Moscow, 03/01/2022, 08:06:52, editorial office of FTimes.ru, author Anastasia.
Orthodox believers celebrate the feast of the transfer of the holy relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker every year on May 22. On this day, parishioners go to churches and pray. In fact, this holiday has several names: St. Nicholas the Summer, St. Nicholas the Spring, St. Nicholas Day. It is believed that prayers to the saint have special power. In order not to anger him and get what you want, you need to know what you can do on Nikolai on May 22 in the garden and at home, and what things are best postponed.
Twice a year parishioners celebrate his day: May 22 and December 19. This saint is also called Nicholas the Pleasant. He secretly helped the poor and disadvantaged, and did not ignore injustice. Several categories of the population consider him their patron. These are sailors, merchants, beekeepers, landowners and travelers.
History of St. Nicholas Day
Nicholas the Wonderworker is a person who really existed in history. According to information, he was born in 270 AD and lived for 75 years. The Saint's parents led a pious lifestyle. For a long time they had no children, so they prayed constantly. When Nicholas was born, they made a promise to the Lord that his life would be aimed at worshiping religion. However, everything did not happen as planned; the boy became an orphan.
Later he began to live as a hermit and devoted most of his time to science.
Where did the history of the holiday itself begin? A poor family with a young and beautiful daughter lived next to the Saint. The woman died early, and her husband was left a widower. The daughter was in love with a young man from a wealthy family, but his parents did not accept him, because she had no dowry.
The miracle worker decided to help the girl, since he inherited an inheritance from his parents. At night, he changed his clothes so as not to be recognized, and went to poor housing. He threw in a bag of gold coins. This act helped the lovers to be together, and rumors of the miracle spread throughout the city. People believed that an angel from heaven helped unite lovers.
After this, Saint Nicholas walked around the city and helped those who needed it. He left food, toys for children, clothes. He did this exclusively at night; in the morning people were surprised at the gifts they discovered.
What date is St. Nicholas Day
In the traditions of the Orthodox Church, there are several days when St. Nicholas is venerated. The first day falls on August 11th. On this day, believers remember the birth of the Wonderworker. The second day according to the old style falls on December 6, in the new style 19, on these days they remember his death. There is another date - May 22. It became memorable because of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas.
Each of these dates had its own name:
- Nikola Veshny;
- Nikola Autumn;
- Nikola Winter.
When is St. Nicholas Day in 2022? The holiday is celebrated from December 18 to 19, this year it falls on Sunday.
How the holiday is celebrated
The main tradition on St. Nicholas Day is receiving gifts. Children especially look forward to this day, because in the morning you can find sweets or other interesting gifts under your pillow. But in order for Nikolai to leave a surprise, the child had to behave well, honor and obey his elders throughout the previous year. As for the disobedient hooligans, only rods awaited them.
Under Kievan Rus, St. Nicholas Day was an Orthodox holiday for adults as well. It was customary to set the festive table and gather around it with relatives. Having cheerfully celebrated the celebration at the table, people went for a walk on the street, to ride around the villages on a sled with the best horses. In some areas they cooked kutia and uzvar, they believed that this would bring a good harvest. They tried to bless livestock with water in order to protect themselves from adversity.
The holiday was especially revered by girls. If she was soon to get married, then she had to clean the house for the holiday. Carefully fold all things, prepare wedding decorations and the outfit in which to meet the matchmakers. Also on the festive night, girls engaged in fortune-telling, most often they were associated with their betrothed, in addition, rituals were performed. It was generally accepted that the image that a girl saw at night would become her betrothed in the future.
Over the centuries, the traditions of the holiday have changed many times. Changes depend on the specific location and historical period.
But some rules of celebration have not changed:
- on this New Year's Eve, it was customary to attend a solemn service in the Temple;
- the family needs to gather around a set table;
- guests are treated to beer and cooked dishes;
- At night, during the holiday, children are given sweets or a small gift under their pillow, in their shoes or a festive sock;
- gifts are given not only to children, but also to loved ones.
