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. About the certificate miraculous help favorite saint - a selection of real stories.
Intercession of the saint
Our family keeps an ancient icon of St. Nicholas, the Pleasant of God, who was especially revered by my great-grandmother Darya Pavlovna. Why? - a family legend tells about it.
Once my great-grandmother, then still a young woman, went to an early service in Iversky Vyksa convent. She lived 15 kilometers from the monastery in the village. Veletma, and the road went through the forest. Somewhere halfway, a dirty, shaggy man unexpectedly jumped out of the forest and blocked Darya's path. What was a lonely defenseless woman to do? She began to pray fervently: “Father Nicholas, help me!” And then a small gray-haired old man with a stick in his hand came out of the forest. He waved his stick in the direction of the villain, and said to his great-grandmother: “Do not be afraid of anything, a servant of God.” The peasant looked at the old man, recoiled, then said, turning to Daria: “Well, woman, pray to God and your patron saint, otherwise ...”, and he disappeared into the forest. And the old man also disappeared, just as he was not there ... So miraculously the mercy of the Pleasant appeared visibly of God Nicholas. Talking about the miracle that happened to her, great-grandmother always cried and prayed fervently before the icon of the Saint.
Stepan Fomenkov
"As God Provides"
My husband and I were picking mushrooms, but the rain drove us out of the forest. In the car, we discovered the loss of documents: rights, technical certificate, which we dropped in the forest. We searched for them for a long time, asked God, but did not find them. A week later, I advised my husband to pray on his knees before the image of St. Nicholas, to ask him for help. The husband agreed, only asked: “What should I do after the prayer, go to the forest again?” I replied: "As God wills." A minute later they called us and said that they found our documents safe and sound, despite the fact that it had been pouring rain for a week. Returned free of charge.
John and Photinia
Freedom Pass
From our area during Patriotic War A young man named Nikolai ended up in a concentration camp. And there was such a procedure: all the weakened were collected in one group and sent to the "bath". Everyone knew what was meant by this word - death! As exhausted, our Nikolai also fell into such a group. Shel-brel was the last: no strength ...
But suddenly he had a burning desire to live. He prayed to Saint Nicholas as best he could: “To Saint Father Nicholas! Forgive me! I revered you badly, I prayed little. But now I am in great trouble. At home I have a wife and two small children. How I want to go home! I don't want to die so young! Help me!"
Suddenly there was a thought: “Fall!” It was autumn, the leaves lay like a carpet on the ground. Fell. The guard could finish him off, shoot him. But did not touch. Nikolai lay down until the steps subsided. I got up and wandered to the light: the evening was late. I got to the village, went into the first yard I came across and collapsed in a barn for hay.
In the morning the mistress came to feed the cattle. When she saw him, she was frightened and called her husband. He asks: “Who are you and where are you from, how did you get here? Tell the truth! If you lie, I'll shoot you!" Nicholas told the whole truth: how he prayed to St. Nicholas, how he asked him.
The owner ordered his wife to heat the bathhouse, evaporate him, change his clothes, give him sweet tea and put him to sleep on the stove. Two or three hours later they woke him up and gave him a glass of tea. Then, after about the same time, they woke up again - they gave tea with milk. Then after some time - a glass of milk. Then they added a piece of bread. So, gradually, for three days they nursed him after the famine.
Somehow the owner comes up to him and says: “You can’t even imagine how lucky you are. I am the head of the prisoners of all Germany. And I will give you such a pass, according to which neither ours nor yours will detain you.
Having provided everything necessary, they let him go. On the German border, the patrol, examining the document, said: “Oh, Gut! Gut! Wonderful!" Ours, checking, everyone was surprised and said: “Well, the document! Well, the document! This is the pass Saint Nicholas made!
M., Dormition Church, Helsinki
Lens
I am leaving the church after the evening service. I hurry home, because I'm from work and straight to church. Ahead of me are two old women walking quietly. They go holding on to each other. Slippery. I tried to overtake them, and at that time one grandmother said to another: “Well, this is just a miracle.” I slowed down and listened. Grandma tells. “I got out of the house, got dressed already. Enough, but there are no keys on the nightstand. Well, I think they fell. No, not on the floor. Searched, searched. I can not find. Already undressed. I looked in my pockets and in my bag. Nowhere. At least go away, but leave the door hollow. I went up to the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, let's ask him to help me find the keys. Made a bow. I get up. I raised my eyes, and on a carnation, by the window, my keys hang. After all, I never hung it there, I always left it on the bedside table in the corridor. I overtook the old women and again almost ran. At home, after all, the mother is sick, and the son must come home from work. I came home and immediately went to the kitchen to cook dinner. The son came. While he was undressing, she told him what she heard on the way from the temple. The son went into the room, and I went back to the kitchen. Ten minutes later I hear a cry: “Mom!” I run into the room. My son is confused. His eyesight is poor, but he does not wear glasses, but lenses. And then one lens somehow fell out. The lens is, after all, such a small, completely transparent petal. We have a carpet on the floor, and a fluffy blanket on the sofa. Can you find it here. And with my eyes there is nothing to try to look for. And he can't find it. Suddenly my son fell on his knees in front of the icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker and began to ask him. And I did not interfere, I went back to the kitchen. I don't think this lens can be found. You have to buy new ones. Yes, and work tomorrow. What will he do? Suddenly my son comes to my kitchen and shows me his finger: “Look, mom. He prayed, began to get up, leaned his hand on the sofa, and she stuck to her finger.
Pavlova Z.S.
Warm the orphans
At Christmas, I visited my native Mogilev, visited my beloved St. Nicholas Convent. I learned that this winter the monastery, whose inhabitants are elderly women, owed a huge amount of money for heating. The fact is that the monastery is classified as an industrial enterprise and the payment is prohibitively high. The authorities promised to resolve this misunderstanding, but never did. At that time, one servant of God unexpectedly received an inheritance. Thinking about how best to manage the money, she had a dream in which an "old man with a stick" appeared to her and said: "Warm my orphans." It should be noted that this servant of God was not yet sufficiently churched. But for an explanation of the dream, the woman turned to the priest, who recognized St. Nicholas in the "old man". On the advice of the priest, this servant of God visited the St. Nicholas Monastery and donated her mite, wishing to "warm the orphans." She was very surprised to recognize that “old man with a stick” on one of the monastery icons. It was Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Elena Labeza
“Mom, I didn’t drown!”
It was a long time ago. I was then ten years old, and now I am seventy-four. We arrived at the Lakes. I went swimming, but I couldn't swim. She walked a few steps and fell into a hole. Immediately went deep under the water, overhead - darkness. I swallow water, I feel like I'm dying. Thank God, I prayed to Nicholas the Wonderworker to save me.
We had his wooden icon at home. There were other icons, but for some reason I remembered exactly Nicholas the Wonderworker. And now I hear, as through a dream: "Try with all your might to jump." I jumped - a woman is above me. She grabbed my finger and pulled me out. And I went to the crying mother. This icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker is always with us, he survived the blockade.
The stories are taken from the public domain on the Internet.
