple, accompanied by security. He was met by the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Vyacheslav Makarov, and the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko.

And at two o’clock in the afternoon the final prayer service will begin, after which the ark with the relics of one of the most revered Christian saints will begin procession will be escorted to the gate church and taken to Pulkovo airport. And from there the shrine will return back to Italy, to the city of Bari.

It is noted that anyone can come to the service. Entrance to the temple will be limited only if it is overcrowded.

Let us remind you that the ark with a particle of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker arrived in St. Petersburg on July 13 from Moscow, and to the capital from the Papal Basilica in the Italian city of Bari. In two weeks, more than half a million people worshiped the shrine in the city on the Neva. And not only from St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, but also from neighboring countries.

Due to the huge flow of believers on the night of July 26-27, access to the shrine was open even at night. As a result, more than 46 thousand people visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral in one day. In total, during the stay of the relics in Russia, more than 2 million 300 thousand believers worshiped them.

To venerate the relics of the saint, believers had to stand in a regular line for three to eight hours - depending on your luck. In social, the waiting time was several times less.

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More than half a million people venerated the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in St. Petersburg

A piece of the left rib, taken directly opposite the heart of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, was delivered to Russia on May 21. Tomorrow, July 28, the shrine will leave the country. The ark with the relics visited two capitals - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. )

Fifth day of the Wonderworker in St. Petersburg: maximum “standing” in line – 3 hours 20 minutes

Pilgrims spend from half an hour to three hours in line. To separate the flows and organize gateways, three kilometers of metal barriers were erected. One and a half kilometers of fencing, fifteen temporary posts, 53 road signs, covered eight characters ()

After venerating the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a St. Petersburg resident proposed to his girlfriend

On the first day of the stay of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in St. Petersburg, something happened right in the courtyard of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. small miracle. Under the cameras of Channel One TV journalists, one of the pilgrims proposed his hand and heart to his beloved. The couple just venerated the shrine and left the temple into the courtyard ()

Dear brothers and sisters!
To the temple in honor righteous Alexy man of God r.p. An ark with a particle of the relics of the saint and wonderworker of Christ Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, will be delivered to Moshkovo.
The relics will remain in our church from October 12 to 14, 2018.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker: life

He was born in the city of Patara, Lycian region (on the southern coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula), and was the only son of pious parents Theophanes and Nonna, who vowed to dedicate him to God. The fruit of long prayers to the Lord of childless parents, the baby Nicholas from the day of his birth showed people the light of his future glory as a great wonderworker. His mother, Nonna, was immediately healed of her illness after giving birth. The newborn baby, still in the baptismal font, stood on his feet for three hours, unsupported by anyone, giving honor to Holy Trinity. Saint Nicholas in infancy began a life of fasting, took his mother’s milk on Wednesdays and Fridays, only once, after evening prayers parents.

From childhood, Nikolai excelled in the study of Divine Scripture; During the day he did not leave the temple, and at night he prayed and read books, creating within himself a worthy dwelling of the Holy Spirit. His uncle, Bishop Nicholas of Patara, rejoicing at the spiritual success and high piety of his nephew, made him a reader, and then elevated Nicholas to the rank of priest, making him his assistant and instructing him to speak instructions to the flock. While serving the Lord, the young man was burning in spirit, and in his experience in matters of faith he was like an old man, which aroused the surprise and deep respect of the believers.

Constantly working and being awake, being in unceasing prayer, Presbyter Nicholas showed great mercy to his flock, coming to the aid of the suffering, and distributed all his property to the poor. Having learned about the bitter need and poverty of one previously rich resident of his city, Saint Nicholas saved him from great sin. Having three adult daughters, the desperate father planned to give them over to fornication to save them from hunger. The saint, grieving for the dying sinner, secretly threw three bags of gold out his window at night and thereby saved the family from fall and spiritual death. When giving alms, Saint Nicholas always tried to do it secretly and hide his good deeds.

Going to worship the holy places in Jerusalem, the Bishop of Patara entrusted the management of the flock to Saint Nicholas, who carried out obedience with care and love. When the bishop returned, he, in turn, asked for a blessing to travel to the Holy Land. On the way, the saint predicted an approaching storm that threatened to sink the ship, for he saw the devil himself entering the ship. At the request of desperate travelers, he pacified the sea waves with his prayer. Through his prayer, one ship's sailor, who fell from the mast and fell to his death, was restored to health.

Having reached ancient city Jerusalem, Saint Nicholas, having ascended to Golgotha, thanked the Savior of the human race and walked around all the holy places, worshiping and praying. At night on Mount Zion, the locked doors of the church opened by themselves in front of the great pilgrim who came. Having visited the shrines associated with the earthly ministry of the Son of God, Saint Nicholas decided to retire into the desert, but was stopped by a Divine voice, exhorting him to return to his homeland.

