From the book “How to Give Alms.” Father's House, 1997

Blessed Luke says that he had a brother who, upon entering the monastic order, cared little about his soul and died without being prepared for death. The holy elder wanted to know what his brother had been rewarded with, and he began to ask God to reveal his fate. One day, while praying, the elder saw his brother’s soul in the hands of demons. Meanwhile, money and valuables were found in the cell of the deceased, from which the elder realized that the brother’s soul was suffering, among other things, for violating the vow of non-covetousness. The elder gave all the money he found to the poor. After this, he began to pray again and saw the Judgment Seat of God and the luminous angels who argued with demons for the soul of his brother. The demons cried out to God: “You are righteous, so judge: the soul belongs to us, for it did our deeds.”

The angels said that the soul of the deceased was delivered by the alms given for it.

To this the evil spirits objected: “Did the deceased give alms? Wasn’t it this old man who gave it away?” - and pointed to blessed Luke.

The elder was frightened by this vision, but still gathered his courage and said: “True, I did alms, but not for myself, but for this Soul.”

The desecrated spirits, having heard the elder’s answer, disappeared, and the elder, calmed by the vision, stopped doubting and grieving about his brother’s fate.

Holy Abbess Athanasia (April 12) bequeathed to the sisters of her monastery to organize a meal for the poor in memory of her for forty days after her death. But they carried out her command only until the ninth day, and then they stopped. Then the saint appeared to them with two angels and said: “Why have you forgotten my will? Know that alms given for the soul, as well as feeding the poor and the prayers of the priests, appease God. If the souls of the departed were sinners, then the Lord will grant them remission of sins; if they are righteous, then charity for them serves to save the benefactors.”

Having said this, the Monk Athanasia stuck her staff into the ground and became invisible. The next day the sisters saw that her rod had blossomed.

Quite recently, at the beginning of our century, a great ascetic of works of mercy shone in Russia, whose word was a living deed, and the deed was reflected in the word. We present here excerpts from his diaries, which are all the more valuable to us because they were written in recent times, specifically for us, almost his contemporaries, and the author, of course, also had in mind the circumstances of our time. Readers can already guess that we are talking about the holy and righteous John of Kronstadt.

“Looking at the world of God, I see everywhere the extraordinary generosity of God in the gifts of nature; the surface of the earth is like a rich meal, prepared in abundance and variety by the most loving and generous owner; The depths of the waters also serve to nourish man. What can we say about four-legged animals and birds? And there is so much generosity in delivering food and clothing to a person! The bounties of the Lord are endless. Look what the earth does not deliver in summer and autumn! So, every Christian, imitate the generosity of the Lord, so that your table will be open to everyone, like the Lord’s table. The stingy is the enemy of the Lord."

“Look at the ants, how friendly they are; look at the bees, how friendly they are, look at the flocks of pigeons, how friendly they are, look at the flock of sheep, how friendly they are. Thoughts about schools of certain fish that always love to walk together, how friendly they are. Think how zealously they protect each other, help each other, love each other - and be ashamed of the dumb ones, you who do not live in love, who run away from bearing the burdens of others!”

“What are human souls? This is one and the same soul or the same breath of God, which God breathed into Adam, which from Adam has spread to the entire human race to this day. All people are therefore the same as one person or one great tree of humanity. Hence the most natural commandment, based on the unity of our nature: Love the Lord. your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37,39). It is a natural necessity to fulfill these two commandments.”

“All people are the breath and creation of one God, they came from God and return to God as to their beginning: the flesh will return to the earth that it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. As the breath of one God and as having come from one person, people should naturally live in mutual love and mutual preservation and should not be separated from each other by pride, pride, anger, envy, stinginess, unsociability of character, so that they may be one.”