INDUSTRIAL DELAY
We were going to go to the village for the summer: my hypertensive husband had to be taken out of the city to nature as soon as possible. We have a long way to go, with several transfers ... With difficulty I got tickets, and suddenly, three days before departure, my husband fell ill. In desperation, I ran to hand over tickets. It was already the end of May, it's time to plant vegetables, the locals have planted everything for a long time, but our planting fails. I am going to our Nikolsky Cathedral for help to St. Nicholas. I stand at the prayer service, I pray zealously, the state is terrible. And suddenly, after the prayer, an amazing calmness, peace and joy descends on me ... In all my life I have never experienced such a feeling. Soon my husband recovered, I took the tickets again, and we hit the road. And only when I was approaching the village, I realized why God sent us this delay: to get to us, you need to cross the river, but in the flood the bridge broke. It was being repaired all spring and was repaired just before our arrival: our car was the first car to cross the new bridge.
Marina DENISYUK, Arkhangelsk region
THREE CASES
This happened in the summer of 1997. My youngest son was 12 years old, and he went on a sailing trip around Estonia as part of a boat crew. A squall hit them in the Pärnu Bay and overturned the boat. Everyone was saved, although not immediately. Our son was the youngest in the crew. Thank God that my wife and I gave our son a small icon of the Saint with us!
The second case of miraculous help of the Saint occurred in the same year. It was a very difficult period for our family financially. I could not find a job for a long time, my pension was not enough, my wife did not work either. At that time I was a parishioner of the church of St. Nicholas in Tallinn. At confession, I told the priest about the difficulties. He says to me: "And you go up to this icon of the Saint and ask him for help, he will help." He said this simply and casually, as if it was about something already decided and everyday. I prayed to St. Nicholas as best I could, kissed the icon and went home. I didn’t even light a candle - there was no money. It was Sunday. On Monday, a friend called me and offered me a job, and on Wednesday my friends offered me another one.
And the third incident happened already here, in St. Petersburg. On Nikola Winter in 1998, I was in Vyritsa, in the temple of the icon Mother of God"Kazan". After the Liturgy and the prayer service, the pilgrims went out into the street and went in procession around the church. A cloudy, rainy day with clouds that, it seemed, nothing would ever break through, was illuminated by a bright sun in a few minutes. Light was everywhere. Raindrops played on the pine needles around with millions of iridescent crystals. The faces of people shone, tears shone in their eyes. Under the singing of the choir and the parishioners, the soul pleaded: “Father Nikolai, you are here, next to me, touch me, let me feel you!” When they entered the temple again, people passed under the icon of the Saint. I passed under the icon at the beginning of the human stream. The servant woman turned to me: "Young man, hold the icon until Procession passes under it. "And I stood with the icon of the Wonderworker until everyone passed under it. And only when I was already riding home in the train, it dawned on me that the Saint had heard my prayer and immediately fulfilled it, handing me his image.
I described only three cases of the Saint's help that I could see in my life. And how many of them passed by my eyes because of spiritual blindness! Saint Father Nicholas, pray to God for us!
r.B. Alexy, Estonia
AT THE CLOSED DOOR
A few years ago, my daughter and her little nephew went to my mother's house, where no one lives for a long time, to take some things there. I came there a little later, called, my daughter went to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. They started pushing her hard - no result. The situation was desperate: my daughter and nephew were locked in a cold house, it was starting to get dark, there were no neighbors nearby ... Again and again we tried to open the stubborn door: my daughter pushed her with her shoulder, I pulled the handle - all in vain. Having lost my last hope, I prayed: "Help us open the door, Nicholas the Wonderworker!" And at the same moment the door softly and smoothly, quite easily opened. Weeping, we thanked the Lord and the Saint.
Irina YURYATINA, Tbilisi
EXPENSIVE OPERATION
The doctors prescribed me a heart operation, which cost 40,000 rubles. I, a disabled person of the second group, did not have that kind of money. Shortly before that, I had read the book "Nikola the Merciful" and decided to ask the Saint for help. Every morning I read an akathist to him and begged him to help me in my grief. On the third day a woman was put in my room; I told her about my misfortune, and she gave me the address of a person who helps financially everyone who she sees fit. I perked up. Two months later, that person responded to my request, and two months later the operation took place.
Nina PUSHKARSKAYA, Voronezh region
ABOUT FAMILY HAPPINESS
After a divorce from a drinking husband, I raised my son alone. Now he graduated from high school, has three wonderful children. It occurred to me that now I have the right to my share of family happiness. I began to constantly pray to Nicholas the Wonderworker that he would send me a husband - smart and non-drinker, albeit an ordinary appearance. And the Saint sent me exactly the kind of person I asked for. We got married, got married, go to church together, and I am grateful to the Lord and Nicholas the Wonderworker for the happiness that fell to me at the end of my life.
r.B. Valentina, Moscow
HOW I WAS PUNISHED
As a child, I received miraculous healing at the source of St. Nicholas. I had streptoderma - a nasty skin disease. She was treated for a month - nothing helped, but at the source, contrary to the prohibitions to treat the sore, she washed herself, and a day later there was no trace of streptoderma.
Since then, I often turn to the Saint, and he always helps me, but one day I managed to get very angry God's Pleaser and he punished me for it. I was on a pilgrimage to the Sanaksar monastery. The year 1994 was in the yard - constant disagreements with gasoline, with money, etc. In a word, we got to Sanaksar, back - no gasoline, no passing transport ... A civilian was advancing New Year, and I certainly wanted to meet him with relatives in Belarus. At first, I simply begged St. Nicholas to send us a passing car, and then take it and say: “Well, that’s all, St. Nicholas, because you don’t send me a car, I won’t pray to you anymore and light candles. That’s it!” I said and forgot. We got home somewhere on foot, where on a ride ... And at home the Lord revealed to me the worthlessness of this New Year, and I realized with horror that I had lost the intercession of Nikolai Ugodnik. This was manifested in the fact that I could not read the akathist to the Saint - with my whole being I felt that he was not listening to me - and when I put candles for him, they either went out or fell ... I realized the whole abomination of my act and was very sorry for what I had done . Finally, I went to confession, received a scolding and penance from the confessor: every Thursday I read an akathist to the Wonderworker. How hard it was for me to read this! But before that, I knew the akathist almost by heart. But gradually, gradually, my prayer began to reach the Pleasant, and everything fell into place.
Lyubov DEMENTIEVA, Barnaul
"WHY DO YOU NOT PRAY?"
In our village, a woman named Anna fell ill with cancer. Once she was lying on the stove at home, when suddenly some old man comes in and says to her: "If you pray, servant of God, you will live!" She began to pray, and soon felt better, and even began to work. But work distracted her from prayer, and she stopped praying. Then that old man again appeared to her, in whom she had already recognized Nicholas the Wonderworker, and said to her: “Why, servant of God, don’t you pray? ..”
Anna KORCHAGINA, Altai Territory
FIRE ICON
My great-grandmother told me that during the Great Patriotic War she had an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. My great-grandmother lived in one of the villages of the Mogilev region. When the Germans set fire to this village, great-grandmother's house was the only one that survived the fire. The villagers, watching the fire go around the hut, were surprised, but the great-grandmother remained calm: she firmly believed that Saint Nicholas, through the prayers of his icon, would save her home. As a child, I saw this icon and remember well how the wonderful light emanating from it was refracted through window glass and reflected in the evening snow. Great-grandmother also said that the icon of the Wonderworker always glows.
After the death of my great-grandmother wonderful image I didn’t get it, but my relatives, but St. Nicholas is still close to me. Recently in the village Oredezh, near which I live, they built a chapel in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. When it was consecrated, a lot of people gathered. It is interesting that most of those gathered were drivers who see the Saint as their heavenly patron.
