The canon and dogmas of the Orthodox Church were formed within 2000 years after the death of Jesus Christ. Clergy, monks, bishops and theologians made their contribution. One of the most important figures in the Church is St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain, whose spiritual works and interpretations of a theoretical, mystical, dogmatic and apologetic nature seriously influenced the teaching of the Church.
He was the author of more than 200 literary works and chants, and after his death he became one of the canonized saints of the Russian Orthodox Church.
REVEREND NIKODIMUS Svyatogorets
No one would refuse to ascend to Heaven and enjoy endless bliss if this could be achieved without effort and feat. We are all ready to be with the Lord in His glory, but there are few who will remain faithful to Him in sorrows and reproaches. And even if we have already decided to follow Christ, at the first difficulty our old man begins to cry out about the violation of his “rights”, about the unbearability of such a path. He is ready, like the ancient Israelites, to return back to the Egyptian “meats”, ready to turn back, like Lot’s wife. And then what kind of work is required to curb it, to remain faithful to the Lord and not give up the cross that you have taken! For those who are experiencing this, this book is addressed as guidance and strengthening. Only by the narrow path will we enter the Kingdom of Heaven; Only with effort, according to the true word of the Lord, only through many sorrows, only by denying ourselves and hating our soul, wallowing in the filth of sin, will we be able to carry our cross to the end...
(“On storing feelings”)
Memorial Days:
July 3 (movable) – Council of the Athos Venerables
July 27
Biography of St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain
Saint Nicodemus was born in Greece, on the island of Naxos, in 1749. In Holy Baptism he received the name Nicholas. His parents, Anthony and Anastasia Kallivursis, were pious and virtuous people. Subsequently, Anastasia took monastic vows in one of the Greek monasteries. Nikolai grew up as a very smart and attentive boy, but he avoided noisy children's companies and thereby protected his soul from the bad influence of the world. He stood out among the children for his amazing intelligence, observation and good memory. The first teacher of the youth Nicholas was the parish priest, who taught him not only to read and write, but also to love Christ, His Holy Church and, in general, everything useful for the salvation of the soul. With reverence and zeal, the youth helped the pious priest during the celebration of the Liturgy and other sacred rites.
So well prepared by him, Nicholas entered the school of Naxos. There he studied the Law of God under the guidance of a virtuous and wise teacher - Archimandrite Chrysanthus, brother of the famous martyr Cosmas of Aetolia. Young Nikolai was eager to continue his education. At the age of sixteen, he and his father went to Smyrna, where he entered the city Greek school, known for its high level of knowledge and teaching. The young man Nikolai studied at this school for five years. He excelled in his studies and amazed his teachers with his abilities. For his peers who could not cope with their lessons, he became a wonderful mentor, explaining and teaching them what they did not understand in class. For this his comrades loved him very much. At school, Nikolai learned Latin, Italian and French. He also studied ancient Greek, of course, so much so that he knew this language perfectly in all its variants and historical varieties. In addition, he had a gift from the Lord to present the meaning of sacred texts in the most accessible form, so that they became understandable even to illiterate simpletons.
In 1770, when the Turks began persecuting Christians, Nicholas returned to his homeland, to the island of Naxos, where he became the secretary of Metropolitan Anfim (Varda), who wisely and patiently prepared him for further service to the Lord. So he lived on Naxos for five years, when the Lord sent him a meeting with the pious Svyatogorsk hieromonks Gregory and Niphon and the monk Arsenios. These were people who succeeded in virtue and achievement. They told Nicholas about monastic life, about the equal-angelic residence of ascetics on the Holy Mountain and initiated him into the secret of mental-heart prayer. From meetings and conversations with them, the desire to leave for Athos was kindled in Nicholas’s heart. Meetings with Metropolitan Macarius and Elder Sylvester further strengthened him in his desire for monasticism.
