“This historical event will be reflected in the life of our Fatherland, people, Church. Relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker in Russia
May 21, 2017, on the eve of the day of the celebration of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from the World of Lycia to Bar, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia headed all-night vigil and the meeting of the relics of the saint in the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
Your Eminences and Eminences! Your Eminence, Archbishop of Bari Francesco! Dear members of the delegation of the Roman Catholic Church, who accompanied the relics of St. Nicholas to the Mother See of Moscow! Dear fathers and brothers and sisters!
I congratulate you all on a great event. To many events, people tend to attach the epithet "historical", but time passes, and nothing remains of the so-called historical event? no consequences, no human memory. But the event that is now taking place before our eyes and with our participation is a truly historic event, full of many meanings. We may not be able to perceive all these meanings to the full extent, but for sure, on the life of our Fatherland, on the life of our people, on the life of our Church, this historical event will be reflected.
The relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker arrived to us from Bari on the eve of May 22 (May 9 according to the old style), when our Church glorifies the bringing of relics from Mir Lycian, a city in Asia Minor, to the city of Bari. This happened 930 years ago, and at that time both the inhabitants of the World of Lycians and, in general, Christians in the East mourned that the relics from the city of St. Nicholas sailed away to the far West. That is why this day was never celebrated in the East, but surprisingly, starting from the 16th century or, perhaps, somewhat earlier, as soon as the first Russian pilgrims began to visit the city of Bari, the feast of the transfer of relics from the World of Lycian to Bari became one of the most significant in Russian calendar Orthodox Church. Why did this happen? But because religious consciousness of our people, a simple historical truth was perceived: if the relics had remained in the house of St. Nicholas, in the Lycian Worlds, then nothing would have been left of them. The transfer of the relics to the West, to the city of Bari on the Apennine Peninsula, was perceived by the Russian people as a manifestation of God's Providence. It was from that time that more and more Russian pilgrims, overcoming a huge distance for that time, came to Bari to bow to the myrrh-streaming remains of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. And this happened because, from the point of view of popular veneration, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was and remains the first saint in Russia. Almost all houses Orthodox people as in the past, so today there are certainly three icons - the Savior, the Mother of God and the saint and miracle worker Nicholas.
What is the basis of such veneration of St. Nicholas in our people? Any religious veneration is associated with a very important phenomenon? with the answer that a believer receives when he turns to heaven. In the minds of our people, in their historical memory captured many miracles, wondrous deeds that took place in the personal and public life Thanks to the prayers of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. That's why the Russian flock? this is a flock filled with great love for St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. That is why in our minds he is perceived as a Russian saint, although he has never been to Russia and has no connection with our country either by nationality or culture. But he is perceived by us as a Russian saint because he went through the hardest bloody history of our people with us. Perhaps, in the most difficult moments of this history, our prayer to St. Nicholas was especially strong, so that with the answer to this prayer we associate the deliverance of our Fatherland from many, many historical catastrophes. We believe that even today St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is with us, and, despite the most difficult persecutions of the 20th century, fervent prayers are offered to him again on Russian soil. And those who have the opportunity tend to visit the city of Bari to pray at the tomb of St. Nicholas. But this is only a small part of those who have such a dream, and therefore our believing people have always had a glimmer of hope that the moment will come, and it will be possible to bow to the holy myrrh-streaming remains here, on Russian soil, so that the flock loving St. Nicholas could kneel before him and lift up your prayer.
For many reasons, this event could not have happened earlier than the time when it happened. We believe that the Lord shows us signs of His presence, His mercy, His grace. visibly when it is most needed by people who turn to Him with prayer. Today, we really need the presence of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, so that not only faith is preserved in our people, but so that the great enduring divine truths do not go out of life. modern man. Therefore, before the relics of the saint, we will pray not only for ourselves and not only for our countries, united by the Russian Orthodox Church into a single Orthodox family. We will pray for the whole world, that Saint Nicholas would bow down to the grace of God and preserve the faith of Christ in the lives of our contemporaries.
Probably, this wonderful event would never have come true if it were not for my meeting with His Holiness Francis, the Pope of Rome. We met in Havana special time when Christians in the Middle East went through and, unfortunately, still go through a very difficult time, when attempts are made to destroy their presence in places with which Christianity has been associated throughout history, from where it began. Driven by concern to stop the extermination of Christians in this region, as well as the terrible persecution in other countries, His Holiness Pope Francis and I made a joint decision to meet face to face and call on everyone to pay attention to the tragedy of modern Christianity - and not only in the Middle East, but also in countries that proudly call themselves civilized, but where people renounce the Christian foundations of their culture, their civilization. And the Lord led us to this meeting, during which a decision was made to bring the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to the Holy See of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to His Holiness Francis, as well as to all those who fulfilled the will of their First Hierarch, and first of all to you, Your Grace Vladyka Francesco, Archbishop of the city of Bari. Words of special gratitude to the brothers of the holy monastery, which takes care of the preservation of the relics of St. Nicholas in the city of Bari, civil authorities, scholars and all those who, through their efforts, carried out the decision taken by the Pope and the Patriarch at the meeting in Havana.
We believe that St. Nicholas, who is revered by both the East and the West, will stand in prayer before God for all of us. Today we are still divided, because the theological problems that have come from antiquity do not give us the opportunity to reunite. Nevertheless, as many holy people saw for themselves, if it pleases the Lord to unite all Christians, then this will happen not due to their efforts, not thanks to some ecclesiastical diplomatic steps, not according to some theological agreements, but only if the Holy Spirit again will unite all who profess the Name of Christ. And we believe that St. Nicholas, who hears the prayers of Christians of the East and West, stands before the Lord, including asking Him to unite the Churches together.
I would like to express the hope that the presence of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker will help many of our contemporaries to feel his presence in their lives. I especially pray for our youth, who today are under extreme pressure of false and dangerous ideas on an emotional and psychological level. Today, a special concentration of thought, a special strength of faith, a special strength of Christian convictions are needed in order to preserve oneself as a child of the Church, and for those who are not yet such, to discover the spiritual beauty of the life of the Christian community. And I believe that St. Nicholas the Wonderworker will help many, many to find their way to God. Through his prayers, may the Lord keep our people and our Church, and may the Christians of the East and West help in the passage of difficult historical paths. Amen.
Christ is Risen! Christus Resurrexit!
Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Santa Claus
When is the memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker celebrated?