How to celebrate St. Nicholas of the Summer
Our ancestors began the morning by washing themselves with morning dew. They believed that this would help maintain health and youth for many years. After that they put on new outfits.
On the day of St. Nicholas the Summer, they always went to church. The parishioners sincerely asked Nicholas the Pleasant for the fulfillment of their innermost desires. We prayed for health for ourselves and our family, marriage, prosperity, and help in our endeavors.
Unmarried girls can ask Nikolai Ugodnik to send a successful chosen one. They pray for a successful marriage and healthy children. On Nikola's day you can plan wedding celebrations. The children were spoiled and given small gifts.
Believers helped the disadvantaged and the poor. They fed them, gave them clothes and necessary things.
Help from the Miracle Worker
Throughout his life, the Wonderworker performed many holy deeds:
- saved from death military leaders who were slandered by the mayor and were awaiting execution;
- did not let the people from his city starve;
- provided assistance to people on land and water.
There is a story about Saint Nicholas that he resurrected a man who, during a storm, fell from a ship into the water and crashed. After this story, the Wonderworker began to be considered the patron saint of those at sea.
He helps not only seafarers; merchants, military men and, of course, ordinary people in trouble turn to him with prayers.
The Wonderworker is approached with requests:
- protect from bad intentions;
- establish harmony in the family and with your significant other;
- make the bonds of marriage stronger, bring love into married life and maintain happiness;
- protect the innocently convicted;
- support when the situation seems hopeless.
In what situations do you still turn to the Saint? They offer prayer to him when they find themselves in a difficult financial situation or a difficult situation simply arises. Young girls ask for a good husband and a strong marriage. Those who are already married pray for mutual understanding in the family. Those whose profession is associated with danger turn to the Wonderworker asking for protection and good luck.
Prayers to Nicholas the Wonderworker
Troparion to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Voice 4
The rule of faith and the image of meekness and abstinence as a teacher show you to your flock as the truth of things: for this reason you have acquired high humility, rich in poverty. Father Hierarch Nicholas, pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Translation:
The teacher showed you the rule of faith, the example of meekness and abstinence, to your flock. And therefore, through humility you acquired greatness, through poverty - wealth: Father Hierarch Nicholas, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Voice 3
In Mireh, the holy, the priest appeared: For Christ, O Reverend, having fulfilled the Gospel, you laid down your soul for your people, and saved the innocent from death; For this reason you have been sanctified, as the great hidden place of God’s grace.
Translation:
In the Worlds, you, saint, appeared as the performer of sacred rites: having fulfilled the Gospel teaching of Christ, you, reverend, laid down your soul for your people and delivered the innocent from death. That is why he was sanctified as a great minister of the sacraments of God’s grace.
First prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Oh, all-holy Nicholas, exceedingly saintly servant of the Lord, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper!
Help me, a sinner and sad person in this present life, beg the Lord God to grant me forgiveness of all my sins, which I have sinned greatly from my youth, in all my life, in deed, word, thought and all my feelings; and at the end of my soul, help me the accursed, beg the Lord God, the Creator of all creation, to deliver me from airy ordeals and eternal torment: may I always glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and your merciful intercession, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Amen.
Second prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
O all-praised, great wonderworker, saint of Christ, Father Nicholas!
We pray to you, awaken the hope of all Christians, protector of the faithful, feeder of the hungry, joy of the weeping, doctor of the sick, steward of those floating on the sea, feeder of the poor and orphans, and quick helper and patron of all, may we live a peaceful life here and may we be worthy to see the glory of God’s elect in heaven , and with them unceasingly sing the praises of the one worshiped God in the Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
Third prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
O all-praised and all-pious bishop, great Wonderworker, Saint of Christ, Father Nicholas, man of God and faithful servant, man of desires, chosen vessel, strong pillar of the church, bright lamp, shining star and illuminating the whole universe: you are a righteous man, like a blossoming date planted in the courts of your Lord, living in Myra, you were fragrant with the world, and the myrrh flowed with the ever-flowing grace of God.
