On December 19, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates one of the most revered holidays in Rus' - Day of the Great Saint Nicholas the Pleasant.

Lifetime image of St. Nicholas

For all Orthodox Christians and those who, in their knowledge, are not in the past, but strive to ascend. Who today, due to extreme life circumstances, needs support and help from above.

For the holiday to be perfect, pleasing to God, and for the memories of the Holy Wonderworker to really have an impact on our lives: “... we need to delve into the history of an event or person... absorb them into ourselves with our hearts.”

With this in mind, I am posting, in a condensed form, from everything that I was able to glean from various sources about the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
With this, I myself fill the ignorant gap, deciding to become more familiar with the details of life and grace-filled deeds in order to feel the greatness of the personality of St. Nicholas, whom you most often need and turn to for help and support.

Finally, there is little use in turning to the Saint without possessing at least a minimum of knowledge, and even worse, nothing, about the authenticity of his life and deeds, without having pure thoughts and grace-filled deeds.

There is no doubt about the reliability of the facts of life and the miraculous signs revealed, as modern historians say. Since most of the ancient texts found, handwritten, Latin, hagiographical monuments and other historical sources about St. Nicholas were subsequently confirmed by the results of archaeological excavations in the 19th – 20th centuries.

Saint Nicholas was born in the second half of the 3rd century (approximately 270) in the Greek colony, city of Patar, province of Lycia (present Antalya). In the most difficult time of the fierce struggle of Christians against paganism.
His parents are pious Christians. Prosperous, with sincere mercy and zeal for God. In an honest marriage, they did not have children, but continued to hope, earnestly praying to God to send them a son to devote Him to serving the Lord.
And God heard them and sent them a son. Who was named Nicholas at baptism, which means “conqueror of the people.” Thus indicating the purpose of “defeating a lot of human anger.”

Even then, at baptism, during the sacrament, he surprised him by standing in the font, unsupported by anyone, for 3 hours. And when breastfeeding, according to legend, he accepted milk only from his mother’s right breast and abstained from feeding on Wednesdays and Fridays.

When the time came to choose a teacher, Nikolai himself called his name syllable by syllable as his parent.
According to bibliographic sources that have come down to us, Nikolai, as a young man, was distinguished by exemplary chastity and purity of thoughts, especially in relation to women. The company of which he not only sought to avoid, but even to look them in the face from temptation, having decided to devote his life entirely to the service of God. And already as a youth, he shunned vain and sinful entertainments.

With his behavior and thoughts, Nikolai stood out sharply from his peers, and his pious life soon became known to all residents of the city of Patara. Soon the parents, at the request of his uncle, the bishop of the city church of this city, fulfilling the vow they had made, gave Nicholas to serve the Lord. “Having accepted the “young elder” under his protection, his uncle ordained him to the priesthood.”

Nicholas went through all the low levels of church service before he was awarded the priesthood and accepted the rank of priest.
While performing the rites of the priest, the uncle-bishop, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” addressing the people prophetically predicted the great future of the Pleasant of God. “...I see a new sun rising over the ends of the earth, which will be a consolation for all the sad. Blessed is the flock that is worthy to have such a shepherd..."

The uncle's prophecy began to come true in the life of his nephew.
Having accepted the priesthood, Saint Nicholas indulged in even deeper humility and seclusion, hoping to show his love for God without flaunting his integrity. He devoted himself entirely to prayers, fasting, and reading, sometimes all day and night long, divine books.

But God’s providence did not want the virtuous life of St. Nicholas to be limited only to him and not to be an example for others, “directing them to the true service of God.”

It so happened that soon the uncle-bishop had to go to Palestine and he did not see a more worthy deputy than Nicholas.
And now Nikolai devoted himself with all his soul to fulfilling the “arduous, high and sacred duties of episcopal administration.” Showing love for people, their needs, with all the breadth of your open heart, equally friendly to your acquaintances and strangers. He came with charitable help to those who, by coincidence, found themselves in extreme poverty. Using even the inheritance from his rich parents for this. At the same time, remaining a very modest person, without any special predilections towards himself, trying to do everything so that no one sees who this help is from.

Upon his uncle’s return, Nikolai himself decided to go to Palestine - to venerate the holy places “sanctified by the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
During this journey, on the ship, the prophetic miraculous gift of the Pleasant of God Nicholas manifested itself in full force. With whose fervent prayers it was possible to calm the storm, huge waves, and avoid shipwreck; demonstrate the miracles of the healing resurrection of a sailor who fell to death by falling from the mast; healing and healing of the population of the Palestinian desert.

Upon his return, the saint of God did not want to go to his city of Patara, but to retire from worldly life in the Zion monastery, once founded by his uncle, the bishop. Here he was received with great joy. In quiet solitude monastic cell Nikolai thought to stay for life.

But this again did not fit into God’s intentions. The Lord predicted for him to become the archbishop of the entire Myra Lycian country.
The circumstances of this ascent are not uninteresting.

One day, in monastic solitude during prayer, Nikolai heard a voice that said to him: “Nicholas! You must come out to serve the people if you want to receive a crown from Me.”
This voice plunged Nikolai into horror and bewilderment as to what exactly he should do. Then he heard the voice again: “Nikolai! This monastery is not the field in which you can bear the fruit I expect from you. Leave here and go into the world among people, so that My name can be glorified in you.”

Always obedient to the will of God, Nicholas immediately left the monastery that had sheltered him. And he crossed not to his hometown of Patara, but to the city of Myra, the capital of the Lycian country.

Soon, the Archbishop of the Lycian country, John, died in Myra. A new archbishop had to be elected.
On this occasion, all the bishops of the country gathered in Mir. They discussed for a long time the proposed candidates for archbishop, but never came to a consensus on choosing the most worthy of them.

In the end, they wisely decided that such an important matter could not take place without the will of God. And they began to earnestly, with fervent prayer, ask the Lord to fulfill their pious request.
And so, during prayer, a man appeared to one of the oldest bishops of the temple, surrounded by light, and ordered him that night to stand in the parish of the temple for the morning service and keep an eye on whoever entered the temple first. He will be acceptable to the Lord for the position of archbishop.

