The life of St. Nicholas of Serbia and veneration, what is asked for and the texts of prayers

Nicholas (Velimirović)
(1880-1956), Bishop of Ohrid and Žić, saint, organizer of the Orthodox people's movement in interwar Serbia, prominent theologian and religious philosopher, Serbian spiritual writer Commemorated on March 5 on the day of his death and on April 20 on the day of the transfer of relics from the USA to Serbia

In the world Nikola Velimirović was born on December 23, 1880 in the mountain village of Lelić in western Serbia, into a peasant family with nine children. He was sent by his devout parents to a school at the monastery of Cheliye (“Kelia”).

After graduating from high school in Valjevo and the Belgrade Theological Seminary, Nikola Velimirović received a scholarship to study at the Old Catholic Faculty in Bern, where at the age of 28 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology. The topic of his doctorate was: “Faith in the Resurrection of Christ as the main dogma of the Apostolic Church.” Following this, Nikola Velimirović brilliantly graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford and is defending his second, this time philosophical, doctorate.

Returning to Serbia, the young doctor began teaching at the Belgrade Seminary, and at the same time published his articles in Serbian church magazines, with which he began collaborating as a teenager. As often happens with people chosen by the Lord, Nikola Velimirović unexpectedly falls seriously ill. In the hospital, he promises himself that if he is healed, he will devote himself entirely to God and his native Church. Immediately after this, the illness leaves him, and, without delaying a single extra day, Nikola Velimirović takes monastic vows in the Rakovits monastery near Belgrade, with the name Nikolai.

In 1910 he entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. For a long time, the Academy did not even know that by that time he had already graduated from two well-known European universities; when admitted to the Academy, he did not even mention the Western European faculties he had completed, but simply acted like yesterday’s seminarian. The Serbian student’s preaching and literary talent was discovered at one of the academic spiritual evenings, where Fr. Nicholas amazed the entire audience, and especially the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Anthony (Vadkovsky). After this evening, Metropolitan Anthony obtained a scholarship for him from the government to travel around Russia.

Thus Fr. Nicholas visited all the most famous holy places, got to know the Russian people better and never again parted spiritually with Russia. She became a constant subject of his thoughts. Since then, no country in the world has been perceived by him with such warmth and family love as Russia. In the 1920s, already as a bishop, he was the first in the world to talk about the need to honor the memory of the royal family. Behind the “indecisiveness” and “lack of will” of the last Russian emperor, about which much was said then among Russian emigrants in Serbia, he discerned other character traits of Emperor Nicholas II and a different meaning of the pre-revolutionary years of Russian history. “The debt that Russia obliged the Serbian people in 1914 is so enormous that neither centuries nor generations can repay it,” Bishop Nicholas wrote in 1932.
- This is the duty of love, which, blindfolded, goes to death, saving its neighbor... The Russian Tsar and the Russian people, entering the war for the defense of Serbia unprepared, could not help but know that they were going to their death. But the love of Russians for their brothers did not retreat in the face of danger and was not afraid of death. Will we ever dare to forget that the Russian Tsar with his children and millions of his brothers went to death for the truth of the Serbian people? Do we dare to remain silent before heaven and earth that our freedom and statehood cost Russia more than us? The morality of the world war, unclear, dubious and contested from different sides, reveals itself in the Russian sacrifice for the Serbs in evangelical clarity, certainty and indisputability...” Upon his return from Russia, Fr. Nikolai began publishing his serious literary works: “Conversations under the Mountain”, “Over Sin and Death”, “The Religion of Njegos”...

During the First World War, Fr. Nicholas confessed and gave communion to Serbian soldiers in combat positions and strengthened their spirit with sermons. Until the end of the war, he transferred all his salary to the needs of the wounded.

On behalf of the Serbian government, Fr. Nikolai also visited England and America, where in public speeches he explained to the public of these countries what Orthodox Serbia was fighting for. The commander of the British troops subsequently stated that “Father Nicholas was the third army,” fighting for the Serbian and Yugoslav idea.

It is noteworthy that immediately after the end of the First World War, Fr. Nikolai predicted the inevitability of a new global collision. An expert in Western philosophy and culture, he accurately described in detail the methods that “civilized Europe” would use in the next world war. He considered the main cause of the war to be the removal of European man from God. The Bishop called the contemporary atheistic culture “White Plague.”