Saint Nicholas in the Orthodox church calendar dedicated to more than one holiday. December 19, according to the new style, the day of the death of the saint is remembered, August 11 - his birth. The people called these two holidays Nikola Winter and Nikola Autumn. On May 22, believers commemorate the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from Mir Lycian to Bari, which took place in 1087. In Russia, this day was called Nikola Veshny (that is, spring), or Nikola Summer.All these holidays are non-transitory, that is, their dates are fixed.
What helps Nicholas the Wonderworker
Saint Nicholas is called a miracle worker. Such saints are especially revered for the miracles that occur through prayers to them. Since ancient times, Nicholas the Wonderworker was revered as an ambulance to sailors and other travelers, merchants, unjustly convicted and children. In Western folk Christianity, his image was combined with the image of a folklore character - "Christmas grandfather" - and transformed into Santa Claus ( santa claus translated from English. - St Nicholas). Santa Claus gives gifts to children for Christmas.Life (biography) of Nicholas the Wonderworker
Nicholas the Pleasant was born in 270 in the town of Patara, which was located in the region of Lycia in Asia Minor and was a Greek colony. The parents of the future archbishop were very wealthy people, but at the same time they believed in Christ and actively helped the poor.As the life says, from childhood the saint devoted himself completely to faith, spent a lot of time in the temple. Having matured, he became a reader, and then a priest in the church, where his uncle, Bishop Nicholas of Patara, served as rector.
After the death of his parents, Nicholas the Wonderworker distributed all his inheritance to the poor and continued his church ministry. In the years when the attitude of the Roman emperors towards Christians became more tolerant, but persecution nevertheless continued, he ascended to the episcopal throne in Mir. Now this town is called Demre, it is located in the province of Antalya in Turkey.
People loved the new archbishop very much: he was kind, meek, fair, sympathetic - not a single request to him remained unanswered. With all this, Nicholas was remembered by his contemporaries as an implacable fighter against paganism - he destroyed idols and temples, and a defender of Christianity - he denounced heretics.
Even during his lifetime, the saint became famous for many miracles. He saved the city of Mira from a terrible famine - with his fervent prayer to Christ. He prayed and thereby helped the drowning sailors on ships, led the unjustly condemned from imprisonment in prisons.
Nicholas the Ugodnik lived to a ripe old age and died around 345-351 - exact date unknown.
Relics of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker reposed in the Lord in 345-351 - the exact date is unknown. His relics were incorruptible. At first they rested in the cathedral church of the city of Lycian Myra, where he served as archbishop. They streamed myrrh, and the myrrh healed believers from various ailments.In 1087, part of the relics of the saint was transferred to the Italian city of Bari, to the church of St. Stephen. A year after the relics were saved, a basilica was erected there in the name of St. Nicholas. Now everyone can pray at the relics of the saint - the ark with them is still kept in this basilica. A few years later, the rest of the relics were transported to Venice, and a small particle remained in Mira.
In honor of the transfer of the relics of Nicholas the Ugodnik, a special holiday was established, which in the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated on May 22 according to the new style.
Veneration of St. Nicholas in Russia
Russian people began to revere Nicholas the Wonderworker shortly after the Baptism of Russia. The first icons of the saint appeared in our country no later than the middle of the 11th century - these are, for example, the frescoes of Hagia Sophia in Kyiv.Many temples and monasteries are dedicated to Nikolai Ugodnik in Russia. In his name, the holy Patriarch Photius baptized in 866 the Kyiv prince Askold, the very first Russian Christian prince. Above the grave of Askold in Kyiv, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga built the first church of St. Nicholas on Russian soil.
In many Russian cities, the main cathedrals were named after the archbishop of Mir Lycian. Veliky Novgorod, Zaraysk, Kyiv, Smolensk, Pskov, Galich, Arkhangelsk, Tobolsk and many others. In the Moscow province, three Nikolsky monasteries were built - Nikolo-Greek (Old) - in Kitay-gorod, Nikolo-Perervinsky and Nikolo-Ugreshsky. In addition, one of the main towers of the Moscow Kremlin was named Nikolskaya.
Iconography of Saint Nicholas
The iconography of St. Nicholas took shape in the 10th-11th centuries. At the same time, the oldest icon, namely the fresco in the church of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome, dates back to the 8th century.There are two main iconographic types of St. Nicholas - full-length and half-length. One of the classic examples of a full-length icon is a fresco from the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, painted at the beginning of the 12th century. It is now stored in Tretyakov Gallery. In this fresco, the saint is depicted full-length, with a blessing right hand and an open Gospel in his left hand.
Icons of the belt iconographic type depict the saint with a closed Gospel on his left hand. Ancient icon of this type in the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai dates back to the 11th century. In Russia, the earliest surviving similar image dates back to the end of the 12th century. Ivan the Terrible brought it from Novgorod the Great and laid it in the Smolensk Cathedral Novodevichy Convent. Now this icon can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Icon painters also created hagiographic icons of St. Nicholas, that is, depicting various scenes from the life of the saint - sometimes up to twenty different plots. The most ancient of these icons in Russia are the Novgorod one from the Lyubon churchyard (XIV century) and the Kolomna one (now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery).
TroparionSaint Nicholas the Wonderworker
voice 4The rule of faith and the image of meekness, the abstinence of the teacher reveal the truth to your flock of things: for this sake you acquired high humility, rich in poverty. Father Hierarch Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls be saved.
Translation:
By the rule of faith, by the example of meekness, temperance, the teacher has shown you your life to your flock. And therefore, with humility, you acquired greatness, poverty - wealth: Father Hierarch Nicholas, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
voice 3
In Mirech, holy, the clergyman appeared to you: Christ, reverend, having fulfilled the Gospel, lay down your soul about your people, and saved the innocent from death; for this sake you were sanctified, like a great secret place of God's grace.
Translation:
In the Worlds, you, saint, appeared as a performer of sacred rites: having fulfilled the gospel teaching of Christ, you, reverend, laid down your soul for your people and the innocent delivered from death. Therefore, he was sanctified as a great minister of the mysteries of God's grace.
First prayer to Nikolai Ugodnik
Oh, all-holy Nicholas, the most beautiful servant of the Lord, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper!Help me a sinner and despondent in this present life, beg the Lord God to grant me the remission of all my sins, having sinned from my youth, in all my life, deed, word, thought and all my feelings; and at the end of my soul, help me the accursed, implore the Lord God, all creatures of the Sodetel, to deliver me from air ordeals and eternal torment: may I always glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and your merciful intercession, now and ever and forever and ever.
