Venerable Nikola Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk Wonderworker (+ 1143)

Nikola Svyatosha
(+ 1143), Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk Wonderworker, Venerable Memory October 14, in the Cathedrals of St. fathers of the Kiev-Pechersk Near Caves and all the saints. Fathers of the Kiev-Pechersk, as well as Bryansk, Volyn, Kyiv, Tula and Chernigov saints

In the world, Svyatoslav was the great-grandson of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and the son of Prince David Svyatoslavich of Chernigov. The saint was the Lutsk prince, had a wife and children (his daughter was later married to the Novgorod prince, holy noble Vsevolod-Gabriel.

On February 17, 1106, the holy prince, leaving his family, took monastic vows at the Kiev-Pechersk monastery. Here St. Nicholas the Svyatosha underwent obedience with great humility: for three years he worked in a cookhouse, for which he chopped wood and carried water, and for the next three years he was a gatekeeper at the monastery. The saint planted a garden near his cell. At his own expense, he built a church in the monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity and a hospital church in the name of St. Nicholas, his heavenly patron. Subsequently, this territory was allocated to a separate Trinity Hospital Monastery.

The Monk Nikola became the first of the Russian princes to accept monasticism. He patiently endured the reproaches of his brothers for his determination to lead the life of an unresponsive novice. The saint's doctor, Peter, proved to the ascetic prince that the feat of such obedience would harm his health. But suddenly the doctor himself fell ill and was healed only through the prayers of St. Nicholas. Then Peter took monastic vows.

Having undergone various obediences, St. Nicholas imposed a vow of silence on himself. When the saint received money, he used it to decorate the temple, to buy books (for he loved reading books), or distributed it to the poor. He was a zealous peacemaker. In 1142, he reconciled the Chernigov princes with the Grand Duke Vsevolod.

He died in 1143 and was buried in the Near Caves. Soon after his death, his brother, Prince Izyaslav, became seriously ill. The abbot of the monastery sent the monk's hair shirt to the sick man. Izyaslav put it on and was healed.

Venerable Nikola Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk Wonderworker (+ 1143)

Nun Taisiya. Russian Saints (Contents)

His memory is celebrated on October 14. on the day of death, September 28. together with the Council of St. fathers of the Kiev Pechersk, resting in the Near Caves, and in the 2nd Sunday of Great Lent test with the Council of all saints. Fathers of Kiev-Pechersk

St. Nikola, in the world Prince Svyatoslav-Pankraty Davidovich (Svyatosha was a diminutive name for Svyatoslav: that was his family’s name) of Chernigov, born ca. 1080 and was the son of Prince David Svyatoslavich, famous for his pious death, and his grandson. Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, patron of the Pechersk monks. He was the first of the princes to take monastic vows

(1106) with the naming of his name Nikolai and passed the obedience of a gatekeeper, a table-keeper and a cook, after which he retired to his cell for the sake of silence and the unceasing Jesus Prayer.
He planted a garden near his cell. He gave the gold that the brothers sent him to the abbot, and books were purchased for the monastery with it. This humble life of the former prince irritated his brothers. He had a friend Peter, his former doctor, who came with him from Chernigov. He visited him often, and in his words St. Nikola clearly recognized the brothers' thoughts. “I advise you, like those who teach you,” he told him then, “to take more care of yourself. Don't you advise the sick to abstain? If none of the princes followed this path, I will be the first, following the example of the King of Heaven.” Once Peter fell ill, but on the advice of the monk he did not seek treatment, and the monk healed him with his prayer. He really wanted Peter to become a monk. Once he got sick himself. Peter, in terrible grief, expressed a desire to die for him. “So be it if you want it,” answered the monk. “Let us pray together to God that His holy will be done.” Let’s just pray like monks.” Then Peter decided to cut his hair. After 3 months he died, and St. Nikola was healed and lived another 33 years. When he died (October 14, 1143), a huge sad crowd gathered for his burial.
His brothers cried the most. The abbot gave the eldest of them, Izyaslav, his cross, a pillow and a bench on which he prayed. When Prince Izyaslav was paralyzed and lost his tongue, they sent him to the monastery for holy water. But the abbot first ordered to pour this holy water over the tomb of St. Theodosius and together with her send the hair shirt to St. Nikola. When the messenger approached the city, the sick man came to his senses and said: “Go everyone out of the city to meet the monks Theodosius and Nikola!” When the messenger entered, he exclaimed: “Nikola, Nikola Svyatosha!” They gave him holy water to drink, clothed him in sackcloth, and he was healed. Since then, in battles, he began to wear this hair shirt on his chain mail. One day he fell into sin and did not dare to wear a hair shirt. In this battle he was killed. They buried him, according to his will, in the hair shirt of St. Nikola.