The bishops greeted the sign of God with even more fervent prayers, and the elder-bishop, with the onset of night, in the vestibule of the temple, began to wait for the chosen one of the Most High.
This first turned out to be Saint Nicholas, who always came to the temple before everyone else.

The bishop took him by the hand and led him to the council with the words: “Brethren, accept your shepherd, whom the Holy Spirit has anointed for you and to whom He has entrusted the management of your souls. It was not a human council, but a Divine court that set him up. Now we have the one we wanted; found and accepted who they were looking for. Under his wise guidance we can confidently hope to stand before the Lord on the day of His glory and judgment.”

Having assumed such a high rank, Saint Nicholas began to fulfill his duties with even greater zeal. Now he was already doing his job, his good intentions were open to everyone, for the benefit of the entire flock. Remaining simple and accessible to everyone. He continued to observe moderation and simplicity in everything. He wore simple clothes, ate fasting food once a day, and was open and welcoming to all those who suffered.

During his reign, Saint Nicholas had to endure everything: glory, according to the Lycian Church, the Orthodox faith, the eradication of heresies, and desecration, persecution of the Church of Christ by the minions of Emperor Valerian, when for some time, before the arrival of Diocletian, he even found himself in prison .

After his release from prison, Saint Nicholas remained in the rank of Archbishop of Myra in the Lycian Church until the end of his life.

Along this path, history has preserved many events that testify to the miraculous qualities he displayed as a miracle worker and protector: innocently convicted people, delivering the people from all sorts of misfortunes, death, famine, shipwreck.

The same blessed miraculous effect was noted for many of his icons and relics, exuding “fragrant myrrh.”

Nicholas the Wonderworker was likened to living to a ripe old age in the rank of Archbishop of Myra in Lycia. After a short illness, he blessedly reposed and was buried in a sarcophagus in the cathedral church of Myra in the Lycian Church.
It is impossible to list how many miracles, healings, deliverance from humiliation, destruction, and help to the people were revealed to him through the image and in various visions. Having departed in body, Saint Nicholas did not leave the human race with his spirit.

More than seven centuries after the death of Saint Nicholas the Great, His miraculous relics were transferred from the Myra Lycian Temple to the Italian city of Bar.

The day of the blessed death of Nicholas the Pleasant on December 6 (December 19 according to the new style) in 334 began to be celebrated as a holiday. And the feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated twice a year: December 6 (19) - winter and May 9 (22) - the day of the transfer of his relics - summer.

In Rus', Nikolai Ugodnik became famous in 860. in which, under the name of St. Nicholas, he was baptized Kyiv prince Askold. But as a cult holiday, it began to take shape only from the end of the 11th century, from the time our ancestors adopted the Orthodox faith.

And in 1882, on the grave of Prince Askold, according to the chronicle of St. Nestor, the first Russian writer of everyday life, in Kyiv - the mother of Russian cities, a church was built in the name of St. Nicholas.

Much earlier, the fame of the good deeds of the Holy Saint reached Constantinople (VI century). And after one or two centuries it spread to the eastern and western churches, where in the 8th and 9th centuries the celebration of the Saint became generally accepted.

The Fatherland and the people of Rus' received special mercy from the Holy Wonderworker, which was even pointed out by ancient foreign writers.

Throughout the history of Rus', Nicholas the Wonderworker was invisibly present and provided holy protection, assistance and assistance to the Russian people. Starting from the time of the struggle with the Polovtsians, during the period of domination and liberation from the Tatar-Mongol barbarians and then, when Rus' was already on the edge of the abyss - during the interregnum - from the Polish-Lithuanian invasion. Apparently because the spiritual qualities of St. Nicholas are very close to the character of the open, courageous and kind nature of the Russian person.

The people and rulers of the Fatherland have always been filled with deep faith in the omnipotence and good-heartedness of the Pleasant, “not a single great event in our history has taken place and no important work has been undertaken by either the people or their state, without turning to the help of the Wonderworker, without gratitude to the Saint at the end of these affairs ."

And only, mainly, the lack of true faith, humility and love for God prevented the opportunity to receive from the Pleasant of God according to one’s request.

If we talk about the images of the Holy Saint on icons, then, as historians testify, they are very plausible. Considering that in Christian art, according to I.O. Buslaev, affirmation is the beginning of verisimilitude. Therefore, not only the image of St. Nicholas, but many other Holy Saints is preserved so close to reality that some of them, in particular the Sainted Saint, can even be called portraits.

But for a believer looking at icons, this does not matter much at all. “An icon is only a means of concentrating his external feeling on the thought of a sacred person. To ascend in thoughts and spirit to the prototype, to enter into spiritual unity with it.”

Many iconographic images were made during the life of Nikolai Ugodnik. And when Italian anthropologists opened his tomb in the city of Baru in 1953, they stated: “The Saint Nicholas depicted on the icons fully corresponds appearance person buried in a tomb." At the same time, the abundant myrrh flow of the relics in the fragrant liquid was also noted.

“It is easier to count the stars in the sky, the leaves on the trees, the grass all over the earth, the sand on the seashore, than to describe the miracles with the icons of Christ, the Mother of God, St. Nicholas and other saints of God - there would be no end to this description of mine.
But the end of the letter will be like our life; there will never be an end to the miracles shining at the holy icons.” (Stefan Yavorsky)

Congratulations on the Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker!

This belief has long existed: if on the night of St. Nicholas the Pleasant you order cherished wish, then the Saint will definitely fulfill it.

St Nicholas; Nikolai Ugodnik; Nicholas of Myra Saint Nicholas is the holy archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Byzantium). In Christianity he is revered as a miracle worker and is the patron saint of children, travelers, and prisoners.

Miraculous birth

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker was born into a family of deeply religious Feofan and Nonna. The couple did not have children for a long time. After fervent prayers and a vow to dedicate the child to God, Nikolai was born.