Amen.
Second prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
O all-praised, great wonderworker, Saint of Christ, Father Nicholas!
We pray to you, wake up the hope of all Christians, faithful protectors, hungry feeders, crying joy, sick doctors, floating rulers on the sea, feeders of the poor and orphans and an early helper and patron to everyone, let us live a peaceful life here and let us be able to see the glory of God's chosen ones in heaven , and with them to unceasingly sing of the one in the Trinity, the worshiped God forever and ever. Amen.
Third Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
O all-praised and all-pious bishop, the great Wonderworker, the Hierarch of Christ, Father Nicholas, a man of God and a faithful servant, a husband of desires, a chosen vessel, a strong pillar of the church, a bright lamp, a star shining and illuminating the whole universe: you are a righteous man, like a date that has flourished, planted in the courts of your Lord, living in the Worlds, thou hast been fragrant with the world, and exuding the ever-flowing grace of God.
By your procession, Holy Father, the sea is illuminated, when your miraculous relics go to the city of Barsky, from east to west, praise the name of the Lord.
O graceful and wonderful Wonderworker, quick helper, warm intercessor, kind shepherd, saving the verbal flock from all sorts of troubles, we glorify you and magnify you, as the hope of all Christians, the source of miracles, the protector of the faithful, the wise teacher, the hungry feeder, weeping joy, naked clothing , the sick doctor, the steward floating on the sea, the captives of the liberator, the widows and orphans of the feeder and intercessor, the guardian of chastity, the meek punisher of babies, the old fortifications, the fasting mentor, the laboring ecstasy, the poor and the wretched abundant wealth.
Hear us praying to you and fleeing under your roof, manifest your intercession for us to the Most High, and proceed with your God-pleasing prayers, all that is useful for the salvation of our souls and bodies: save this holy monastery (or this temple), every city and all, and every Christian country, and people living from every anger with your help:
Vema bo, vemy, how much the prayer of the righteous can hurry for good: to you, the righteous, according to the blessed Virgin Mary, the intercessor to the All-Merciful God of the imam, and to your good father, warm intercession and intercession humbly flow: you keep us as cheerful and good shepherd, from all enemies, destruction, cowardice, hail, famine, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners, and in all our troubles and sorrows, give us a helping hand, and open the doors of God's mercy, because we are not worthy to see the height of heaven, from the multitude of our iniquities, are bound by the bonds of sin, and let us not keep the will of our Creator, who created it, nor keep his commands.
In the same way, we bow our knees, contrite and humble of our hearts to our Creator, and we ask for your paternal intercession to Him:
Help us, the Pleasant of God, let us not perish with our iniquities, deliver us from all evil, and from all things opposing, direct our mind and strengthen our heart in the right faith, in it with your intercession and intercession, neither wounds, nor banning, nor pestilence, by no wrath will he let me live in this age, and save me from standing, and vouchsafe the right hand with all the saints. Amen.
Fourth Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
O our good shepherd and God-wise mentor, St. Nicholas of Christ! Hear us sinners, praying to you and calling for your help, your speedy intercession; see us weak, caught from everywhere, deprived of every good and darkened by the mind from cowardice; rush, servant of God, do not leave us in the sinful captivity of being, let us not be our enemy in joy and die in our evil deeds.
Pray for us, our unworthy Creator and Lord, and you stand before him with incorporeal faces: be merciful to us, create our God in this life and in the future, let him not reward us according to our deeds and according to the impurity of our hearts, but according to your goodness, reward us .
We hope for your intercession, we boast of your intercession, we call on your intercession for help, and we fall down to your most holy image, we ask for help: deliver us, saint of Christ, from the evils that are upon us, and tame the waves of passions and troubles that rise against us, but for the sake of Your holy prayers will not attack us and we will not be mired in the abyss of sin and in the mud of our passions. Moth, to St. Nicholas of Christ, Christ our God, give us a peaceful life and the remission of sins, but salvation and great mercy to our souls, now and ever and forever and ever.
Prayer 5 to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
O great intercessor, the bishop of God, blessed Nicholas, who shines miracles like a sunflower, who calls upon you as a quick hearer, you always anticipate and save, and deliver, and take away all kinds of troubles, from God given to you miracles and gifts of grace!
Hear me unworthy, calling you with faith and bringing prayer to you singing; I offer you an intercessor for supplication to Christ.
O notorious in miracles, high saint! as if you have boldness, soon stand before the Lord, and reverence your hands in prayer to Him, stretch out for me a sinner, and from Him give bounties of goodness, and accept me as your intercession, and deliver me from all troubles and evils, from the invasion of enemies visible and invisible freeing, and destroying all those slanders and malice, and reflecting those who fight me in my whole life; ask for forgiveness by my sin, and present me to Christ and save the Kingdom of Heaven for the multitude of that philanthropy, he deserves all glory, honor and worship, with his Father without beginning, and with the Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever and forever centuries.
Sixth Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Oh, the all-good Father Nicholas, the shepherd and teacher of all who by faith flow to your intercession, and who call you with warm prayer, soon rush, and deliver Christ's flock from the wolves that destroy it, that is, from the invasion of the wicked Latins rising up against us.
Protect and save our country, and every country that exists in Orthodoxy, with your holy prayers from worldly rebellion, the sword, the invasion of foreigners, from internecine and bloody warfare.
And as if you had mercy on three men sitting in prison, and delivered them from the tsar’s wrath and the cutting of the sword, so have mercy and deliver the Great, Small and White Russia Orthodox people from the pernicious heresy of the Latins.
As if by your intercession and help, by His own mercy and grace, Christ God, may He look with His merciful eye on people in the ignorance of existence, even though they don’t know their right hand, even more so young, with which Latin seductions are spoken in a hedgehog to turn away from the Orthodox faith, may the mind of His people enlighten, may they not be tempted and fall away from the faith of the fathers, conscience, lulled by vain wisdom and ignorance, may it awaken, turn the will to the preservation of the holy Orthodox faith, may it remember the faith and humility of our fathers, your life for the Orthodox faith who have put, accepting the prayers of the warmth of His holy saints, who have shone forth in our land, keeping us from delusion and heresy of the Latins, and having preserved us in holy Orthodoxy, vouchsafe us at His terrible Judgment of the right hand of standing with all the saints. Amen.
What can you eat on the day of memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
December 19, according to the new style, falls on the Christmas, or Filippov, as it is also called, post. On this day, you can eat fish, but you can not eat meat, eggs and other animal products.May 22, 2016 - Sunday, no fasting.