• Before taking monastic vows in February 1106, Svyatoslav-Pankraty was the prince of Lutsk and owned lands in the Chernigov principality.

•
The monk labored in the Pechersk Monastery for 36 years and was buried in the Near (Antoniev) Caves.

Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov

Today we celebrate the memory of one of the most amazing saints. What could be more surprising when a person leaves the wealth and honors of a noble family for the sake of spiritual poverty.

Nowadays there are almost no such people left. Everyone strives to get as much money as possible for earthly pleasures and popularity.

The monk, whom the Holy Church glorifies on this day, even bore a simple name - Nikola Svyatosha.

Although, he was the Prince of Chernigov from the Rurik family. He was the son of Prince David and grandson of Svyatoslav.

And he thought how deceptive everything is in the vanity of this life. And that everything earthly flows, passes by. And future benefits are imperishable and eternal.

And the Kingdom of Heaven is endless, prepared by God for those who love Him.

And, leaving his reign, and honor, and glory, and power, and imputing all that to nothing, he came to the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery and became a monk.

This was in 1106. He spent three years as a cook, working for the brethren. I chopped wood for cooking with my own hands. He often carried them from the shore on his shoulders. With great difficulty, often his brothers, princes Izyaslav and Vsevolod, kept him from doing this.

However, this true novice asked and prayed that he could work for the brethren as a cook for at least a year.

After this, they assigned him to the monastery gates as a goalkeeper, since he was skilled at everything.

And he stayed here for three years. Without going anywhere except church.

From there he was ordered to go serve at the meal.

Finally, by the will of the abbot and all the brethren, he was forced to have his own cell, which he built himself.

And to this day this cell is called Svyatoshina. Also the vegetable garden, which he dug with his own hands. Blessed Prince Svyatosha was never idle. He always had handicrafts in his hands. This is how he earned money for his clothes.

The Jesus Prayer was constantly on his lips:

- Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

He always ate food from the monastery and what his brothers - princes and boyars - brought him, he distributed to the poor and wanderers.

Thus the monk spent more than thirty years in labor and hardship. Without leaving the monastery.

When he died, almost all the residents of Kyiv flocked to the Pechersky Monastery to pay their last respects to St. Nicholas the Svyatosha.

For the deep humility of the holy prince, the Lord endowed him with the gift of miracles.

Even the clothes he left behind exuded healing. So, when the blessed one’s brother, Prince Izyaslav, became seriously ill, they put the hair shirt of St. Nicholas on him, and the sick man immediately recovered.

There were many other miraculous signs from the relics of Blessed Nicholas the Svyatosha, who still rest in the nearby Kyiv caves.

In the Epiphany Cathedral there is a large icon depicting St. Nicholas the Svyatosha. Next to him are the Archangel Gabriel, Saint Olympias, the saints of the princely family Peter and Fevronia, Macarius of Unzhensky and the holy martyr Natalia.

Memory October 27

The blessed and faithful Prince Nikola Svyatosha was the son of David Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov, grandson of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, Prince of Kyiv and Chernigov, who founded the holy Pechersk Church, created by God. Leaving the glory and wealth, honor and power of his earthly, transient reign for the sake of the heavenly eternal, and coming to the Pechersk Monastery, he put on the holy monastic image.