“Use My gifts not separately, not as self-lovers, but as My children, who should have everything in common, not sparing to offer others the fruits of My hands, the works of My hands, remembering that I give them to you freely, according to My fatherly goodness and generosity philanthropy. This happens in families. When a father, or mother, or brother brings gifts, then the father gives them to all the children, or the brother gives them to his brothers, and if the children, brothers and sisters all live in mutual love, then they do not consider themselves content and happy if the father or brother surrounded one of them with gifts and did not give even to one of them what he gave to the others. Why? Because, out of mutual love, they feel like one body, because they are all, as it were, one, one person. So do each of you. And I know how to reward you for the love that is so pleasing to Me. If I also show mercy to those who do not fulfill My commandments—one rich man had a good harvest (Luke 12:16), then will I not show mercy to My true children, for whom I actually intended all My bounties?”

“Dislike, enmity or hatred should not be known among Christians even by name. How can there be dislike between Christians? Everywhere you see love, everywhere you smell the fragrance of love. Our God is a God of love; His kingdom is the kingdom of love; out of love for us, He did not spare His only begotten Son and gave Him up to death for us. At home you see love in those at home (because they are sealed in baptism and confirmation with the cross of love and wear the cross, eat the supper of love with you in church). In the church there are symbols of love everywhere: crosses, signs of the cross, saints radiant with love for God and their neighbors, and Love itself incarnate. Love is everywhere in heaven and on earth. She calms and delights the heart, like God, while enmity kills soul and body. And you always and everywhere discover love! How else will you not love when everywhere you hear preaching about love, when only the murderer the devil is eternal enmity!

“Christ, the Son of God, the most holy God is not ashamed to call us sinners brothers and sisters, and do not be ashamed to call brothers and sisters at least the poor and humble, simple people, relatives according to the flesh or non-relatives, and do not be proud before them, do not despise them, do not be ashamed of them, for we are all truly brothers in Christ, we were all born of water and the spirit in the font of baptism and became children of God: we are all called Christians, we are all fed by Plotinus) and the blood of the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the sacraments of the church are performed on all of us, we are all in In the Lord's Prayer we pray: Our Father... and equally we all call God our Father. We do not know any other kinship except the spiritual, highest, eternal one, which was given to us by the Lord of life, the Creator and Renovator of our nature, Jesus Christ, for this one kinship is true, holy, abiding. Earthly kinship is incorrect, changeable, impermanent, temporary, perishable, just as our blood is perishable. So, treat people simply as equals with equals, and do not be proud of anyone, but, on the contrary, humble yourself, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11). Don’t say: I am educated, but he or she is not, he or she is simple, uneducated; Do not turn the gift of God given to you, an unworthy person, into a reason for pride, but for humility, for from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and to whom much has been entrusted, from him more will be required (Luke 12:48). Don’t say: I am noble, but he is of low birth; earthly nobility without the nobility of faith and virtue is an empty name. What is my nobility when I am the same sinner as others or even worse?

“Oh, that our sweet meals would always be an expression of our sweet love for each other, so that our hearts would be sweetened by mutual love, just as food is sweetened. How sweet is Thy love, O Lord, manifested in so many and varied earthly gifts and blessings, and most of all in the sweetness of Thy words and in the sweetness of Thy divine Mysteries, Thy Body and Blood! What will be the sweetness of the next century? “Lord, enlighten our hearts!”

“What has the Lord of our life done for us insignificant, ungrateful and malicious people? He came down from heaven, took on our flesh, performed many different miracles, suffered, shed His blood, died, descended into hell, bound Satan, destroyed hell, prisoners, released those bound to hell and raised them to heaven, rose from the dead and will raise us with Him. . Let us fulfill His dying will: let us love each other! Lord, help!