In 1775, having received a letter of recommendation from Elder Sylvester, he made the final decision to go to the Holy Mountain, renouncing the world and himself and wanting, according to the Lord, to bear his cross. ...When Nikolai went down to the sea, he saw a ship preparing to depart for the Holy Mountain. He glorified the Lord, seeing how quickly his desire was being fulfilled, and asked the captain to take him on board the ship. The captain promised that he would call him when the ship was ready to sail. However, the Lord sent Nicholas a test: the ship sailed, but they forgot about the young man. Seeing the departing ship, Nikolai began to scream in despair and make signs, reminding himself of himself, and when he saw that this did not help, he jumped into the water and swam to the ship. Only then did the sailors notice him and turn the ship around. When Nicholas reached the Holy Mountain, he experienced unspeakable joy. First of all, on the advice of Elder Sylvester, he went to the monastery of St. Dionysius, Dionysat, where at that time many reverend men, adorned with all kinds of virtues, modesty and grace-filled gifts, labored. Nicholas was amazed by their godly life and remained in this monastery. Here he was tonsured into monasticism with the name Nicodemus. The brethren of Dionysates knew about the excellent education and extensive knowledge of Nicodemus. They were inspired by both the accuracy in observing all the rules of the hostel and the humble disposition of the new monk. Therefore, he was soon appointed reader and clerk of the monastery.
In 1777, Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Corinth, visited the Holy Mountain. He stopped at the cell of St. Anthony, where he invited the Monk Nicodemus and advised him to edit for publication the spiritual books “Philokalia” (“Philokalia”) and “Evergetinos” (“Benefactor”) and the book he wrote “On Holy Communion.” Saint Macarius saw through the spiritual gift of Nicodemus and directed him to spiritual achievement, which subsequently revealed the blessed ascetic as a great lamp of the Church and teacher of the universe. Saint Nicodemus began with the Philokalia, which he carefully studied, changed its structure where necessary, compiled a short biography of each spiritual writer, and provided the book with a wonderful preface. He then edited “The Benefactor” from the manuscripts that were in the Kutlumush monastery, and composed a preface to this book. And finally, Saint Nicodemus edited and expanded the book “On Holy Communion.” Saint Macarius then took all his works and took them to Smyrna to publish them there.
After the departure of the saint, Blessed Nicodemus remained in Kareya, in a cell in the name of St. George, which belonged to the Great Lavra. There, within a year, he rewrote the book “The Alphabet,” written in verse by the Monk Meletius Galisiot, a confessor. Then he returned to his monastery. Seeking solitude, Saint Nicodemus lived for some time in the cell of Saint Athanasius, where he spent time in spiritual reading, unceasing prayer and copying books. And when the virtuous elder Arsenios of the Peloponnese came from Naxos to the Holy Mountain (the same one who, together with Metropolitan Macarius, once inspired the young man Nicholas to monastic feat) and settled in the monastery of the Pantocrator monastery, Saint Nicodemus came to him and became his novice.
There, in the monastery, the spiritual feat of the blessed one reached its highest development. He surrendered to the silence that he so longed for, studying night and day in the law of God (Ps. 1), in the inspired scriptures and in the works of the wise fathers of the Church. And who will tell about the exploits of a monk who completely renounced himself, abandoned all care for earthly things, killed carnal wisdom with fasting, unceasing prayer and other hardships of an ascetic life? And to whom will the Divine joy be revealed, filling his soul and heart, enlightening his mind with heavenly light? Like a new Moses, he ascended the mountain of virtues and in the luminous cloud of spiritual contemplation saw, as far as possible for man, the invisible God, and heard ineffable verbs. He became God by grace and an Angel in the flesh. For such a high and God-pleasing life, he was filled with grace and wisdom, having received from God the gift of teaching, and appeared as a lamp of the Catholic Church and an invincible fighter against all heresies and heterodox teachings. His holy hand, like “the reed of a scribe who writes letters” (Ps. 44:1), wrote many letters and holy books, spiritual songs and hymns. He also wrote services to the holy saints of God.
