The list of saints revered by the Orthodox Church is quite extensive. Moreover, it is replenished with new names to this day. But some canonized individuals occupy a special place in the Saints, and first among equals is St. Nicholas.
This saint is revered by all Christian denominations, but his admiration is especially pronounced in Orthodoxy. A powerful icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker can be found in any Orthodox church. The faces of the saint are necessarily included in home iconostases, and occupy the most honorable place there in close proximity to the face of Christ, the Mother of God and the image of the Holy Trinity.
Nicholas of Myra was deservedly nicknamed the Wonderworker during his lifetime. It is believed that even after death he continues to walk around the world and work miracles. Many of his icons are also recognized as miraculous and saving from misfortunes and illnesses.
Life path of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Despite the fact that Saint Nicholas lived more than one and a half thousand years ago, quite a lot of information about his deeds has been preserved. However, as always happens, over time many of them turned into legends, and it is simply impossible to isolate the core of historical truth from them. Therefore, let us take on faith what is written in Orthodox literature, in particular in “The Life of St. Nicholas.”
Saint Nicholas is also revered in Islam. Of course, there are no icons of the Wonderworker in mosques and Muslim homes (images of people are prohibited in Islam), but many turn to him with requests for intercession.
Nicholas, who later became the Wonderworker, was born around 270 AD. in Patara. His parents were childless for a long time, but they sincerely prayed to God and hoped for his mercy. And the Lord gave them a son in their declining years.
From the first days of his life, Nikolai demonstrated piety and readiness to serve God. As the legend says, during baptism he (being a baby!) stood on his legs, and drank his mother’s milk only twice a week, thus maintaining fast.
From a young age, Nikolai strived for service with all his soul. His uncle and namesake, being the bishop of Patara, could not help but notice the zeal of the youth. Young Nicholas first became a reader at the temple, and then was elevated to the rank of clergy and became the bishop of Myra (hence the nickname of Myra).
Baptism of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
The territory of ancient Lycia is now located in Turkey, where the majority of residents profess Islam. Nevertheless, Nicholas is also revered by local residents, and thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to Myra (now Demre), where he lived and preached.
Nicholas led an ascetic and godly life. He gave all the inheritance he received from his wealthy parents to those in need, without beautiful gestures, almost in secret. He preferred simple clothing and food, did not disdain physical labor and constantly helped those in need.
His many years of imprisonment in prison, where he ended up during the time of Emperor Diocletian, a famous hater and persecutor of Christians, did not turn him away from the true faith. Returning from captivity, the pious bishop began to preach even more diligently.
The Saints mention many miracles that Nicholas performed. This is the resurrection of a sailor who crashed on the deck, the pacification of a storm, and so on. In addition, he performed simple human miracles: he helped the poor, acted as a defender of the slandered, and saved innocently convicted people from execution.
Nicholas the Wonderworker is considered the patron saint of sailors.
According to historical sources, Nicholas lived a long life for those times - about 80 years. And he dedicated all of it to serving God and helping others. After his death, his remains, immediately myrrhized, were buried in Lycia, from where they were subsequently taken to Italian Bari. Some of the relics are in Venice.
Nicholas the Wonderworker is identified with the European Santa Claus and our Father Frost. He secretly placed money under the doorstep of a poor widower who was raising three daughters. Thanks to this selfless help, the father was able to collect a dowry for his daughters, they got married safely and avoided the fate of harlots.
Freedom pass
From our area during the Patriotic War, one young man named Nikolai ended up in a concentration camp. And there was such an order: all the weakened were gathered into one group and sent to the “bathhouse”. Everyone knew what was meant by this word - death! As if exhausted, our Nikolai ended up in such a group. I walked and walked last: I have no strength...
But suddenly he had a burning desire to live. He prayed to Saint Nicholas as best he could: “To Saint Father Nicholas! I'm sorry! I did not honor you well, I prayed little. But now I am in great trouble. I have a wife and two small children at home. How I want to go home! I don't want to die so young! Help me!"
Suddenly the thought appeared: “Fall!” It was autumn, the leaves lay like a carpet on the ground. Fell. The guard could have finished him off, shot him. But he didn’t touch it. Nikolai lay there until the steps died down. He got up and wandered towards the light: it was late in the evening. I got to the village, went into the first yard I came across and collapsed in the barn on the hay.
In the morning the housewife came to feed the cattle. When she saw him, she got scared 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 him, 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 me up again and gave me tea with milk. Then after some time - a glass of milk. Then they added a piece of bread. So, gradually, for three days he was nursed after hunger.
One day the owner comes up to him and says: “You can’t even imagine how lucky you are. I am the commander of the prisoners of all Germany. And I will give you a pass by which neither ours nor yours will detain you.”
Having provided him with everything he needed, they released him. On the German border, a patrol, looking at the document, said: “Oh, gut! Gut! Wonderful!" Our people, when checking, were all surprised and said: “What a document! What a document!” This is the kind of pass St. Nicholas made!