By your procession, holy father, the sea was illuminated, when your many-wonderful relics marched into the city of Barsky, from east to west praise the name of the Lord.
O most graceful and wondrous Wonderworker, quick helper, warm intercessor, kind shepherd, saving the verbal flock from all troubles, we glorify and magnify you, as the hope of all Christians, the source of miracles, the protector of the faithful, the wise teacher, those who hunger for a feeder, those who cry are glad, the naked are clothed , the sick physician, the sea-floating steward, the liberator of captives, the nourisher and protector of widows and orphans, the guardian of chastity, the meek chastiser of infants, the old fortification, the fasting mentor, the toiling rapture, the poor and wretched abundant wealth.
Hear us praying to you and running under your roof, show your intercession for us to the Most High, and intercede with your God-pleasing prayers, everything useful for the salvation of our souls and bodies: preserve this holy monastery (or this temple), every city and all, and every Christian country, and people living from all bitterness with your help:
We know, we know, how the prayer of the righteous can do much to hasten for good: for you, the righteous, according to the most blessed Virgin Mary, imams, intercessor to the All-Merciful God, and to yours, most kind father, warm intercession and intercession we humbly flow: you keep us as you are vigorous and kind shepherd, from all enemies, destruction, cowardice, hail, famine, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners, and in all our troubles and sorrows, give us a helping hand, and open the doors of God’s mercy, since we are unworthy to see the heights of heaven, from many of our iniquities are bound by the bonds of sin, and we have not done the will of our Creator nor have we preserved his commandments.
In the same way, we bow our contrite and humble hearts to our Creator, and we ask for your fatherly intercession to Him:
Help us, O Pleasant of God, so that we do not perish with our iniquities, deliver us from all evil and from all things that are resistant, guide our minds and strengthen our hearts in the right faith, in it through your intercession and intercession, neither with wounds, nor rebuke, nor pestilence, he will give me no wrath to live in this age, and he will deliver me from this place, and he will make me worthy to join all the saints. Amen.
Prayer four to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
O our good shepherd and God-wise mentor, Saint Nicholas of Christ! Hear us sinners, praying to you and calling for your speedy intercession for help; see us weak, caught from everywhere, deprived of every good and darkened in mind from cowardice; Try, O servant of God, not to leave us in the captivity of sin, so that we may not joyfully become our enemies and not die in our evil deeds.
Pray for us, unworthy, to our Creator and Master, to whom you stand with disembodied faces: make our God merciful to us in this life and in the future, so that He will not reward us according to our deeds and the impurity of our hearts, but according to His goodness He will reward us .
We trust in your intercession, we boast of your intercession, we call on your intercession for help, and falling to your most holy image, we ask for help: deliver us, servant of Christ, from the evils that come upon us, and tame the waves of passions and troubles that rise up against us, and for the sake of Your holy prayers will not overwhelm us and we will not wallow in the abyss of sin and in the mud of our passions. Pray to Saint Nicholas of Christ, Christ our God, that he may grant us a peaceful life and remission of sins, salvation and great mercy for our souls, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Signs for St. Nicholas Day
On the national holiday St. Nicholas Day, people adhered to certain signs. People believed that before this day came, they needed to get rid of all their debts. This concerned not only money, but also promises made to loved ones. We tried to be polite and not start or enter into conflicts. It was believed that quarrels attracted trouble. Be sure to ask for forgiveness if you offended someone. Of course, we let go of all grievances and tried to come to reconciliation with those who caused offense or created conflict.
Regarding other signs, people believed that the sunny weather on this day promised a warm May. If the trees were covered with frost, then with the onset of spring people expected a big harvest.
