The rules of pilgrimage to the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker have been published. The relics of St. Spyridon: where they are, how to apply, what the Rules for the application to the relics of St.

Archbishop Mir Lycian, brought from the Italian city of Bari. Now they are in St. Petersburg. Already 2 million people have come to bow to them, including asking for something of their own, sore. But what exactly, from the Orthodox point of view, should be asked of the saint? What good? Can we talk here about worldly goods and purely earthly things? What should be paid attention to so that the worship of the saint does not have a pagan character?

Pray about what you consider useful in your earthly life, but entrust the fulfillment of this into the hands of God

“My wife used to pray for a duck as a child. The dog gnawed her neck, the duck seemed hopeless, and now my wife, at that time still a very small child, prayed with tears to the holy healer Panteleimon for the duck, and the duck recovered. Someone will say that this is not serious. But I personally think that if a child prays from the heart for a living being, then as an adult, he will have compassion.

It is clear that people go to shrines and often pray only for earthly things. I think this should be easier to deal with. Thank God that people are already praying, standing in long lines to the shrines, and not going somewhere. Everyone prays to the extent of their physical and spiritual age, to the extent of their understanding of what is most valuable. And God condescends to us, fulfills sometimes our most ridiculous requests.

I recall the following patristic rule, pronounced by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov): pray about what you consider useful in your earthly life, but entrust the fulfillment of this into the hands of God . If you think that you need something, you can ask for it, but whether it be or not, let God decide. Place yourself in His hands.

It is impossible to immediately jump to spiritual perfection, so that everything earthly ceases to be of interest at once. Demanding from oneself dispassion in relation to simple human life, instead of spiritual perfection, one can slide into indifference, apathy and indifference. People worry about their health, about the well-being of loved ones, pray that their children's problems will be resolved. They pray to pass the exam and not be fired from work, they pray for friends and girlfriends. And this confirms that the heart is still alive, and most importantly, people turn to God, it is from Him that they seek help.

In prayer, one must unambiguously exclude evil requests. To take revenge on the offender, to punish the neighbors, to teach a lesson to the one whom you hated - you definitely cannot ask for all this in prayer. God is Love, Goodness, Life, and because that which is contrary to love, goodness and life, one cannot ask in prayer. Thus you will move away from God and bring trouble upon yourself.

We must pray not for the removal of the cross from us, but for the giving of strength to us to bear the cross

In my life, a long time ago there was a case when it seemed unbearable to me to work with the boss that I had. I prayed for the dismissal of the boss, prayed from the heart, and after some days the request was fulfilled. I was incredibly happy, but the new boss, who seemed to be kind and not so exacting, turned out to be much more difficult in reality. And in the end, it only got harder. The Lord then returned the former boss, and it was clearly shown to me that it was impossible to ask for relief from earthly affairs. God Himself knows how to manage our lives. Therefore, we must pray not for the removal of the cross from us, but for the granting of strength to us to bear the cross.

In our prayers, we will try to remember that the most important value a person has is his immortal soul. First of all, we must pray for the salvation of the soul, for cutting off the sins and passions that hinder us. One girl I knew suffered for a long time from a strong dependence on drugs, she could not break free. But she found the strength to ask the Lord to somehow help her. She asked for a year or two, and nothing seemed to work. And so her mother went to the Holy Land and at the Holy Sepulcher she also prayed with all her heart for her daughter. Literally the next day, the girl woke up in the morning and suddenly felt that her craving for drugs had disappeared. She didn't even understand why it happened. She went out into the street, somewhere she saw other drug addicts and again noticed behind herself that she had no craving for this, even withdrawal did not occur. This is how prayer from the bottom of your heart, especially when you are not praying alone and someone is praying for you at the shrine, performs a real miracle.

The first thing to ask – it's about success in the spiritual life

According to the unsearchable ways of God, we sometimes need to endure sorrows, illnesses, and failures.