And he shone so brightly with the brilliance of his life that everyone saw his good deeds and glorified God for him. He excelled most in obedience. At first he worked for the brethren in the cookhouse, chopped wood with his own hands and often carried it from the shore on his shoulders, diligently did everything else needed for the kitchen. After many of his labors, his brothers, Izyaslav and Vladimir, found out about this, and almost forced him to give up this business. But this true novice begged with tears to work for another year in the cookhouse for the brethren. And in total he worked there for three years with all possible diligence and reverence. Then, as skillful and perfect in everything, he was assigned as a watchman to the monastery gates and stayed there for three years, without leaving anywhere except the church. From there they took him to serve at the meal, and he did it as he should, with readiness.

When he went through the order of the degrees of obedience, the abbot and all the brethren decided that he needed to remain silent in his cell and work in silence for his salvation. He, obeying in this too, planted an orchard with his hands next to his cell.

He did not eat anything other than a small amount of common monastic food at the meal.

If, against his will, he happened to have something, like a prince, from his former people, then he distributed everything to strangers, the poor and the construction of churches, and donated many liturgical books for them.

It often happened that when this blessed prince fell ill while working in obedience, then a doctor named Peter, having learned about it, prepared medicine for him to cure some of his ailments - fever or water damage to the blood, but always before he came with With medicine and God's help, the prince recovered and never allowed himself to be treated. One day it happened that the doctor himself fell ill, and the blessed one sent him to him, saying: “If you don’t take medicine, you will soon recover, but if you don’t listen to me, you will suffer a lot.” The same, considering himself an experienced doctor, did not listen, but drank the prepared medicine and, wanting to get rid of the disease, almost lost his life. Then he recovered through the prayer of the saint. The next time this doctor fell ill again, the blessed one sent him to him with the following promise: “On the third day you will recover if you do not treat yourself.” The doctor, punished for his first disobedience, listened to the blessed one and, according to his word, recovered on the third day.

The blessed one called the healed one and said to him: “Peter, you should take monastic vows and work for the Lord and His Most Pure Mother in this monastery instead of me, because in three months I will depart from this world.”

Hearing this, the doctor Peter fell at his feet and exclaimed with tears: “Woe is me, my lord, my benefactor, my precious life! Who will take care of my earthly journey, who will feed the orphaned and wretched, who will intercede for the offended, who will have mercy on the many people asking for help? Didn’t I tell you: Prince, spare your life, because you can be useful to many, and in your life there is the life of many. Didn’t you heal me with the power of God and your prayer - and now where are you going, good shepherd, what are you sick with, my healer? Tell me, your servant, about your mortal wound, and if I do not cure you, let my head be for your head, and my soul for your soul. Do not leave me in silence, but tell me, my lord, where did you get this news from? If from people, I will give my life for you, but if the Lord Himself informed you about this, pray to Him that I die for you. If you leave me, then where will I sit and mourn my orphanhood? Isn't it on this trash heap at the gate where you are sitting? But it will be locked here. What will I inherit from your property when you yourself are naked: are these patched rags that you are wearing? But, having departed from the world, you will be placed in them. Grant me at least your prayer, as in ancient times Elijah gave mercy to Elisha, and I will share the depth of my heart and the waters of my life, and I will go to the place of wondrous villages to the House of God (Ps. 42:5) - where you want to go. And the beast, after sunset, knows how to gather and lie down in its lair (Ps. 103:22), but after your departure I do not know where I will go; and the bird found a home for itself, and the swallow found a nest for itself, where to lay its chicks (Ps. 83:4), but you have been living in a monastery for six years and have not found shelter for yourself. Where will you leave me?

The blessed prince, picking up the crying doctor, said to him: “Don’t worry, Peter. The Lord knows how to preserve all creation that He Himself created; He will take care to feed the hungry, intercede for the poor and save those in trouble. It will be a refuge for you too. And let my brothers according to the flesh cry not for me, but for themselves and for their deeds, in the deplorable vale of this world, in order to be consoled in future bliss. I do not need treatment for temporary life, for I died long ago for everything temporary, but the dead will not come to life, and doctors will not resurrect, as Isaiah exclaims (Isaiah 26:14).