Returning to Lycia, the saint, striving for a silent life, entered the brotherhood of the monastery called Holy Zion. However, the Lord again announced a different path awaiting him: “Nicholas, this is not the field in which you must bear the fruit I expect; but turn and go into the world, and may My Name be glorified in you.” In a vision, the Lord gave him the Gospel in an expensive package, and Holy Mother of God- omophorion.

Nicholas the Wonderworker
Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra of Lycia, wonderworker

And indeed, after the death of Archbishop John, he was elected Bishop of Myra in Lycia after one of the bishops of the Council, which was deciding the issue of electing a new archbishop, was shown in a vision the chosen one of God - Saint Nicholas. Called to shepherd the Church of God in the rank of bishop, Saint Nicholas remained the same great ascetic, showing to his flock the image of meekness, gentleness and love for people.

This was especially dear to the Lycian Church during the persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Bishop Nicholas, imprisoned along with other Christians, supported them and exhorted them to firmly endure the bonds, torture and torment. The Lord preserved him unharmed. Upon the accession of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, Saint Nicholas was returned to his flock, who joyfully met their mentor and intercessor.

Despite his great meekness of spirit and purity of heart, Saint Nicholas was a zealous and daring warrior of the Church of Christ. Fighting against the spirits of evil, the saint went around the pagan temples and temples in the city of Myra itself and its environs, crushing idols and turning the temples to dust. In 325 Saint Nicholas was a participant in I Ecumenical Council, who accepted the Nicene Creed, and took up arms with Saints Sylvester, Pope of Rome, Alexander of Alexandria, Spyridon of Trimythus and others from the 318 holy fathers of the Council against the heretic Arius.

Nicholas the Wonderworker
In the heat of denunciation, Saint Nicholas, burning with zeal for the Lord, even strangled the false teacher, for which he was deprived of his holy omophorion and put into custody. However, it was revealed to several holy fathers in a vision that the Lord Himself and the Mother of God ordained the saint as a bishop, giving him the Gospel and an omophorion. The Fathers of the Council, realizing that the boldness of the saint was pleasing to God, glorified the Lord, and restored His holy saint to the rank of hierarch. Returning to his diocese, the saint brought her peace and blessing, sowing the word of Truth, cutting off wrong-thinking and vain wisdom at the very root, denouncing inveterate heretics and healing those who had fallen and deviated through ignorance. He was truly the light of the world and the salt of the earth, for his life was light and his word was dissolved with the salt of wisdom.

During his lifetime the saint performed many miracles. Of these, the greatest fame was gained by the saint for his deliverance from the death of three husbands, unjustly condemned by the self-interested mayor. The saint boldly approached the executioner and held his sword, which was already raised above the heads of the condemned. The mayor, convicted by Saint Nicholas of untruth, repented and asked him for forgiveness. Three military leaders sent by Emperor Constantine to Phrygia were present. They did not yet suspect that they would soon also have to seek the intercession of St. Nicholas, since they had been undeservedly slandered before the emperor and doomed to death.

Appearing in a dream to a saint Equal to the Apostles Constantine, Saint Nicholas called on him to release the military leaders unjustly condemned to death, who, while in prison, prayerfully called on the saint for help. He performed many other miracles, laboring in his ministry for many years. Through the prayers of the saint, the city of Myra was saved from severe famine. Appearing in a dream to an Italian merchant and leaving him three gold coins as a pledge, which he found in his hand, waking up the next morning, he asked him to sail to Myra and sell the grain there. More than once the saint saved those drowning in the sea, and brought them out of captivity and imprisonment in dungeons.

Having reached a very old age, Saint Nicholas peacefully departed to the Lord († 345-351). His honest relics were kept incorrupt in the local cathedral church and exuded healing myrrh, from which many received healings. In 1087, his relics were transferred to the Italian city of Bari, where they rest to this day (May 22, BC, May 9, SS).

The name of the great saint of God, Saint and Wonderworker Nicholas, a quick helper and man of prayer for all who flock to him, has become glorified in all corners of the earth, in many countries and peoples. In Rus', many cathedrals, monasteries and churches are dedicated to his holy name. There is, perhaps, not a single city without St. Nicholas Church.

In the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Kiev prince Askold, the first Russian Christian prince († 882), was baptized by the holy Patriarch Photius in 866. Over the grave of Askold, Saint Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles (July 11) erected the first church of St. Nicholas in the Russian Church in Kyiv. The main cathedrals were dedicated to St. Nicholas in Izborsk, Ostrov, Mozhaisk, Zaraysk. In Novgorod the Great, one of the main churches of the city is the St. Nicholas Church (XII), which later became a cathedral.