- In fact, such a question should not even be raised by an Orthodox: what to ask a saint for? Anyway, first of all. About multiplying faith and love for God and neighbors, about determination to fulfill the commandments of Christ, about knowing His holy will and about giving understanding and strength for its fulfillment. In a word, the first thing to ask for, regardless of the circumstances of life, is for success in the spiritual life both for ourselves and for our loved ones, because this is the main thing in the perspective of our eternity. Of course, there are some extraordinary circumstances, need, illness, disasters in our lives and the lives of our loved ones, when it is simply impossible not to ask for help in specific, everyday needs. When a person literally, as they say, cries out. Is it possible? It is possible and necessary, of course, but even at the same time, one must have humility, a certain space of the heart, realizing that the will of God is different and the human will is different, and along the unsearchable ways of God, we sometimes need to go through sorrows, and illnesses, and failures, and vice versa. - it is not always useful for us what we ask for, no matter how obvious and blatantly necessary the thing we ask may seem to us. It is in this simple: “but not as I want, but as God pleases” that is what is necessary in application to every deed and to every prayer - humility.

God – Source and Sun, and saints – mirrors reflecting His light

Pray as if your life depended on it

- Honestly, I do not quite understand the excitement around this event. It is clear that St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is a very revered saint in Russia, but there is a feeling that a considerable part of people do not go to God, but for a miracle. This should not be. Because in Orthodox Christianity, only God is the Giver of all blessings. He is the Source, and His saints are just wires. He is the Sun, and his saints are but mirrors reflecting His light. And if a person approaches the shrine with relics and makes a wish or believes that by kissing it all his problems will be solved, this is paganism and idolatry.

Everything about the nature of prayer has been said before me by the holy fathers, who were practicing Christians. Briefly describe this practice, we get three points. First, a person must approach prayer with humility: awareness of his spiritual damage and imperfection. Secondly, to understand that God and the saints see through you in real time is a kind of experience of standing before the Lord. Thirdly, pray as if your whole life depended on this prayer.

about the pilgrimage and veneration of the holy relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra of Lycia:

- Saint Nicholas and miracle worker, as revered as St. Sergius among our people, for almost two months of his stay in the Russian Land, gathered two million people with his relics. And it was a genuine pilgrimage associated with a feat, with overcoming difficulties. People stood and stand for hours to venerate the relics. I was told how elderly and unhealthy people were offered to go ahead without a queue, but they refused, saying: “It is important for me not only to venerate the relics - it is important for me to stand, it is important for me to pray” ...

We bring repentance, prayer and, of course, requests to the holy relics

And what drives people? Nothing material. From this they receive neither comfort, nor monetary reward, nor honor, nor respect, and many also slander honest pilgrims. But believers do not seek praise from people, they do not seek immediate visible well-being. They turn to the saints with the most intimate, they believe their souls, they pray for themselves, for their relatives and friends - and they know that before the holy relics, where Divine grace is of special power, their prayers come true.

Some are perplexed and ask us: how do you, living in the 21st century in a European country, keep such faith? What does all this mean? I met with some Western sociologists who interrogated me with prejudice what is behind all this - believing that this, like mass political actions, has a simple human explanation: it is beneficial for someone to change power, someone wants it to protect, someone fights for their economic rights, someone thinks that he should be in power, and, uniting with like-minded people, people really come out in droves. But all this is so far from what happens during the pilgrimage! We pray to saints not in order to gain power, and not in order to have more money. We pray about the most important thing - about our inner, spiritual, innermost things, for each of us. We bring repentance, prayer and, of course, requests to the holy relics - for ourselves, for our relatives and friends, for our Fatherland, for our Church. And we know for sure that the saints, gifted by God, answer our prayers.

(Word of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
on the day of memory of St. Sergius of Radonezh
at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, July 18)

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In Orthodoxy there are a number of saints whom the faithful revere most of all. Among them, St. Nicholas is distinguished, whose image is located in almost every house next to the faces of the Mother of God and Jesus Christ. Also in any temple you can find the face of a saint, venerate and say a prayer to him. In addition, every believer turns to him with his most cherished desires and hopes for a miracle, because it is not without reason that he is called the Miracle Worker.

Who is Nicholas the Wonderworker

There is such information that immediately after the death of the saint, myrrh began to emanate from the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker, after which strings of pilgrims reached out to him.

He has several names, but he is best known as the Miracle Worker. He is considered the patron saint of orphans, travelers and prisoners. Children know this saint very well, because they are waiting for him with gifts before Christmas. His most famous Christmas gift was the presentation of a dowry to the three daughters of a ruined rich man. Thus, they were able to find themselves worthy husbands. Many say that it was a Christmas miracle. And he is considered the prototype of Santa Claus.