Miracles of Saint Nicholas
Nicholas the Wonderworker is considered the patron, intercessor and prayer book for sailors and, in general, for everyone who travels. For example, as the life of the saint says, in his youth, traveling from Myra to Alexandria, he resurrected a sailor who, during a fierce storm, fell off the mast of the ship and, falling on the deck, crashed to death.Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Word, uttered at the vigil on the feast of St. Nicholas, December 18, 1973, in the church named after him in Kuznetsy (Moscow)
Today we celebrate the day of the death of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. What a strange combination of words: celebration of death... Usually, when someone is overtaken by death, we yearn and weep for it; and when the saint dies, we rejoice about it. How is this possible?
This is possible only because when a sinner dies, those who remain have a heavy feeling in their hearts that the time has come for parting, even if only temporarily. No matter how strong our faith is, no matter how hope inspires us, no matter how sure we are that the God of love will never finally separate from each other those who love each other with even imperfect, earthly love - still remains sadness and longing that for many years we will not see the face, the expression of the eyes shining on us with kindness, we will not touch the dear person with a reverent hand, we will not hear his voice, bringing his caress and love to our hearts ...
But our attitude to the saint is not exactly like that. Even those who were contemporary with the saints, already during their lifetime, managed to realize that, living in the fullness of heavenly life, the saint did not separate from the earth during his life, and that when he rests in his body, he will still remain in this mystery of the Church, which unites the living and the dead. into one body, into one spirit, into one eternal, Divine mystery that conquered all lives.
As they died, the saints could say, as Paul said: I fought a good feat, I kept the faith; now an eternal reward is being prepared for me, now I myself become a sacrifice...
And this consciousness is not the head, but the consciousness of the heart, a living feeling of the heart that the saint cannot leave us (just as the Risen Christ, who has become invisible to us, does not leave us, just as God, invisible to us, is not absent), this consciousness allows us to rejoice on the day when, as the ancient Christians said, a person was born in eternal life. He did not die - but was born, entered into eternity, into the whole expanse, into the fullness of life. He is in anticipation of a new victory of life, which we all look forward to: the resurrection of the dead on the last day, when all the barriers of separation will fall, and when we will rejoice not only about the victory of eternity, but that God has restored the temporal to life - but in glory, new shining glory.
One of the ancient fathers of the Church, Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, says: the glory of God is a man who has become Man... Saints are such a glory to God; looking at them, we are amazed at what God can do to a person.
And behold, we rejoice on the day of the death of the one who was on earth heavenly man, but having entered eternity, he became our intercessor and intercessor, not leaving us, remaining not only the same close, but becoming even closer, because we become close to each other as we become close, dear, our own to the Living God, God of love. Our joy today is so deep! The Lord on earth shook, like a ripe ear, St. Nicholas. Now he triumphs with God, in heaven; and just as he loved the earth and people, knew how to pity, compassion, knew how to surround everyone and meet everyone with amazing, tender, thoughtful care, so now he prays for us all, caringly, thoughtfully.
When you read his life, you are amazed that he cared not only about the spiritual; he cared for every human need, the humblest human need. He knew how to rejoice with those who rejoice, he knew how to cry with those who weep, he knew how to console and support those who needed comfort and support. And this is why the people, the Myrlikian flock, fell in love with him so much, and why the entire Christian people honors him so much: there is nothing too insignificant that he would not pay attention to with his creative love. There is nothing on earth that would seem unworthy of his prayers and unworthy of his labors: illness, and the poor, and deprivation, and disgrace, and fear, and sin, and joy, and hope, and love - everything found a lively response in his deep human heart. And he left us the image of a man who is the radiance of God's beauty, he left us in himself, as it were, a living, acting icon genuine person.
But he left it to us not only so that we rejoice, admire, be amazed; he left us his image so that we could learn from him how to live, what kind of love to love, how to forget ourselves and remember fearlessly, sacrificially, joyfully every need of another person.
He left us an image of how to die, how to mature, how to stand before God at the last hour, giving His soul joyfully, as if returning to Father's house. When I was a young man, my father once told me: during your life, learn to expect death in the same way as a young man tremblingly awaits the arrival of his bride ... This is how St. Nicholas waited for the hour of death, when the death gates open, when all bonds fall, when the soul flutters him to freedom, when it will be given to him to behold the God whom he worshiped with faith and love. So it is given to us to wait - to wait creatively, not to wait numbly, in fear of death, but to wait with joy for that time, that meeting with God, which will make us akin not only to our Living God, with Christ who became a man, but also with every person. because only in God are we made one...
The Fathers of the Church call us to live fear of death. From century to century we hear these words, and from century to century we misunderstand them. How many people live in fear that death is about to come, and after death - judgment, and after judgment - what? Unknown. Hell? Forgiveness?.. But not about that fear of death fathers said. The Fathers said that if we remembered that in a moment we might die, how we would hasten to do all the good that we can still do! If we thought constantly, tremblingly that the person standing next to us, to whom we can now do good or evil, might die - how we would hasten to take care of him! There would then be no need, either great or small, that would exceed our ability to devote life to a person who is about to die.
I have already said something about my father; sorry - I'll tell you one more personal. My mother has been dying for three years; she knew it because I told her. And when death entered our life, it transformed life by the fact that every moment, every word, every action - because it could be the last - had to be a perfect expression of all the love, all the affection, all the reverence that was between us. And for three years there was no trifle and no big things, but only the triumph of tremulous, reverent love, where everything merged into greatness, because in one word you can enclose all love, and in one movement you can express all love; and it should be like this.
The Saints understood this not only in relation to one person, whom they loved especially tenderly and for some small years, for which they had the spirit. The saints knew how to live like this throughout their whole lives, from day to day, from hour to hour, in relation to each person, because in each they saw the image of God, a living icon, but - God! - sometimes such a defiled, such a mutilated icon, which they contemplated with special pain and with special love, as we would contemplate an icon trampled into the mud before our eyes. And each of us, with our sin, tramples into the mud the image of God in ourselves.
Think about it. Think how glorious, how marvelous death can be if we only live life like saints. They are people like us, differing from us only in courage and burning spirit. If only we could live like them! And how rich the memory of death could be for us if, instead of being called, in our language, the fear of death, it were a constant reminder that every moment is and can become a door to eternal life. Each moment, filled with all love, all humility, all the rapture and strength of the soul, can open time to eternity and make our earth already a place where paradise is manifested, a place where God lives, a place where we are united in love, a place where everything the evil, the dead, the dark, the dirty, are defeated, transfigured, become light, become purity, become Divine.