N.I. Vasilyeva, Leningrad region
THE SMELL OF PAINT
I suffer from severe allergies for a long time - intolerance to smell oil paint. This summer I was vacationing at the cottage. Suddenly the neighbors started painting their house; smelled like paint. I began to pray to St. Nicholas, asking for help. And help came. The neighbors continued painting, and then, after a short break, they resumed it, but no smell was felt anymore. This was felt not only by me, but also by my country mistress, who was very surprised at the absence of smell.
And quite recently there was such a case. Suddenly, my phone stopped working. It was Friday, which meant that the master would not come to me until Monday. I am not young and I live alone. The silence of my phone could cause a stir among my relatives and acquaintances. And I prayed: "Father Nikolai! Fix my phone, please." And 20 minutes later the phone worked.
r.B. Larisa DANILOCHKINA
WORK ACCORDING TO THE SPECIALTY
It so happened that my husband, after graduating from the institute, did not work in his specialty. The need to return to the received profession arose 10 years after graduation. But enterprises that needed such specialists did not want to hire a person without work experience and offered a salary that was impossible for a family with a small child to live on. Then we turned to Saint Nicholas: together with bows, we prayed to him daily for help. Two weeks later, for good luck, we called the company, which did not advertise at all that it needed a specialist, but was simply not far from our house. It turned out that they just needed a worker, and the husband was accepted, and his salary was assigned 2-3 times more than offered in other places, and moreover, they provided an opportunity for advanced training. And this case of the Saint's help, of course, is not the only one.
Evgeniya ANTONOVA, Moscow region
HOW I WAS ROBBED
In 1999, on May 27, I closed the church, put the keys in my purse, and only a hundred meters away from the temple, someone snatched the purse from my hands. At first I did not understand anything, but then I saw that there were three attackers. I noticed them a long time ago: they followed me for an hour, circled around the church of St. Nicholas, where I work, but not together, but at a distance from each other. It was strange to me that they never left. Sometimes they even came up to me, bought candles and - just think! - put them near the icon of the Saint. And so, they robbed me. I immediately called the police, a police car arrived, and together we drove in the direction where the robbers had fled. How I cried in this car! - Only the Lord and St. Nicholas know how I felt at the same time. She wept bitterly and at the top of her voice begged the Saint for help. The policemen looked askance at me as if I were crazy, but did not laugh, but consoled me. And the Saint heard me, a sinner. Imagine: in an hour we caught one of the bandits. But in such big city like Odessa, finding a person is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack!
r.B. Tamara, Odessa
THE CHARGE WAS CLOSED
At our plant, in one of the workshops, there was a theft of expensive equipment. Suspicion fell on a worker named Anatoly. The rumor about this quickly spread throughout the enterprise and began to grow into various conjectures. Anatoly was even offered to give a bribe to anyone in order to hush up the case. But to give a bribe means to plead guilty, and Anatoly rejected the slander that was raised against him. His case was supposed to be dealt with just on the eve of St. Nicholas the Winter. There was little hope that it would end favorably for Anatoly. It was then that he was advised to go to the St. Seraphim Intercession Convent, which is located in our city, to pray before the miraculous image of St. Nicholas and ask for help in trouble. Anatoly was not a church person at all, but he obeyed the advice and went to the icon.
A day or two later, his case was resolved, all charges against him were dropped, and since then Anatoly, feeling gratitude to God, began, although not often, to visit the temple, to the delight of all of us - Orthodox residents of our city.
Mikhail KAZANIN, Kemerovo region
PAINT POISONING
In the summer of 2002, I came to my daughter in Tambov to spend the night with her, and in the morning go to Zadonsk to venerate the relics of St. Tikhon Zadonsky. My daughter's apartment was being renovated, and I decided to help her by painting the balcony. My daughter tried to dissuade me, but I continued to paint and worked until I inhaled this poisonous paint to the point of nausea. Then I felt very bad, and every minute I was getting worse and worse. The daughter called an ambulance, but the doctor, when he arrived, said that they did not treat paint poisoning. Then the daughter ran to the pharmacy, and I, left alone, began to pray to the Mother of God, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk and Saint Nicholas to help me get to the monastery the next day. It took 5-7 minutes, I got up from my knees and immediately felt a significant improvement. For a long time I could not believe it, but it soon became clear that the malaise had completely disappeared. I managed to go to the monastery quite safely.
Another time, my granddaughter developed a very painful, itchy rash. The girl was worried that summer was coming, and she would not be able to sunbathe or swim. What kind of ointments were prescribed to her - all to no avail. Then I gave her the book "Miracles of St. Nicholas in our days" to read and said: "Pray to St. Nicholas, he will help!" The granddaughter did so, and soon the rash disappeared.
Galina LIKHACHEVA, Tambov region
SICK HAND
Once, while reading the book "Nikola the Merciful", I thought: after all, Saint Nicholas helped me more than once. How many times, when I was late for the train, I prayed to the Miracle Worker for help, and the train was delayed at the station just long enough for me to catch it! How many times the Saint sent me rides on those roads where cars run once a month!.. And now, remembering all these cases of miraculous help, I decided to disturb the Saint again with my requests. By the nature of my service, I have to deal with building mixtures, various aggressive liquids, and as a result, on right hand I have formed severe irritation which did not last more than six months. Her hand itched painfully all the time, and she looked just terrible. I asked St. Nicholas to heal my sick hand and promised that I would write about his help in the newspaper Rule of Faith. Exactly a week passed, and there was no trace of irritation, although I did not use any medicines. Now I still work in the same unfavorable conditions, but my illness, by the grace of God, does not return.
r.B. Eugene, St. Petersburg
SOURCE IN THE TAMBOV REGION
Saint Nicholas is my father's heavenly patron. One day, when my father became very ill with pneumonia, the doctors in our hospital could not cure him. We as a whole family - and there are nine of us children - prayed for our dad, St. Nicholas, and now my father was sent to Moscow. There he was examined by a professor and found that his father was intolerant to penicillin. He was treated with other medicines and soon recovered. So the Lord, through the prayers of St. Nicholas, gave our father another 13 years of life.
Now I will tell you about what I heard from my friend, Mother Nina. Once she learned that in the Tambov region, in the Michurinsky district, the village of Dubov, there miraculous spring Saint Nicholas, which has a very great healing power. Mother Nina is a sick person, for almost two years she could not sleep on the bed and slept sitting in an armchair. The first time she came to the spring with several women. They settled down for the night in an empty house. Matushka Nina slept in her armchair, which she made with her own hands, and in a thin dream she saw how a gray-haired old man came into the house and said: "To receive grace, you need to come here three times." She came to the spring for the second time. Now two guys wormed their way into their group, who took a bottle of vodka with them and wanted to drink it at the source. They were told that it was forbidden to drink in the holy place, but they did not listen. At the spring they put the bottle on the ground, and for no reason it shattered into smithereens. The guys came to their senses, asked for forgiveness from St. Nicholas, prayed. For the third time, Nina took one patient with her to the spring, who was already preparing for death and did not even want to go, because she did not feel the strength in herself. They begged her, put her in a car, and at the source, along with everyone else, they poured water over them - 12 buckets were poured on each person. When they returned to Tambov, this patient was healed and went home herself. Mother Nina was also healed and now she sleeps not in an armchair, but on a bed. What a strong source St. Nicholas gave us!
