Spiritual developmentChristianity

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Saint Nicholas is one of the most revered saints in Russia. Miracles associated with his name have no boundaries. He helped people during life, helps and after death. A huge number of believers found their salvation and healing thanks to their ardent prayers offered in his honor.

The Life of St. Nicholas

Nicholas the Wonderworker was born in 234 AD in the city of Patara, which was in the territory of the former Lycia (modern Turkey). From a young age he never ceased to amaze his parents. Thus, at the time of baptism, not yet able to walk, St. Nicholas stood for about three hours in a font on his small legs.

The parents of Theophanes and Nona were rich pious people and could not have children for a long time. Prayers did their work, and God sent them a son, whom they called Nicholas. All his life he gravitated toward religion, fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, avoided idleness, secular life, temptations and women. His uncle, the bishop of the city of Patara, seeing such piety, advised his parents to give Nicholas to the divine service, which they did.

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker possessed fabulous knowledge and had a good education. At the end of his studies, he went to Jerusalem to worship shrines, after which he made a firm decision to devote his life to the Lord.

After receiving the priestly rank, Nicholas the Wonderworker remained in constant prayer and fasting, lived without excesses. Soon his uncle - Bishop Nikolai entrusted him with the management of the church. After the death of his parents, he sent all the inheritance to the needy. After some time St. Nicholas decides to leave such a life and go to an unfamiliar place where he could serve people. For this he moves to the city of the World. Nobody knows him there, and he lives here in poverty, in prayers. The shelter of the hero of our narrative finds in the Lord's house. At this time, the bishop of this city dies. For the election to this throne of a worthy candidate, clergymen relied on God's will, which fell on Nicholas the Sinner.

These times were famous for persecution of Christians, and blessed Nicholas was their leader, ready to suffer for the faith. For this he was captured and imprisoned with other believing brothers. For a long time St. Nicholas the Wonderworker spent in the dungeon, while the Emperor Constantine, who ascended the throne, did not release all Christians. The city of Myra with joy met his former shepherd.

The great saint of God lived for many years. Throughout his life, he helped people with words, deeds and thoughts. The saint gave blessings, healed, defended, and performed a great number of pious deeds.

Feast of St. Nicholas

On December 19, the Russian Orthodox Church accepts congratulations on St. Nicholas Day, because he is one of the most revered saints. From time immemorial, he is considered to be an intercessor and a comforter, an aide in sorrowful matters. St. Nicholas patronizes travelers and seafarers. After all, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the sea raged and the sailors asked him to pray for their salvation. St. Nicholas, through his heartfelt prayer, reassured the raging sea.

They receive help from him and other people to whom he gives hope and helps in trouble. The saint did not deny either the Christian or the pagan, confessed all, helped to take the right path.

Nikolai the Sad man performed many pious deeds. And always he was helped by an uncontrollable, strong and zealous prayer to God. The saint died at the end of IV century after a short illness, being already very old. And his relics since 1087 are kept in the Italian city of Bari.

The Orthodox Church annually sends congratulations on the St. Nicholas Day to thousands of believers on December 19, and also honors the memory of the saint of God with special hymns on Thursdays.

About prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker

Prayer to St. Nicholas is most widely read in Orthodoxy. After all, the Wonderworker helps believers for thousands of years. Prayers to God's servant are not ignored. He is asked about children, travelers, marriage of daughters. Appeal to him when the house is hungry, to protect the innocently convicted.

A special list of appeals, on which you can refer to the saint for help, no. He helps everyone in any difficult everyday situations.

You need to pray when your heart and soul want it. It's right to pray twice a day: morning and evening. The most blessed and heartfelt prayer sounds at dawn when everyone is still asleep. Before going to sleep, holy words soothe the soul and set it up for a good serene sleep. Do not limit yourself to praying at home. One should at least occasionally visit the church and put a candle there to the beloved saint. There are 7 basic prayers to Saint Nicholas.

Akathist to Nikolai the Savior

Undoubtedly, prayers are strong and effective, but miracles and changes in life really happen when you read the Akathist to St. Nicholas. The words contained in it have a positive impact not only on the situation of life, but also help improve the financial situation, get a good position without fights and money, open up a thriving business, get married, conceive and give birth to a long-awaited child, overcome a serious illness.

Read the akathist 40 days in a row and be sure to stand. For this, the image of Nicholas the Wonder-Worker is set before him, the candle is lit and the prayer begins. You should try not to miss a single day, otherwise you have to start all over again.

But this is not an obligatory ritual, you can and always need to address Saint Nicholas:

  • When visiting the church;
  • At home in front of the icon;
  • Directly facing a difficult situation.

There is one case that goes from mouth to mouth. One very careless student, not having learned the theory as he should, went to take the exam and suffered a complete fiasco. Of the three tickets that were offered to him, he did not know any, as a result he was given a deuce. Frustrated, he left the office and began to pray to Nicholas the Sinner. The saint helped him. After some time the teacher left and said that he mistakenly put a high mark on the list, and he should learn the subject and come back to him again. The student not only went to church and put a candle to the saint, but also brilliantly retake the exam.

Holy places bearing the name of St. Nicholas

The people's love and actions, which can not be forgotten, served to the fact that a number of holy places were named after Nikolai the Sinner. These include the church of St. Nicholas, located in Demre, on the territory of Turkey. This is a significant construction of Byzantine architecture in the East. It was built in the beginning of the VI century. On this site before the construction of the church was the temple of the goddess Artemis. The venerable age of the building, wall murals and icons, paintings, mosaics made of stone - all this makes the temple unique, and the place is amazing. St. Nicholas was originally buried there, but fearing the robbery of the Seljuk Turks, Italian merchants stole his relics and transported them to Italy, to the city of Bali, where they are still.

