How to get to the Church of St. Nicholas of Japan in Minsk
Detailed information on how to get to the Church of St. Nicholas of Japan is given here.
By public transport:
from Art. metro station "Kamennaya Gorka" by buses No. 125, 140 or minibuses No. 1026, 1130, 1230, go to the Dombrovka-3 stop (3 stops) and walk 400 m to the temple.
By car:
- From Oktyabrskaya Square along Avenue. Independence towards GUM, after 780 m turn right, onto the street. City Val, st. Romanovskaya Sloboda, st. Kalvariyskaya and st. Pritytsky. After the Kalvariysky Cemetery, turn right onto Ave. Pushkin, then left, onto the street. Matusevich. After 4 km turn right onto the street. Kolesnikova, after 500 m to the left, onto the street. Lida, to the temple located to the left of the road.
- From the Moscow Ring Road (36th kilometer) to the street. Kazimirovskaya, at the first intersection to the left, on the street. Nemanskaya, then right, onto the street. Lida, to the Church of St. Nicholas of Japan.
"Samurai Angel" Equal to the Apostles Nicholas of Japan. Orthodox calendar for February 16
February 16 (February 3 according to the old style - church Julian calendar). Wednesday of the week about the publican and the Pharisee (the first of three weeks of preparation for Lent). There is no fasting during the entire week, which is called “continuous” in this regard. In the Russian Orthodox Church today the Afterfeast of the Presentation of the Lord and the memory of 18 saints are celebrated. Next we will briefly talk about them.
Equal to the Apostles Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan . Japan. Land of the rising sun. For centuries, the Japanese islands were isolated from the outside world. And therefore, a real miracle was that in the second half of the 19th century, tens of thousands of Japanese converted to Orthodoxy. The Lord performed this miracle with the help of Archbishop Nicholas (Kasatkin), the son of a simple rural deacon, now glorified as a saint equal to the apostles.
The future saint was born in 1836 . After graduating from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, he took monastic vows and priestly ordination, after which he was sent to Japan as the rector of the church at the Russian consulate opened in the city of Hakodate. Father Nikolai deeply studied the Japanese language, culture and way of life. The first Japanese person he converted to Orthodoxy in 1868 was the Shinto priest Takuma Sawabe, a former samurai who came to Father Nicholas to kill him. The future saint stopped the Shintoist, saying that one cannot judge any subject without knowing it. This intrigued Sawabe, who eventually converted to Orthodoxy and became a priest.
The results of the labors of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas are grandiose. Thus, by 1870, the Orthodox community numbered about 4,000 people, and by the death of the saint, which followed in 1912 , their number had increased by almost an order of magnitude. You can read more about this amazing saint and his Equal-to-the-Apostles feat in our material “Enlightener of the Samurai: The Life Path of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan ,” published on the pages of the Tsargrad TV channel.
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Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess . Saints of the 1st century who met the Christ Child in the Jerusalem Temple. This event was a turning point, a meeting between the Old Testament era and the New Testament era. In the Orthodox Church it is the great twelve holiday and is called the Presentation of the Lord . You could read more about this event in yesterday's issue of our Orthodox Calendar.
Photo: www.pravoslavie.ru
Prophet Azariah . Old Testament saint of the 10th century BC . In those days, the Jewish king Asa and many of his people served idols, but they heeded the suggestions of the prophet Azariah and turned to the True God.
Martyrs Papias, Diodorus, Claudian of Perga (Pamphylia) . Holy sufferers who courageously accepted torture and crowns of martyrdom for loyalty to Christ and His Church from the pagans in the year 250 from the Nativity of Christ.