“God did not spare His Only Begotten Son for man, what after this will we spare for our neighbor: food, drink, clothing for his apparel, money for his various needs? The Lord gives a lot to some, and little to others, so that we think about each other. The Lord has arranged it so that if we willingly share the generous gifts of His goodness with others, then they serve for the benefit of the soul, opening our hearts to love our neighbors, and by using them in moderation, they serve for the benefit of the body, which is not satiated and not burdened with them. And if we selfishly, stingily and greedily use the gifts of God only ourselves and spare them for others, then they turn to the detriment of our soul and body: to the detriment of the soul because greed and stinginess close the heart to love for God and neighbor and they make us disgusting self-lovers, intensifying all passions in us; to the detriment of the body because greed produces satiety in us and prematurely upsets our health.”

“Remember Love, who laid down His life for people, and do not spare anything for your neighbor: no food, no drink, no clothes, no books, no money, if he needs them. The Lord will reward you for it. We are all His children, and He is everything to us... do not spare your very life for your brother!”

“We are the image of God, and God is Love. Let us live in love, let us be jealous of it with all our might. Lord help me! But we will consider everything earthly, all food, clothing, money, as rubbish and will not anger the Lord because of a copy, biting each other, being at enmity with each other. Will we sell the gentlemen for food, for money? Any one thing: either God or flesh. You cannot recognize two gods, you cannot serve two.”

“Our life is love, yes, love! And where there is love, there is God, and where God is, there is all goodness. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). So, feed and delight everyone with joy, please everyone with joy, and rely in everything on the Heavenly Father, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Sacrifice what is dear to you to love your neighbor. Offer your Isaac, your many-passionate heart as a sacrifice to God, temper him with your will, crucify the flesh with passions and lusts. You have received everything from God, be ready to give everything to God, so that, having been faithful to your Lord in little things, you will later be placed over many things. You have been faithful over a few things; I will put you over many things (Matthew 25:21). Consider all passions as a dream, as I have learned this a thousand times.”

“Through what tube does the devil suck out our love for God and neighbor? Through addiction to wealth, to food, to drink, delicacies, clothing, to houses, to furniture, to rich dishes, to books and the like. Therefore, wealth, the sweetness of food and drink, the beauty of clothes, houses, furniture, dishes - should be disdained by a Christian, and his first concern in life should be pleasing God and his neighbor for the good of creation. Oh, how wise a Christian should be in life! He must be like the many-eyed Cherub - be all eye, all and unceasing meditation, except in cases in which unthinking faith is required.”

“We must be one spirit with the Lord, the spirit of holiness, the spirit of love, kindness, meekness, long-suffering, and mercy. He who does not have this spirit in himself is not God's. So, I must be love, one love, count everyone as one. Let them all be one (John 17:21). Lord, help!

“An angry and proud person is ready to see in others only pride and malice and is glad if others speak badly about one of his acquaintances, especially those who live happily, richly, but are not close to him spiritually, and the worse, the more he rejoices, that others are bad, and he is perfect in front of them, and is ready to see only evil in them and compare them with demons. Oh, malice! Oh, pride! Oh, lack of love! No, you find something good in an evil person and rejoice in this goodness and speak with joy about his good qualities. There is no person who does not have at least some goodness in him; cover the evil that is in it with love and pray to God for it, so that God will make the evil ones good with His goodness. Don’t be an evil abyss yourself!”

“Love every person, despite his sins. Sins are sins, but the basis in man is one - the image of God. Others have obvious weaknesses, are malicious, proud, envious, stingy, money-loving, greedy, and you are not without evil, maybe even in you there is more of it than in others. At least with regard to sins, people are equal: everyone, it is said, has sinned and is deprived of the glory of God, everyone is guilty before God and we still need God’s mercy towards us. Therefore, loving each other, we must tolerate each other and leave each other, forgive others for their sins against us, so that our Heavenly Father will forgive us our sins (Matthew 6:14). So, with all your soul, honor and love the image of God in every person, not paying attention to his sins. God alone is holy and sinless. And look how He loves us, what He has created and continues to do for us, punishing mercifully and having mercy generously and graciously! Also, honor a person, despite his sins, because he can always improve.”