There are famous and revered St. Nicholas churches and monasteries in Kyiv, Smolensk, Pskov, Toropets, Galich, Arkhangelsk, Veliky Ustyug, and Tobolsk. Moscow was famous for several dozen churches dedicated to the saint; three Nikolsky monasteries were located in the Moscow diocese: Nikolo-Grechesky (Old) - in Kitai-Gorod, Nikolo-Perervinsky and Nikolo-Ugreshsky. One of the main towers of the Moscow Kremlin is called Nikolskaya.

Most often, churches to the saint were erected in trading areas by Russian merchants, sailors and explorers, who revered the wonderworker Nicholas as the patron saint of all travelers on earth and at sea. Sometimes they were popularly called “Nikola the Wet.” Many rural churches in Rus' are dedicated to the wonderworker Nicholas, the merciful representative before the Lord of all people in their labors, sacredly revered by the peasants. And Saint Nicholas does not abandon the Russian land with his intercession. Ancient Kyiv preserves the memory of the miracle of the saint’s rescue of a drowned baby. Great miracle worker, having heard the mournful prayers of the parents who had lost their only heir, at night he took the baby out of the water, revived him and laid him on the choir of the Church of St. Sophia in front of his miraculously. Here the rescued baby was found in the morning by happy parents, who glorified St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with the multitude of people.

Many miraculous icons Saint Nicholas appeared in Russia and came from other countries. This is an ancient Byzantine half-length image of the saint (XII), brought to Moscow from Novgorod, and a huge icon painted in the 13th century by a Novgorod master.

Two images of the miracle worker are especially common in the Russian Church: St. Nicholas of Zaraisk - full-length, with a blessing right hand and the Gospel (this image was brought to Ryazan in 1225 by the Byzantine princess Eupraxia, who became the wife of the Ryazan prince Theodore and died in 1237 with her husband and baby - son during the invasion of Batu), and St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk - also in height, with a sword in right hand and the city on the left - in memory miraculous salvation, through the prayers of the saint, the city of Mozhaisk from enemy attack. It is impossible to list all the blessed icons of St. Nicholas. Every Russian city, every temple is blessed with such an icon through the prayers of the saint.

For two weeks, the shrine will be in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Most people from different regions of Russia came to the monastery early in the morning. On the first day, thousands of people were able to venerate the relics.

People took their seats while it was still dark. Someone calculated: every two seconds a new pilgrim stood in line. By evening the line stretched for four kilometers!

“We had to go back to the Baltics by bus, so we spent the whole night here. It’s not hard, we’ve been waiting for 900 years, we’ll wait another night,” says the pilgrim. -

The ark with the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker arrived at Pulkovo airport early in the morning. An honorary cortege took him to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where bell ringing a religious procession took place.

The relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker have been kept in Italian city Bari and never left the basilica, specially built for the shrine.

An exception was made for Russia. In May in a gilded ark with an icon of the Saint Catholic priests They enclosed a piece of the relics and sent them to Moscow. Until July 12, they were in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and, according to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, in 53 days almost two million people came to worship them.

According to the most conservative estimates, several thousand people managed to venerate the shrine on the first day in St. Petersburg. The numbers are approximate because the temple is still open. But even on the way out, people are in no hurry to leave. In the courtyard of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra they put up a large temple icon of St. Nicholas, people come up to it, light candles, and write notes.

For believers, standing in line is a kind of spiritual test.

“And every person, of course, has a desire to visit the place where he rests his relics in the city of Bari. But not every person has such an opportunity. And therefore, there is a great opportunity here in St. Petersburg to go through this prayerful standing,” says the resident of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Hieromonk Pimen Shevchenko.

Each pilgrim, of course, has his own innermost desires, but most prayers are similar.

“Well, of course, for all of Russia, for the country with such roots to do well. And in the family, of course, in the family,” says the pilgrim.

“Health, peace, all the best to the children!” - says the woman.

“I would like to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas and thank him for his prayers, for doing everything, for the miracles he performed for people, and to ask for peace in Ukraine,” says a pilgrim from Ukraine.

When the ark was brought into the monastery, the sun suddenly shone, although it was cloudy in the morning. Believers say it is no coincidence. Another very touching event occurred after the young couple touched the shrine. The young man proposed to the girl: “Nicholas the Wonderworker helps people so quickly when they ask sincerely, from the heart, and come to him. You can feel it. By the way, in this regard, I want to make a proposal to my chosen one: Olyushka, will you marry me? Be my wife, please."

In anticipation of the influx of pilgrims to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, special passages were organized: two streets were temporarily made pedestrian. These days the metro promises to work an hour longer. A so-called social queue has been organized for disabled people and parents with children under two years of age. Everyone will be provided with drinking water and hot tea.

“The queue is absolutely calm, we don’t get tired. So be in good spirits. Food, toilets, everything is fine,” says the pilgrim.

For the next two weeks, the relics will be available for veneration in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. And on July 28, after the solemn service, they will return from St. Petersburg to Italy.