Nicholas the Wonderworker did not grow up as an ordinary child; he was not interested in children's games or idle chatter, but he loved to read, pray and fast. From an early age, Nikolai studied the Divine Scripture with amazing zeal and did not leave the temple for a long time, fervently praying and getting to know God.

Holy deeds from a young age

Nicholas's uncle, who was a bishop and observed the spiritual successes 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.

Being in constant prayer, Nicholas showed great mercy to his flock, came to the aid of the suffering, and distributed his property to the poor.

Nikolai saved one previously rich resident of his city from a great sin. Having three adult daughters, the desperate father planned to give them over to fornication to save them from hunger. Saint Nicholas secretly threw three bags of gold out his window at night and thereby saved the family from fall and spiritual death.

Miracles of St. Nicholas

Nicholas was not a hermit, like many saints. He was always among people, helping them not only with moral teachings, but also with specific deeds.

Saint Nicholas performed many miracles: he saved entire cities from hunger, rescued those unjustly convicted from prison and saved them from execution, reconciled enemies, healed the seriously ill, and cared for orphans.

Nikolai's kindness, combined with his active nature, made him extremely popular and beloved among the people.

Reverence

Saint Nicholas lived to a ripe old age, and his body remained incorrupt after death. IN Orthodox faith Nicholas the Wonderworker is the most revered saint. Believers turn to him for healing from illnesses, help in severe life situation and preserving the family.

Throughout the Christian world there are many temples and monasteries dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. There are also miraculous icons of St. Nicholas. Some of them

The relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker rest in a basilica in the center of the Italian city of Bari. The relics of the saint are under the high altar. Miracles have been happening here for hundreds of years—millions of believers are convinced of this. They come to Bari from all over the world to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and ask for help.

The image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the icon has great importance throughout the Christian world. Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, who became a great saint of God, is sincerely loved and revered by Catholics and Orthodox Christians. No Christian temple or at home, wherever there is an image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. His figure is often depicted next to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Church celebrates the days of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker three times every year:

• The saint's birthday is August 11 (July 29, old style).
• The last day of his earthly life is December 19 (December 6, old style).
• The date of arrival of the saint’s relics in the city of Bari is May 22 (May 9, old style).

During his lifetime, the saint was famous for being a great helper to people in all their problems, so they come to him with fervent prayers to ask for assistance and protection. The Russian people have respected and venerated the saint for many centuries. Almost every city, even a small one, has a temple dedicated to St. Nicholas the Pleasant. This is the main cathedral of the northern capital of Russia - St. Petersburg, as well as the glorious Nikolskaya Tower, crowning the Moscow Kremlin.

The famous tower, erected in 1491, is associated with a miraculous event, the reality of which there is no doubt. The building was decorated with the face of the saint. 1917, when soldiers of Napoleon’s army committed outrages on the territory of Moscow, the enemies put the entire city to fire and sword. Despite severe damage and destruction, the image of St. Nicholas the Pleasant itself retained its integrity.

Life path of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

As the biography of Nicholas the Wonderworker testifies, he was born in the second half of the third century (about 280) in the city of Patara, Lycian region. At that time, these territories on the southern coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula were a Greek colony.

Childhood

Nikolai's parents were wealthy, pious people, so the boy received elementary education, grew up a worthy Christian. From a young age, he was distinguished from his peers by his seriousness, calmness, and love of the wisdom of books. Holy Scripture, to the church service. He spent days on end within the walls of the temple, and when night came, he read sacred books and prayed.

Service

Seeing the piety and spiritual aspirations of young Nicholas, his uncle, the Bishop of Patara, who was also called Nicholas, took him to church as a reader. A little later he did young man as his assistant, he ordained him to the rank of presbyter, entrusting him with teaching the parishioners. Thus, Patar became the place where the Christian feat of carrying the Word of God of St. Nicholas the Pleasant began.

There is another version of the biography, according to which a very young priest immediately became the bishop of Myrrha by decision of the council of bishops of Lycia. Such a rapid ascent was possible in the 4th century. After the death of his father and mother, the young priest became the heir to the family fortune, using it entirely to help people in need. Moreover, he always performed good deeds and donations secretly, selflessly, avoiding gratitude and fame. The first years of service to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker coincided with the years of the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian (until 305), who systematically persecuted Christians. Persecution of followers of Jesus Christ in different regions The Roman Empire lasted until 306-311.

After making a pilgrimage to the shrines of Jerusalem, the Wonderworker wanted to become one of the Palestinian hermits, but by the will of the Lord he changed his mind. The Almighty appeared to the priest in a dream and revealed that his true purpose was to serve God in native land. Amazing incidents happened already during the journey to the Holy Land. The young traveler was twice able to calm the stormy sea ​​waters threatening shipwreck, and brought back to life a sailor who had fallen from the mast.

Upon returning to the Lycian land, the saint, wishing to avoid fame and glory from the inhabitants of his native city, went to Myrrha (the center of Lycia). Just then the episcopal council was occupied with the issue of electing an archpastor. By God's will and the decision of the meeting, the position was given to Nicholas. Such a sudden rapid rise confused the priest and plunged him into confusion. Then, to strengthen faith and strength, the Lord came to the young man along with the Most Holy Theotokos. They handed Nicholas the Gospel and the omophorion, saying that they expected the priest not to serve as a hermit, but to glorify the Name of God. This miracle is often depicted in images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Despite his high, respected position, Archbishop Nicholas's lifestyle remained almost unchanged. He remained simple, modest, hardworking. Prayer and fasting took a lot of time. And the main concern of Nicholas the Wonderworker remained helping everyone who needed it: the poor, the rich, the healthy, the infirm, the young, the old.

Despite his modesty and purity, the saint, when necessary, became a zealous and persistent defender of the Church of Christ. Together with his comrades, he found temples, places of sacrifice of the pagans of Myrrh and suburban lands, destroyed them, destroying idols, actively attracting lost souls to the True Faith. In 325, the First Ecumenical Council took place (which adopted the Creed), and the saint was present among its active participants. Together with the glorious defenders of the Faith - Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, the Pope of Rome, Alexander of Alexandria, Saint Sylvester (and 312 other priests) - they resisted the aggressive attacks of the heretic Arius.