Another church, named after St. Nicholas, is located in Athens. The exact date of its appearance is unknown, but the temple was restored in 1938. Here, in places, the old fresco is preserved. All art works were conducted by the famous artist Fotis Kondoglu. In the church there is a part of the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker.

In Russia, St. Nicholas' Church is located in Klennikov, Moscow. It has been counted for several centuries. The temple will be erected on the site of an old wooden church in the 15th century. For sixty years he stood closed (from 1932 to 1990). At this time, the temple was ruined and used as a warehouse for household needs. But, thanks to the efforts of the faithful, the church gained its second birth and shone domes. At present, there is a part of the relics of God's servant Nikolai.

Monastery of St. Nicholas

There is a nunnery of St. Nicholas. It is located on the island of Cyprus. There is a legend that narrates about the terrible drought in the IV century. At that time, the territory of the island was attacked by snakes. There were so many of them that the holy queen Elena, who was the mother of Constantine the Great, went in search of the Cross of the Lord and found him, visited the island on her return home. Returning to her hometown, she immediately ordered that thousands of cats be sent to Cyprus to fight poisonous reptiles, and that they should be looked after by nuns. Specially for them, they built a small monastery and named it in honor of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of fishermen and sailors.

The cloister still works, there live six nuns and a lot of cats, for which they take care. Therefore, the monastery is often called simply a cat.

Icon of St. Nicholas

Nicholas the Wonderworker is one of the most revered saints, and the icon with its face is present in every house of believers. Long since it was considered a unique thing, because the icon painter through painting tried to convey the inner world of the saint, his essence, so that a person through it could establish a connection with God.

The image of St. Nicholas not only helps to pray, but also protects the house, cares that the people living in it, do not need, hunger, and also it bears well-being.

The saint is depicted in:

  • A lap-like image, where the right hand blesses, and the left one holds the Gospel;
  • Full growth, the right hand is raised for the blessing, the left one holds the closed gospel. In this position, he is sealed together with other saints, depicted in full growth;
  • The image of Nicholas of Mozhaisk, where in his right hand he holds a sword, and in the left fortress, as if showing that he is a defender of the believers;
  • Life icons. Here the image of the saint is supplemented with 12, 14, 20 and 24 hallmarks, which denote events in the life of St. Nicholas;
  • Iconographic images. This is the Mother of God with specially selected saints, Nativity of St. Nicholas, Transfer of relics.

For each person the appearance of St. Nicholas makes a different impression. Some see him as a savior, other assistants, third mentors. The meaning of the icon is precisely the transfer of a certain image of holiness, which acts on people no worse than a talisman. The effectiveness will be several times stronger if you say a prayer.

Placement of icons in the house

The icon of Nicholas the Savior should not only be in the house, it is important and properly arrange it. The iconostasis, as a rule, is located in the east, but if the eastern corner is occupied, then the icons can be located in any free place.

When placing the iconostasis, the following principles should be taken into account:

  1. In the center there should be an icon of the Savior (Savior Not Made by Hands, Savior Almighty and other images), it should also be the biggest icon.
  2. On the left of Jesus Christ is the image of the Mother of God with the Child.
  3. Over the images of the Savior and the Virgin Mary no icons should hang, except for the icon of the Trinity or the crucifixion.
  4. All other icons are selected based on the personal preferences of a Christian.
  5. In each iconostasis there should be icons of St. Nicholas the Savior, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Seraphim of Sarov, St. George the Victorious, healer Panteleimon, the Guardian Angel, and also the baptismal icons with saints' names worn by a person.
  6. It is recommended to hang icons in the kitchen or in the living room, but if there is no possibility, you can place them in the bedroom.
  7. You can not hang icons next to pictures or images of ordinary people.
  8. The iconostasis should be located in the most secluded place, away from the TV, computer and other entertainment equipment.

It does not matter where the icons are and how many are in the house, the most important thing is to pray to the revered saints regularly. After all, the icon is a connection with God, through which special grace is transmitted.

The relics of Nicholas the Savior

The life of St. Nicholas is full of noble deeds, therefore, most likely, God gave him many years of life, because he died in 94 years. At the moment his relics, or rather, the main part of them, are kept by the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, located in the Italian city of Bari. In honor of the Savior, many temples are named, and in some of them the rest of his relics are kept. They have a beneficial and healing effect on people who have attached to them, heal the body and soothe the soul.

In 2005, English scientists on the skull of the saint tried to recreate his image. They drew attention to the fact that he had a dense physique and growth of about 1 m 68 cm. He had a high forehead, sharply stood out on the face of his cheekbones and chin. He had brown eyes and a swarthy skin.

Modern miracles

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker performed miracles before, he continues to perform them to this day. So, one day a detachment of schoolchildren went on a campaign. They began to descend on the water in kayaks. The boat turned upside down, everything was saved, but not immediately. The youngest member of the group had an image of St. Nicholas. From his words, it was he who helped him to be saved.

Another man sat for a long time without work. He shared his problem with the priest at the confession, which, in turn, offered to pray to Nicholas the Savior at the icon. The next day the acquaintance offered the man a position in one firm. It would seem, nonsense, but there are thousands of such stories. Some people after the prayer miraculously opens before this not giving in to the castle, others in the rain, wind and weather sharply looks through the sun, others receive healing and continue their journey.

So pray, and you will be heard, ask, and you will be rewarded.

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