May the Lord grant us to ponder these images of the saints, and not to each other, not even to ask ourselves what to do, but to turn directly to them, to these saints, of whom some were at first robbers, sinners, people terrible for others, but who managed by the greatness of the soul to perceive God and grow into measure of the age of Christ. Let's ask them... What happened to you, Father Nicholas? What did you do, how did you open up to power Divine love and grace?.. And he will answer us; with his life and his prayer he will make possible for us what seems impossible to us, because the power of God is made perfect in weakness, and everything is available to us, everything is possible for us in the Lord Jesus Christ who strengthens us.
Amen.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. About the calling of a Christian.
Word pronounced at the liturgy on the day of memory of St. Nicholas on December 19, 1973, in the church named after him in Kuznetsy (Moscow)In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
I congratulate you on the occasion!
When we celebrate the day of such a saint as Nicholas the Wonderworker, whom not only the Russian heart, but universal Orthodoxy perceived as one of the most perfect images of the priesthood, it is especially reverent to serve the Divine Liturgy and stand before it; because before he became a companion of the apostles, Saint Nicholas was a genuine, true layman. The Lord Himself revealed that it was he who should have been made a priest - for the purity of his life, for the feat of his love, for his love for worship and the temple, for the purity of his faith, for his meekness and humility.
All this was in him not a word, but it was flesh. In the troparion we sing to him that he was rule of faith, image of meekness, teacher of temperance; all this appeared to his flock by the very deed, the radiance of his life, and not just a verbal sermon. And so he was still a layman. And by such a feat, such love, such purity, such meekness, he acquired for himself the highest calling of the Church - to be appointed bishop, bishop of his city; be before the eyes of the believing people (which itself is the body of Christ, the seat of the Holy Spirit, the divine destiny), among Orthodox people stand like live icon; so that, looking at him, in his eyes to see the light Christ's love, in his actions to see, to experience Christ's divine mercy with his own eyes.
We are all called to follow the same path. There are no two ways for a person: there is a way of holiness; the other way is the way of renunciation of one's Christian calling. Not everyone reaches the height that is revealed to us in the saints; but we are all called to be so pure in our heart, in our mind, in our life, in our flesh, that we may be, as it were, the incarnate presence in the world, from century to century, from millennium to millennium, of Christ Himself.
We are called to be so completely, so completely given to God, that each of us becomes, as it were, a temple where the Holy Spirit lives and acts - both in us and through us.
We are called to be daughters and sons of our Heavenly Father; but not only allegorically, not only because He treats us as a father treats children. In Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called to truly become His children, like Christ, partaking of His sonship, receiving the Spirit of sonship, the Spirit of God, so that our life may be hidden. with Christ in God.
This we cannot achieve without difficulty. The Church Fathers tell us: shed blood and you will receive the Spirit... We cannot ask God to dwell in us when we ourselves are not working to prepare for Him a holy, purified, God-consecrated temple. We cannot call Him into the depths of our sin again and again, if we do not have a firm, fiery intention, if we are not ready, when He descends to us, when He seeks us like a lost sheep, and wants to carry us back to our father's house, to be taken and carried away forever in His Divine arms.
To be a Christian is to be an ascetic; to be a Christian is to struggle to overcome everything in oneself that is death, sin, unrighteousness, impurity; in a word - to overcome, to overcome everything because of which Christ was crucified, killed on the Cross. Human sin killed him - mine, and yours, and our common; and if we do not overcome and do not get rid of sin, then we partake either of those who, through negligence, coldness, indifference, frivolity, gave Christ to be crucified, or those who maliciously wanted to destroy Him, wipe Him off the face of the earth, because His appearance, His preaching , His personality were their condemnation.
To be a Christian is to be an ascetic; and yet it is impossible for us to save ourselves. Our calling is so high, so great, that a person cannot fulfill it on his own. I have already said that we are called to be, as it were, grafted into the humanity of Christ, as a twig is grafted into a life-giving tree - so that the life of Christ springs up in us, so that we are His body, so that we are His presence, so that our word is His in a word, our love is His love, and our action is His action.
I said that we must become a temple of the Holy Spirit, but more than a physical temple. The material temple contains the presence of God, but is not permeated by it; and a person is called to unite with God in such a way as, according to the word of St. Maximus the Confessor, fire pierces, penetrates iron, becomes one with it, and it is possible (says Maxim) to cut with fire and burn with iron, because it is no longer possible to distinguish where the burning is and where the fuel is. Where is man and where is God.
This we cannot achieve. We cannot become sons and daughters of God just because we ourselves want it or we ask and pray for it; we must be accepted by the Father, adopted, we must become, in the love of God for Christ, what Christ is to the Father: sons, daughters. How can we achieve this? The Gospel gives us the answer. Peter asks: Who can be saved? - And Christ answers: What is impossible for man is possible for God...
Through deeds we can open our hearts; protect your mind and soul from impurity; we can direct our actions so that they are worthy of our calling and our God; we can keep our flesh pure for the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ; we can open ourselves to God and say: Come and dwell in us… And we can know that if we ask this with a sincere heart, we want it, then God, who wants us to be saved more than we know how to want it for ourselves, will give it to us. He Himself tells us in the Gospel: If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him...
Therefore, let us be with all the strength of our human weakness, with all the burning of our dim spirit, with all the hope of our heart yearning for fullness, with all our faith that cries out to God: Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief! With all the hunger, with all the thirst of our soul and body, let us ask God to come. But at the same time, with all the strength of our soul, with all the strength of our body, let us prepare for Him a temple worthy of His coming: cleansed, dedicated to Him, guarded from all unrighteousness, malice and impurity. And then the Lord will come; and will celebrate, as He promised us, with the Father and the Spirit, the Last Supper in our hearts, in our lives, in our temple, in our society, and the Lord will reign forever, our God to generation and generation.
Amen!
Santa Claus
In Western Christianity, the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was combined with the image of a folklore character - "Christmas grandfather" - and transformed into Santa Claus ( santa claus translated from English. - St Nicholas). Santa Claus gives gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day, but more often on Christmas Day.At the origins of the tradition of giving gifts on behalf of Santa Claus is the story of a miracle performed by Nikolai Ugodnik. As the life of the saint says, he saved the family of a poor man who lived in Patara from sin.