Nina KOLOSOVA, Tambov
HOUSING AND WORK
Last summer, my uncle, in whose apartment I lived after my divorce from my husband, asked me to leave. I had to move to my parents, and they are already cramped. I was very worried and was sure that now I would have to wander around other people's houses all my life. But then an icon of St. Nicholas arrived in our city, consecrated in the city of Bari on the relics of the Wonderworker. My mother and I prayed at this icon, read akathists, and - what a miracle! My believing friend told me how to properly apply for a loan at Sberbank for the purchase of housing. Soon I bought myself nice apartment- and in fact quite recently could not even dream about it. But the miracles are not over yet. IN new apartment the balcony was in disrepair, and the neighbors were selling “burnt” vodka, and streams of drunkards flowed to our site day and night. But the Saint of Christ Nicholas did not leave here without his help. The balcony was made to me two months later free of charge, and the neighbors moved in six months later, and now quite decent people live in this apartment.
Nikolay Ugodnik also helped me in the service. I worked in a very prestigious, well-paid place, but my boss suddenly began to outsmart me. It seemed that there would be no end to bullying, I went to work as if to an execution, and did not stop praying to the Lord, the Mother of God, and especially St. Nicholas for help. And on December 19, on his feast day, the Saint performed a miracle: my boss was kicked out in disgrace, and I was offered a new position - in my specialty. Truly, nothing is impossible for God!
r.B. Natalia, Volgograd
FREE PLACE
I was going to go to the village, but I missed the last bus. The driver didn't stop and drove past me. I stood, upset, and prayed to St. Nicholas. I wanted to catch a ride, but they don’t want to take me. Suddenly another flight is announced. I heard about him for the first time. However, there are no tickets for it. I go to the driver, I ask them to take me without a ticket, but it's no use, all the seats are taken. I completely despaired, I cried, but I continued to pray to the Saint. Five minutes have passed. Suddenly, the driver comes up to me and says that one passenger did not come and now there is a place for me. It is difficult to convey my feelings, but I gave my word to St. Nicholas that I would write about this case in the newspaper Rule of Faith.
Natalia MALYASOVA, Cheboksary
EAR HURT...
Two years ago I was in the country, and there my ear ached. She treated him with everything that was possible, but the pain did not subside. I went to the doctor and it turned out that I had an infection in my ear. I used the medicines that the doctor prescribed for me, but I felt better only for a while, and then the second ear also ached. I began to despair. But then something happened that seemed completely unbelievable to me at that time: I bought the consecrated oil of St. Nicholas in the church, anointed my ear with it with a prayer, and soon the disease completely disappeared. Then I was extremely struck by this, and now I understand that our intercessor, St. Nicholas, is generous with such miracles.
Galina STEPANOVA, St. Petersburg
EAT SHASHLIK...
I am 51 years old. About five years ago I was visiting, where I was treated to barbecue. After this treat, my gallbladder and pancreas got very sick; severe pains began, which lasted six months - I could not even drink an extra sip of water, everything burned inside. Doctors, not particularly concerned about my problems, prescribed some medicines, but they were of little use. A friend took me to some healer, who allegedly treats with the blessing of the priests, but she not only did not cure, but also did not find the cause of the pain. The next Nikolin's day, December 19, I went to church and asked the Miracle Worker there to relieve me of pain. I decided: let me feel really bad in the temple, even if I fall, but I won’t leave until the end of the service, I will pray to St. Nicholas for help. After the service, I drank some water and went home. Everything still hurt me, but I went shopping, forgot, got hungry, ate at home, and then I realized that nothing hurts me anymore. Since then, my pain has gone away, I don’t drink pills, I just take care of myself so as not to eat something superfluous. So St. Nicholas helped me for the sake of his holiday.
Lyudmila ZHUKOVA, Nizhny Novgorod region
SAVE DAUGHTER
My daughter was spinning in her chair and, losing her balance, fell to the floor and hit her head hard. I knew right away that it was a serious blow. She immediately drooped, cried, moaned, refused food and drink ... Then she began to feel sick. All the signs of a concussion were on his face. You need to go to the hospital, but the hospital is far away. The husband insisted: we need to go urgently! But I knew from my own experience that if a child is brought to the hospital for the night, then treatment will begin only after 12 hours. next day. And I made a decision: not to treat the child, let her lie down quietly, and tomorrow, depending on the state of her health, decide what to do.
She fell asleep well, and I went to pray. I asked Saint Nicholas for his constant help and did not even doubt that this help would follow. In the morning I woke up - and a healthy child came out to meet me.
r.B. Nina
WE WERE REPAIRING...
We were undergoing renovations - long, seemingly endless. And he didn’t even walk, but stood, due to the fact that the living office was pulling with the replacement of pipes. We have already begun to seriously worry and get nervous. And then the newspaper "Rule of Faith" fell into our hands. I read how the Saint helps people through their prayers, and I say: "This is how people pray, but I ask and do not believe that I will receive." Mom echoes: "And I pray, but I myself think that I pray badly." And yet both of us, as it turned out later, prayed apart, as best we could. And now, when we have already agreed that the pipes will be installed for us for a fee, they call from the veins. offices: tomorrow they will do everything for us for free! And they called at 7 pm, and their working day ends at six!
And the next time we had a problem with the housing office, I prayed to the Saint with more hope. I came to the reception, and they tell me that tomorrow everything will be ready. "Really tomorrow? It doesn't happen like that!" - I said, but through the prayers of Nicholas the Wonderworker, everything turned out like that.
r.B. Maria
COMFORT
It was very hard on my soul - too many troubles piled up: a disabled son was beaten on the street, a daughter-in-law had a trial that could not be resolved in her favor ... I prayed intensely, with tears to the Lord, the Mother of God and St. Nicholas , asked for their help and promised to write in the "Rule of Faith" if the outcome was favorable. And suddenly the court decides in favor of the daughter-in-law, and on the same day my son and I receive an invitation to come to the St. Nicholas Monastery for half the price (this is very important for us). In the monastery we were able to confess and take communion, as well as venerate myrrh-streaming icons Mother of God and Saint Nicholas. Both of us received great spiritual comfort.
r.B. Larisa, St. Petersburg
seventeen centuries world history, like seventeen moments of eternity, in all times and countries, he works great miracles, without delay is a call for help to thousands of people at the same time. The precious pearls of his miracles are scattered in abundance by the generous Wonderworker on the face of the earth. On the eve of the first feast in the third millennium of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of the World of Lycia, modern eyewitnesses of his immortal glory told about what was incredibly obvious and obvious thanks to the participation of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
"Instead of you, Saint Nicholas stands"
Those were hard years civil war. V.P. - then a young girl - stood in the garden near her house, and a peasant was aiming at her from a gun (then all over Russia, peasants cracked down on landowners). The girl tremblingly pressed her hands to her chest and with great faith and hope fervently repeated:
- Father, St. Nicholas, help, protect.
And what? The peasant throws his gun aside and says:
“Now go wherever you want and don’t get caught in the eye.”
The girl ran home, took something, ran to the station and left for Moscow. There, her relatives gave her a job.
Several years have passed.
One day, the doorbell rings. Neighbors open - there is a thin, ragged village peasant, shaking all over. He asks if V.P. lives here. They answer him that he is here. They invite you to enter. Follow her.
When she came out, this man fell at her feet and began to cry and ask for forgiveness. She was confused, did not know what to do, began to pick him up, saying that she did not know him.
- Matushka V.P., don't you recognize me? I'm the one who wanted to kill you. He raised his gun, took aim and just wanted to shoot - I see that St. Nicholas is standing instead of you. I couldn't shoot him.