In 1920 he was consecrated Bishop of Ohrid, Macedonia.
Here, in the cradle of Slavic writing, he created the true pearls of his work: “Prayers by the Lake”, “Omilie”, “Ohrid Prologue” and others. In general, the collected works of Bishop Nicholas number fifteen volumes - an amazing fact, considering that his ascetic work in the diocese was not interrupted for a day. Vladyka traveled to its most remote ends, met with believers, founded orphanages, and helped restore temples and monasteries destroyed by the war.

In 1924-1926 he was also temporary administrator of the nascent American Diocese of the Serbian Patriarchate.

Realizing the danger of sectarian propaganda, which was already gaining strength at that time, Bishop Nicholas led the so-called “pagan movement” among the Serbian people, designed to attract simple, often illiterate peasants living in remote mountain villages to the church. The “Bogomoltsy” did not constitute any special organization. These were people who were ready not only to regularly attend church, but also to live every day according to the canons of their Orthodox faith, according to the Christian ways of their native country, captivating others with their example. The “pagan” movement, which spread through the efforts of the bishop throughout Serbia, can be called a popular religious awakening.

In 1934 he was appointed Bishop of Zichsky. Its spiritual center, the ancient Žiča monastery, required comprehensive renovation, like many other monasteries in this part of central Serbia. And here, as in Ohrid, Bishop Nicholas had to streamline monastic and church life, disrupted by the World War, and, if we look deeper, by five centuries of Turkish rule in the Balkans. Soon, through the labors and prayers of the bishop, many ancient churches were restored.

The Second World War began, when Serbia, for the umpteenth time in history, shared its fate with Russia. Hitler, who found loyal allies in the Croats, naturally assumed his opponents in the Serbs. Developing a plan for the invasion of Yugoslavia, he ordered his commander of the Southern Front, in particular, the following: “Destroy the Serbian intelligentsia, behead the top of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and in the first row - Patriarch Dozic, Metropolitan Zimonich and Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich of Zic...”.

Soon, the Bishop, together with the Serbian Patriarch Gabriel, ended up in the notorious Dachau concentration camp - the only church officials of this rank in Europe who were taken into custody!

They were liberated on May 8, 1945 by the American 36th Division. Unfortunately, this liberation did not mean for Vladyka Nicholas a return to his homeland. In Yugoslavia, at the end of the war, the atheistic regime of Joseph Ambrose (Tito) came to power by force.

While in exile in America, Vladyka continued to serve and worked on new books - “The Harvests of the Lord”, “The Land of Inaccessibility”, “The Only Lover of Humanity”. His concern was also sending aid to war-torn Serbia. At this time, all his literary works in his homeland were banned and slandered, and he himself, a prisoner of a fascist concentration camp, was turned by communist propaganda into an “employee of the occupiers.”

Bishop Nicholas died peacefully on March 18, 1956 in the Russian monastery of St. Tikhon in South Canaan (Pennsylvania). Death found him praying.

Biography of the saint

Details about the life and work of the Serbian saint Nicholas of Serbia can be found by visiting the museum in the monastery consecrated in his name in the Šabac diocese.

Origin and childhood

The saint was born in Western Serbia, into a peasant family on January 5, 1881. The village of Lelic, where the Velimirovics lived, is located next to the Celije monastery. Dragomir, Nikolai's father, brought his son to the parish school at the monastery. He hoped that the boy, having mastered the basics of literacy, would become an intermediary between the villagers and the authorities. Illiterate peasants needed a person who could read and write.

Nikolai showed such diligence in his studies that his teacher advised him to continue his education at a gymnasium in nearby Valjevo. To pay for her studies, Nikola (Serbian) had to earn extra money by teaching lessons at home for families of wealthy citizens. After completing the gymnasium course, Nikolai attempted to apply for a military specialty, but did not pass the medical examination due to thinness and short stature.

Life and service to God

Instead of a military career, the young man determined his future destination by entering the capital's seminary. At the religious institution, Nikolai became the best of the students. His thirst for knowledge was not limited to theological subjects. Over the course of 3 years, the seminarian re-read the works of great Russian, German, and English writers.

A favorite writer was Petar Njegosa, an outstanding Montenegrin bishop and poet of the mid-19th century. Nicholas absorbed his views and thoughts, which became his ideology, and subsequently voiced them in his sermons.

Reading developed in him clarity of thought, the ability to convey the essence of the issue to listeners. After graduating from the seminary, Nikolai worked for some time as a rural teacher. The educational field at this level did not satisfy him. Having secured a scholarship, Nikola went to continue his theological education at the University of Bern (Switzerland), where he entered the Old Catholic Faculty.