M., Assumption Church, Helsinki
The meaning of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Orthodoxy
The significance of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Orthodoxy is difficult to overestimate. The number of churches and icons dedicated to the Wonderworker is second only to the Mother of God. The name Nikolai was once the most popular in Russia. This was also the name given to many boys from imperial families who later became autocrats.
The face of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is found in every Orthodox church, and the number of churches consecrated in his honor exceeds 5 thousand. Several years ago, part of the relics of Nicholas were temporarily brought from Bari to Russia. In just over a month, over 2.5 million Russians came to bow to them.
Silver icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Rules for offering prayer
The rules for addressing Nicholas the Wonderworker are no different from prayers to all other saints. There are ancient prayers that were compiled many centuries ago and are given in Christian prayer books. These kinds of texts are read in Church Slavonic, which is used in Orthodox worship. However, reading in Russian is not a sin.
It is possible to pray in your own words if they more fully convey your feelings and the depth of respect for the saint. Any appeal to a higher power is not a conspiracy that can guarantee a result; it is a request to the saint and to God. The most powerful prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is sincere.
People often become offended by saints or even God if they do not get what they want immediately after conversion. You need to understand that God is a providence; He knows best what will be useful for a person at one time or another. God always leads us in the path that will maximally contribute not only to well-being in this life, but also to the salvation of the soul and the acquisition of the Kingdom of God.
It is best to read the prayer text to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker alone, so that no one can distract you from communicating with God’s saint.
How does the icon of St. Nicholas help?
The icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker helps everyone who prays for protection and patronage. It is believed that most of all the saint patronizes travelers, warriors, merchants, bankers, students and, of course, children. The icon protects those innocently slandered and condemned from unfair trials, and helps those who have stumbled to take the right path.
Nikolai Ugodnik helps those who have quarreled to reconcile, the sick to recover from illnesses and addictions, the lonely to find family happiness, give birth and raise healthy children. In general, if you come to church and don’t know which saint to ask for protection, go to Nicholas - you can’t go wrong.
Warm the orphans
At Christmas I visited my native Mogilev and visited my beloved St. Nicholas Convent. I learned that this winter the monastery, whose nuns are elderly women, owed a huge amount 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 they never did. At that time, one servant of God unexpectedly received an inheritance. While thinking about how best to manage her 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, wanting 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
When is the feast of the icon of St. Nicholas
There are two well-known holidays of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker: summer (spring) and winter. The Day of the Spring Nicholas Icon is celebrated on May 22 according to the new style. It is dedicated to the transfer of the relics of the saint to Bari.
The Day of the Icon of St. Nicholas the Winter is celebrated on December 19, on the eve of the New Year and Christmas. This holiday is dedicated to the blessed dormition of the saint.
Recently, another holiday dedicated to St. Nicholas has been revived in Russia. This is his Christmas, which falls on August 11th according to the modern calendar.
How to read
There are no specific rules that are prescribed for flawless reading. The point is that you need to approach the process with sincere faith and the desire to “reach out” to the patron saint. If you want to complete the entire ritual in full, it is recommended to fast for several days, then go to confession, take communion, leave alms, and light candles in the church. But if you do not have the opportunity to go to the temple and follow all the recommendations, do as your heart tells you. Be sure to purchase an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, place a candle next to it and light it. Then cover your head (if you are a woman) and say a sincere prayer from your heart. You can read it from a piece of paper, or you can learn it by heart (this is much better and more effective). Read the appeal not once, but several times (morning and evening, or as many times as your heart requires). In especially difficult cases, priests recommend praying forty times a day.
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Miracles associated with the icon of St. Nicholas the Pleasant
People believe that Nicholas still walks the earth and works miracles. Each miracle of the icon is evidence of the patronage of the saint, who to this day cares for those living on earth.
There are many publications on the Internet dedicated to the modern miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It helps to avoid accidents, find a job, recover from illnesses, arrange your personal life, achieve a fair trial - to list all the miracles of the Pleasant, more than one similar article is needed.
How to pray in front of an icon, where to place it?
The image of St. Nicholas the Pleasant in full height and in bright colors is best hung on the eastern wall of the house. It should not be adjacent to household appliances, secular paintings and books.
For a home iconostasis, it is better to choose a half-length image of the Wonderworker and place it to the left of the image of the Savior.
Silver pendant "St. Nicholas"
Texts of prayers
You need to pray with concentration and sincerity. Joint prayers are welcome, but those turning to the image should not interfere with each other and distract each other with conversations from addressing the saint.