According to some sources, Nicholas gave the atheist a heavy slap in the face in front of everyone. For this act, the priest was temporarily deprived of the rank of bishop and then taken into custody. But the Lord miraculously delivered the defender of the Faith from unjust punishment. Later, while in the rank of archbishop, he himself freed Christians from captivity many times and even saved the lives of those who were innocently sentenced to execution. After his release and restoration to his rank, Saint Nicholas again returned to his duties, continuing to sow the word of the True Church, fighting for the purity of the Faith against those who wisely philosophize, heretics, and doubters. The priest eradicated the seeds of unbelief and doubt in order to strengthen the weak, healing their troubled souls.

Saint Nicholas departed to better world in old age approximately 345-351. He lived a pious life, full of compassion and helping people, the priest was a generous, kind man. Serving the Lord and Faith became his meaning and calling not only during his earthly life, but even today. Saint Nicholas is revered as a great Christian helper in many countries of the world. The numerous miracles performed during his lifetime and the help given to believers have made the image of Nicholas truly legendary to this day.

Veneration of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Nicholas the Wonderworker is a saint especially revered by the Orthodox Church. The Italian A. Guagnini (16th century), traveling around Rus', testified that Russians honor Nicholas the Pleasant more than others, giving him honors almost the same as God. Of course, the foreigner slightly embellished the reality, but he noticed correctly - many Russian churches are dedicated to the saint, simple people often turn to his help and intercession. Numerous icons and new iconographic scenes associated with real miraculous incidents are clear confirmation of the saint’s participation in resolving the problems of believers.

Relics of St. Nicholas in Italy

The veneration of Nicholas the Wonderworker (Archbishop of Myra) in his homeland began shortly after his death (in the second half of the 4th century). Byzantium came to this later - by the 7th century. Thus, the Patriarch of Constantinople Simeon Metaphrastus, characterizing Saint Nicholas, wrote that he was an old man with an angelic face, on whom everyone saw the stamp of holiness and God’s grace. A bright radiance emanated from the image. The person who looked at him improved himself, became better. And saddened, suffering souls found consolation.

Many sought to take possession of the relics of the holy saint. Including residents of Bari. Thus, they wanted to return their city to the significance of a spiritual center. The Barians came to the burial place of the Wonderworker and offered to give the relics to the monks for a reward. When the monks refused, the Italians tied them up. The relics of Saint Nicholas left the tomb with a sarcophagus filled with ointment in Myra Lycia, after which they were transported by ship to Bari (in the south of Italy).

The ships landed on the shores of Bari on May 9. The relics were solemnly transferred to the nearby Church of St. Stephen. During the procession, miraculous healings took place, which increased the joy and spiritual uplift of the townspeople who greeted the relics. One year later, under the leadership of the abbot of the Benedictine monastery, Elijah, a new church, the Basilica of St. Nicholas, was erected and consecrated specifically to house the holy relics. The relics of the saint are kept here to this day.

Iconography of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Almost immediately after the Baptism of Rus' (11th century), the veneration of St. Nicholas the Pleasant spread everywhere. The earliest image of the saint is the painting of the Church of Hagia Sophia in Kyiv. Of interest is the fresco of the Kyiv St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery (located in the Tretyakov Gallery). In the image the saint stands in full height, blessing everyone right hand, and with the left holding the open Gospel

Another ancient way of depicting St. Nicholas is from the waist up. The saint holds a closed Gospel with his left hand. Byzantine iconographers, working from the 11th to the 13th centuries, were the first to paint such images. A Russian icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of this type formerly belonged to the Novodevichy Convent (Smolensk Cathedral). An ancient image of the 12th century came to Moscow from Novgorod thanks to Ivan the Terrible. Now the holy face is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

The images of St. Nicholas the Pleasant of the Smolensk Cathedral attract with their images in the margins. The center of the upper part demonstrates the prepared Throne (symbol of the second coming); on both sides of Nikolai are Damian and Kosma. The side fields are painted with three rows of saints: full-length Saints Boris and Gleb with martyr's crosses and swords in sheaths; martyrs Laurus and Frol; holy women-martyrs, revered by the Novgorod land, the venerable martyr Domna and Evdokia; Photinia and Paraskeva (shoulder-shaped). Today the State Russian Museum houses Novgorod icon Nicholas the Wonderworker (from the Holy Spiritual Monastery), the image was painted around the middle of the 13th century. Its composition also includes images of locally revered saints of the city of Novgorod.

Samples of icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from the 11th to 14th centuries form the tradition of hagiographic icons of the saint. Images with scenes from the life of the saint became widespread in Italy, Rus', and the Balkans. The most ancient hagiographic Russian icons are considered to be the Novgorod image of the Lyuboni churchyard, dating back to the 14th century, as well as the Kolomna icon of St. Nicholas in the treasury of the Tretyakov Gallery.

If we compare the popularity of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in different countries Christian world, then it is greatest in Russia. Therefore, you can often hear that this is a truly Russian saint. Perhaps because his image is multifaceted: a saint, a support of the Church, a fighter against heresy, a patron of rulers, travelers and a defender of the poor, an intercessor for all the unfortunate.

Nicholas the Wonderworker; Nikolai Ugodnik; Saint Nicholas(Greek Άγιος Νικόλαος - Saint Nicholas; about 270, Lycia - about 345) - a saint in historical churches, archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Byzantium). In Christianity he is revered as a miracle worker and considered the patron saint of sailors, merchants and children.

In ancient biographies, Nicholas of Myra was usually confused with Nicholas of Pinar (Sinai) due to similar details in the lives of the saints: both were from Lycia, archbishops, revered saints and miracle workers. These coincidences led to the misconception that existed for many centuries that in the history of the church there was only one Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Biography

According to his life, Saint Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the 3rd century in the Greek colony of Patara in the Roman province of Lycia at a time when the region was Hellenistic in its culture and appearance. Nicholas was very religious early childhood and completely devoted his life to Christianity. It is believed that he was born to wealthy Christian parents in Patara, Lycia, where he received his primary education. Due to the fact that his biography was confused with the biography of Nicholas of Pinar, for several centuries there was a misconception that the parents of Nicholas of Myra were Theophanes (Epiphanius) and Nonna.