The following case is noteworthy. One day the Monk Nicodemus was chosen to talk with Catholics who came to the Holy Mountain. As always, Nicodemus was in rags and bast shoes. Catholics began to protest and be indignant at the fact that some poor simpleton would answer them, the learned sages. Nicodemus began the conversation. The listeners, surprised by the power and wisdom of his words, asked whether there were other monks on Mount Athos like their interlocutor. And the holy father answered them: “A whole multitude, I am the last of them.”
In 1782, Elder Arsenios moved from the skete belonging to the Pantocrator to the small island of Skyropoulos, located next to Athos. Nicodemus followed him. The living conditions there were very difficult, so the ascetics had to endure a lot of hardships. Nicodemus did not even have books, but this did not prevent him from being filled with inexpressible joy, being in mental prayer, which enlightened his mind with unearthly wisdom. Having, as said, no literature with him, he, at the request of his cousin, Bishop Hierotheus, began to write a book full of Divine and human wisdom, based on the works of both the Holy Fathers and external philosophers; This book was called "A Guide" because it presented the science and advice on how to guard feelings, thoughts and heart. This work indicates both the richness of God’s grace in the blessed one and his amazing memory, since he wrote it in the desert, without having any sources at hand, and the “Manual”, meanwhile, is full of quotations and references to books that he remembered by heart. The saint's memory was truly extraordinary. One day on Holy Saturday, Saint Nicodemus came to the Church of Protata to receive Holy Communion. The canonarch and reader who served in the temple agreed to hide the Triodion in order to force the monk to recite the prophecies by heart. And indeed, when the time came for reading the prophecies, there was confusion on the choir: there were no books. “Teacher, we ask you, begin the prophecies so that there is no confusion in the church,” the monks serving at the altar addressed him. He, not suspecting their cunning, began, out of his mercy, to recite the prophecies by heart, surprising the fathers and those ministers who in the altar followed the Triodion and were amazed at the accuracy of the prophecies recited by heart and the fact that when the page ended, the teacher unconsciously made a gesture with his hand, as if turning over the page of a book he didn't have. He read the prophecies for about an hour, and the amazement of those around him was indescribable. But Saint Nicodemus had no idea that he had done something worthy of surprise.
In 1783, the Monk Nicodemus returned to the Holy Mountain and was tonsured into the great schema by the Elder of Damascus. A little later, he settled in the kaliva he had bought, located above the church of the monastery of Pantocrator. A year later, he took as his novices one of his compatriots, John, who was tonsured Hierotheus, who served him for six years. There, blessed Nicodemus lived a solitary life, collecting the honey of grace and teaching everyone who came to him for instruction. On the advice of Metropolitan Macarius, who had newly arrived on the Holy Mountain, he began editing and preparing for publication the works of Simeon the New Theologian. He also edited the Exomologitarion (a book about confession), collected and embellished the Theotokaryon (a book about the Virgin Mary), The Invisible Warfare, the New Martyrology (a collection of the lives of the new martyrs) and the Spiritual Exercises. These books are full of Divine grace and wisdom and teach to avoid sin, bring sincere repentance, resist devilish temptations, and strive in virtues. Then, on the advice of the teacher Athanasius of Paria and Metropolitan Leonty of Ilioupolis, Saint Nicodemus collected from the libraries of Athos and prepared for publication the works of Saint Gregory Palamas and sent them to the Viennese printing house. But, unfortunately, these valuable manuscripts were lost: the printing house was closed and looted due to the publication of revolutionary leaflets addressed to the Greeks. Among the materials seized by the authorities were the manuscripts of St. Gregory, which the Latins destroyed as being contrary to their spirit. When the news of this reached Nicodemus, he wept bitterly over the loss of these wonderful works, realizing what great benefit they could bring to pious Christians. After this, the learned hieromonk Agapius came to the Holy Mountain. On his advice, Blessed Nicodemus began work on the systematization and interpretation of the canons of the Church, necessary for the guidance of not only the clergy, but also any pious Christian. This valuable work, completed with the help of Hieromonk Agapius, was called “Pidalion” (“Nurse”), since he directed and led the Church of Christ. Having completed work on the book, Blessed Nicodemus sent it to Constantinople for consideration. A year later, Patriarch Neophytos, having received approving reviews of the book from Metropolitan Macarius of Corinth and Metropolitan Athanasius of Paria, gave it conciliar approval. The book was sent to Saint Nicodemus. Since he did not have the funds to publish it, the monks of Athos collected donations and handed over the proceeds, along with the manuscript, to Archimandrite Theodoret of Ioannina, asking him to take care of publishing the book in Venice.