Prayer for Intercession
Oh, all-validated and all-honorable bishop, great miracle worker, saint of Christ, Father Nicholas, man of God and faithful servant, man of desires, chosen vessel, strong pillar of the church, bright lamp, star shining and illuminating the whole universe: you are a righteous man, like a blossoming phoenix , planted in the courts of your Lord, living in Mireh, you were fragrant with the world and the ever-flowing myrrh exuded the grace of God. By your procession, holy father, the sea was sanctified, when your many-wonderful relics marched to the city of Barsky, from east to west to praise the name of the Lord. Oh, wonderful and wondrous miracle worker, 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, the hungry feeder, the weeping joy, the naked, the sick doctor, the sea-floating steward, the liberator of captives, the widows and orphans, the nourisher and protector, the guardian of chastity, infants a meek chastiser, the old strengthened, fasting a mentor, the toilers restful, the poor and wretched abundantly rich. 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 the whole, and every country Christian, and people living from all bitterness with your help, we know, we know how much the prayer of the righteous can do, hastening for good: for you, the righteous, according to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, intercessor to the All-Merciful God of the Imams, and to yours, most kind father, warm intercession and we humbly flow to intercession. You protect us, like a cheerful and warm 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: tenderly We are unworthy to behold the heights of heaven, from the multitude of our iniquities, bound by sinful bonds, and neither the will of our Creator nor the will of our creator, nor the preservation of His commandments. At the same time, we bow our contrite and humble hearts to our Creator, and we ask for your fatherly intercession to Him: help us, servant 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 ours in the right faith, in which through your intercession and intercession, we will not be belittled by wounds, nor rebuke, nor by pestilence, nor by any wrath from our Creator, but let us live a peaceful life here and may we be worthy to see good on the land of the living, glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One in the Trinity, glorified and worshiped God, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer for help on the road
O Saint Nicholas of Christ! Hear us, sinful servants of God (names), praying to you, and pray for us, unworthy, our Creator and Master, make our God merciful to us in this life and in the future, so that he does not reward us according to our deeds, but according to his own He will reward us with goodness. Deliver us, saints of Christ, from the evils that come upon us, and tame the waves, passions and troubles that rise against us, so that for the sake of your holy prayers the attack 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, Christ our God, that he may grant us a peaceful life and remission of sins, and salvation and great mercy for our souls, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Prayer for Healing
O all-holy Nicholas, exceedingly saintly saint of the Lord, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper, help me, sinful and sad, in this life, beg the Lord God to grant me the remission of all my sins, which I have sinned greatly from my youth, throughout my life. in my deed, word, thought and all my feelings; and at the end of my soul, help me the accursed, beg the Lord God of all creation, the Creator, to deliver me from airy ordeals and eternal torment, so that I always glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and your merciful intercession, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.
The words of canonical prayers have passed through millennia and acquired great power. But it is unlikely that Saint Nicholas the Pleasant will refuse to help a person who sincerely prays in front of his icon with simple words coming from the heart!
26.08.21
Benefits of a three-day prayer for healing
This prayer, which must be said for three days, is very powerful because it contains special combinations of sounds that have a beneficial effect on the state of the human body. It should be said about your own illness or for someone you care about. Before starting the three-day prayer, try to fast (at least three days). Then go to church, buy an icon with the image of St. Nicholas (if you don’t have one) and thirty-six candles. Come home, take out twelve candles and light them near the image. Say the text below. Try not to be distracted by external stimuli, do not allow other thoughts to enter your head. Focus on words that should be spoken out loud clearly and consciously (you can do it quietly, since the volume level does not matter). Do not add anything of your own, everything that is needed will already be said by you. You will notice how after the first reading the patient’s condition will certainly improve. Believe in it and so it will be.
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Text of the three-day prayer:
Wonderworker Nicholas, Defender of the Righteous. Strengthen my faith in the Orthodox relics and cleanse my mortal body from painful thinness. Charge my soul with your glorification and do not burden my body with sinful pain. Let the ulcers and deep wounds heal, let all cruel sorrows be cast aside forever. Heal my weakness, save me from death, and take away my illnesses forever. Thy will be done. Amen. Pray to Thy Son and our God to grant to our rulers wisdom and strength, to judges truth and impartiality, to shepherds spiritual wisdom, zeal and vigilance for our souls, to mentors humility, to children obedience, to all of us the spirit of reason and piety, the spirit of humility and meekness, spirit of purity and truth. And now, our All-Singing, All-Beloved Mother, give us an increase in intelligence, pacify, unite those who exist in enmity and division and lay down for them an insoluble bond of love, convert all those who have gone astray from foolishness to the light of the truth of Christ, instruct the fear of God, abstinence and hard work, the word of wisdom and Grant soulful knowledge to those who ask, cover us with eternal joy, the brightest Cherubim and the most honest Seraphim. We, seeing the glorious deeds and manifold wisdom of God in the world and our life, will remove ourselves from earthly vanities and unnecessary worldly cares, and will raise our minds and hearts to Heaven, as if by Your intercession and help glory, praise, thanksgiving and worship for all in the Trinity We send our praises to the glorious God and Creator of all, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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