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 Patarsky, 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.

When his parents died, Saint Nicholas inherited their fortune, but he gave it to charity.

The initial period of Saint Nicholas' activity as a clergyman dates back to the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (reigned 284-305) and Maximian (reigned 286-305). In 303, Diocletian issued an edict legalizing the systematic persecution of Christians throughout the empire. After the abdication of both emperors on May 1, 305, changes occurred in the policy of their successors towards Christians. In the western part of the empire, Constantius Chlorus (r. 305-306) put an end to systematic persecution after his accession to the throne. In the eastern part, Galerius (r. 305-311) continued the persecution until 311, when he issued an edict of toleration while on his deathbed. The persecutions of 303-311 are considered the longest in the history of the empire.

After the death of Galerius, his co-ruler Licinius (r. 307-324) was generally tolerant of Christians. As a result, Christian communities began to develop. The bishopric of St. Nicholas in Myra (ancient Lycia of the Roman Empire; the modern name of the city is Demre, located in the province of Antalya in Turkey) dates back to this period.

The destruction of several pagan temples is also attributed to him - among them one of the temples of Artemis (also known as Diana). The Greek Damascene Studite, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Arta (XVI century), in his book “Θησαυρός” (“Treasure”), sets out a legend that during the Ecumenical Council (325) Nicholas "hit me on the cheek" his opponent Arius. However, professor of church history V.V. Bolotov in the 4th volume of his monumental work “Lectures on History” Ancient Church” writes: “Not one of the legends about the Council of Nicea, even with a weak claim to antiquity, mentions the name of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, among its participants.” Also, according to Archpriest L. Voronov, this “cannot be recognized as true, first of all, because it stands in sharp contradiction with the impeccable moral character of the great Saint,” on the one hand, and with the Rules of the holy apostles, on the other. Nevertheless, in his own words, the Church “does not doubt the reality of the fact of the conciliar trial of St. Nicholas" for this offense. Voronov, “based on an analysis of the vocabulary of church chants,” confirms that St. Nicholas called Arius "mad blasphemer".

The very facts of the strangulation of Arius by Nicholas and the trial of Nicholas are entirely absent in the life of Nicholas, written by Simeon Metaphrastus in the 10th century and placed in the Chetii-menaion, there is nothing of the kind in the life of Nicholas, located in the Greek Synaxar, these events are not present in the Great Chetii Menaion, collected and published by Saint Macarius in the middle of the 16th century. There are no data for events in the Prologue in the liturgical texts of the Menaion on December 6. The description of a slap in the face first appears in Russian hagigraphy only at the end of the 17th century in the Lives of the Saints, written by Metropolitan Dimitri of Rostov.

Saint Nicholas is also known as the defender of the slandered, often saving them from the fate of those innocently condemned. He is also known for his prayers for sailors and other travelers.

Acts and miracles

Sailor Rescue

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of seafarers, often turned to by sailors who are in danger of drowning or shipwreck. According to the biography, as a young man, Nikolai went to study in Alexandria, and on one of his sea voyages from Myra to Alexandria, he resurrected a sailor who had fallen from a piece of ship's equipment in a storm and crashed to his death. From another case in the biography, Nikolai saved a sailor on the way from Alexandria back to Mira and upon arrival took him with him to church.

Dowry for three girls
(Gentile da Fabriano, c. 1425)

In the Catholic tradition, there is a widespread legend about how St. Nicholas helped three girls, whose father, unable to collect a dowry, planned to make an income from their beauty. Having learned about this, Nikolai decided to help the girls. Being modest (or wanting to spare them the humiliation of accepting help from a stranger), he secretly snuck into their house and left a dowry purse for the eldest daughter. He did the same for his middle daughter the next year (according to another version, the next day). Realizing that someone had undertaken to help his daughters, the father decided to thank the benefactor, and to do this, waiting until the day of his next visit, he hid in his daughters’ room. According to one version, Nikolai was caught, but refused to accept gratitude, declaring that his father should thank only God. According to another version, Nicholas learned of the poor man's plan and threw his donation down the chimney, where it ended up in his sock youngest daughter drying over the fire. It was this legend that was reborn into folklore about Santa Claus and the gift in the sock.

Even during his lifetime, Saint Nicholas became famous as a pacifier of warring parties, a defender of the innocently condemned, and a deliverer from vain death.

Transfer of relics

According to legend, in 792, Caliph Harun Ar-Rashid sent the commander of the fleet, Humaid, to devastate the island of Rhodes. Having plundered the island, Humaid went to Myra Lycia with the intention of breaking into and plundering the tomb of St. Nicholas. However, instead of it, he allegedly broke into another one, which stood next to the tomb of the Saint, and barely the sacrileges had time to do this, when a terrible storm arose at sea and almost all of Humaid’s ships were broken.

Such desecration of Christian shrines outraged not only Eastern, but also Western Christians. Christians in Italy, among whom there were many Greeks, were especially afraid for the relics of St. Nicholas.

The threat to Christian shrines intensified after the Khazar Turks (Seljuk Turks) invaded the Middle East. The empire was exhausted from their attacks, coordinated with the Pechenegs and the Ghuzes related to the Seljuks from the north, and the Normans crushed the Byzantines from the West. In the main city of Cappadocia, Caesarea, the Turks robbed the main shrine of the city - the Church of Basil the Great, where the relics of the saint were kept. The Byzantine chronicler wrote about the time of Michael Parapinak (1071-1078): “Under this emperor, the whole world, land and sea, was captured by wicked barbarians, destroyed and depopulated, for all Christians were killed by them, and all the houses and villages of the East from their churches were devastated, completely destroyed and reduced to nothing.”