The poor man had three lovely daughters, and the need made him think terrible - he wanted to send the girls into prostitution. The local archbishop, and Nicholas the Wonderworker just served them, received a revelation from the Lord about what his parishioner had conceived in desperation. And he decided to save his family, and secretly from everyone. One night, he tied a bundle of gold coins that he inherited from his parents, and threw the bag to the poor man through the window. The father of his daughters discovered the gift only in the morning and thought that it was Christ himself who sent him a gift. With these funds, he married good man his eldest daughter.
Saint Nicholas rejoiced that his help had brought good fruit, and in the same way, secretly, he threw a second bag of gold through the window of the poor man. With these funds, he played the wedding of his middle daughter.
The poor man was eager to know who his benefactor was. He did not sleep at night and waited if he would come to help the third daughter? Saint Nicholas was not long in coming. Hearing the ringing of a bundle of coins, the poor man caught up with the archbishop and recognized him as a saint. I fell at his feet and warmly thanked him for saving his family from a terrible sin.
Nikola Winter, Nikola Autumn, Nikola Veshny, "Nikola Wet"
On December 19 and August 11, according to the new style, Orthodox Christians remember, respectively, the death and birth of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to the time of the year, these holidays received popular names - Nikola Winter and Nikola Autumn.Nikola Veshnim (that is, spring), or Nikola Summer, called the feast of the transfer of the relics of the saint and wonderworker Nicholas from the World of Lycian to Bari, which is celebrated on May 22 according to a new style.
The phrase "Nikola Wet" comes from the fact that this saint in all ages was considered the patron saint of sailors and, in general, of all travelers. When the temple in the name of St. Nicholas was built by sailors (often in gratitude for miraculous salvation on the waters), the people called him "Nikola Wet".
Folk traditions of celebrating the day of memory of Nikolai Ugodnik
In Russia, Nicholas the Pleasant was revered as the "senior" among the saints. Nicola was called "merciful"; temples were built in honor of him and children were named - from antiquity and until the beginning of the 20th century, the name Kolya was the most popular among Russian boys.About Nikola Zimny (December 19) in the huts in honor of the holiday, festive meals were arranged - they baked pies with fish, brewed mash and beer. The holiday was considered "old man's", the most respected people of the village gathered together a rich table and had long conversations. And the youth indulged in winter entertainment - sledding, dancing, singing songs, preparing for Christmas gatherings.
On Nikola Summer, or Spring (May 22), the peasants arranged religious processions- with icons and banners they went to the fields, performed prayers at the wells - they asked for rain.
On the splash screen is a fragment of a photo spda/www.flickr.com
KIKTENKO Elizabeth
Category: Authors » »
Summer is ending, and with it, its main event for all Orthodox people is the bringing of part of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, stored in the basilica of the city of Bari (Italy), to the Russian Orthodox Church. Of course, this event was historical and long-awaited for millions of believers throughout our vast Motherland. An event that will forever remain in the memory of both pilgrims and the main assistants of the saint from May 21 to July 28 - a thousandth army of volunteers! The entire chronology of miracles that happened by the will of God and the prayers of St. Nicholas is in our material today.
Helpers of Saint Nicholas - Orthodox Volunteers
diplomatic agreements. Beginning of miracles
The year 2017, when we recall the tragic events of the 20th, bloody century, is marked not only by sorrow for the past, but also by joy about the present, for in the year of the 100th anniversary of the great Russian revolution, our country was visited by the wondrous Pleasant of God - who for the first time in 930 years left the place of permanent of his stay, a Catholic basilica in Italian city Bari.
Without going into details, which today almost every Orthodox person already knows, it is worth noting, however, that this truly epoch-making historical event took place thanks to a diplomatic agreement reached between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness His Holiness Pope Francis during a meeting at the José Marti International Airport of Havana on February 12, 2016.
Meeting of the relics of St. Nicholas in the main temple of Russia
Time passed, and that long-awaited day came, May 21, when in the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in the capital city of Moscow, with a large gathering of people, a solemn meeting of the ark with a particle of the relics of the Archbishop of Mir Lycian was held, led by the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, concelebrated by vicar bishops and clergy with of the entire Fatherland. Under the popular singing of magnificence to the saint, his honest remains were brought under the arches of the main temple of the country, where the pre-holiday all-night vigil was performed.
On the feast of the prayerful memory of the transfer of the relics of the holy miracle worker to Bari, the hearts of people standing near the ark in Moscow, as well as throughout Russia, rejoiced with the overflowing joy of the coming, mysterious, purely personal communion with their beloved Saint Nicholas. In those moments, it seemed that the earth was united with Heaven, that angels were praying to God together with people. So it was, for, despite the terrible events we remember, the Orthodox faith is alive and active, and no matter how they try to break it, it continues to grow among our people and sing the glory of the One Godhead, in Holy Trinity Worshiped.
Miracles of Saint Nicholas
The Divine Liturgy laid the foundation for the flow of people to the relics of St. Nicholas, marked by a large number of miracles and signs revealed to those who, from the depths of their hearts (Ps. 129: 1), turned their “hot” prayers for help or with thanksgiving to the Lord, His Most Pure Mother and the holy archpastor of the city of Myra. By request His Holiness he was told about everything that happened to the pilgrims, who, according to their faith, received what they asked for, referred to as nothing more than a miracle. Our movement launched a special hashtag "#MiraclesThrough the Eyes of Volunteers", under which we summarize what is happening on #NikolskieDays. It is clear that it will not be possible to put all miracles in one material, because there were very, very many of them, but we will still cite some of them.
Cathedral prayer for the innocently convicted in St. Nicholas Days
Here is what the regent of the choir of Orthodox Volunteers Anna Golik says about one miracle in her article “Dedicated to people with whom the impossible is possible”: “I know a girl who prayed very much for her brother, he was set up and put in a colony for 6 years. He had already served 1.5 years, and on one of the Nikolsky days, his term was extended for another 6 years. I remember how she cried and prayed fervently. We, her friends, tried to help as best we could - some submitted notes for prayers, some passed the request on to familiar priests, and some personally asked the saint for help. It was real congregational prayer. I will not paint for a long time, I will simply say that he was released after three weeks. At all. For me, this was the most important miracle during the entire stay of the relics in Moscow.”
