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May 22 - spring holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

The spring holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is May 22. They pray to the Saint when it is hard on the soul, and they also ask him for help, prosperity, well-being on the way. Before asking for something from St. Nicholas, they read a prayer.

Prayer to Saint Nicholas

“O all-good Father Nicholas, shepherd and teacher of all who by faith flow to your intercession and call you with warm prayer! Quickly rush and deliver the flock of Christ from the wolves that destroy it; and protect every Christian country and save with your holy prayers from worldly rebellion, cowardice, invasion of foreigners and internecine strife, from famine, flood, fire, sword and vain death. And as if you had mercy on three men sitting in prison, and delivered them the king’s wrath and the cutting of the sword, so have mercy on me, mind, word and deed in the darkness of sins, and deliver me the wrath of God and eternal punishment, as if by your intercession and With help, by His own mercy and grace, Christ God will give us a quiet and sinless life to live in this world and save me from standing, and vouchsafe the right hand with all the saints. Amen."

Even during his lifetime, the saint performed many miracles. Thanks to his prayers, the city of Mira was saved from starvation. Appearing in a dream to an Italian merchant and leaving him as a pledge three gold coins, which he found in his hand when he woke up in the morning, asked him to sail to Mira and sell rye there.

More than once the saint saved those drowning in the sea, led them out of captivity and imprisonment in dungeons.

Appearing in a dream to the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine, Nicholas urged him to release the unjustly sentenced to death military leaders who, being in prison, prayed to the Savior. He helps even now, he certainly needs to pray and ask for help.

Spell for joint pain

“Lomotitsa, tweezer, bone relative, all joints and half-joints, bootlegs, do not creak, do not hurt the servant of God. (name), so that she does not suffer anymore, let her sleep. Amen."

Having pronounced the conspiracy, light the church candle and read the prayer to St. Nicholas three times.

Conspiracy from fear

On Sunday at noon, read a prayer to St. Nicholas, light a church candle and, approaching the icon, say:

“There is no fear either in a dark night, or in the light of day, or in a deserted desert, or in fire, or in water, or in military affairs, or in a fist fight, or in the face of the deceased, or in an earthly court. There is no fear in the heart of a servant of God/servant of God. (name). In the name of Jesus Christ himself, the Son of God, who did not fear death on the cross. Amen."

Conspiracy to cleanse the body

If you feel tired all over your body, suffer from insomnia, suffer from a premonition of trouble, and also after communicating with unpleasant people, you need to take a contrast shower of seven ablutions after praying to Nicholas. For women, the procedure begins with hot water, for men - with cold. After you wash yourself for the seventh time, looking at the running water, say: “Water you, holy water! You wash everything and cleanse everything! Wash me off, servant of God/slave. (name) mowing, prizes, troubles, hardships. Amen". And read it three times "Our Father".

So that the child does not fall into bad company

This plot is also read after a prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker, at the head of the bed of a sleeping child.

“Go, child, to your house and do not bow to anyone other than your father, except your mother. Bow to the icon (Nikolai Ugodnik) (3 times) and submit to your parents. Amen."

“Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee from His presence. Like smoke disappears, let them disappear, like wax melts from the face of fire, so let demons perish from the face of those who love God and signify sign of the cross, and in the joy of those who say: Rejoice, Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, drive away demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been crucified on you, descended into hell and corrected the power of the devil, and gave us His Honest Cross to drive away every adversary. O Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady Virgin Mother of God and with all the saints forever. Amen."

Saved words on the way

“The road is a princess, the Way is my king. Faith in Christ was of old, Faith is still there. With me is my shield, Jesus Christ himself, the Savior's hand from every enemy. Whoever stretches out his hand to me will become a dead man himself. The key is in the mouth, the castle is in the river, the amulet is on me. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Ritual for the fulfillment of a wish

Today you can perform a ceremony to fulfill a wish. Buy twelve church candles and put them in front of the icon of St. Nicholas. Light the candles and while they are burning (about an hour), ask the Pleasant of God to fulfill your most cherished desire (however, not related to finances).

We wish you all the best and no troubles! Be happy and healthy!

may 22 day of saint nicholas miracle worker prayer

Saint Nicholas (Nicholas Ugodnik; Nicholas the Wonderworker; OK. 270 - approx. 345) is a Christian saint, Archbishop of the World of Lycia (Byzantium). Saint Nicholas is revered as a miracle worker, is considered patron of travelers, sailors, merchants And children. In European folklore, the prototype of Santa Claus.

Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of the World of Lycia, a miracle worker, became famous as a great saint of God. He was born into a wealthy aristocratic family 250 years after the birth of Jesus Christ on the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire, in the seaside city of Patara in Lycia (today it is the territory of Turkey). His parents, Feofan and Nonna, were pious, noble and rich people. Then his family moved to the port city of Mira. Here the Saint spent his whole life.

From birth, he surprised his pious parents: at baptism, he stood in the font for 3 hours, thereby paying honor to the Most Holy Trinity; On Wednesdays and Fridays, he refused mother's milk for the sake of fasting days. Growing up, he aspired more and more to God, spending a long time in prayer.

After the death of his parents, Nicholas received a large inheritance and began to distribute it to the poor. But he helped people secretly, so that they would not know who gave them, and would not thank him.

From childhood, Nicholas excelled in the study of Divine Scripture. During the day he did not leave the church, but at night he prayed and read books. In matters of faith, he was like an old man. Such service to God could not go unnoticed. After the death of the archbishop of the Church of Myra, John, the question arose: who would take his place? And one of the bishops saw in a dream that a young man should be chosen as bishop, who would be the first to enter the church in the morning - his name should be Nikolai. At dawn, the first to open the doors of the temple was the Blessed Nicholas, who later became known as the Miracle Worker of Mirliki.

Making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Nicholas the Wonderworker, at the request of desperate travelers, calmed the raging sea with a prayer. Holding the sword of the executioner, Saint Nicholas saved from death three husbands who had been innocently condemned by the greedy mayor.

Christians believe that even today he performs many miracles to help people who pray to him.

Not only believers turned to him, but also pagans, and the saint responded with his unfailing miraculous help to all who sought it. In those saved by him from bodily troubles, he aroused repentance for sins and a desire to improve their lives.

During his earthly life, he did so many good deeds for the glory of God that they cannot be listed, but among them there is one that belongs to the number of virtues and to that which served as the basis for their performance, which moved the saint to a feat - his faith, amazing, strong, zealous.

Saint Nicholas died in the middle of the 4th century at a ripe old age. According to church tradition, the relics of the saint were preserved incorruptible and exuded a wonderful myrrh, from which many people were healed. In 1087 relics of St. Nicholas were moved in the Italian city of Bar (Bari), where they are to this day, in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Nicholas. Part of the relics of St. Nicholas is kept in Venice(Lido Island) and in archaeological museum city of Antalya.

The folk calendar distinguishes two days dedicated to Nikolai Ugodnik: winter Nikola - December 19, and spring (summer) Nikola - May 22.

Nicholas the Wonderworker is revered by both the Western Church and the Orthodox world. But it is in Russia that even people far from the church know Nikolai Ugodnik as the most revered saint by the Russian people. In addition to the special holidays dedicated to him, the Church celebrates the memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker every Thursday. St. Nicholas is often commemorated at divine services and on other days of the week.

Saint Nicholas showed mercy even to a person who committed a terrible sin, if he deeply and sincerely obeyed. So, he forgave the ruler of the city, who condemned the innocent for a bribe, and did not complain about him to the emperor. And he could be unexpectedly harsh: at the Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325), indignant at the stubbornness of the heretic Arius, he hit him on the cheek, for which the assembled bishops decided to deprive Saint Nicholas of the hierarchal (episcopal) dignity. According to legend, he was even imprisoned. But the sign that the bishops received in a dream convinced them to return the saint's freedom. The meaning of his act for believers is by no means in permissiveness, but in active rejection of any untruth: the sharpness of the saint was caused by the same feeling that once prompted him to snatch the sword from the hands of the executioner.

Saint Nicholas is also glorified as a miracle worker: through his prayers, miraculous healings and even resurrections from the dead took place, storms at sea subsided, and the wind carried the ship to where the saint needed. The Church also knows many cases when prayers of believers to St. Nicholas turned into miracles even after his death.

A quick and merciful helper to the afflicted, unmercenary and philanthropist, sensitively responding to the misfortune and pain of people; a strict pastor-mentor, keenly experiencing any untruth and resolutely rebelling against it - in these features of St. Nicholas, Orthodox see not a contradictory nature, but evidence of the living fullness of his holiness.

The miraculous image of St. Nicholas is located in the Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhov (metro station Baumanskaya).

We magnify you, Saint Father Nicholas, and honor your holy memory, for you pray for us Christ our God.

Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

O all-holy Nicholas, the Lord's most beautiful servant, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper! Help me, a sinner and a dull one, 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 damned one, implore the Lord God, all creatures of the Creator, 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.

December 19, 2016: Nicholas the Wonderworker

Content

December 19, 2016: Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Relics of Saint Nicholas

Troparion Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

6 prayers to St. Nicholas

Miracles of Saint Nicholas

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.

The 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 Pleasant 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 Pleasant, a special holiday has been established, which in the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated on May 22 according to the new style.

Veneration of St. Nicholas in Russia

Many temples and monasteries are dedicated to Nikolai Ugodnik in Russia. In his name, the holy Patriarch Photius baptized in 866 Kiev prince Askold - the very first Russian Christian prince. Above the grave of Askold in Kiev, 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, Kiev, 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 Kiev, painted at the beginning of the 12th century. Now it is kept in the 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. The oldest 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 placed it in the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent. Now this icon can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Icon painters also created hagiographic icons of St. Nicholas, that is, depicting different 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).

Troparion Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

The 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.

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

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.

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 servant of the most beautiful 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 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.

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 chastity of the guardian, 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 can the prayer of the righteous hurrying 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 kind 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 many of our iniquities, are bound by the bonds of sin, and let us not save the will of our Creator, 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 unworthy of our Sovereign and Lord, but 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 will 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 those who by faith flow to your intercession, and 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 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, Little 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 hands, 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 to stand 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.

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 affection, 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, the 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 already 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 into eternity, he became an intercessor and a prayer book for us, not leaving us, remaining not only the same close, 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 in last hour giving his soul to Him joyfully, as if returning to his 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 disfigured 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 would be 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 yourself to the power of 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.

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; to be before the eyes of the believing people (which itself is the body of Christ, the seat of the Holy Spirit, the divine lot), among the Orthodox people to stand like a living icon; so that, looking at him, in his eyes to see the light of Christ's love, to see in his actions, 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 would spring up in us, so that we would be His body, so that we would be His presence, so that our word would be 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 man 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 do as He promised us, with the Father and the Spirit, last supper in our hearts, in our lives, in our temple, in our society, and the Lord will reign forever, our God forever and ever.

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, was 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 the Pleasant was built by sailors (often in gratitude for the miraculous rescue on the waters), the people called it "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 - they went to the fields with icons and banners, performed prayers at the wells - they asked for rain.

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For many, St. Nicholas Day is a winter holiday, on which it is customary to give gifts to children. But this saint is to be venerated two days a year at once.

Vesti found out when and why Nicholas the Wonderworker is honored.

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St. Nicholas Day: what date

Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated not only on December 19 (the day of the death of Nicholas), but also on May 22 (the day his relics arrived in Bari, Italy), that is, this Monday. August 11 marks his birth. All these holidays are non-transitory, that is, their dates are fixed.

The people call these days, respectively, Nikola Winter, Nikola Autumn and Nikola Veshny (that is, spring), or Nikola Summer.

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Photo gallery: Postcards with St. Nicholas Day

The saint is also called "Nikola Wet". This saint in all ages was considered the patron saint of sailors and all travelers in general. Therefore, when the temple in the name of St. Nicholas the Pleasant was built by sailors (often in gratitude for the miraculous salvation on the waters), the people called it "Nikola Wet".

Saint Nicholas the Pleasant

St Nicholas. Icon

Both December and May are extremely important for grain growers ("Two Nicholas: one with grass, the other with frost").

According to legend, it was these days that the saint got thanks to a peasant peasant. Once a man got stuck in the mud with a heavy cart. It didn't work to pull it out. At this time, St. Kasyan, smartly dressed, was walking by. The man asked him for help. Kasyan was offended that they disturb him because of such a trifle - after all, he is in a hurry to God in paradise. And passed by. After some time, St. Nicholas the Pleasant passed by the cart. When the man asked for that help, he immediately turned his shoulder, got all smeared, but helped to pull out the cart and went on his way.

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When the saints came to God, he asked Nicholas: "Why are you late and covered with mud?" Nikolai told what happened to him on the road. God asked Kasyan why he did not help the peasant? He replied: "I was in a hurry to meet you. How could I come in dirty clothes?" “Since you didn’t help the peasant, Kasyan, they will praise you only once every four years. And St. Nicholas the Pleasant, an ambulance to help, will be celebrated twice every year,” the Lord answered.