At the age of 28, he defended his doctoral dissertation in theology on the fundamental dogma of the Apostolic Church. After Bern, Nikolai studied for a year at Oxford University, where he studied philosophy in depth. He defended his doctoral dissertation in philosophy in Geneva.

At the age of 29, the young man returns to Serbia and receives a position at the Belgrade Seminary. At this time, he began his writing career, publishing articles on issues of faith in newspapers and magazines published by the Serbian Patriarchate. Nikolai is diagnosed with tuberculosis, which forces him to interrupt his work.

The saint made a vow to the Lord that if he was cured, he would become a monk. Nicholas’s prayers were heard by the Savior, and the pathological process in the lungs stopped. Fulfilling his promise to God, Nikolai became a monk at the Rakovica monastery in the suburbs of Belgrade under the name Nikolai.

The following year, with the rank of hieromonk, Nikolai went to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy to study, without informing the leadership of the academy about the available doctoral degrees. The Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, amazed by the erudition of the Serbian clergyman, obtained a scholarship for him and permission to visit Russian Orthodox centers.

The return of the saint to Serbia coincided with the beginning of the First World Fire. The saint considered it his duty to be on the front line, blessing and giving communion to military personnel. At the end of the war, Nikolai becomes the rector of the Orchid monastery.

The ancient monastery was transferred to the ownership of the Serbian local church in 1914. For 14 years, Bishop Nicholas made efforts to restore buildings, attract residents, and spread Orthodox teaching. Vladyka was actively involved in the affairs of the diocese: he visited remote parishes, preached, wrote theological works, and opened orphanages.

In 1934, Nicholas was transferred to serve at the Zic Monastery, the most famous spiritual monastery in Serbia. The energetic and intelligent ruler turned the monastery into the center of Serbian Orthodoxy, which reached its highest peak during this period. Wanting to distract the Serbs from heresy, the bishop organized a religious movement called “Bogomolets”.

One of his poems became the anthem of this movement:

“Help us, Almighty,

We can't do anything without you,

No plowing, no singing,

Nor to defend the truth."

The outbreak of World War II changed the fate of Bishop Nicholas. After the occupation of Serbia, the leader of Nazi Germany issued a form ordering the extermination of the Serbian educated elite, including the spiritual elite. The persons to be destroyed were listed by name. Religious figures who came under repression are the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church Dozic, Metropolitan Zimonjic and Bishop Nikola Velimorovich of Zic.

From 1942 to 1944 they were kept under strict supervision in a monastery near the town of Pancevo. In September 1944, Patriarch Dozic and Bishop Nicholas were transferred to the “labor camp for the re-education of dissidents” in Dachau, where they remained until the end of the war. In May 1945, Dachau prisoners were liberated by the American army.

In Serbia, communists came to power, accusing Bishop Zic of nationalism and anti-Semitism. The road to his homeland was closed to him. The saint first came to England, and then, a year later, emigrated to the United States of America.

In America, Saint Nicholas devoted the last years of his life to writing theological works and a book about the concentration camp. Sometimes he was invited to give lectures at St. Vladimir's Academy in New York, and at Jordanville seminaries in Pennsylvania.

Demise

Saint Nicholas died on March 18 at the age of 75 during a morning appeal to the Lord while staying in Pennsylvania. Nikola Serbsky came here to serve liturgy in a Russian Orthodox monastery. He was buried 9 days later in the church of a Serbian monastery in Illinois.

Nikolai's childhood

Nikolai Serbsky was born on December 23, 1880 in the small mountain village of Lelic near the town of Valjevo. He was the eldest son of the deeply pious Dragomir and Katarina Velimirović.

Origin and birth

The family was large; the peasant parents were respected by their neighbors. The boy was baptized at the Chelie monastery and given the name Nikola. All children were raised in love and obedience to God; the mother often took the children to the monastery for services.

Family

From early childhood, children were accustomed to peasant labor; every pair of hands was needed on a large farm. The children were not spoiled in the family, peasant life was hard, the work was exhausting. Nicola's eight younger brothers and sisters died in childhood and adolescence. The eldest also had health problems.

School years

The father himself took his eldest son to a monastery school. It was necessary to teach him to read and write so that at least someone in the family could read subpoenas from the authorities and could respond to them. Studying was very easy for Nikola, diligence and diligence never left him, these qualities made him the best student at school.

Teacher Mikhail Stuparevich often talks with Nikola's parents and convinces them that the boy should continue to study. The parents agreed to this, despite the fact that the farm needed his workers. I dreamed that my eldest son would become a teacher or engineer.