People turn to him in prayers in order to:

pacify the enemies
create a miracle
heal from diseases
save from unnecessary death,
save the innocently convicted, etc.

Where are the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker

The saint died in the city of Myra, where his remains were buried. But since over time they began to stream myrrh, it was decided to build a basilica over the grave. Then a little later, in its place, the Church of St. Nicholas arose, which has survived to this day. It was in it until 1087 that the relics of the Pleaser of God were kept. But it so happened that the Italians from the city of Bari decided to steal the relics and transport them to their homeland. They took the remains and transported them to the city of Bari, where they placed them in the church of St. Stephen. A year later, a new church was built and consecrated - the Basilica of St. Nicholas, in which the remains are to this day.

Since most of the remains were stolen from the tomb during their raid, the locals tried to hide small fragments. But during the crusade, the Italians found them and took them to Venice, where the church of St. Nicholas was built on the island of Lido, where they are kept.

This saint is also considered the patron saint of sailors. In the Russian Orthodox Church there are 3 days of veneration of the miracle worker of Myra:

December 19 - the day of death,
May 22 - the day of bringing the relics to the city of Bari,
August 11 - Christmas.

Many people ask about in which churches there are the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The answer to this question is not difficult. There are a large number of temples where at least a small part of the relics is located. You can get acquainted with a more detailed list on the Internet pages.

How to apply to the remains

If you still decide to visit the temple with the relics of the saint, then you should know how to properly venerate the relics of Nicholas. There are certain unwritten rules for applying to the remains of a saint that every believer should know:

approaching the face, the Cross or the Gospel - do not rush, crowd and push;
it is advisable to leave bags and packages for someone;
it is not customary to apply with painted lips;
before applying, you need to make 2 waist bows, while being baptized, and the third after; this should be done not after kissing, but after anointing.
when applying, it is not allowed to kiss the saints on the face.

And the most basic rule is that it is necessary to perform these actions with pure thoughts, sincere faith and bright thoughts.

For the first time in history, a particle of the relics of the most revered Russian saint, Nicholas the Wonderworker, was brought to Russia. The shrine will stay in Russia until July 28.

Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis agreed on this during a historic meeting in Havana. From May 22 to July 12, they will be available for worship at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, and after that they will be transported to St. Petersburg, presumably to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

The event is unique, for almost a thousand years the relics lay in the temple under a multi-ton marble slab in the Italian city of Bari. The shrine was brought to Moscow in a special ark on May 21, the day before for the memory of Nicholas the Wonderworker. The very next day, believers could venerate the shrine, which 18,600 people did. In the first days, the flow of pilgrims was so great that the press secretary of the Patriarch, priest Alexander Volkov, had to gather journalists and explain the rules of the pilgrimage: do not strive for worship in the early days and do not create a stir, do not look for an easy way to the shrine. “If we in Moscow cannot stand a three-four-five hour queue, then why do we need all this? The point is that a person makes some, at least a short pilgrimage to the shrine, spends at least some time, his physical strength and would use some effort to bow to the holy saint of God. Otherwise, there would be no point in this worship. Like in a store: you came, took something for some money and went back. This is not a store, but the church," said the priest.

4 hours average queue time

It seems that the organizers have provided for everything. A special website nikola2017.ru, where you can see where the line starts today, get acquainted with the rules for accessing the shrine, find the phone numbers of the headquarters, and read about the saint. Following the instructions, I look at the summary of the status of the queue on the site. At 12.00 the end of the line should have been looked for in the Frunzenskaya metro area.

Orientation, of course, conditional, the number of those seeking to bow cannot be predicted. At 16.00 it was easier to look for the end of the queue at the Park Kultury station. At the turnstiles at the exit are two girls in light green capes - these are volunteers. You can ask them for directions. "Straight and to the right, you'll see there," they advise. At the exit from the subway, the "light green" girls are again met. They tell in more detail: "Directly, there is a traffic light and a bulldozer, cross the road and you will see." A traffic light and a bulldozer were found, but the end of the queue was not.

I try to be a volunteer pointing the right way. As we walk, I ask the pilgrims why they need these searches. They are joking. But one of them, Marina from Moscow, says that her dream is simple - to get married. Her dream is in tune with the majority of Russians, for whom the family is one of the main reasons for happiness, as well as children and health (VTsIOM).