Confessor Blasius (Vukol) of Caesarea (Cappadocia) . This saint, called vukol (translated from Greek as a shepherd), lived in the 3rd century in Caesarea Cappadocia in Asia Minor. Having learned that this simple shepherd was a Christian, the pagan soldiers seized him and tortured him, but the Lord healed the wounds of the sufferer. After that, they threw him into a cauldron with boiling water, but he also came out unharmed (the ruler of this area, seeing the miracle, threw himself into the cauldron and was boiled there). Many soldiers at this moment converted to Christianity. Having converted many more people to Christ, Saint Blaise peacefully departed to the Lord.
Martyrs Adrian and Eubulus of Caesarea (Palestinian) . Holy sufferers who gave their earthly lives for the courageous confession of Christianity around 308-309 from the Nativity of Christ.
Blessed Prince Roman of Uglich . Russian saint of the 13th century , a pious prince of the Uglich land, famous for many virtues: he set up almshouses and hospice houses, erected over 15 new churches, prayed almost every day during divine services, and often talked with pious monks. After Prince Roman was widowed in 1280 AD, he took upon himself the spiritual deeds of strict fasting, prayer and charity. It was this saint who founded the city, named after his heavenly patron - Romanov (renamed Tutaev by the God-fighting Bolsheviks). The noble Prince Roman of Uglich departed to the Lord in 1285 from the Nativity of Christ and was buried in his native Uglich in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Later, the incorruptible relics of this saint were found.
Saint Simeon, Bishop of Tver . Russian saint of the 13th century , Orthodox archpastor first of Polotsk and then of Tver land. According to the chronicle life information, Saint Simeon was “very intelligent and strong in the books of the Divine Scripture, teaching, virtuous, compassionate for the poor and orphans and widows, and interceding for the offended, and delivering the raped.” He died peacefully in 1289 from the Nativity of Christ.
Hieromartyrs John Tomilov, Timofey Izotov, Adrian Troitsky, Vasily Zalessky, presbyters; Venerable Martyr Vladimir (Zagreb), hieromonk; Martyr Mikhail Agayev . Orthodox priests (including those in the monastic rank) and laymen who accepted death for loyalty to Christ and His Church during the period of Soviet atheistic persecution in the bloody year of 1938 . They were glorified among the saints among the many thousands of new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church.
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Congratulations to Orthodox Christians on 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 Russia in the old days: “ To the Guardian Angels - a golden crown, and to you - good health!” » To our departed relatives and friends - eternal memory !
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The Tekhsteklo settlement, located in the Leninsky district of Saratov, began to be built simultaneously with the technical glass plant - in 1955. In addition to schools and hospitals, a House of Culture was erected for the company’s employees. The construction of an Orthodox church in a workers' settlement was, of course, out of the question then.
In January 2016, construction of a temple in the name of St. Nicholas of Japan began in the village under the construction program “Twenty Orthodox churches in Saratov.”
In February 2022, services began in the new church. “I’ve been living in this village for more than fifty years,” says Valentina Mikhailovna Silkina, “I cried with joy when a temple finally appeared here!” It’s so good that you don’t have to go anywhere, especially in bad weather, I walked a little and was already there. Now I attend every service unless I am sick. At the first services there were only a few of us, three or four people each, but we prayed that there would be more parishioners. I tried to take communion at every Liturgy - after all, this is the main reason why we come to church. If no one approached the Chalice at all, it would be sad.
“The temple was built quickly: every day, passing by, I noticed changes,” adds Galina Aleksandrovna Shalkina. “The temple is a little hidden behind the houses, many did not immediately recognize that it had already been built, but soon, I think, there will be even more parishioners.
According to Yana Gapyak, one of the first parishioners of the church, now about seventy, and sometimes eighty people pray for the Sunday Liturgy, couples with children come:
— We know almost everyone by appearance and by name; on holidays we get together in the refectory, some communicate more closely, and begin to become friends. Our rector treats the church and the parishioners with all his heart, he gives everything of himself - we feel it. He is an open, warm-hearted person, you can turn to him with any question, and people rally around him.
Priest Oleg Grushin became the rector of the temple in September 2017. He works in the economic service of the diocese, so he is well acquainted with the economic activities of the parish.