A guest who leaves a coin in your house on a holiday will help increase the family’s material well-being and protect the house itself from troubles. And most importantly, on the Day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, assistance should be provided to all those in need, especially for poor people, children left without parents, and those who have lost their homes.
“Get up and walk!”: A week about the relaxed. Church calendar for May 23
The main church holidays, days of remembrance of saints and Orthodox shrines of today.
May 23 (May 10 according to the “old style” - the church Julian calendar). 4th week after Easter, about the paralytic (the fourth Sunday day after the Bright Resurrection of Christ , including the day of the Lord's Pascha ). There is no post . Today we commemorate one of the most famous Gospel episodes, as well as the memory of several Christian saints whose names we know, and one shrine. Next we will briefly talk about them.
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A week about being relaxed . Sunday, on which, according to ancient church tradition, the Gospel story is remembered, when the Savior in Jerusalem miraculously healed a paralyzed man (in Church Slavonic called “the paralytic”). In the 5th chapter of the Gospel of John, this event is described as follows (we quote from the Synodal translation of the Holy Scriptures into modern Russian):
There was a Jewish holiday, and Jesus came to Jerusalem. There is also a pool in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which had five covered passages. In them lay a great multitude of the sick, the blind, the lame, the withered, waiting for the movement of the water, for the Angel of the Lord from time to time went into the pool and disturbed the water, and whoever entered [it] first when the water was disturbed, he recovered, no matter what disease he was afflicted with. . Here was a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus, seeing him lying down and learning that he had been lying there for a long time, said to him: Do you want to be healthy? The sick man answered Him: Yes, Lord; but I do not have a person who would lower me into the pool when the water is troubled; when I arrive, another has already descended before me. Jesus says to him: get up, take up your mat and walk. And he immediately became well, and took up his bed and walked. It was on the Sabbath day. Therefore the Jews said to the healed man: Today is the Sabbath; You shouldn't take the bed. He answered them: He who healed me said to me: take up your bed and walk. They asked him: Who is the man who said to you, “Take up your bed and walk?” The healed one did not know who He was, for Jesus hid himself among the people who were in that place. Then Jesus met him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you are made well; Don’t sin anymore, lest something worse happen to you. This man went and announced to the Jews that the one who healed him was Jesus...
The week of the paralytic reminds us, Orthodox Christians, that our souls, due to the abundance of sins, often resemble the state of a paralyzed person, but only the Lord can heal this state. And for this we really need our repentant prayerful attitude that we ourselves want to get rid of such common (and sometimes beloved) diseases - sins.
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Apostle Simon the Zealot. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
Apostle Simon the Zealot (Cananite) . One of the first disciples of Christ and at the same time His elder brother “according to the flesh” (Saint Simon was the son of the righteous elder Joseph the Betrothed, who, as is known, was a relative of the Mother of God and her named husband). It was in the house of the Apostle Simon that the Lord, during a wedding feast, performed the first miracle of His earthly ministry - he turned water into wine. After this, Saint Simon followed Christ. Here is what is known about the further exploits of this great saint:
The Apostle Simon received the name “zealot,” that is, a zealot. On the day of Pentecost, he, along with the other Apostles, received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Apostle Simon preached the teachings of Christ in Judea, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene and Britain. He suffered a martyr's death on the territory of modern Abkhazia and was crucified on the cross. He was buried in the city of Nikopsia near present-day Sukhum. Subsequently (in the 19th century) on the site of the exploits of the holy Apostle, near Mount Iveron, the New Athos Monastery of Simon the Canaanite was built. The cave in which the holy Apostle labored has been preserved to this day.
Venerable Dodo of Gareji . Georgian saint of the 6th century , one of the many disciples of St. David of Gareji , the great saint of God, who is widely revered not only in Georgia, but also in other countries of the Orthodox world, including Russia. Saint Dodo departed to the Lord in 596 AD.