The new emperor Alexei I Komnenos tried to save the shrines, but could not. The barbarity of the Turkish robbers was attributed to all Muslims, including those who ruled Antioch. In such circumstances, in 1087, Barian and Venetian merchants went to Antioch. Both of them planned to pick up the relics of St. Nicholas on the way back to Italy and bring them to Italy. Two residents of Bari were sent on reconnaissance, who, upon returning, reported that everything was quiet in the city, and in the church where the relics were located there were only four monks. Immediately 47 people, armed, went to the Church of St. Nicholas.

The monks guarding the shrine, not suspecting anything wrong, showed them the platform, under which the tomb of the saint was hidden. The monk at the same time told the strangers about the vision of St. Nicholas the day before to one elder, in which the Saint asked him to more carefully preserve his relics.

This story inspired the residents of Bari, since they saw in this phenomenon a kind of indication from St. Nicholas. To facilitate their actions, they revealed their intentions to the monks and offered them a ransom of 300 gold coins. The monks angrily refused the money and wanted to notify the residents of the misfortune that threatened them, but the Italians tied them up and placed their guards at the doors.

Residents of Bari smashed the church platform, under which stood the tomb with relics, and saw that the sarcophagus was filled with fragrant holy myrrh. The compatriots of the Barians, presbyters Lupp and Drogo, performed a litany, after which a young man named Matthew began to extract the relics of the Saint from the sarcophagus overflowing with the world. The events took place on April 20, 1087.

Due to the absence of the ark, Presbyter Drogo wrapped the relics in outer clothing and, accompanied by the Barians, transferred them to the ship. The liberated monks told the city the sad news about the theft of the relics of the Wonderworker by foreigners. Crowds of people gathered on the shore, but it was too late...

On May 8, the ships arrived in Bari, and soon the good news spread throughout the city. The next day, May 9, the relics of St. Nicholas were solemnly transferred to the Church of St. Stephen, located not far from the sea. The celebration of the transfer of the shrine was accompanied by numerous miraculous healings of the sick, which aroused even greater reverence for the great saint of God. A year later, a church was built in the name of St. Nicholas and consecrated by Pope Urban II.

Currently, the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker are kept in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari. There, in Bari, is the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Some of the relics are still kept in Turkey in the Church of St. Nicholas, since they did not manage to steal all the relics.

The sailors from Bari took only half of the relics of the saint, leaving all the small fragments in the grave. They were collected by Venetian sailors during the first crusade and taken to Venice, where the church of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, was built. The authenticity of the relics was confirmed in two scientific research in Bari and Venice, which proved that the relics in the two cities belong to the same skeleton.

Establishment of a holiday

At first, the feast of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas was celebrated only by residents of the Italian city of Bari. In other countries of the Christian East and West it was not accepted, despite the fact that the transfer of relics was widely known. The Greek Church also did not establish the celebration of this date, perhaps because the loss of the relics of the Saint was a sad event for it.

In Rus' in the 11th century, veneration of the saint spread quite quickly and everywhere. The Russian Orthodox Church established the commemoration of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bari on May 9 shortly after 1087 on the basis of the deep, already strengthened veneration of the great saint of God by the Russian people. Archbishop Filaret of Chernigov believed that in the Russian Church the holiday in honor of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas was established in 1091. Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow and Kolomna believed that the holiday was established by Metropolitan John II of Kyiv (1077-1089). Archpriest Nikolai Pogrebnyak believes that the holiday in honor of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas was established by the Church, apparently by St. Ephraim (c. 1098). According to D. G. Khrustalev, this holiday appeared in Rus' in 1092.

The holiday is widely celebrated in the Russian and Bulgarian churches. Serbia celebrates religious holiday Glory of the Cross, and the Glory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the most common.

This holiday is rarely celebrated by Catholics outside the Italian city of Bari.

Reverence

Modern Russian monthly book Orthodox Church contains three feasts of St. Nicholas, each of whom has his own hymnography:

• December 6 (19) - day of death (on folk tradition"Nikola Winter"),
• May 9 (22) is the day of the arrival of the relics in the city of Bari (in the folk tradition “Nikola Veshny”),
• July 29 (August 11) - Christmas of St. Nicholas. Two different services have reached us for this holiday of the 17th-18th centuries,
• Every everyday Thursday.

It is precisely known about the Greek origin of only one of the named memories - Repose of St. Nicholas. In Byzantium, a service for this holiday was also compiled. The remaining five holidays (probably all) belong to the Russian Church and the hymnography for them was compiled by Russian songwriters. The second group consists of holidays in honor of the miraculous icons of the Saint, of which there are quite a few. Also, his memory is honored weekly, every Thursday, with special chants.

In 1987, the memory of St. Nicholas was included in the created Council of Tula Saints; the celebration of the Council takes place on September 22 (October 5).

In Slavic folklore and folk beliefs

According to popular beliefs, Nicholas is the “eldest” among the saints, is included in the Holy Trinity and can even succeed God on the throne. A legend from Belarusian Polesie says that “Saint Mikola is not only older than the saints, but also the elders above them<…>Saints Mykola the gods are the heir, as the God of the Pamre, then sv. Mikalay (sic) miracle worker budze bagavac, but not anyone inshy.” The special veneration of the saint is evidenced by the plots of folk legends about how St. Nicholas became a “lord”: he prayed so earnestly in the church that the golden crown fell on his head by itself (Ukrainian Carpathian).

Among the Eastern and Western Slavs, the image of Nicholas, due to some of its functions (“chief” of heaven - holds the keys to heaven; transports souls to the “other world”; patronizes warriors) can be contaminated with the image of St. Mikhail. Among the southern Slavs, the image of the saint as a fighter of snakes and a “wolf shepherd” comes close to the image of St. George.

St. Nicholas is considered the patron saint of agriculture and beekeeping, all livestock and wild animals. His cult is associated with the afterlife and correlated with relics of the bear cult. In folklore legends, Nicholas as the “merciful” is often contrasted with the “formidable” Elijah the Prophet, which indicates, in the opinion of B. A. Uspensky, the preservation of St. in popular veneration. Nicholas traces of the cult of the pagan deity Veles.