Since then, the day of St. Kasyan is celebrated only on February 29, and at St. Nicholas the Pleasant is celebrated every year in spring and winter.

Saint Nicholas: history

Saint Nicholas was born in the second half of the 3rd century in the city of Patara into the family of the pious Theophan and Nonna. The mother was very ill, but with the birth of her son, who himself stood in the font during baptism for some time, unsupported by anyone, she received healing.

As the rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl Bishop Pavel told Vesti, the life of this saint is amazing from the day he was born. From childhood, he led, one might say, an ascetic life, like for a child. He was not interested in entertainment, empty talk or games with peers. He studied spiritual literature, spent time in fasting and prayer. Seeing such virtues, his uncle, who was Bishop of Patara, took him as a reader, and after a while raised him to the rank of priest.

There is a known case when Nicholas set off on a journey to Palestine by ship and, seeing the approach of a storm, stopped it with his prayer. He resurrected a sailor who fell from the mast and crashed. And upon arrival in Palestine, having settled not far from Jerusalem, he wanted to pray at night in the temple. Arriving, he saw a lock on the doors, but suddenly the doors opened of their own accord, letting him into the temple.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker: Prayer

Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

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Prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker, changing fate

Chosen Miracle Worker and a fair servant of Christ, Father Nicholas! Exuding the world with many-valued mercy of the world and an inexhaustible sea of \u200b\u200bmiracles, you set up spiritual fortresses, and I praise you with love, blessed Saint Nicholas: you, as if having boldness to the Lord, free me from all troubles, but I call you: Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice , Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

An angel in the image, an earthly being by nature, reveal all the creatures of the Creator; having seen the fruitful kindness of your soul, most blessed Nicholas, teach everyone to cry out to you:

Rejoice, born in the robes of angels, as if pure in the flesh; Rejoice, and baptized with water and fire, as if holy in the flesh. Rejoice, surprising you with the birth of your parents; Rejoice, revealing the strength of the soul Abie at Christmas. Rejoice, garden of the land of promise; Rejoice, flower of the Divine planting. Rejoice, virtuous vine of Christ's grapes; Rejoice, miraculous tree of the paradise of Jesus. Rejoice, krine of heavenly probation; Rejoice, peace of Christ's fragrance. Rejoice, for you will drive away sobbing; Rejoice, for you bring joy. Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Rejoice, in the form of lambs and shepherds; Rejoice, holy purifier of morals. Rejoice, receptacle of great virtues; Rejoice, holy and pure dwelling! Rejoice, all-bright and all-loving lamp; Rejoice, golden and immaculate light! Rejoice, worthy interlocutor of Angels; Rejoice, good teacher of men! Rejoice, rule of pious faith; Rejoice, the image of spiritual meekness! Rejoice, for by you we are getting rid of bodily passions; Rejoice, for we are filled with spiritual sweetness by you! Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Rejoice, deliverance from sorrow; rejoice, almsgiving of grace. Rejoice, banisher of unforeseen evils; Rejoice, desired planter of the good. Rejoice, speedy comforter of those in distress; Rejoice, terrible punisher of offenders. Rejoice, abyss of miracles poured out by God; Rejoice, tablet of the law of Christ written by God. Rejoice, strong giving erection; Rejoice, right standing affirmation. Rejoice, for by you all flattery is exposed; rejoice, for through you all truth comes true. Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Rejoice, source of all healings; Rejoice, fierce helper of the suffering! Rejoice, dawn, shining in the night of sinful wanderers; Rejoice, dew that is not flowing in the heat of labor! Rejoice, hearth to those who require well-being; Rejoice, prepare abundance for those who ask! Rejoice, anticipate petition many times; Rejoice, renew the strength of old gray hairs! Rejoice, detractor of many delusions from the path of the true; Rejoice, faithful servant of the mysteries of God. Rejoice, for by you we trample envy; rejoice, for we are correcting a good life with you. Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Rejoice, you were taken away from eternal squalor; Rejoice, granting imperishable wealth! Rejoice, indestructible to those who hunger for truth; Rejoice, inexhaustible drink for those who thirst for life! Rejoice, observe from rebellion and strife; Rejoice, release from bonds and captivity! Rejoice, more glorious intercessor in troubles; Rejoice, great protector in adversity! Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Rejoice, illumination of the Three-sunlight; Rejoice, morning day of the never-setting sun! Rejoice, candle, kindled by the Divine flame; Rejoice, for thou hast quenched the demonic flame of wickedness! Rejoice, lightning, burning heresy; Rejoice, thunder, frightening seducer! Rejoice, true teacher of the mind; Rejoice, mysterious revealer of the mind! Rejoice, for you trampled on the worship of the creature; Rejoice, for through you we will learn to worship the Creator in the Trinity! Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Rejoice, mirror of all virtues; Rejoice, strong visor of all those flowing to you! Rejoice, according to God and the Mother of God, all our hope; Rejoice, health of our bodies and salvation of our souls! Rejoice, for by you we are freed from eternal death; Rejoice, for through you we are worthy of endless life! Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Oh, bright and wonderful Father Nicholas, the consolation of all those who mourn, accept our present offering, and beg the Lord to deliver us from Gehenna, with your God-pleasing intercession, let us sing with you: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Chosen Miracle Worker and a fair servant of Christ, Father Nicholas! Exuding to the whole world the many-valued mercy of the world and the inexhaustible miracles of the sea, you set up spiritual fortresses, and I praise you with love, blessed Saint Nicholas: you, as if having boldness towards the Lord, free me from all troubles, but I call you: Rejoice, Nicholas, the great Wonderworker, Rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker, rejoice, Nicholas, great Wonderworker!