Martyrs Alphius, Philadelphus, Cyprian, Onesimus, Erasmus and 14 others who suffered with them . Early Christian martyrs who suffered for loyalty to Christ and His Church in the middle of the 3rd century in the last year of anti-Christian persecution by the pagan emperor Decius, who reigned in the Roman Empire in 249-251 AD .
Martyr Hesychius of Antioch . The holy sufferer who accepted the crown of martyrdom during the persecution of the pagan emperor Maximian Galerius at the beginning of the 4th century .
Venerable Isidora, Fool for Christ's Sake . Egyptian saint of the 4th century , who took upon herself the most difficult feat of imaginary madness - foolishness for the sake of Christ. Blessed Mother Isidora lived in a monastery and suffered a lot from the sisters of the monastery; she humbly endured any humiliation and always took upon herself the dirtiest and hardest work. Subsequently, the true gifts of Mother Isidora were miraculously revealed to the nun sisters. This is how her Life describes it:
One day a desert monk, Venerable Pitirim, had a vision. An Angel of God appeared to him and said: “Go to the Tavensky Monastery. There you will see a sister wearing a rag on her head. She serves everyone with love and endures their contempt without complaint. Her heart and thoughts always remain with God.” The elder went to the Tavensky monastery, but among the gathered sisters he did not find the one indicated in the vision. Then they brought to him Isidora, revered as possessed by a demon. Isidora fell at the feet of the elder, asking for his blessing. But the Monk Pitirim himself bowed to her to the ground and said: “First, bless me, honest mother! To the surprised questions of the sisters, the elder answered: “Isidora is above all of us before God!” Then the sisters began to repent and ask her for forgiveness.
Reverend Isidora, fool for Christ's sake. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal . The first archpastor of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, tonsure of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, who became a bishop in 1214 from the Nativity of Christ. Having done a lot to strengthen Orthodoxy in these lands, Saint Simon took monastic vows into the Great Schema in 1226 and soon died, after which, according to his will, he was buried within the walls of the Lavra.
Blessed Simon Yurievetsky . Russian saint of the 16th century , a native of the Kostroma land, who took on the image of imaginary madness, for which he was subjected to ridicule and even beatings. And at the same time, he performed great miracles: he cast out demons and healed. Saint Simon departed to the Lord in 1584 after the birth of Christ.
Kiev-Brotherly Icon of the Mother of God . This miraculous image was revealed in 1654 from the Nativity of Christ near Kiev in the Boris and Gleb Church of Vyshgorod, at a time when the Orthodox Moscow state was fighting with the Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for the unity of the Russian lands. In 1662, the Boris and Gleb Church was devastated by the Crimean Tatars, who entered into an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but the miraculous icon was sent by water to Kiev, and it was miraculously saved and delivered to the Kiev Brotherly Monastery. Unfortunately, this image of the Most Holy Theotokos has not survived to this day, but there are several revered copies of it.
Kiev-Brotherly Icon of the Mother of God. Photo: pravoslavie.ru
Congratulations to Orthodox Christians on the day of this shrine and the memory of all today's saints! Through their prayers, Lord, save and have mercy on us all! We are happy to congratulate those who received names in their honor through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism or monastic tonsure! As they used to say in Rus' in the old days: “For the Guardian Angels - a golden crown, and for you - good health!”
Christ is Risen!
Holiday bans
With the onset of the holiday, Orthodox people continue to fast. Believers should not consume foods of animal origin or dairy products. The list of prohibitions includes alcoholic beverages.
It is prohibited to carry out work related to repairs, handicrafts, and washing. You cannot refuse friends and relatives if they turn to you asking for help. Of course, one should refrain from quarreling; it was believed that this would ruin relations for the entire coming year.
Ancestors believed that on this day one should not lend money. The person who took your money out of your home will take away your luck and good fortune with it.
It was strictly forbidden to scold children; on the contrary, they should be treated more gently and with attention.