Creative heritage

Nikolai Serbsky left a numerous literary legacy, which is dominated by questions of dogma of faith. An exception is the book “The Unattainable Land,” which, based on what they experienced, tells the story of the trials of the prisoners of Dachau.

The saint wrote the book to refute his own views in the late 40s, when he spoke favorably of Hitler’s activities in Germany. At the same time, he remained a convinced anti-Semite until the end of his life, considering Jews to be accomplices of the devil.

In his writings the saint touched upon:

• moral aspects of faith;
• dogmas of Christianity;
• foundations of Orthodoxy.

His views became the ideological platform of the Serbian fascist movement. All together served as the basis for recognizing the bishop in Serbia in the post-war period as an accomplice of the Nazis, despite persecution and imprisonment in a concentration camp. The Nazis did not touch the highest clergy of the occupied European countries, except for Serbia.

The Birth of a Missionary and the Path of Writing

Overwhelmed by impressions of the places of Russian shrines, Nikola Velimirović begins missionary activity in Serbia, bringing the teachings of Christ to the masses.

Teaching at the Belgrade Seminary, the scientist of theology and philosophy gathers entire halls of seminarians on the subjects he teaches:

• logics;
• psychology;
• philosophy;
• languages.

Belgrade peasants and representatives of the intelligentsia gather at his sermon, and gradually the whole of Serbia knows the name of Nikolai Velimirovich. His books on the Sermon on the Mount, on sin and death, and “The Religion of Njegos” are gaining special recognition.

Book of St. Nicholas of Serbia

The first sermon in Bosnia, which at that time was a political arena where the Austro-Hungarian government began to form a “new Bosnian people,” became a baptism of fire for the already famous missionary. Nikola Velimirović supported the Orthodox believers in Serbia, which aroused dissatisfaction with the new government, which was trying to divide the people. The verdict is a ban on entry into Bosnia.

Reverence

In 1987, Nikola Velimirović was ranked among the locally revered saints of the diocese where he was born. In the spring of 1991, the remains were transported from the USA to the saint’s native village and reburied in the local cemetery. The Bishop of Serbia was recognized as a saint on March 19, 2003 by the Serbian local church. Days of remembrance are March 18 (death) and May 3 (reburial).

At the beginning of May 2004, in the Shabatsky diocese (where the remains of the saint are buried), a monastery was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas. A museum named after the Bishop was opened in the monastery.

Episcopal ministry

In 1920, Father Nikolai was ordained Bishop of Ohrid. At this stage of his ministry, he devoted himself to monastic work with even greater zeal, preached a lot, regularly participated in divine services, and was engaged in literary work.

Controlling the clergy entrusted to him and the state of affairs, he constantly moved around the territory of his diocese, visiting the most distant parishes. During such travels, he became acquainted with the needs of the residents and, to the extent possible, provided them with appropriate bishop's assistance: he contributed to the restoration of churches destroyed as a result of the war, helped monasteries, and organized orphanages.

In 1924, the saint, with the blessing of his superiors, took temporary control of the American Diocese (which functioned under the Serbian Patriarchate). He performed this mission until 1926.

In connection with the cooling of many Serbs towards Christian responsibilities, as well as in order to counteract the growing sectarian sentiments in the country, the saint organized and personally led a movement aimed at activating the population in the field of church activities. This movement received the characteristic name “Bogomolcheskoe”. Soon it covered the entire territory of Serbia.

In 1934, Nikolai Serbsky was elevated to the Zhich department. Here, as in the Ohrid diocese, he was engaged in enlightenment, streamlining church life, and regulating the activities of monasteries.

Much effort was made to restore the churches. The saint’s special merit was his contribution to the renovation of the ancient monastery “Žiča,” one of the most famous centers of spirituality and Orthodox culture.

Orthodox texts

In their prayer appeals, Orthodox believers glorify the holy activity of Bishop Nicholas of Serbia.

Troparion

Chrysostom, the preacher of the Risen Christ, the guide of the Serbian crusader family through the ages, the blessed lyre of the Holy Spirit, the word and love of the monks, the joy and praise of the priests, the teacher of repentance, the leader of the pilgrim army of Christ, St. Nicholas of Serbia and pan-Orthodox: with all the saints of the Heavenly Serbia, may the prayers of the One Lover of Man grant peace and unity to our family.

Difficult years of study

He lives in the most difficult financial conditions, but graduates from the seminary among the best students. Some help comes from his participation in the dissemination of the Christian Messenger and the patronage of Archpriest Aleksa Ilic, around whom a kind of circle gathers. Alexa and her followers criticize the negative phenomena of the highest hierarchy and seek solutions to church problems. Nikola writes and publishes her first texts in the Christian Messenger, full of youthful fervor and uncompromisingness.