Having said this, the blessed one went with the doctor to the cave and prepared a place for burial. The doctor said: “Which of us loves this place more?” The doctor answered with tears: “I know that if you want, you will pray to the Lord that you may live longer. Put me here!” The blessed one said to him: “Let it be as you wish, if it is the will of God. Let us serve Him in one monastic form!” Then the doctor, on the advice of the blessed one, took monastic vows and spent three months constantly shedding tears in prayer day and night. The blessed one, consoling him, said: “Brother Peter, do you want me to take you with me?” The same one answered with tears: “I want you to let me die for you, and you stay here and pray for me.” The blessed one said to him: “Be bold, brother, and be ready; in three days, according to your desire, you will depart from this life.”

So, Peter, having received the Divine and Life-giving Mysteries of Christ, when the predicted time came, lay down on his bed and gave up his spirit into the hands of the Lord.

After the death of the doctor, the blessed prince Svyatosha labored for thirty years without leaving the monastery; Having acquired, in accordance with his name, a perfect, holy life, he reposed into eternal life, to the Most Holy of all saints, the Prince of humility, Jesus.

On the day of the repose of this holy prince, almost the entire city of Kyiv gathered, giving him the last kiss and asking his prayers with many tears.

Especially the brothers of the blessed one, Izyaslav and Vladimir, upon learning of his death, cried for him with unspeakable tears. Izyaslav sent to the abbot with a prayer to give him for blessing and consolation the cross of the deceased, the head and the platform on which the blessed one bowed. The abbot gave it to him with the words: “According to your faith, may you have what you expect help from.” Having received these things, he carefully kept them and sent a lot of gold to the monastery to thank him for the memory of his brother.

This Izyaslav once became seriously ill and despaired of life. Seeing him near death, his wife, children and all the boyars gathered around him. He, having fallen asleep a little, got up and asked to drink water from the Pechersk well. Having said this, he became speechless and could no longer say anything. Having sent to the Pechersk Monastery, they took water there, washing the coffin of St. Theodosius with it. The abbot gave the Venerable Saint the hair shirt and the hair shirt to clothe his brother in. Then, before the messenger arrived with water and hair shirt, Prince Izyaslav said: “Go quickly out of the city to meet the venerable fathers Theodosius and Nicholas.” When the messenger entered with water and hair shirt, the prince again exclaimed: “Nicholas the Svyatosha!”

They gave him that water to drink, put a hair shirt on him - and he suddenly became healthy - and everyone glorified God and His saints.

Since then, Izyaslav always took and put on this hair shirt when he fell ill - and immediately recovered. And in every battle he had this hair shirt with him, and remained unharmed. Once, after a sin, he did not dare to put it on himself and then was killed in battle, but first he commanded to put himself in it, hoping that he would be healed at least from eternal diseases and ulcers.

The relics of St. Nicholas Svyatoshi rest in the Near Caves, where they have been indicated on maps since 1638.

A separate service for him is performed on October 27 (14 according to the Old Style).

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THE LIFE OF THE REVEREND NICHOLAS THE SACRED,

PRINCE OF CHERNIGOV, PECHERSK WONDERWORKER,

IN THE NEARBY CAVES OF THE RESTING

(memory October 14/27)

The Monk Nicholas was the son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich and the grandson of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who founded the great Pechersk Church in the Kyiv Lavra. At his birth, Nicholas was named by the princely name of his grandfather and, probably unlike him, from childhood began to be known under the diminutive name Svyatosha (which was then the custom, for example Stanislav - Stanisha, Dobyslav - Dobysha). At baptism Svyatoslav was named Pankratiy. Upon reaching adulthood, he married (his wife was called Anna) and had children; one of his daughters was married to St. Vsevolod, Prince of Pskov (see February 11). In 1097, Svyatoslav-Pankraty was the prince of Lutsk, but in the same year, besieged by Bonyak and Prince David Olgovich, he voluntarily left the city of Lutsk and went to Chernigov, where he owned lands. The villages of Pakul and Navoz with their surroundings on the banks of the river. The Dnieper belonged to Prince Svyatoslav-Pankraty and was subsequently given to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which owned them for a long time. Having arranged the peace of his wife and children, the prince decided to leave the glory and wealth, honor and power of his earthly reign for the sake of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven and came to the Pechersky Monastery. And on February 17, 1106 (1107) he became a monk with the name Nicholas (Nikola).