“Everything is a dream, except true love. The brother treated him coldly, impolitely, impudently, viciously - say: this is the dream of the devil; a feeling of enmity disturbs you because of your brother’s coldness and insolence, say: this is my dream; but here’s the truth: I love my brother, no matter what, I don’t want to see evil in him, which is a demonic dream in him, and which is also in me: we have the same sinful nature. You say there are sins in your brother, and great shortcomings. You have the same thing. I don’t like him, you say, for such and such shortcomings. Do not love yourself either: for the same shortcomings that are in him are also in you. But remember that there is a Lamb of God who took upon himself the sins of the whole world. Who are you, judging your neighbor for sins, for shortcomings, for vices? Everyone stands or falls for his Lord. But you, out of Christian love, must in every possible way be condescending to the shortcomings of your neighbor, you must heal his evil, his weakness of heart (every coldness, every passion is weakness) with love, affection and meekness, humility, as you wish for yourself from others when you are in weakness like his. For who does not suffer from all sorts of infirmities?”

“When you give to someone who asks, and your heart regrets the alms given to him, repent of this, for divine love gives us its blessings, while we already have enough of them. Love for one’s neighbor should say this to oneself: although he has it, it won’t be bad if I increase his well-being (and to tell the truth, one or two or three kopecks will not really increase or improve his well-being). God gives to me, why shouldn’t I give to someone in need? I say: to the needy, for who would stretch out his hand without need? If you yourself only received the gifts of His goodness from God based on your merits, then perhaps you would have to walk as a beggar. God is generous to you beyond what you deserve, and you yourself want Him to be generous. Why don’t you want to be generous to your brothers, having plenty to spare?”

“Leave all human untruths to the Lord, for God is the Judge, and love everyone diligently from a pure heart, and remember that you yourself are a great sinner and need the mercy of God. And in order to earn God’s mercy, we must have mercy on others in every possible way. The Lord is everything for everyone: the Judge, and the generous Giver of gifts, and mercy, and the cleansing of sins, and light, and peace, and joy, and strength of heart”...

“All sacrifices and mercy to the poor cannot replace love for one’s neighbor if it is not in the heart; therefore, when giving alms, you should always make sure that it is given with love, from a sincere heart, willingly, and not with annoyance and grief towards them. The very word alms shows that it should be an act and a sacrifice of the heart, and given with tenderness or regret for the poor state of the beggar, and with tenderness or contrition for one’s sins, in the cleansing of which alms are given: alms, according to Scripture, cleanses all sin. He who gives alms reluctantly and with annoyance, stingily, has not known his sins, has not known himself. Alms are a benefit above all to the one who gives it.”

“Alms are a seed; if you want it to bear good fruit, make this seed good, giving in simplicity and from a kind, merciful, compassionate heart, and be sure that you are not losing so much, or better yet, not losing at all, but gaining infinitely more through perishable alms, if you give from a good heart, with faith in the Giver, and not from selfish or selfish views. Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me, your Lord (Matthew 25:40).”

“Do good to the poor willingly, without suspiciousness, doubt and petty inquisitiveness, remembering that in the person of the poor you are doing good to Christ Himself. Know that your alms are always insignificant in comparison with man, this child of God; know that your alms are earth and dust; know that with material mercy, spiritual mercy must certainly go hand in hand: affectionate, brotherly, with sincere love, treatment of your neighbor; Don’t let him notice that you’re favoring him, don’t show him a proud look. Give, it is said, in simplicity, have mercy with good intentions. Be careful not to deprive your material alms of value by not giving spiritual ones. Know that the Lord will test good deeds at the Judgment. For man, God the Father did not spare His only begotten Son, but gave him up to death for him. The devil, through our cunning, stumbles us in our good deeds.”

“Rejoice at every opportunity to show kindness to your neighbor, like a true Christian, striving to acquire as many good deeds as possible, especially the treasures of love. Do not rejoice when they show you affection and love, considering yourself justly unworthy of it; but rejoice when you have an opportunity to show love. Show love simply, without any deviation into thoughts of wickedness, without petty worldly selfish calculations, remembering that love is God Himself.”