A new test awaited the Monk Nicodemus: Theodoret turned out to be a crafty false brother. Among the interpretations and explanations of the canons, he crossed out something, and in return added something of his own in defense of heterodox beliefs, alien to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, so that these additions completely distorted the work of Nicodemus in eighteen places. When blessed Nicodemus saw these distortions, which could mislead Orthodox Christians, he was greatly upset and could not find peace for a long time after that. He spent two months in great sorrow in the cell of the Skourteos brothers, then settled with Elder Sylvester in a cell in the name of Saint Basil. There he continued his spiritual exploits, wrote the work “Christian Ethics”, and edited “Funeral Hymns”. Having completed these works, Saint Nicodemus left the cell of Saint Basil due to difficulties that arose in his relationship with the novice Elder Sylvester, and settled in the Pantocrator monastery. But then his love for solitude prompted him to settle in a deserted kaliva next to a cell in the name of St. Basil. There he lived like an Angel in the flesh, not even having his daily bread. The Skourteos brothers helped him, often inviting him to meals. But even then, even after suffering from hunger, he was ready to forget about food and began a conversation if someone asked him spiritual questions, so that the elder of the cell had to ask Blessed Nicodemus to stop in order to give the brethren who listened to the eloquence of the monk the opportunity to finish the meal. In this desert kaliva, the Monk Nicodemus edited the Prayer Book, the second “Exomologitarion” (book of confession), and then began to work on exegesis. He interpreted the four epistles of the Apostle Paul and seven conciliar epistles, translated and interpreted the “Explanatory Psalter” of Euthymius Zigaben and nine cantos of the Holy Scriptures. The holy elder called this work “Garden of Grace.” All his interpretations are full of deep theological thoughts and moral teachings.
What can we say about all the temptations and persecutions that this great lamp of the Church endured? While he labored and wrote his spiritual books by revelation from above, he experienced so many unrighteous insults from uneducated people and from invisible enemies - demons! The saint did not say anything about the former, because, considering them to be true brothers and his benefactors, he endured everything and forgave everyone from the bottom of his heart. His invisible enemies often at night, when he was awake and writing, began to talk loudly right under the window of his cell. The monk did not pay any attention to them, and often laughed at their crazy and shameless antics. One night, when he was still living on the island of Skyropoulos, he heard such a noise that he thought that the wall next to their kaliva had fallen. The next morning he saw that the wall stood still. Another time he clearly heard a voice: “This scribbler.” Sometimes he heard a knock on the door of the kaliva. When he was interpreting the thirty-fourth psalm, verse six: “Let their way be darkness and creeping, and the angel of the Lord pursue them,” he heard such a noise as if a whole army was passing by. The demons did everything they could to frighten blessed Nicodemus. And it must be said that at the very beginning of his exploits he was very timid, so that when he went to bed, he left the door of his cell open so that, if necessary, he could call the brethren. But when Saint Nicodemus began to live in solitude, he was so strengthened by the grace of God that he considered all these demonic insurances to be pranks and “arrows of infants.”
This is how the old man’s life passed in exploits. He was tested by adversity and temptation, “like gold in a furnace” (Proverbs 17:3), and his virtues shone brighter than the sun. In the last years of his life, the Monk Nicodemus moved from place to place, studying various lists and manuscripts kept in the monasteries of Athos. He wrote and lived by Christ who strengthened him, so that he could say with Paul: “I live as no one, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Seven years before the death of the blessed one, his works were rewritten by the monk Cyril Karyophallis, who also compiled a list of his seventeen works and their publications.