And again he fell at her feet.
- That's how long I was sick and decided to find you. Came on foot from the village.
She took him into her room, reassured him, said that she forgave everything. I fed him and changed into clean clothes.
He said he would die in peace now.
He immediately weakened and took to his bed. She called the priest. The peasant confessed and took communion. A few days later he peacefully departed to the Lord.
How she cried over him...
"Ambulance"
Our family had a housekeeper for a long time, a pious woman. Her work was framed by a contract, and we paid for it. insurance premiums.
When the woman grew old, she went to live with her relatives. When did it come out new law about pensions, an old woman came to us to take from us the documents necessary for receiving a pension.
I carefully guarded these documents, but when I began to look for them, I could not find them. I searched for three days, rummaged through all the drawers, all the cabinets - and could not find it anywhere.
When the old woman came again, I bitterly told her about my failure. The old woman was very upset, but said with humility: “Let's pray to St. Nicholas to help us, and if you don’t find it even then, then, apparently, I need to reconcile and forget about the pension.”
In the evening, I fervently prayed to St. Nicholas, and that same evening I noticed some kind of paper bundle under the table near the wall. These were the very documents I was looking for.
It turns out that the documents fell behind the box desk and fell out of there only after we fervently prayed to St. Nicholas.
Everything went well, and the old woman began to receive a pension.
So he heard our prayer and helped in trouble, St. Nicholas, who was quick to help.
"Where are you going, girl?"
My friend, Elena, is now an old woman, retired. This is what happened to her in the days of her youth, when she, as part of a geological expedition, explored the Solovetsky Islands. It was late autumn, and the sea began to be covered with ice floes. Hoping that she would still be able to return to her base, E. went alone to one of the islands to complete the work, thinking to return by evening.
Returning in the evening, I saw that there was so much ice in the sea that it was impossible to cross by boat. At night, the wind and ice floes carried away her boat and the next day washed her up on some unfamiliar shore. E. was a believer from childhood and prayed to St. Nicholas for salvation all the time. She decided to walk along the coast, hoping to meet at least some accommodation.
An old man met her and asked:
- Where are you going, girl?
- I'm going along the coast to find a home.
- Do not go along the coast, dear, you will not find anyone here for hundreds of miles. And you see a hill over there, go, climb it and then you will see where you go next.
E. looked at the hill, and then turned to the old man, but he was no longer in front of her. E. realized that St. Nicholas himself showed her the way, and went to the hill. From it, she noticed smoke in the distance and went to him. I found a fisherman's hut there.
The fisherman was surprised at her appearance in this completely deserted place and confirmed that indeed for hundreds of kilometers along the coast she would not have found a home and, for sure, would have died from cold and hunger. This is how Saint Nicholas saved the careless but pious girl.
"Quick helper in need"
I knew one godly working-class family, consisting of a husband, wife, and seven children. They lived near Moscow. It was at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when bread was given out on cards and in very limited quantities. At the same time, monthly cards were not renewed in case of loss.
For bread in this family, the eldest of the children, Kolya, thirteen years old, went to the store. In winter, on the day of St. Nicholas, he got up early and went for bread, which was enough only for the first buyers.
He came first and waited at the door of the store. He sees - there are four guys. Noticing Kolya, they went straight to him. Like lightning, the thought flashed through my head: "Now they will take away the bread cards." And this doomed the whole family to starvation. In horror, he mentally cried out: "St. Nicholas, save me."
Suddenly an old man appeared nearby, who approached him and said: "Come with me." He takes Kolya by the hand and, in front of the stunned and numb with surprise guys, takes him to the house. He disappeared near the house.
Saint Nicholas remains the same "ambulance to those in need."
"What are you sleeping?"
Here is what a participant in the Great Patriotic War named Nikolai told one priest.
- I managed to escape from German captivity. I made my way through occupied Ukraine at night and hid somewhere during the day. Once, after wandering through the night, I fell asleep in the morning in the rye. Suddenly someone wakes me up. I see in front of me an old man in a priestly robe. The old man says:
- What are you sleeping? Now the Germans will come here.
I got scared and ask:
- Where can I run?
Priest says:
- Here you see a bush there, run quickly there.
I turned to run, but then I realized that I had not thanked my savior, turned around ... and he was already gone. I realized that Saint Nicholas himself - my saint - was my savior.
With all my might, I rushed to the bushes. In front of the bush, I see a river flowing, but not wide. I rushed into the water, climbed to the other side and hid in the bushes. I look out of the bushes - the Germans are walking along the rye with a dog. The dog leads them straight to where I slept. She circled there and led the Germans to the river. Then I slowly began to go further and further through the bushes.
The river hid my trail from the dog, and I safely escaped the chase.
"And you look at it?"
My grandmother told me how Saint Nicholas saved our family in military Moscow in 1943.
Left alone with three children swollen from hunger, not being able to buy food even with ration cards, she saw in the kitchen the image of St. Nicholas, darkened with time. In desperation, she turned to him: "And you look at this?"
After that, she ran out onto the stairs, deciding not to return home again. Before she had time to reach the front door, she saw two ten-ruble banknotes on the floor. They lay crosswise. This money then saved the lives of her three babies, one of whom was my mother.
"St. Nicholas, help, dear!"
Maria Petrovna believed in God, and especially in the help of St. Nicholas, after one incident.
She was going to visit her cousin in the village. She had never visited her before, but in July her daughter and son-in-law left for the Crimea, both grandchildren went on a hiking trip, and, left alone in the apartment, Maria Petrovna immediately got bored and decided: "I'll go to my village." She bought gifts and sent a telegram to be met at the Luzhki station tomorrow.
I arrived in Luzhki, looked around, but no one came out to meet. What to do here?
- Hand over, my dear, your bundles to our storage room, - the station guard advised Maria Petrovna, - and go straight along this road for eight or even ten kilometers until you meet Birch Grove, and next to it on a hillock, separately from all, there are two pines. Turn right on them and you will see a path, and behind it - a path. You will cross the path and go out onto the path again; She will lead you into the woods. You will walk a bit between the birches and straight to the village that you need, and you will come out.
- Do you have wolves? Maria Petrovna asked apprehensively.
- There is, my dear, I will not hide it, there is. Yes, while it is light, they will not be touched, but in the evening, of course, they can fool around. Well, maybe you'll get through!
Maria Petrovna went. She was a village girl, but after twenty years of living in the city she had lost the habit of walking a lot and quickly got tired.
She walked, walked, not only ten, but all fifteen kilometers, and neither two pines nor a birch grove were visible.
The sun was setting behind the forest, pulling a chill. "If only I could meet a living person," Maria Petrovna thinks. Nobody! It became terrifying: well, how will the wolf jump out? Maybe she passed two pines a long time ago, or maybe they are still far away ...
It's completely dark... What should I do? Come back? So you will reach the station only at dawn. Here's the trouble!
“St. Nicholas, look what happened to me, help me, my dear, because the wolves will bite me on the road,” Maria Petrovna pleaded and wept from fear. And there was silence all around, not a soul, only stars were looking at her from the darkening sky ... Suddenly, wheels rattled loudly somewhere on the side.
“Fathers, it’s someone coming across the gate,” Maria Petrovna realized and rushed to the knock. He runs and sees that there are two pine trees on the right - and there is a path from them. Overlooked! And here is the shit. What happiness!