“Having received this appointment, I was, of course, worried,” recalls Father Oleg, “but, thanks to the wise instructions of Vladyka Longin and the dean of our Peter and Paul district, Archpriest Roman Karpov, all complex issues were resolved quickly and correctly. Our parishioners are mainly residents of nearby houses. This temple was one of the first of the “twenty” to be opened. Then churches began to open nearby, but many residents of other microdistricts still come here - they are used to it, and the community has already formed.
On October 22, 2022, Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk performed the Great Consecration of the Church in the name of St. Nicholas of Japan.
The temple has two significant shrines - an ancient icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was given to its new “brother” by the Peter and Paul Church, and an icon of St. Nicholas of Japan with a particle of his relics. The icon was painted in Russia, and a particle of the saint’s relics was brought from Japan in 2010 by Abbot Nektary (Morozov), who was the dean of the Peter and Paul District in those years.
“I learned about St. Nicholas of Japan while studying at the seminary, and became interested in his diaries,” says Father Oleg. “He converted thousands of Japanese to Orthodoxy, and today the Orthodox Church exists in this country, thanks to him. Saint Nicholas is an example for every Christian, especially for clergy: how to find an approach to people, how to convey to them the truth of the Gospel. Unfortunately, he is not very well known among the people - in the church we try to acquaint people with his life and works. Those who come to us for the first time often ask who this saint is.
In November 2022, Saratov hosted the XX Festival of Japanese Culture, organized by the Japanese Embassy in Russia and the Saratov branch of the Russia-Japan Society. According to the organizers, one of the goals of the festival is “spiritual exchange between the Saratov Metropolis and the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church.” Masters of traditional Japanese arts arrived from Tokyo especially to participate in the festival and conducted several master classes. The chairman of the regional branch of the Russia-Japan society, Marina Dyakova, invited Oleg’s father to the festival. He talked with guests from Japan and festival participants and told them about the new Church of St. Nicholas of Japan.
Cooperation with the Russia-Japan society did not end there - a few months later Father Oleg spoke about the life of St. Nicholas to members of the Tomodachi children's club for lovers of Japanese culture, and then a meeting “Traditions of Orthodox Japan” was organized in the temple itself. Marina Anatolyevna told the parishioners about the Japanese attitude towards the Orthodox faith, about Orthodox churches in Tokyo, and about the culture of the country.
Father Oleg also takes care of the local school and polytechnic college - he gives talks, talks about the church, spiritual life, and holidays. Social work is also carried out at the parish - assistance is provided to the needy, single mothers, and elderly people. A group of male volunteers responds to requests to fix something in the house and help with heavy physical work.
There are two Sunday schools at the temple - for adults and for children. The number of students is increasing, and so is the teaching staff. Artem Boldyrev began working in the church after graduating from seminary - he reads in the choir, is a sexton, and teaches classes at Sunday school.
“The kids are not very interested in taking notes again after a difficult week at school,” says Artem, “so I try to show more. I bring priestly vestments to class, explain: this is a legguard, this is a belt, this is a club, this is a phelonion, I tell how the color of the vestments is associated with this or that church holiday. Children really like these activities. With adults, we first studied in detail the rites of the Liturgy and the all-night vigil, annual, weekly, and daily cycle of services. Now we are studying the history of the Russian Church. Sometimes people turn to me during the service: “What’s going on now?” They also come up with questions after the service. This interest makes me very happy. I am glad that there are more and more communicants - people understand that they need to not only stand at the service, but also take part in the sacraments. People often ask at what moments one should be baptized and bow down.
This summer it is planned to improve the area around the temple - pave the paths and plant flower beds.
“We would like our church to become an iconic place in this area,” says Tatyana Semyonovna Kleinova. “So that everyone you ask, even a kilometer away: “Do you know where the church is here?”, will answer: “Yes, over there, on 2 -th Rental".