Choir of Orthodox Volunteers and its choir director - Anna Golik Help with housing
Saint Nicholas does not specialize in helping only sailors and travelers, he helps everyone, as our volunteer Yulia Egorova testifies: “Saint Nicholas helped me a lot, and when I prayed at his relics! I had problems with housing, and I didn’t know what to do, of course, I was very upset. A friend told me: “Pray to Nikolai Ugodnik, and He will help you!” I prayed, asked for help, and somehow at home, on the wall in social network I wrote that I am looking for a place to live. People reposted, put likes, but there were no responses, and literally on the 3rd day after the shift, Lyudmila writes to me, who agreed to take me in! Isn't it a miracle? Of course, a miracle!
It’s as if all of our beautiful Russia is multinational, believing, sometimes gloomy…
This is what Tatyana Shcherbakova tells about the stay of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker within the Russian Orthodox Church: “I happened to visit the relics of St. Nicholas the Pleasant nine times. And every time I stood at the exit, listening to the akathist, I was amazed at the faces of the pilgrims walking away from the relics: many people literally shone!
Different nationalities, all, all ages: girls and boys, adult men and women, families with teenage children and babies in their arms. Faces are smiling, some are serious, tired, some are crying... It is as if all of our beautiful Russia - multinational, believing, sometimes gloomy - has concentrated in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior these days. And the Temple itself turned into the very “United, Cathedral and apostolic church”, about which we sing at the Liturgy.
Mired in the hustle and bustle of life, we often do not know who we are. Sometimes we are indifferent and callous, not fair to our neighbors. But on such days, which fall out, perhaps once in a lifetime, the Savior, through His saints, shows us our true essence and reveals the souls of our neighbors, whose luminous faces we see in these wonderful Nikolsky days.
A distant, unfulfilled dream of singing in a large choir was embodied here and now ...
No one is left indifferent by the opinion of our choir singer Olga Kobzeva, who wrote about the Nikolsky days in her article “Dedicated to the Saint and all my inspirers”: “Nikolai is truly a Wonderworker. And even if I don’t have a story about healing or about a sharp turn of fate, nothing visible, material happened in my life, but something great happened for me personally, inside me. The most striking was the first visit to a prayer service with an akathist as a chorister. I must say that there was no purpose to ask for something. Until the end, it was not clear how and what would happen. And in general, until the last, I didn’t really believe that I would get there.
But what happened in the soul while singing in two choirs of 60 people under high vaults right in front of the shrine with relics cannot be described in words. But I left the Temple already different. A distant, unfulfilled dream of singing in a large choir was embodied here and now.<…>On one of the days, when there were no records for prayers, I decided to come and put on a green shirt-front. This first watch was also completely miraculous. Frankly, in the depths of my soul, I really wanted to work in the temple, and not on the street, and I also really wanted to distribute icons, I just wanted to for some reason. Of course, I didn't dream about it. But everything came true! It is also impossible to describe my joy on this day.”
All-Russian Choir of Orthodox Youth at the relics of Archbishop Mir of Lycia
Echoing the enthusiasm of Olga Kobzeva from participating in prayer services at the relics of St. Nicholas, I would like to say a special word about the choir of the Orthodox Volunteers movement, which at the time of bringing the greatest shrine to Moscow became not just big and even huge, it became the All-Russian Orthodox Youth Choir, which glorified the beloved Archbishop of the World of Lycia.
Choir of Orthodox Volunteers small world, in which everything happened in St. Nicholas days: problems with the formation of an army of singers, and its colossal influx, and the presence in the temple of several compositions and the presence of only two people during the singing of prayers, but whatever happened, our beloved Choir was afloat, was always he was ready to sing prayers and praise the holy miracle worker, he was always ready to get out of the most unusual situation. For what we witnessed, for the emotions that visited, visit and will visit all of us for a long time to come, Orthodox volunteers prayerfully thank all the singers of Russia and the purely permanent, talented, patient, beloved regent Anya Golik, who lived in those days on in one breath, managing everything at once, which gave all the best to the full program and at the same time put its wide soul into each prayer service.
Seeing the relics of St. Nicholas in St. Petersburg
After the stay of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Moscow, the ark with its whole-bearing relics was identically transferred to northern capital Russia - St. Petersburg, where he was from 13 to 28 July this year. Seeing the relics of St. Nicholas took place at night, July 13. Members of the Orthodox Volunteers movement gathered on July 13 at 00:30 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, at about 4-5 in the morning a moleben was served by Bishop Arseniy Istrinsky, after which the ark was solemnly escorted from the temple to the bus that had departed for the airport.
Olga Balabanova shared her impressions of that night with us: “By the grace of God, I was honored to be in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on the night of seeing off St. Nicholas from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Saint Nicholas became especially dear to each of us during his stay. honest relics in Moscow. On the farewell night, I had the feeling that you were seeing off very dear person on a long journey, so it was very difficult to hold back tears. Despite the physical separation, we understand that St. Nicholas is always with us: in our hearts, in our prayers... He still stands before the Lord God and intercedes for us in his prayers.”
Over 2.3 million people in 67 days!
For 15 Nikolsky days in St. Petersburg, the flow of pilgrims from all over our vast Motherland did not stop. And total number of all believers who bowed to the relics of the Saint in Moscow and St. Petersburg, amounted to more than 2.3 million people in 67 days!
Seeing the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari
The church-state holiday of the Baptism of Russia this year was marked by both joy and sadness at the same time, for in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, after Divine Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, with a host of bishops and representatives of the delegation of the Roman Catholic Church, accompanying the ninth rib of St. Nicholas, escorted the ark with his honest remains to the city of Bari, where the shrine with the holy relics of the miracle worker has been under a bushel in the altar for 930 years catholic basilica.
Blessed Nikolsky days
Remembering the blessed #NikolskieDays, let us thank all the organizers of the event of a truly historical, universal scale, offering up prayers for them: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Pope Francis, members of the Organizing Committee for the bringing of the greatest shrine for the opportunity to be assistants to such a great saint and our leader - Mikhail Gennadievich Kuksov for rallying us all in this event!
And, of course, we once again, again and again, thank everyone who took part in this greatest event - helped, photographed, supported, accompanied all the way through the queues leading to the relics of the saint. All volunteers who tirelessly, sparing no effort and time, in heat and cold, in pouring rain and bright sun, stood in work and prayer together with pilgrims from all over our vast Motherland.
May the Lord keep you all for many and good years!
The material was prepared by the Information Service of the movement "Orthodox Volunteers".
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About seventeen centuries have passed since Saint Nicholas, the Great Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra, lived and labored on earth. He is revered and glorified by the entire Christian race. The providence of God was pleased to send St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to earth in one of the most difficult times for Christianity.