First of all, St. The prince succeeded in the virtue of obedience, “for three years,” writes Blessed Simon, “he spent three years in the cookhouse, working for the brethren, with his own hands he chopped wood for cooking the brethren’s food, and often carried water from the bank of the Dnieper on his shoulders. Having learned about such labors of Nikolai, his brothers, Izyaslav and Vladimir, wanted to remove him from such work; but this true novice sat down with tears to allow him to work one more summer for the brethren. Left here, he worked at the cookhouse for another year with all diligence and reverence. After this test, he, being skillful and perfect, was assigned to guard the monastery gates, where he stayed for three years, never leaving anywhere except the church. From here he was taken to serve at the meal. Such great humility of the former prince was an extraordinary thing, especially since St. Nicholas was the first of the princes to become a monk and voluntarily took on difficult obediences that were considered humiliating for the princely dignity. Relatives, especially the brothers of St. Nicholas, they tried in every possible way to return him to the world, but the blessed monk showed a lot of firmness of character in enduring reproaches from his relatives for his determination to lead the life of an unrequited novice. The brothers acted on the humble monk through one doctor named Peter, who lived with Saint Nicholas when he was still in the world, and then followed his master, but the difficulties of monastic life forced him to return to the world again. This doctor often visited his former master and often persuaded him to leave the monastery or weaken his exploits, but his admonitions remained in vain; Moreover, he later himself accepted monasticism. One day this doctor became very ill, and St. Nicholas saved him from death with his prayer. After this, Peter began to change his thoughts, then he decided to become a monk and, as the blessed one had appointed, he soon died. And the blessed prince Svyatosha labored for another 30 years without leaving the monastery. Having decorously gone through all the degrees of obedience, with the blessing of the abbot, he imposed on himself the feat of silence already in his cell and began to listen to his salvation in silence. Having obeyed the abbot, he planted a garden with his own hands at his cell and throughout his monastic life he was never idle, but always had handicrafts in his hands, and in his mouth this prayer of Jesus: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” He ate nothing except a little food from the common monastic meal. When the saint received money, he used it to decorate the temple, to buy books (for he loved reading books), or distributed it to the poor. At his own expense, he built the Church of the Holy Trinity and a hospital church in the name of St. in the monastery. Nicholas, his heavenly patron. Before the end of the life of St. Nicholas sometimes left his cell and appeared in the world as a public figure: in 1142, St. Nicholas, at the request of Grand Duke Vsevolod Olegovich (1139-1146), reconciled the Chernigov princes with their brothers.

In 1143, after a 36-year stay in the Pechersk monastery, the monk died on October 14. All of Kyiv gathered for his burial, many shed tears over him, and his brothers Vladimir and Izyaslav especially mourned his death. They asked the abbot to send the cross that St. wore on himself. Nicholas, and they gave a lot of gold to the monastery in memory of him. Soon after the death of St. Nicholas, Prince Izyaslav became very ill. The abbot sent him the monk's hair shirt; the Grand Duke put it on himself and immediately received relief from his illness. After that, Izyaslav did not stop wearing a hair shirt, went to war in it - and remained unharmed. After St. Nicholas, according to his will, many books were left in the monastery. His relics rest in the Antoniev (Near Caves). There is a special service for St. Nicholas.

Blzh. Simon, having finished his story, says to the monk Polycarp what is necessary for others: “What did you do like that? Did you leave your wealth? But you didn't have it. Is it glory? But you didn't own it. You went from poverty to fame and happiness. Think about this prince. None of the princes did anything like him; none of them willingly went into monasticism: truly he is higher than all the Russian princes ... "

Prince-monk. Nikola Svyatosha

He created his history by renouncing everything. Instead of expensive clothes and princely power, he chose a monastic robe and poverty.

What made the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Davidovich renounce honors and power?

The answers are in the film “The Monk Prince. Nikola Svyatosha."

Troparion. Nikola Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk Wonderworker, in the Near Caves, voice 2:.

Saint, Chernigov, Pechersk, monk, prince

He left the fatherland and the glory of your reign, /

Thou hast diligently followed the Prince of humility, Christ, /

Reverend Our Father Nikolo; /

Thus you received from Him the eternal kingdom and glory in Heaven, /

Wherever you rejoice, remember us who honor your memory faithfully.