Troparion for the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
Troparion, tone 4
The day of the bright triumph has arrived, the city of Barsky rejoices, and with it the entire universe rejoices with songs and spiritual stumps: today is a sacred triumph, in the presentation of the honest and multi-healing relics of the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker Nicholas, like the unsetting sun, rising with radiant rays, dispelling the darkness of temptations and troubles from those crying out truly: save us, as our intercessor, great Nicholas.
Kontakion, tone 3
Rise up, like a star, from east to west your relics, to Saint Nicholas, the sea was sanctified by your procession, and the city of Barsky received your grace: you appeared to share us, graceful, wonderful and merciful miracle worker.
Prayer to Nicholas the Ugodnik
What is prayer?
A sign of a person’s correct attitude towards God is prayer, for this is the property of a true Christian, baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit, who is our teacher and comforter. Prayer is not only a conversation with God, but, even more, the elevation of the believing heart and mind and all the strength of the soul (“Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable before You, O Lord, my rock and my Deliverer” (Ps. 18 ,15). Without prayer they do not find God, prayer is precisely the means by which they seek and find God. Prayer is the guarantee and bond with which Eternal Love attracts us to Itself and wants to keep us with Itself as long as possible. Verbal prayer elevates the soul and spirit to God and is a humble, kind external exercise - a bold conversation with God; it leads a person to internal prayer, and then to grace-filled (supernatural) prayer, as the Apostle Paul says about it: “I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind” ( 1 Cor. 14:15).
How do you address Nicholas the Wonderworker?
If a person bears the name Nicholas, then he needs to address the saint with the following words: “Holy Father Nicholas, pray to God for me.” After all, it is not Saint Nicholas the Pleasant himself who helps the one who prays, but God with his prayers for us.
If you want to turn to a saint, you can call him: mentor, holy wonderworker, saint of God, intercessor. Appeals are allowed: Merciful Father, kind father, shepherd, protector of the offended, comforter in sorrows.
You can address the saint with short prayers:
“Our mentor and great intercessor, Father Nikolai! Accept my prayer, from the bottom of my sinful heart, protect me and my loved ones from outside evil and from my foolishness. Teach me how to do the right thing in this situation (…). In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
“St. Nicholas, Wonderworker of Myra, help me cope with my spiritual weakness - get rid of sadness and melancholy, do not let me fall into the grave sin of despondency, teach me to enjoy life at any moment, not to lose faith in the mercy of the Lord and your intercession. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
How does Saint Nicholas the Pleasant help?
Strange as it may seem to some non-believers, the icon of St. Nicholas the Pleasant truly “works.” Nowadays, there is a lot of evidence of this, and ordinary people who prayed to the miracle worker share their stories. For example, by placing an icon in a car, many were saved from serious accidents or death as a result of a dangerous road accident. Others tell stories about the power of Nikolai Ugodnik's healing gift. There is a huge amount of evidence that prayer requests in front of the image of the saint made it possible to get rid of various illnesses, both physical and mental. Saint Nicholas helped many women find love and happiness. Travelers and people whose activities are related to the road pray to this saint for well-being along the way. That is why many drivers can see a small face of a revered saint in their car. The sailors ask St. Nicholas to protect them from storms and floods. It is also worth mentioning that since ancient times, Saint Nicholas was considered the patron saint of Russian soldiers. This is evidenced by crosses with the image of the Pleasant, which were worn by warriors in ancient times. They pray to Saint Nicholas the Pleasant in moments of all difficult life circumstances, and this great saint, like lightning, flies to where he is called for help!
What requests are most often addressed to Nikolai Ugodnik?
- Healing, getting rid of diseases.
- Preserving family peace and well-being.
- Intercession for children.
- Getting rid of poverty and want.
- Help in a disastrous, difficult life situation.
- Safe return from travel.
- Exorcism of evil spirits and evil spirits. Protection of a person from all kinds of witchcraft, magical, extrasensory influences.
- Preservation of daughters' chastity, their successful marriage.
- Help for widows and orphans.
- Helping the helpless and defenseless.
- Protection on the water.
- Salvation from despondency, sadness, sadness.
- Rescue from captivity.
In times of troubles and hardships, praying for the protection of yourself and your family, turn to St. Nicholas for help. Believe and know that help will definitely come.
Prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia - first
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 to 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.
Troparion to Saint Nicholas, tone 4
The rule of faith and the image of meekness, self-control, the teacher, show you to your flock as things are true; For this reason, you have gained high humility, rich in poverty, Father Hierarch Nicholas, pray to Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion to Saint Nicholas, tone 3
In Mireh, the holy one, you appeared as a priest: For Christ, O Reverend, having fulfilled the Gospel, you laid down your soul for your people, and you saved the innocent from death; For this reason you have been sanctified, as the great hidden place of God’s grace.
Prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia - second
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.
Prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - third
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 Mireh, you were fragrant with myrrh, and you flowed with the ever-flowing grace of God. By your procession, holy father, the sea was sanctified, when your many-wonderful relics marched into the city of Barsky, from east to west you praise the name of the Lord. O most wonderful and marvelous 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 joy, 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 strengthener, the fasting mentor, the rest of the toilers, the poor and the 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 every bitterness with your help: We know, we know that the prayer of the righteous can do much to hasten for good: for you, the righteous, according to the blessed Virgin Mary, the representative to the All-Merciful God, imams, and to yours, most kind father, We humbly flow to warm intercession and intercession: protect us like a cheerful and good 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 the multitude of our iniquities, bound by sinful bonds, and neither having created the will of our Creator nor keeping His commandments. By the same token, we bow our contrite and humble hearts to our Creator, and we ask for your fatherly intercession to Him: Help us, O Servant of God, so that we do not perish with our iniquities, deliver us from all evil and from all things that are contrary, guide our minds and Strengthen our heart in the right faith, in which, through your intercession and intercession, neither wounds, nor rebuke, nor pestilence, nor any wrath, will you give me life in this age, and will deliver me from this place, and will make me worthy to join all the saints. Amen.
Prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - fourth
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.
Prayer to Saint Nicholas - fifth
O great intercessor, the bishop of God, the Most Blessed Nicholas, who shone miracles under the sun, appearing as a quick hearer to those who call upon you, who always precede them and save them, and deliver them, and take them away from all sorts of troubles, from these God-given miracles and gifts of grace! Hear me, unworthy, calling you with faith and bringing you prayer songs; I offer you an intercessor to plead with Christ. Oh, renowned for miracles, saint of heights! as if you have the boldness, soon stand before the Lady, and reverently stretch out your hands in prayer to Him for me, a sinner, and grant me the bounty of goodness from Him, and accept me into your intercession, and deliver me from all troubles and evils, from the invasion of enemies visible and invisible freeing, and destroying all those slander and malice, and reflecting those who fight me throughout my life; for my sins, ask for forgiveness, and present me to Christ as saved and be worthy to receive the Kingdom of Heaven for the abundance of that love for mankind, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, with His beginningless Father, and with the Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages centuries.
Prayer to Saint Nicholas - sixth
Oh, all-good Father Nicholas, shepherd and teacher of all who flow by faith to your intercession, and who call on you with warm prayer, quickly strive and deliver the flock of Christ from the wolves that destroy it, that is, from the invasion of the evil Latins who are rising against us. Protect and preserve our country, and every country existing in Orthodoxy, with your holy prayers from worldly rebellion, the sword, the invasion of foreigners, from internecine and bloody warfare. And just as you had mercy on three men imprisoned, and you delivered them from the king’s wrath and the beating of the sword, so have mercy and delivered the Orthodox people of Great, Little and White Rus' from the destructive heresy of the Latin. For through your intercession and help, and through His mercy and grace, may Christ God look with His merciful eye on people who exist in ignorance, even though they have not known their right hand, especially young people, by whom the Latin seductions are spoken to turn away from the Orthodox faith, may he enlighten the minds of His people, may they not be tempted and fall away from the faith of their fathers, may their conscience, lulled by vain wisdom and ignorance, awaken and turn their will to the preservation of the holy Orthodox faith, may they remember the faith and humility of our fathers, may their life be for the Orthodox faith who have laid down and accepted the warm prayers of His holy saints, who have shone in our land, keeping us from the delusion and heresy of the Latin, so that, having preserved us in holy Orthodoxy, He will grant us at His terrible Judgment to stand on the right hand with all the saints. Amen.
Read prayers to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker ahead of time, and with faith in your soul, hope for help.
Troparion for the transfer of the Velikoretsk Icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from Vyatka to Moscow
Troparion, tone 3
Like precious wealth, the venerable icon of your image, Saint Nicholas, came to us from the Great River Vyatka to this reigning city of Moscow, and performed many miracles at your coming, healed the sick and surprised all people. For this reason, by the command of the autocrat tsar, this honorable icon of yours was written off for the enlightenment and prayer of all the people of the royal city, even today we see and worship it, praying to you, the secret place of Christ: pray, holy one, for all of us, to grant us peace and great mercy.
How and when to read correctly
There is no special ritual for praying to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. General rules for reading prayers should be followed. In the temple, a candle is lit in front of the icon and words addressed to the saint are spoken to oneself. At home, the icon of the saint is placed in the eastern corner or above the front door.
There should be no household items near the shelf. They pray in silence, when peace reigns in the soul, all thoughts are focused on saying the prayer. They read short prayers in the morning and evening, when there is no time to read the akathist. The clergy recommend reading prayers in Church Slavonic, “clean” of modern distortions, with emphasis observed.
The humility of the Myrali saint is the highest wealth
Nicholas the Wonderworker was characterized by real humility. He tried to avoid human glory, for which the Lord glorified him.
Continuation of the troparion: “thou art high through humility, rich in poverty” - this means that St. Nicholas acquired his greatness through humility, and the wealth of the Holy Spirit through poverty.
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matt. 23:12; also Luke 14:11; 18:14).
When righteous Nicholas, thanks to his love for Christ, purity, and meekness, acquired for himself the highest calling of the Church - to be a bishop, a bishop of his city, he no longer hid his good deeds from his flock. His day was spent in business and prayer, but the doors of his home were always open to people.
Saint Nicholas saved the hungry from hunger, the innocent from execution, and those lost in the faith from heresy. He helped and cared for people not out of vanity, but in order to put into practice the words of the Savior:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
And everyone’s beloved Father Nicholas shone so brightly before the eyes of the believing people with his virtues that the Orthodox people rushed after him to the knowledge of the truth, to the light, to Christ.
What is a troparion
A troparion is a short prayer chant that gives an idea of a holiday or saint, the characteristics of his spiritual achievement. The troparion ends with the glorification of the saint and a call to help and pray before the Heavenly King for the souls of believers.
The Troparion was first introduced into the Liturgy around the 4th century as a short refrain at certain points in the service. Later, the troparion began to be part of the canons and akathists. The Troparion is sung at church services: at the end of Vespers, Compline, Matins, Hours and Liturgy.
Troparion to Nicholas the Wonderworker is the main prayer to the saint. It briefly and succinctly tells about the actions and qualities of St. Nicholas, which became obvious manifestations of his holiness. Also, the troparion to St. Nicholas the Pleasant includes a call to prayerfully remember us before God for the salvation of the soul.
At the very beginning of the troparion the merits of the saint are listed, and at the end there is a request for intercession.