Saint Nicholas was born in the second half of the 3rd century in the city of Patara, a region of Lycia in Asia Minor. His parents Theophanes and Nona were from a noble family and very wealthy, which did not prevent them from being pious Christians, merciful to the poor and zealous towards God.

Until they were very old, they had no children: in constant fervent prayer they asked the Almighty to give them a son; promising to dedicate it to the service of God. Their prayer was heard: the Lord gave them a son, who at holy baptism received the name Nicholas, which means in Greek “victorious people.”

Already in the first days of his infancy, Saint Nicholas showed that he was destined for special service to the Lord. There is a legend that during baptism, when the ceremony was very long, he, unsupported by anyone, stood in the font for three hours.

From the very first days, Saint Nicholas began a strict ascetic life, to which he remained faithful until the grave.

Under the blessing of St. Nicholas

The name of Nicholas Archbishop of Myra is familiar to all Christians on the planet. He is called a miracle worker, a saint, a rule of faith and an image of meekness, and even a ruler of the sea for his special patronage of sailors. Nicholas created countless miracles and does not stop doing them to this day. Nicholas is our beloved and most popular saint, third after God and the Most Holy Theotokos, as the chronicle writes about him. Nicholas is even called the Russian God. So what kind of person was this? Who lived six centuries before the formation of the Russian state, but to whom thousands of temples and chapels are dedicated in the Russian Church.i

Our future saint was born around 260 AD in the city of Patara, a fairly large city in the Roman province of Lycia. Now this is the well-known Turkish province of Antalya to all of us. According to legend, the house of Nikolai’s parents was located on this site. In those days, Patara was a fairly large port city. The Apostle Paul came here on one of his missionary journeys.

The Lord and the Lord are pleased that a child will be born pure before God, and he will be born pure and name him Nikola. In Patara there was a friendly Christian community in which the boy Niko was very loved. That was Nikolai's name in childhood. He was apparently Greek by nationality. His full name in Greek it sounds like Nikolaus. Niko spent his childhood in these places. In Lycia, as in the entire Roman Empire, paganism reigned at that time, but the Christian gospel had already reached these places. And after school, Niko decided to become a priest. Nicholas's parents were strong Christians themselves. So they held their son. As a boy, he grew up serious, collected, and prayed a lot. The akathist to the saint says that from his very birth he had special spiritual strength. Nicholas was ordained a reader, then ordained a deacon, and then a priest.

Nikolai's father was a wealthy shipowner and left a large inheritance, which Nikolai spent on feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and ransoming debtors. But he helped not only the disadvantaged.

One of Nikolai’s first high-profile good deeds was helping his noble neighbors. These were good people, and as a child Nikolai hung out with their three lovely daughters. The neighbors lived in grand style, but one day the head of the family went bankrupt and all that was left was the mansion. The noisy evenings stopped, the gentlemen disappeared and despondency reigned in the family. Of course, it was possible to sell the huge house, buy simpler housing on the outskirts and do modest work. But the loss social status and a high material level is not easy to survive. Often a person becomes despondent, embittered and even loses his mind. This is exactly what happened to the head of the family. Until recently, the unfortunate father madly loved his daughters and was ready to lay down his life for the honor of each of them. And now he decides to turn his house into a brothel, where his daughters will serve clients.

In the 4th century, such an act did not shock anyone; people were generally sold into slavery for debts, but still it was an extreme step. Neither relatives nor friends could dissuade the unfortunate man. He was not touched by the tears of his daughters who prayed in vain to all known gods. And one day they turned to Tom, to true God. He heard them and helped. Nikolai learned about his neighbor’s plans and that same night threw him a bag with fifty denarii. This was quite a large amount. By comparison, Roman legionnaires, whose salaries were the highest in the Empire, received one denarius per day. A neighbor used Nikolai's money to marry him off eldest daughter. When Nikolai threw another bag and arranged the fate of the middle daughter. The neighbor, perked up, believed in God and now knew for sure that the third daughter would also be blessed. And so it happened. One night, a tight bag flew through the window and hit the floor with a metallic clang. The neighbor did not sleep; like a young man, he jumped out of the garden window and rushed after his benefactor. He caught up with Nikolai, recognized him, and with tears threw himself at his feet. The former arrogant and proud man warmly thanked his savior, who was old enough to be his son. The story of helping three girls became known and very popular throughout the Christian world.

The custom of giving New Year's gifts dates back to this story. This tradition originated in Europe in the 16th century. Santa Claus brings gifts. He is Saint Nicholas. From Europe, Santa Claus in the form of Father Frost came to Russia. It is true that Santa Claus is not credited with Mediterranean but Lapland origin. And Veliko Ustyugskoye is for Russian Grandfather Frost. But I think St. Nicholas is not offended by us for this.

One day Nicholas was on business in the regional center of Lycia in Myra.

All the unusual behavior of the child showed his parents that he would become a great saint of God, so they turned Special attention for his upbringing and tried, first of all, to instill in his son the truths of Christianity and direct him to a righteous life. The youth soon comprehended, thanks to his rich talents and guided by the Holy Spirit, book wisdom. While excelling in his studies, the youth Nikolai also excelled in his pious life. He was not interested in the empty conversations of his peers: an infectious example of camaraderie leading to anything bad was alien to him.

Avoiding vain, sinful entertainment, the youth Nicholas was distinguished by exemplary chastity and avoided all unclean thoughts. He spent almost all his time reading the Holy Scriptures and performing feats of fasting and prayer. He had such love for the temple of God that he sometimes spent whole days and nights there in divine prayer and reading divine books.

The pious life of young Nicholas soon became known to all residents of the city of Patara. The bishop in this city was his uncle, also named Nikolai. Noticing that his nephew stood out among other young people for his virtues and strict ascetic life, he began to persuade his parents to give him to serve the Lord. They readily agreed because they had made such a vow before the birth of their son. His uncle, the bishop, ordained him a presbyter.

Icon from the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari (Italy). Image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker during his lifetime,

which, according to the church, was written on the basis of a lifetime image of the Saint.