And along the gati, a small buggy, harnessed to one horse, knocks with wheels. An old man is sitting in a taratayka, only his back is visible and his head is white like a dandelion, and around it is a radiance ...
- Saint Nicholas, but it's you yourself! shouted Maria Petrovna, and, without looking at the road, she rushed to catch up with the bugger, and she had already driven into the woods.
Maria Petrovna runs with all her might and only one thing shouts:
- Wait!.
And the taratay is no longer visible. Maria Petrovna jumped out of the woods - in front of her there were huts, at the extreme old people were sitting on logs, smoking. She to them:
- Did your gray-haired grandfather drive past you now?
- No, dear, no one was driving, and we've been sitting here for an hour already.
Maria Petrovna's legs buckled - she sat down on the ground and was silent, only her heart was pounding in her chest and tears were coming. She sat, asked where the sister's hut was, and quietly went to her.
Rescue of mother and baby
Along the entire village where my grandmother lived, the river Veletma flows. Now the river has become shallow and narrow, the deepest places for children are knee-deep, but before Veletma was deep, full-flowing. And the banks of the river were swampy, swampy. And it was necessary for this to happen - her three-year-old son Vanechka slid off the log into this swamp in front of his mother and immediately went to the bottom. Elizabeth rushed to him, jumped into the swamp, grabbed her son. And she doesn't know how to swim. I remembered it was too late. And they both began to sink.
She prayed to Nicholas the Wonderworker, asking for the salvation of the souls of sinners. And a miracle happened.
Like a wave, a large strong current lifted the mother and baby above the swamp and lowered them onto a dry, fallen tree that blocked the swampy place like a bridge. My uncle Vanya is still alive, he is now over seventy.
"Now I need help!"
When the St. Nicholas Church in Zelenograd was being restored, an old woman of about seventy came to the restoration work and said that she had come to help. They were surprised: "Where can I help you?" She says, "No, put me in some physical work."
They laughed, and then they look: she really started to carry something, she tries to stand on the most difficult places. They asked what prompted her to do this.
She said that the other day an old man suddenly comes into her room and says: "Listen, you asked me for help for a long time, and now I need help, I need help ..." She was surprised. Then she remembered that the door in her room was closed. By the image, she recognized Saint Nicholas and realized that it was he who came to her and called her to help. She knew that the St. Nicholas Church was being restored, and so she came ...
"Descended from the icon, as if by a ladder"
Our friend Alla's great-grandmother was a very religious person. She had many large old books, icons. However, her daughter grew up after the revolution as an unbeliever.
When she was in her fifties, she developed a perforated stomach ulcer. The condition was serious, she could die.
They underwent surgery and were soon discharged from the hospital. The doctors warned her that if she did not eat, she would die. Nevertheless, she did not eat anything: she could not and did not want to. And slowly weakened and weakened.
In the corner where her bed was, there was a holy corner. And there is an icon of St. Nicholas.
One day, she suddenly sees Saint Nicholas himself descending from the icon, as if along a ladder, but of the same small stature as he is depicted on the icon. Approaching her, he began to comfort and persuade her: "My dear, you must eat, otherwise you can die." Then he went up to the goddess and stood in his place in the icon.
On the same day she asked for food and after that she began to get better.
She lived until the age of eighty-seven and passed away as a true Christian.
"Are you not an angel of God?"
Ekaterina, a parishioner of our church, told an incident that happened to her in 1991. She is from the city of Solnechnogorsk. One winter, she was walking along the shores of Lake Senezh and decided to take a break. I sat down on a bench to admire the lake. Grandmother was sitting on the same bench, and they started talking. We talked about life. The grandmother said that her son does not love her, the daughter-in-law offends her very much, they do not give her a "pass".
Catherine is a pious, Orthodox woman, and, naturally, the conversation turned to God's help, faith, Orthodoxy, and life according to the Law of God. Catherine said that one should turn to God and seek help and support from Him. Grandmother replied that she had never gone to church and did not know prayers. And Catherine in the morning, not knowing why herself, put the Prayer Book in her bag. She remembered this, took out the Prayer Book from her bag and gave it to her grandmother. The old woman looked at her in surprise: "Oh, and you, dear, won't you disappear now?" "What's wrong with you?" Catherine asked. "Are you not an angel of God?" - the old woman was frightened and told what happened to her a week ago.
The situation in the house was such that she felt completely superfluous and decided to commit suicide. She came to the lake and sat down on the bench before throwing herself into the hole. An old man of a very handsome appearance, gray-haired, with curly hair, with a very kind face, sat down next to her and asked: “Where are you going? life now." He was silent for a while and asked again: "Why don't you go to church, why don't you pray to God?" She replied that she had never gone to church and no one had taught her to pray. The old man asks: "Do you have any sins?" She replies: "What are my sins? I don't have any special sins." And the old man began to remind her of her sins, bad deeds, even named those that she forgot about, about which no one could know except her. All she could do was be surprised and horrified. Finally she asked: "Well, how am I going to pray if I don't know any prayers?" The old man replied: "Come here in a week, and you will have prayers. Go to church and pray." The old woman asked: "What is your name?" and he replied: "Your name is Nikolai." At that moment, she turned away for some reason, and when she turned around, there was no one around.
Petrified Girl
This story happened in a simple Soviet family in the city of Kuibyshev, now Samara, in the late 50s. Mother and daughter were going to celebrate the New Year. Daughter Zoya invited seven of her friends and young people to a dance party. There was a Christmas fast, and the believing mother asked Zoya not to have parties, but her daughter insisted on her own. In the evening my mother went to church to pray.
The guests have gathered, but Zoya's groom named Nikolai has not yet arrived. They did not wait for him, the dancing began. Girls and young people joined in pairs, and Zoya was left alone. Out of vexation, she took the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and said: “I will take this Nicholas and go to dance with him,” not listening to her friends, who advised her not to do such blasphemy. "If there is a God, He will punish me," she snapped.
Dances began, two laps passed, and suddenly an unimaginable noise arose in the room, a whirlwind, a dazzling light flashed.
The amusement turned to terror. Everyone ran out of the room in fear. Only Zoya remained standing with the icon of the saint, pressing it to her chest, petrified, cold as marble. No efforts of the arriving doctors could bring her to her senses. The needles broke and bent during the injection, as if meeting a stone obstacle. They wanted to take the girl to the hospital for observation, but they could not move her: her legs were, as it were, chained to the floor. But her heart was beating - Zoya lived. From that time on, she could neither drink nor eat.
When her mother returned and saw what had happened, she lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital, from where she returned a few days later: faith in the mercy of God, fervent prayers for mercy on her daughter restored her strength. She came to her senses and tearfully prayed for forgiveness and help.
The first days the house was surrounded by many people: believers, doctors, clerics, just curious people came and came from afar. But soon, by order of the authorities, the premises were closed to visitors. Two policemen were on duty in it in shifts of 8 hours. Some of the attendants, still very young (28-32 years old), turned gray with horror when Zoya screamed terribly at midnight. At night, her mother prayed beside her.
Before the feast of the Annunciation (that year it was on Saturday of the third week of Great Lent), a handsome old man came and asked to be allowed to see Zoya. But the policemen on duty refused him. He came the next day, but again, from other duty officers, he received a refusal.
The third time, on the very day of the Annunciation, the attendants let him through. The guards heard him affectionately say to Zoya: "Well, are you tired of standing?"