“Love for God then begins to manifest itself and act in us when we begin to love our neighbor as ourselves, and not spare either ourselves or anything of our own for him, as the image of God; when we try to serve him for salvation with all we can; when we refuse, for the sake of pleasing God, from pleasing our belly, our carnal vision, from pleasing our carnal mind, which does not submit to the mind of God. He who says: “I love God,” but hates his brother, is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).

“Every day they ask you for alms, and give every day willingly, without bitterness, rudeness and murmuring: you give not your own, but God’s to God’s children of the cross, who barely have anywhere to lay their heads; you are the steward of God’s property, you are the daily servant of the lesser brethren of Christ, do your work with meekness and humility, do not be bored by it. You serve Christ the Judge and the Rewarder: great honor, high dignity! Do good deeds with joy! Your efforts are generously rewarded; be generous to others yourself. They are not rewarded according to their deserts, do not give according to their merits and give to others, but for the sake of their needs.”

“Be attentive to yourself when a poor person in need of help asks you for it: the enemy will try at this time to fill your heart with coldness, indifference and even disdain for the person in need; overcome these non-Christian and non-human dispositions in yourself, arouse in your heart compassionate love for a person who is like you in every way, for this member of Christ and your own, for this temple of the Holy Spirit, so that Christ God may love you; Whatever the needy person asks you to do, fulfill his request to the best of your ability. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you (Matthew 5:42).”

"God! teach me to give alms willingly, with affection, with joy, and to believe that by giving it, I do not lose, but gain infinitely more than what I give. Turn my eyes away from people with a hard heart, who do not sympathize with the poor, who face poverty indifferently, condemn, reproach, brand it with shameful names and weaken my heart, so as not to do good, in order to harden me against poverty. Oh my God! how many such people there are! Lord, correct the matter of alms!.. Lord, accept alms from Your poor people.”

“Greedy, greedy miser! Did money or bread give you life? Isn't it God? Was it not His Word that gave existence and life to you and to everyone else? Is your life supported by money and bread, water and wine alone? Is it not because of every word that comes from the mouth of God that a person lives? Isn't money and bread dust? Isn't it just the least amount of bread we need to support our lives? Everything was created and is maintained by the Word. The Word of God is the source of life and its storage!”

“What do I need? I don’t need anything on earth except the bare necessities. What do I need? I need the Lord, I need His grace, His Kingdom is in me. On earth, the place of my wandering, my temporary training, there is nothing that is mine, everything is God’s, and everything is temporary, assigned to me for temporary services; My excesses are the property of my poor neighbors. What do I need? I need true, Christian, active love, I need a loving heart that takes pity on my neighbors, I need joy about their contentment and well-being, sorrow about their sorrows and illnesses, about their sins, weaknesses, disorders, shortcomings, misfortunes, poverty; they need warm, sincere sympathy in all circumstances of their lives, joy with those who rejoice and weeping with those who cry. Give full room to pride, selfishness, try to live only for yourself and attract everything only to yourself: wealth, and sweets, and the glory of this world, and not live, but die, not rejoice, but suffer, carrying the poison of self-love in yourself, for self-love is a poison constantly poured into our hearts by beliar. Lord, Witness of my heart and all its movements! Give me the merciful heart I ask from You! From me this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Give me true life, dispel the darkness of passions, destroy their power with Your power!”

“Do not trust in piles of money, but in God, who constantly cares for everyone and especially for His rational and verbal creations and especially for those who live piously. Believe that His hand will not fail, especially for those who give alms, for man cannot be more generous than God. The proof of this is your own life and the lives of all former people who gave alms. May God alone be the treasure of your heart! Cling to Him completely as one created in His image and likeness, and flee from the aphids of the earth, which constantly corrupts our souls and bodies. Hasten to eternal life, to life that does not grow old in endless centuries; drag everyone there as much as you can.”