Education abroad

And soon Nikolai Velimirovich was destined to say goodbye to dear Serbia. For some time he was still teaching in Leskowice, when unexpectedly news arrived that he had been awarded a scholarship to study abroad. He goes to study in Switzerland. A decent scholarship allowed him to travel outside the country. He listened to lectures by the best theology professors at various universities in Germany. Having passed his final exams in Bern, Nikola defended his doctoral dissertation there.

In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was great indignation among the Serbs, but at that time war was avoided. At that time Nikolai Velimirovich was already in England. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford, and defended his doctoral dissertation in Geneva in French.

Participation in propaganda in favor of Serbia

Unprecedented successes at the beginning of the war attracted the attention of all of Europe to the small Balkan country. When Germany came to the aid of Austria-Hungary, dark days came for Serbia. There was no real help from the French army. In April 1915, the head of the Serbian government sent Father Nicholas to England for the purpose of propaganda in favor of Serbia and the Serbian struggle. After England, he goes to America, where he amazes the public with his truthful sermons. In the summer of 1915, Nikolai returned to London. The huge English cathedrals could not accommodate everyone who wanted to hear his speeches. Entry was only possible with a pre-purchased ticket. In recognition of his cumulative labors on English soil, the archbishop awarded him a special diploma and a pectoral cross.

Homecoming

And now we return to Belgrade. Two diplomas, two doctorates. Meanwhile, not the warmest welcome awaited him. Officials from education and the metropolis are not only in no hurry to open all doors for him, but also do not recognize his diplomas, forcing the doctor twice to graduate from the 7th and 8th grades of the gymnasium and take final exams.

During this period, Nikolai Velimirovich Serbsky finds himself on the brink of life and death for the third time. The first time this happened was when robbers tried to kidnap him as a baby. The second time, already during his school years, he was miraculously saved by a high school student when he was already choking in the river. And when, upon arrival in Belgrade, he buried his brother who had died of dysentery, he himself became infected as a result. After three days in the hospital, the doctor said that his condition was such that he could only rely on God. Doctor Nikolai Velimirovich took this completely calmly. After a six-week severe illness, he made a full recovery.

Participation in World War II

When the Germans occupied Yugoslavia in 1941, Bishop Nicholas was placed under house arrest in a monastery. He was constantly taken for interrogation. The grief that befell the Serbian people left an unhealed wound in the ruler’s heart. His health deteriorated sharply, but during interrogations he always stood, although the German officers asked him to sit down. In the monastery, the bishop is visited by priests and monks, which arouses suspicion among the Germans, and they strengthen the guard. When the sisters leave and enter the cells with lit candles, the guards decide that this is a secret alarm. However, a search in the monastery does not yield any results. It is unknown how all this would have ended if Hieromonk Vasily had not brought the award certificate received by the Bishop back in 1935 from Hitler himself for the restored German military cemetery from the First World War. Then the general who interrogated Vladyka ordered his release.

The Great Gift of the Preacher

There had long been a rumor in Belgrade that Dr. Velimirović had a great gift as a preacher. When reports about the upcoming sermon of Hieromonk Nicholas appeared in the capital's press, the entire high society hastened to take their seats early in the morning. On the Day of St. Archdeacon Stephen, the entire Belgrade elite gathered in the church. People listened to every word of the preacher, without hiding their admiration. For many, the word of God sounded for the first time in all its heavenly majesty.

After such success, Metropolitan Dimitri sent the hieromonk to study in Russia. After the first academic discussions with students and professors, the young Serbian scientist and theologian became known in St. Petersburg. Thanks to the local metropolitan, Nicholas gets the opportunity to travel around Russia. Acquaintance with the great country, its people and shrines gave him immeasurably more than staying within the walls of the academy. Under the influence of Dostoevsky and other Russian religious thinkers, Father Nikolai begins to develop the idea of ​​the all-man as opposed to Nietzsche's superman. Hieromonk Nikolai is appointed junior teacher at Svyatoslavka Theological Seminary.

Now from the pen of the hieromonk come large-scale works, which are first published in magazines and then published as separate books. Nikolai continues to study philosophy, theology, and art. Gives sermons. He writes a lot and actively participates in the cause of national unification. In 1912, his books “Nietzsche and Dostoevsky” and “Pidmont Sermons” were published. The preacher the 20th century had been waiting for had finally arrived.