This icon is a gift from the Serbian king Stefan Uros III, made by him in 1327 as a token of gratitude for the miraculous return of his sight to the Saint. It is believed that this icon was painted based on the lifetime image of St. Nicholas the Pleasant.

The miraculous return of sight to Tsarevich Stefan

The most common iconographic image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

In the icon, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker holds the Gospel in his hands. This is a reminder for Christian believers that Nicholas the Wonderworker does not forget about them and, while staying in the Heavenly Abodes, continues, through the prayers of believers, to do good and give parting words to people, contemplating human life from above. On icons, Nicholas the Wonderworker is most often depicted from the waist up.

Sometimes the Lord Jesus Christ is depicted on the left in the upper corner, and on the right - Holy Mother of God with the omophorion given to Nicholas in his hands.

Rescue of a drowned child

There lived a husband and wife in Kyiv who had an only son - still a baby. These pious people had special faith in Saint Nicholas and the martyrs Boris and Gleb. One day they were returning after a holiday from Vyshgorod, where the holy relics of the holy martyrs were located. While sailing along the Dnieper on a boat, the wife, holding the baby in her arms, dozed off and dropped the child into the water. It is impossible to imagine the grief of the poor parents.

In their complaints, they turned with complaint and reproach, especially to St. Nicholas. Soon the unfortunate people came to their senses and decided that, apparently,

Appearance of St. Nicholas to Novgorod Prince Mstislav

The Novgorod chronicles brought to us “The story of the wondrous discovery of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas by the Archbishop of Myra, miracles about it will be performed in Veliky Novgorod and the creation of a church in the name of this miracle worker on the Trade Side, in the Yaroslavl courtyard.”

“The Tale of the Marvelous Finding of the Icon of St. Nicholas” came to us in manuscripts of the 17th - 18th centuries. It reports that in the summer of 6621 (1113) Grand Duke Mstislav (baptized George) Svyatoslavich happened to fall into a severe illness, he prayed for the Savior, the Most Holy Theotokos, to get rid of his illness and called on many saints for help and finally called for a quick assistant and quick listener of the great wonderworker Nicholas. At that time, the Legend indicates, it was already known that the relics of St. Nicholas were transferred from Mir to Bari, where many sick people were healed. It was also known about the miracle of saving a drowned baby, who was found alive in front of the icon of St. Nicholas in Kyiv.

One night the saint appeared to the prince in a dream (“in vestments, as written on the icon”), and ordered him to be sent to Kyiv, where “on the floor” (in the choir) there is an icon of St. Nicholas, “round board”, bless the water from it (apparently the water from washing the icon) and “sprinkle” it with it for healing. At the same time, the saint showed the “measure” of this image and commanded to always remember the icon with its image. Having woken up, the prince sent an embassy to Kyiv, headed by his “boyar butler.” However, the boat was stopped by a storm on Lake Ilmen. The envoys had to wait it out for three days and three nights in a certain quiet place: “From a storm of wind, I arrived at a certain island, waiting for time until the wind would subside.” On the fourth day, the cook, wanting to scoop up water for cooking, saw a round board floating in the water. "Bolyarin", taking the board, recognized in it the icon of St. Nicholas, in the same measure as the measure given to him from the prince. The icon was taken out of the water, taken in a boat to Novgorod and solemnly greeted there: “having sung an honest prayer service, carried it into the boat and returned to Veliky Novgorod with great joy.” Brought to the prince

St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Conquering evil forces at sea

Stopping the execution of three innocent people

During his lifetime the saint performed many miracles. Of these, the saint gained the greatest fame 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, brought them out of captivity and imprisonment in dungeons. Even during his lifetime, the saint performed many miracles. Of these, the saint gained the greatest fame 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 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.

Healing the Blind

Appearance to a merchant asking for help to the hungry

Healing the sick

From Emperor Constantine

The life of St. Nicholas the Pleasant contains a hitherto unknown miracle, which was not previously included in the biography of the saint. "The Act of Tax" Alexander Bugaevsky

Release of military commanders

Appearance to a clergyman with a request to transfer the relics

In 1087, according to church sources, Saint Nicholas appeared in a dream to a priest in the city of Bari. The dreamer conveyed the Saint’s desire to his fellow citizens, who transported the Saint’s relics from the captured city to Italy, saving them from destruction.

Meeting of the holy relics of St. Nicholas in Bar-grad

Zoya's standing
One of the most amazing events happened in the city of Kuibyshev in 1956. Under New Year the girl Zoya did not wait for her groom. All her friends were dancing, and she was the only one who didn’t have a partner. Then she took the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and began to dance with it. To the cries of her friends, she replied: “If there is a God, let Him punish me!” And suddenly the girl seemed to be petrified - she froze in place with the icon of the saint pressed to her chest, and no one could move her. The girl did not move, but her heart continued to beat. When this story reached the authorities, the house was blocked off, and police were posted around. On the day of the Annunciation, some old man begged the guards to let him through to the girl. Entering the house, he asked Zoya: “Well, are you tired of standing?” The guards looked into the room, the old man was no longer there. Zoya stayed until Easter - four months.

Saint Nicholas, who appeared in the form of an old man, saved people from death. A pilot who had fallen in the Barents Sea was rescued by an old man who suddenly appeared on a boat. Later he recognized the savior on the icon of “St. Nicholas, to whom his mother prayed throughout the war for help for her son.” The pilot carried it with him like a sewn-in medallion. After praying to St. Nicholas, the driver of the sinking car got out of the car, and a large fish helped him get to the shore.

An elder approaches the tanker for whom the mother is praying to St. Nicholas and hands over a horseshoe on her behalf so that the man hangs it in the tank as a talisman. He was never wounded during the war. The tanker recognized the stranger on the icon when he returned home.

During the war, a boy carrying out orders for partisans, in the ruins of a church, “accidentally found, as he thought, a beautiful picture in a golden frame. An elderly man of advanced age with clear eyes and a stern gaze looked at him from it.” Later, a fascist shot at the boy. Waking up, the child pulled out an icon from his bosom and saw that the saint was holding a bullet in his hand.