“It is good in all respects to give to the poor: in addition to pardon at the Last Judgment, and here on earth, alms-givers often receive great mercies from their neighbors, and what others get for a lot of money is given to them for free. In fact, the most humane, righteous and generous Heavenly Father, whose children have mercy on the merciful, will he not reward them here too, to encourage them to greater deeds, or at least to continue those works of mercy and to correct the unmerciful, who mock the merciful? He will reward you both worthily and righteously!”

"My God! how the love and sincere sympathy of our neighbor for us delights our heart! Who can describe this bliss of a heart imbued with a feeling of love for me from others and my love for others? It's indescribable! If here on earth mutual love delights us so much, then what sweetness of love will we be filled with in Heaven, in cohabitation with God, with the Mother of God, with the Heavenly Powers, with the saints of God? Who can imagine and describe this bliss, and what temporary, earthly things should we not sacrifice to receive such indescribable bliss of heavenly love? God, Your name is Love! Teach me true love. So I have most abundantly tasted its sweetness from communication in the spirit of faith in You, with Your faithful children, and I have been most abundantly pacified and enlivened by it. Confirm, O God, this which you have done in me. If only it were like this all the days of my life! Grant me more often to have communion of faith and love with Your faithful servants, with Your temples, with Your Church!”

“If you have Christian love for your neighbors, then all of Heaven will love you; if you have unity of spirit with your neighbors, then you will have unity with God and with all the inhabitants of heaven; You will be merciful to your neighbors, and God will be merciful to you, as will all angels and saints; You will pray for others, and all of Heaven will intercede for you. Holy is the Lord our God, and so be you!”

“Grant me, Lord, to love every neighbor of mine as myself, always, and not to become embittered towards him for anything and not to work for the devil. Let me crucify my vanity, pride, covetousness, lack of faith and other passions. May our name be: mutual love, may we believe and trust that for all of us everything is the Lord; let us not worry, let us not worry about anything; may you, our God, be the only God of our hearts and there is nothing besides you! Let us be in the unity of love among ourselves, as it should be, and let everything that separates us from each other and separates us from love be in contempt for us, like dust trampled underfoot. If God has given Himself to us, if He abides in us, and we in Him, according to His unfaithful word, then what will He not give to me? What will he be deprived of, what will he be left with? The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not need anything (Ps. 23:1). So, be very calm, my soul, and know nothing but love. This is my commandment, that you love one another (John 15:12).”

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, became famous as a great saint of God. You will learn everything about this revered saint from this article! Days of memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker:

• December 6 (19) is the day of righteous death;
• May 9 (22) - the day of arrival of the relics in the city of Bari;
• July 29 (August 11) - the Nativity of St. Nicholas;
• every weekday Thursday.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker: life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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, brought them out of captivity and imprisonment in dungeons.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Icons, frescoes and mosaics with the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Sacred Tradition, of which church art is a part, has accurately preserved for centuries the portrait features of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. His appearance on icons has always been distinguished by a pronounced individuality, so even a person not experienced in the field of iconography can easily recognize the image of this saint.

Local veneration of Archbishop Nicholas of Myra of Lycia began soon after his death, and veneration throughout the entire Christian world took shape throughout the 4th - 7th centuries. However, due to iconoclastic persecutions, the iconography of the saint developed quite late, only in the 10th - 11th centuries. The oldest image of the saint in monumental painting is in the Roman church of Santa Maria Antiqua.

St. Nikolai with his life. 1st half of the 13th century Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai

Icon from the Holy Spiritual Monastery. Middle 13th century Novgorod. Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

Nikola. 1st half of the 14th century Rostov. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Icon placed in 1327 by the Serbian Tsar Stefan III (Uros) in the Basilica of St. Nicholas. Bari, Italy

Painting on the Nikolskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Late 15th – early 16th centuries.