Some time passed, and when the police officers on duty wanted to release the old man, he was not there. Everyone is convinced that it was St. Nicholas himself.
So Zoya stood for 4 months (128 days), until Easter itself, which was April 23 that year (May 6, according to the new style). After Easter, Zoya came to life, softness and vitality appeared in her muscles. She was put to bed, but she continued to cry out and ask everyone to pray.
Everything that happened so impressed those living in the city of Kuibyshev and its environs that many people, seeing miracles, turned to faith. They hurried to the church with repentance. The unbaptized were baptized. Those who did not wear the cross began to wear it. The conversion was so great that the churches lacked crosses for those who asked.
On the third day of Easter, Zoya departed to the Lord, having gone through a difficult path - 128 days of standing before the face of the Lord in atonement for her sin. The Holy Spirit kept the life of the soul, resurrecting it from mortal sins, so that on the future eternal day of the Resurrection of all the living and the dead, it would rise in the body for eternal life. After all, the very name Zoya means "life."
Save your souls with patience
I am an unworthy, sinful person, but I had to serve seventeen years in the church of St. Nicholas, - the rector of the Church of All Saints in the city of Kursk, Archpriest Anatoly Filin, paused and continued: - When I was 12 years old, I unexpectedly told my mother: "Mom, if you don't buy me a cross, your goat won't give milk." Mom was scared that suddenly we would really be left without milk, and on the same day she took me to the temple, it was in the city of Orel. Bought pectoral cross, I put it on, my mother and I sat down to rest in the park and suddenly we look, an old man in gray clothes sits down with us and says:
- You are doing the right thing, Zinaida Afanasyevna, that you are starting to take your son to the temple ...
It happened for real.
Later, having served as a priest for many years, I saw in a dream my temple and the voice of the second priest in the altar: "The bishop is coming!" - I quickly put on a cassock, went out, I look: venerable archimandrites are sitting on a bench, about six people, in hoods, in crosses with decorations. I went up to them, greeted them like a priest, turned around and saw an old man in the same clothes as then, in childhood. It was Nicholas Ugodnik. He came up to me, hugged me and said:
- We are surprised at how you serve with the rector, Father Alexander.
- Oh, - I answer, - he has a tough character.
- We know that.
But we do love each other a little.
And we know this...
For me, that dream was a great comfort. Although it was difficult to serve with Father Alexander Ragozinsky, we fell in love with each other even more, with the prayers of Nikolai Ugodnik, all the clergy protected the rector's father's old age. And now I often recall with gratitude all that Father Alexander wisely advised me.
I often asked Saint Nicholas for help and enlightenment in spiritual matters. There was a time when it was very difficult. My wife, now deceased, did not go to the temple with me and did not take the children. Through the intercession of Nikolai Ugodnik, I later realized that this is how it should be ... I survived. I waited for seventeen years, and then she went to church constantly, constantly ... But again, it was the help of St. Nicholas, his intercession before the Throne of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Thy will be done!"
The monastery changes the life of a person who has crossed the threshold of the holy monastery at least once, even just a visitor, a guest.
Until recently, a successful businessman, Nikolai Nikolaevich Manko, left his business and for two years now has been serving as the headman of the Church of the Transfiguration of Christ under construction in the city of Kursk. And then, in the St. Nicholas Monastery in Rylsk, in front of the image of St. Nicholas, the businessman prayed for commercial success.
- I think I’ll ask Nikolai Ugodnik to help me with my financial problem. But when I approached his icon literally in 5 steps, the only thought remained - and from the third person, I kind of began to ask myself: "Don't you have enough money, you have nothing to eat, drink, shoe, wear?" And I suddenly became so ashamed that I burst into tears in front of the icon. I just sobbed ... and could not even answer my wife's question about what was happening to me.
While I calmed down, 5-7 minutes passed. That day I realized that I had to work in the temple. Since they call me to the temple, it means that I am needed there.
The blind see, the lame walk, and the dead rise...
The St. Nicholas Rylsky Monastery in the west of the Kursk diocese is called the "Box of Miracles" of Nikolai Ugodnik. Here, as nowhere else, you can feel the presence of the Saint, his grace-filled patronage of everyone: both people and ... birds. No wonder a pair of swallows built a nest right above the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, above the entrance to the temple.
“And the hermits used to go into the cave into this cave,” monk Joachim, a resident of the monastery, pointed towards the clay cave darkening on a hillock. – Now it is being dug up again with the blessing of the rector of the monastery, the elder Archimandrite Hippolytus. After the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, the clay in the cave has become healing, and pilgrims seek to take it with them. It is reliably known that here, near the cave, next to the holy spring, St. Nicholas himself appeared to people. He brought me to the monastery, to atone for the sin of youth...
Once a car got stuck in the mud here. Torrential rain, not a soul around. The pilgrims hurrying on the road, not hoping for anything else, prayed: "St. Nicholas, help us!" At this time, two of our monks in the cell felt an irresistible desire to go to the cave, to the source, despite the bad weather. When they arrived, they saw a car stuck in the mud and two almost desperate men who looked at them as if they were a miracle.
All the brethren in the monastery know that it is easiest to pray to St. Nicholas and that St. Nicholas hears the prayer most quickly.
Once a long-term paralyzed woman was brought to our monastery. After fervent prayer, she was dipped several times in the holy spring, for the third time strength returned to her arms and legs, and the woman herself, without outside help came out of the water.
...At the request of relatives, an ambulance with a man who, after a car accident, was in a coma, drove into the monastery. They took him to the temple. Elder Father Ippolit served a moleben to St. Nicholas. But this did not bring relief to the patient. Then Archimandrite Ippolit said: "Go to the hospital, and on the way read the akathist to Nicholas the Wonderworker."
And again a miracle happened. Halfway through, the man regained consciousness and very soon recovered from severe wounds that threatened him with imminent death.
Helper of the afflicted, source of healing
Yes, no one else answers prayers for help faster than him! Hope of the hopeless and help of the helpless; truly the conqueror of nations, St. Nicholas leads everyone to Christ with great miracles, great love.
“I see a new sun rising above the earth to comfort the mourners,” the Orthodox bishop of one of the countries of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century after Christ prophetically announced about St. Nicholas, “he will be a zealous helper to all those in need.”
The Kazakh woman suddenly fell into bed. The content of hemoglobin in the blood dropped so much that she could smell her smoldering body, and only prayed to God to prolong her life for the sake of her three children. She prayed in a Muslim way, but did not know Christianity at all.
Subsequently, the Providence of God brought this woman to Archpriest Mikhail Shurpo, who, of course, did not forget about the miracle that he himself witnessed:
- Right at the foot of the hospital bed, an old man appeared to her in an unusual, even strange for her attire, in a golden hat and asked:
- Do you want God to prolong your life? If you wish to be baptized, you will feel better, and when you are baptized, then you will recover.
And became invisible.
When her husband came home from work, the woman told him about the vision and asked what is baptism? Her husband did not object to her being baptized. And when she came to the Russian church, she saw at the requiem table a large, full height, the icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker. “This old man appeared to me!” she screamed and bowed to the ground in front of the image, “now I won’t leave the church until you baptize!”
She really recovered. And then her husband and children were baptized.
During the stay of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Moscow, about 2 million pilgrims venerated them. Now the relics have been transported to St. Petersburg and will stay there for two weeks from July 13 to 28.