And now modern pilgrims rush to the place where the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker are located.
Brief life story of the saint
Svyatoch was born around 270 in the city of Patara, in the Lycian region (now it is the territory of modern Turkey).
His mother and father, Nonna and Feofan, came from a noble and pious family and were very prosperous. But wealth and a noble title did not prevent them from being known as merciful to the poor and zealous for the prayer of God. For many years they prayed to the Creator to give them a son, "in return" the spouses promised to devote his life to serving God. Their prayer was heard and from Above the family was given a son, named Nicholas in Holy Baptism.
Parents understood that their child was destined for a special service to God, so they paid special attention to his upbringing, instilled Christian values and directed him on the path of righteousness.
Nicholas excelled in his studies. He was not interested in conversations with peers about worldly things, everything bad was alien. He avoided sinful entertainment, was chaste and spent his free time reading the Holy Scriptures, divine books, and prayed a lot.
Soon Nicholas was ordained a reader, and later a presbyter.
The Lord granted Nicholas to live to a ripe old age. At the end of his years, he fell seriously ill and peacefully departed to Christ, to heavenly cloisters on December 6, 342. The burial took place in Mira in the cathedral church.
Temples consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas:
holy relics
After 700 years after the death of the patron, devastation and devastation reigned in Lycia, this happened after the invasion of the Saracens - nomads, robbers, Bedouins.
On the ruins of the temple, where the remains of the saint rested, monks were on duty. In 1087, Nicholas came to one of the Bari presbyters in a dream and ordered him to urgently transfer his body to Bari. For this, three ships were equipped, and the presbyters and noble citizens were placed on them under the guise of merchants.
This precaution was necessary because the Venetians wanted to intercept the procession and bring the holy remains to their city.
Merchants sailed through Egypt and Palestine, conducting business along the way, so as not to arouse suspicion. Finally, they ended up in Lycia. They opened the white marble tomb.
To the surprise of those present, it turned out to be filled to the top with a fragrant world, and in it the body of Nikolai rested. The baryans could not take the heavy tomb with them, so they transferred the remains to the prepared ark and headed for their homeland.
The relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker in the city of Bari, Italy
After 20 days, on May 9, 1087, they arrived in Bari. Here the Liturgy was served with a multitude of clergy, and the relics were taken to the church of St. Eustathius. And after 2 years, the crypts of the new church were consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Pleasant, and the remains were solemnly transferred there.
Important! incorruptible body and to this day it streams myrrh, many miracles are performed from it. With faith, the anointed saint grants healing from bodily and physical ailments, drives away unclean spirits.
At the end of the 11th century, the holy relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker were transferred to the city of Bar.
How to apply to the remains
There are unspoken rules for applying to holy remains:
- when approaching cancer, one should not rush, push, crowd;
- it is undesirable to carry bags, packages;
- it is forbidden to apply to the shrine with painted lips;
- before approaching the shrine, it is necessary to perform twice waist bow and cross, and make the third bow after applying;
- you can not kiss the saints on the face.
Icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker
The appearance of the saint
In 1953, in the church where the crypt is located, restoration work. One of the anatomists received permission from the Vatican to examine the bones, according to which a conclusion was made.
News number one for the inhabitants of Bari: the relics of St. Nicholas have left the city! For the first time in 930 years! There are more than enough rumors and mystical allusions in recent days. After all, this has never happened! The shrine was taken out only once - to a neighboring temple - for the duration of the repair. A few years ago, it was simply impossible to imagine a trip to Moscow. An event of incredible significance for Orthodox believers took place thanks to the personal meeting of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis in 2016 in Cuba. For almost a year, in the ancient crypt of the Basilica of St. Nicholas, they were preparing to bring the relics of the Christian saint.
There is a special attitude towards the Orthodox in the basilica. Access to the relics is open. Services are allowed in the underground part of the basilica. It is symbolic that while the Catholic Padre is reading his sermon upstairs, downstairs Orthodox priests lead a prayer service. And the whole temple is filled with Old Slavonic prayer. From an excess of feelings, pilgrims cannot hold back their tears.
Nicholas the Prelate devoted his whole life to Christianity. He was a Greek from Asia Minor who lived in the 3rd century during the era of the Roman Empire. It is considered the patron saint of sailors, innocently convicted and children.
Being from a noble family, Nikolai Ugodnik helped those in need. I tried to do it in such a way that no one knew. Three bags or three golden balls, with which the saint is most often depicted, are associated with his first miracle. Nikolai secretly planted gold on his neighbor, who was going to receive income from the beauty of his dowry daughters. Of course, for tourists it's easy beautiful legend and a souvenir. For those who were helped by the saint, it is a symbol of mercy and miracles, which Nikolai Ugodnik is still doing.
How his relics ended up in the city of Bari is still the subject of historical research. XI century, 700 years have passed since the death of the saint, Byzantine Empire going through hard times. Turks ravage cities, destroy shrines. Little port Bari needs a patron and decides to rob. In 1087, the shrine was stolen from the Lycian World. Now it is the territory of Turkey, the city of Demre.
The rest of the relics were taken by the Venetians. Already in the first days of their stay in Italy, the shrine healed 111 people.
The bringing of the shrine was approached from a scientific point of view. At night, when the temple was closed, experts conducted a study of the relics and at the same time decided which particle could be taken away. Through a small hole - with the help of an endoscope - they were filming right inside the tomb! The bones of a man who died 17 centuries ago turned out to be strong.
No such research has ever been done. Catholics and Orthodox worked side by side.
Now this piece is in Russia. Especially for the transfer of the relics, the masters from Sofrin near Moscow created an ark decorated with precious stones and the icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker.
The relic weighing 50 kilograms was delivered to Bari from Russia by a special aircraft. The safe lock and armored glass guarantee safety. Accompanying the shrine in Russia will be 8 priests from the basilica.
930 years ago, the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker were brought to Italian Bari by sea. Today, after signing a special act of temporary transfer and accompanied by an escort, the shrine left the city. But already by air, consecrating the path of thousands of kilometers. In the afternoon, the plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.
The shrine was taken to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and solemnly handed over to Patriarch Kirill. The parishioners, who had been waiting for the bringing of the relics since the very morning, were also present at the festive divine service. And tomorrow, hundreds of pilgrims will come to the temple, for whom the opportunity to bow to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is filled with special meaning.