Nikola Zaraisky with the hallmarks of his life. 1st half of the 16th century Vologda. Vologda Regional Museum of Local Lore

Nikola Mozhaisky. Veil. 2nd half of the 16th century Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

Nikola Dvorishchsky with St. Savva and Varvara. Con. XVII century. Moscow. State Historical Museum, Moscow

Days of remembrance of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - May 22, December 19 in 2019

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St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra of Lycia, the great saint of God and the Wonderworker, is deeply revered by the entire Christian world and especially here in Russia: in almost every Russian city there is a St. Nicholas Church and in every village there are blessed icons of St. Nicholas.

The saint was a native of the city of Patara in the Lycian region (the southern coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula). He was born around 280 in the family of noble and pious Christians Theophanes and Nonna. Filled with the grace of God, the newborn baby stood unsupported in the baptismal font for three hours, giving glory to the Holy Trinity. He was given the name Nikolai (Greek - “conqueror of the people”). While still an infant, he began to fast: he took his mother's milk on Wednesdays and Fridays only after his parents had performed evening prayers.

The grace of the Holy Spirit strengthened the soul of the future saint: he avoided childish amusements and idleness, maintained chastity, loved reading the Holy Scriptures, and often attended church services.

His uncle, Bishop Nicholas of Patara, seeing the boy’s piety, advised him to devote his life to serving the Church and elevated him to the rank of church reader. A few years later, he ordained Saint Nicholas to the rank of presbyter, entrusting him with the gospel of the Word of God. By zealously serving God, the young presbyter was like a wise old man, and for this he earned the deep love of his flock.

After the death of his parents, Saint Nicholas distributed the inherited estate to those in need. Having great mercy for the poor, he did good both to those who turned to him for help and to those who, out of false shame, did not ask for it. At the same time, he tried to do charity secretly.

With such secret help, he helped one ruined man to marry off his daughters, who, out of despair, were ready to take the criminal path of fornication.

One day, when the future saint was making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a strong storm broke out. Through the prayer of the saint, the sea calmed down, and the shipbuilder, who fell from a high mast onto the deck, stood up unharmed. Saint Nicholas prayed with tears on Golgotha, where our Lord Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of all people. He also venerated other shrines in Jerusalem. The doors of the only church at that time on Mount Zion themselves opened to St. Nicholas. He decided to go into the desert for silent exploits, but the Lord revealed His will in a dream - to perform his intended service in his homeland. On the way back, the shipmen decided to deceive Saint Nicholas and sent the ship in the other direction. But the Lord did not abandon His saint: through the saint’s prayer, a strong wind suddenly blew in and carried the ship in the right direction.

In Lycia, the saint of God, wanting to end his life in obscurity, entered the brotherhood of the monastery called Holy Zion. But the Lord again announced to him in a vision that he expected from him not feats of silence, but pastoral service to people in the world. Saint Nicholas, avoiding human glory, went not to Patara, where everyone knew him, but to Myra, the main city of the Lycian region (now a small village in Turkey).

At that time, Archbishop John died in Myra, and the bishops of Lycia gathered to elect a new archpastor. Their opinions on this issue were divided, and therefore it was decided to pray together so that the Lord Himself would indicate His chosen one. The prayer was heard: the Lord revealed to the eldest of them that a man named Nicholas, who would be the first to come to the temple in the morning, should be consecrated as a bishop. So Saint Nicholas, by the will of God, became the high priest of the Lycian Church.

The ascetic was strengthened in his new ministry by a vision in which the Lord Jesus Christ gave him the Gospel, and the Most Pure Mother of God placed an omophorion on him.

In the rank of bishop, Saint Nicholas remained, as before, meek, humble and merciful, fulfilling the word of the Gospel: “...let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16) .

He wore simple clothes, spent the whole day at work, and only at the end of the day ate fasting food. For every person - rich and poor, old and young, healthy and poor - St. Nicholas was an inexhaustible source of blessings. Providing assistance in everyday needs, he was most concerned about healing sinful ulcers.