Today, May 22, is the Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The night before, a particle of the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker was delivered to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow from Bari, Italy.

On May 22, 2017, St. Nicholas is venerated by the people. According to the folk calendar, there are two holidays in the year dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - winter Nikola on December 19 and spring (summer) Nikola - May 22.

Nicholas the Wonderworker is also revered in the West, and in Russia even people far from the Church know Nicholas the Pleasant as the most revered saint by the Russian people. In addition to the special holidays dedicated to him, the Church celebrates the memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker every Thursday. St. Nicholas is often commemorated at divine services and on other days of the week.

Nicholas the Wonderworker: what helps

Saint Nicholas is especially revered for the miracles that occur through prayers to them. Nicholas the Wonderworker was revered as an ambulance to sailors and other travelers, merchants, unjustly convicted and children.

Many temples and monasteries are dedicated to Nikolai Ugodnik in Russia, in honor of his name, the holy Patriarch Photius baptized in 866 the Kiev prince Askold - the very first Russian Christian prince, and over the grave of Askold in Kiev, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga built the first church of St. Nicholas on Russian soil.

folk traditions

In Russia, Nicholas the Pleasant was considered the "senior" among the saints. He was called "merciful", temples were built in honor of him and children were named.

On Nikola Zimny, people arranged festive meals - they baked pies with fish, brewed mash and beer, and on Nikola Summer, or Spring, the peasants arranged religious processions - they went to the fields with icons and banners, performed prayers at the wells - asked for rain.

Saint Nicholas in the Orthodox church calendar is 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.

Nicholas the Pleasant lived to a ripe old age and died around 345-351 - the exact date is unknown.

In honor of the transfer of the relics of Nicholas the Pleasant, a special holiday has been established, which in the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated on May 22 according to the new style.

Many temples and monasteries are dedicated to Nikolai Ugodnik in Russia. In his name, the holy Patriarch Photius baptized in 866 the Kiev prince Askold, the very first Russian Christian prince. Above the grave of Askold in Kiev, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga built the first church of St. Nicholas on Russian soil.

Icons of the belt iconographic type depict the saint with a closed Gospel on his left hand. The oldest icon of this type in the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai dates back to the 11th century, writes the Rosregistr portal. 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 placed it in the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent. Now this icon can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery.

voice 4

Translation:

Kontakion to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

voice 3

Translation:

Oh, all-holy Nicholas, the servant of the most beautiful Lord, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper!

Second prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

O all-praised, great wonderworker, Saint of Christ, Father Nicholas!

Third Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

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.

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:

Fourth Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Prayer 5 to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Hear me unworthy, calling you with faith and bringing prayer to you singing; I offer you an intercessor for supplication to Christ.

Sixth Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Protect and save our country, and every country in Orthodoxy, with your holy prayers from worldly rebellion, the sword, the invasion of foreigners, from internecine and bloody warfare.

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.

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, the 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 born into 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 already 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.

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 his 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.

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 reveal yourself to the power of 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.

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!

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.

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.

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...

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.

On Nikola Summer, or Spring (May 22), the peasants arranged religious processions - they went to the fields with icons and banners, performed prayers at the wells - they asked for rain.

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