The fame of the virtues and wisdom of this great Father of the Church spread everywhere. Those who needed spiritual guidance rushed to him for consolation and advice. Stung by their sins, leaving their bishops and confessors, they flocked to Nicodemus not only from monasteries and monasteries, but also from different countries and outskirts, to see him and receive instruction from him. This feat of spiritual nourishment, together with ordinary prayers, vigils and other feats, which the Monk Nicodemus did not abandon, undermined the elder’s health and forced him to take refuge in the cell of the icon painter Cyprian.
Shortly before his death, he collected a three-volume Synaxarium, interpreted the canons of the Lord's and the Mother of God's feasts ("Iorthodromion"), and interpreted the degrees of the Octoechos ("New Ladder"). And finally, he wrote “Confession of My Faith” - in denunciation of the malicious attacks to which he was subjected by some ill-intentioned monks of Athos. Saint Nicodemus spent his entire life in spiritual endeavors and writing soul-helping books. His only concern was to do the will of God and benefit his neighbor. Having accepted the talent from the Lord, he increased it like a faithful servant. He wore no other shoes except bast shoes, had neither a change of clothes nor his own home, but lived throughout the Holy Mountain, which is why he was called Svyatogorets. Feeling the approach of his death, the monk returned to the Skourteosov’s cell. He became very weak and then developed paralysis. Preparing for his departure from this world, he confessed, received unction and daily received the Divine Mysteries. On July 14, 1809, blessed Nicodemus gave up his soul into the hands of God, which settled in the villages of the righteous among the saints and theologians, and now he sees face to face the One Whom he served on earth all his life and Whom he glorified in his labors.
Death
In the early 1800s, Nikodim’s health no longer allowed him to independently engage in work related to editing and book publishing, so he asked for help from the icon painters Stefan and Neofit Skurteev. And in July 1809, it was in their home, after a night spent in thanksgiving and soul-saving prayer, that the monk died for reasons currently unknown.
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Icon of Nicodemus the Holy Mountain
After the death of Nicodemus, his works, including the canon in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear,” continued to be published in Constantinople and Venice. In 1955, by decree of the Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras, the author of these outstanding works was canonized and included in the catalog of Greek saints.
From now on, on July 27, Christians around the world celebrate his memory day and read the kontakion and troparion to St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain, as well as the akathist that was approved by the Holy Synod.
On the way to monasticism
In 1770, when the Greeks were subjected to further oppression by the Ottoman statists, Nicholas considered it appropriate to return to Naxos.
In 1774, wanting to meet and talk with the famous collector of patristic works, Macarius (Notar), he arrived on the island of Hydra. When their meeting took place, Macarius, recognizing in Nicholas a zealous Christian and an outstanding scientist, decided to involve him in the publication and popularization of patristic works.
early life
Nicodemus the Svyatogorets (secular name - Nikolai Kallivourtsis) was born on the Greek island of Naxos, in a family of well-behaved Christians, Anthony and Kalivoursi, in 1749.
Thanks to responsible upbringing on the part of his parents and at the call of his own heart, Nikolai was particularly religious from childhood and strove to imitate God’s saints.
He received his primary education on the territory of his small homeland, in Naxos. He owed much of his education to the local parish priest.
When Nikolai matured and reached the age of fifteen, his father sent him for further education to the Smyrna Evangelical School.
Thanks to his innate abilities, consciousness, and determination, Nikolai achieved extraordinary success, being head and shoulders above his peers. He not only understood the material taught by the teacher well, but also memorized a significant part of the educational program by heart. Moreover, this applied to sections that particularly fascinated him, and to a whole range of academic disciplines: economics, astronomy, philosophy, medicine, military sciences. During his studies, he mastered several languages, such as French, Latin and Italian.