During the period of persecution of Christians instituted by the emperor Diocletian (284-305), when the holy martyrs Anthimus of Nicomedia (September 3), Autonom of Italia (September 12), Peter of Alexandria (November 25) and others suffered, Saint Nicholas, along with many Christians was imprisoned. He steadfastly endured hunger and thirst, encouraged the prisoners, convinced them not to be afraid of torment and to confess their holy faith to the end. The saint was preparing for martyrdom, but the Lord preserved His chosen one for the benefit of the Church.

The new emperor Constantine the Great (324-337) stopped the persecution of Christians and freed the confessors, giving the Church freedom and peace.

Saint Nicholas returned to his flock. He continued to manage it wisely, and also tried to enlighten the pagans with the light of Christianity, destroyed temples, and crushed idols.

In those years, the heresy of the false teacher Arius arose, who dared to deny the consubstantiality of our Lord Jesus Christ with His Beginning Father. To condemn false wisdom, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicaea in 325. Among the more than 300 participants in the Council was St. Nicholas. Hearing the blasphemous speeches of Arius, Saint Nicholas, a zealous guardian of the purity of Orthodoxy, could not tolerate such insolence and struck the heretic on the cheek. For this, the fathers of the Council removed him from the rank of bishop and placed him in custody. That same night, some participants in the Council had the same vision that Saint Nicholas himself had previously been granted: the Lord Jesus Christ handed him the Gospel, and the Most Holy Theotokos placed an omophorion on him. Then the fathers realized that the Lord was pleased with the boldness of St. Nicholas, and, having given him honor, they returned the signs of the episcopal rank.

Returning to his diocese, Saint Nicholas continued to work for the good of the Church: he sowed the word of truth, denounced heretics, and healed the erring. The saint of Christ became famous as a deliverer from troubles and an intercessor of the unjustly offended. A certain self-interested mayor sentenced three innocent men to death. But when the sword was raised over the heads of the condemned, St. Nicholas suddenly appeared at the place of execution. Removing the guards, he stopped the executioner's hand. No one dared to interfere with the saint. The mayor, whom Saint Nicholas threateningly denounced, confessed to his sin and asked to accept his repentance. At the same time, the imperial military leaders were present: Nepotian, Ursus and Erpilion. They soon suffered a similar fate: they were slandered before the emperor for treason and condemned to execution. In prison they remembered Saint Nicholas and with tears begged him for help. A quick intercessor in troubles, the great Wonderworker appeared to Emperor Constantine in a dream that same night and ordered the release of the innocently convicted, which was done.

The merciful help of St. Nicholas was experienced more than once by the residents of the city of Myra in Lycia. Through the prayers of the saint, the city was saved from famine. He appeared in a dream to an Italian merchant and asked him to bring wheat to Myra, giving three gold coins as a deposit. Waking up, the merchant found coins in his hand and hastened to fulfill the saint’s request.

Many times Saint Nicholas saved those in need at sea and led the suffering from captivity and imprisonment.

Saint Nicholas peacefully departed to the Lord in old age (+ c. 345-351).

In 1087, there was a solemn transfer of his relics from Myra Lycia to the Italian city of Bari, where they rest to this day in a marble sarcophagus in the crypt of the cathedral, erected in honor of the saint in the 12th century.

In 1953, this sarcophagus was opened. A thorough study carried out by scientists made it possible to restore the facial features of St. Nicholas. They coincide with the features of his face depicted on Russian icons (“Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate”, 1978, No. 7, p. 59).

The incorrupt relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker exude healing myrrh, helping those who suffer spiritually and physically.

On July 29, the Eastern Church has been celebrating the birth of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker since ancient times. The special election of Saint Nicholas, a quick helper and a glorious miracle worker, prompted believers to celebrate the day of his glorious birth along with the birth of the Prophet John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord.

May 9/22 transfer of the holy relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra in Lycia to the city of Bari.