Maria Sergeeva
Maria Sergeeva, coordinator of Orthodox Volunteers, spent 42 days at the relics helping pilgrims and other volunteers. Sometimes she had to sleep for an hour and a half a day, but, according to her, she did not feel any fatigue. We asked her to talk about the most memorable moments in her work.
“I got here very easily. In our church there was an announcement about the bringing of relics and the recruitment of volunteers to help in the organization. I signed up and on June 1 came to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as a volunteer. Came - and that's it, stayed there until the end.
At first I came as a "green man" in a green vest - the color of the volunteers' vests. I was a mobile volunteer who rode along the queue on a scooter. Then many who actively showed themselves became coordinators. And so I became. We helped the volunteers, encouraged and guided them, controlled the order in the queue with them.
There was a period when we worked almost the whole day and slept at home for only one and a half to two hours: at 6 in the morning the first shift of volunteers began to gather, and we left at 2-3 in the morning, depending on the number of pilgrims. But even after just a couple of hours of sleep, there was a feeling that you were cheerful, that you wanted to run faster to work there, in the temple. No fatigue!
It was difficult for some volunteers to stand at the relics themselves. Morally. Many destinies flashed before my eyes, human emotions, experiences. Therefore, many changed their posts to street ones, closer to the live queue.
We tried to make it easier for people to stand in line, brought them tea and water. Sometimes it was possible to please them with something else. So one day the bakery brought us buns for free. When we handed them out, people smiled and said kind words. I remember this moment very well.
In the queue one could meet both ordinary and very wealthy people. And everyone was on an equal footing, except for those for whom a special “social” queue was created - for disabled people of the 1st group and children under one year old.
There were moments both happy and sad. For example, when buses with patients arrived. I was very worried looking at them. At the same time, it was a joy to see that they like it here, and many of them are smiling.
Volunteers talked about things that I can’t call anything other than a miracle:
People who had not seen each other for many, many years and lost all contacts for communication, unexpectedly met right at the relics. One of our volunteers, when applied, heard a familiar voice. It was her old friend from childhood.
And one woman, who also came to us as a volunteer, said that she did it after a miracle happened to her. According to her story, at first she, like everyone else, stood in line for 8 hours, bowed to the relics and went home. She had vision problems for 30 years and wore lenses. She says she began to watch TV, and suddenly her vision deteriorated sharply. I was very scared, I thought that I had lost it completely. When she removed the lenses to understand what had happened, it turned out that her vision became perfect and the lenses only got in the way.
Each pilgrim was given only one second to kiss and not delay the general queue. According to estimates, about 30 people applied per minute, with a large flow, there were more.People stood for 8-12 hours in a general queue under the sun and downpour for one second, which is worth so much.
Personally, when I stood near the entrance and exit, I watched how the expression on people's faces changed. Those who had just entered the temple were tense, tired, and confused. And the faces of those leaving and those who had already bowed to the relics were brighter and joyful, even if someone had tears in their eyes at that moment.
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Everyone has probably heard about Nicholas the Wonderworker. Even people who are far from Christianity know about him, because Nikolai is the prototype of the Western Santa Claus. However, this is not what deserves the greatest attention of believers. Even during his lifetime, Nicholas the Wonderworker was called for a reason, his biography contains stories about truly miraculous rescue people, good and generous deeds. But the most important thing is that, according to many believers, the miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker continue to occur today. Today we will talk about who Nikolai Ugodnik is, how he helped and continues to help people even after his death.
Nicholas the Wonderworker (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nicholas) was supposedly born in 270 in the city of Patara in the Roman province of Lycia. His parents were Christians, so the boy absorbed sincere faith from childhood. He spent almost all his time in prayer, studying the Holy Scriptures. Thanks to such zeal for the faith, he was first made a reader, then became a priest, and later - Bishop of Mira.
The parents of Saint Nicholas were quite prosperous; after their death, the son inherited a substantial fortune. However, he did not spend money on his own needs and enjoy the newfound wealth. Nicholas gave all his inheritance to the poor.
The beginning of the ministry of Saint Nicholas fell on the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, whose policy provided for the cruel persecution of Christians. Only in Last year the reign of the next emperor, Constantius Chlorus, freedom of religion was declared. After that, Christian communities began to grow, and the doctrine itself became more and more popular, because there was no longer any risk for its followers.
It is believed that Saint Nicholas is especially kind to sailors. To this day, they pray to him for a successful voyage and a speedy return home. This is connected with stories about how St. Nicholas saved the sailors. One of them tells about the voyage from Mira to Alexandria, where, judging by the biography, he was trained. During this journey, one of the sailors fell off the mast and crashed to death, but Nikolai managed to resurrect him. During the return to Mira, misfortune also happened, and the Wonderworker again had to save the sailor, who subsequently went with him and stayed at the church.
However, the most famous history, which marked the beginning of the tradition of Christmas and New Year's gifts, concerns the three sisters whom Nikolai saved from a terrible fate. He learned that their father did not have any means to provide a dowry for his daughters, so he decided to use their beauty to earn at least something. Then Nicholas the Saint came at night under the house in which the three beauties lived, and threw a bag of gold out the window. It so happened that the bag fell into one of the drying stockings. That is why in the West there was a tradition to put gifts in stockings or socks hung in the house. Nicholas did not want the girls and their father to know who their benefactor was, because he was modest, and besides, he did not want the girls to be humiliated by his gold. Having found a bag of gold, the father was immediately able to marry off one of his daughters. He was still interested in who left such a valuable gift, while wishing to remain anonymous, so at night he did not go to bed and began to guard under the window. The father waited until another sack thrown by Nikolai landed in the house and ran to catch up with the benefactor. He thanked the Miracle Worker, but he took his word that he would not tell anyone about who gave his daughters a dowry.
Nicholas the Wonderworker is considered the patron saint of:
- sailors;
- travelers;
- orphans.
However, in the West they believe that St. Nicholas patronizes all segments of the population, but especially children.
There are many testimonies of believers who claim that Nicholas the Wonderworker helped them at a time when, it would seem, there was nowhere to wait for help.
There is more than one story about when St. Nicholas saved people who had an accident during a trip, who had an icon with his image with them, or who read a prayer to him before starting the journey. People remained safe and sound in situations where it seemed simply impossible. You can't call such salvation from the clutches of death otherwise than a miracle.
There is also evidence that myrrh (special consecrated oil), taken from the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, where his relics rest, can heal from diseases. Someone smears them with sore spots, someone drinks a little and is thus healed of ailments.
Also, judging by the stories of believers, St. Nicholas can help unmarried girls meet their soul mate. This is not surprising, because even during his lifetime, Nicholas the Wonderworker saved virgins from loneliness. The girls claim that before meeting their betrothed, they prayed to Saint Nicholas and asked him to help them find their happiness, build a strong family.
The saint also helps some in finding a decent job that brings good income. This can also be considered quite logical, because during his lifetime, Nikolai distributed all his wealth to those who needed them much more. People also talk about the fact that prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker helps to find what was lost, to get what a person needs most now.
It will not be superfluous for all believers to pray to St. Nicholas before setting off on a long journey. Since Nicholas is the patron saint of travelers, he protects believers on the road, helps to avoid dangerous situations and return home safe. However, you can turn to the saint with any requests. The most important thing is that at the same time the thoughts of the prayer be pure, and faith sincere and unshakable. The miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker continue today, because faith is really capable of much. It is worth teaching St. Nicholas to your children, because it is believed that it is the children's requests that he fulfills in the first place.
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