The safety of the pilgrims is monitored by more than two thousand peace officers. Polite guards in camouflage tell you how to find the entrance. The sentry regulates traffic, giving priority to pedestrians. Volunteers help throughout the queue. An ambulance is on duty. For those who did not have time to take a sandwich with them, paid food was organized in the field kitchens.

Some pilgrims are on duty at night, special buses have been prepared for them, but there is no point in spending the night, on average, the queue moves from two to four hours, the press center of the headquarters told RG. - Volunteers are on duty inside the temple, who can also provide the necessary assistance. One should venerate the shrine once, without delay.

Access to the relics is open until July 12 daily from 8.00 to 21.00. With a large flow of pilgrims, the organizers advise queuing before 17.00 in order to get to the temple before closing time.

Nikolai the Wonderworker, aka Nikolai Ugodnik, aka Nikolai Mirlikiysky - lived about 1600 years ago. According to life, he worked miracles during his lifetime. The ruined rich man, who could not marry his three daughters, threw a bag of gold. Saved sailors from storms and drowning from imminent death. He spent his large inheritance on helping those in need. It is believed that Nicholas the Wonderworker became the prototype of a kind old man who brings Christmas gifts.

What are they asking for

Nicholas the Wonderworker is considered the protector of travelers, the needy, unjustly convicted, widows and orphans. Most often, the saint is asked to heal from a serious illness, help in a hopeless situation, relieve need, get married, and keep peace in the family.

Who goes out of line

Access is restricted to people with disabilities who can use wheelchairs or crutches. A wheelchair user can only be accompanied by one person. Take your passport, disability certificate and IPR (Individual Rehabilitation or Habilitation Program) with you. The passage for the disabled is located at the intersection of Ostozhenka Street and Soimonovsky Proyezd (on the corner near the Vanil restaurant).

Help "RG"

Who is last?

With a moderate flow of pilgrims, the queue starts from the Park Kultury metro station - at the exit, turn right and go to the Krymsky Bridge to Prechistenskaya Embankment. Please note that the passage from the Kropotkinskaya metro station is closed. If the number of people wishing to touch the shrine is large or very large, the queue will be extended along the embankment towards Luzhniki, then you will need to go to the Frunzenskaya metro station, and possibly even to Vorobyovy Gory.

What to bring?

To stand in line in relative comfort, do not forget to take a supply of water and sandwiches. An umbrella will not be superfluous, which will save both from rain and from the sun. It is wise to check the weather forecast and dress appropriately. The main thing is convenient. If there is a medical indication, be sure to bring your medication with you.

People noticed that the remains of the dead saints remain incorrupt. It is a manifestation of God's will and a sign of His special favor. Therefore, the remains began to be preserved so that people could venerate them with faith for consolation and prayer.

Among Christians there were and are people who lead a righteous, holy life. Such people in Christianity began to be called saints.

Through the prayers of the saints, the Lord helps people, even after their death. The saints pray unceasingly for us already before the Throne of God.

The origins of the tradition of veneration of holy relics are in the Bible

To search for the roots of the cult of veneration of relics, let us turn to the Bible.

There is duality in the Old Testament. On the one hand, he has a negative attitude towards the remains of dead bodies:

Whoever touches the dead body of any person will be unclean for seven days.

However, at the same time, the Old Testament describes the case of the resurrection of a person through touching the remains of a righteous man:

(2 Kings 13:21)

And it came to pass that when they were burying one man, when they saw this horde, those who were burying them threw that man into the tomb of Elisha; and as he fell, he touched the bones of Elisha, and revived, and stood up on his feet.

The New Testament mentions healing with things taken from the deceased:

(Acts 19:12)

So they put handkerchiefs and aprons from his body on the sick, and their illnesses stopped, and evil spirits came out of them.

The apostle Paul points to the presence of God in every person:

Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

The Apocryphal Book of the Wisdom of Solomon says:

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and torment will not touch them.

Apocrypha - a church book not recognized by the official church

The cult of veneration of relics developed by the 8th century. efforts of the Church Fathers

The cult of veneration of relics was developed in the writings of the Fathers of the Church.

Basil the Great wrote: “Whoever touches the bones of a martyr receives a certain message of sanctification through the grace that dwells in the body of the martyr.”

John Chrysostom wrote:

“... just as the imperial crown, adorned on all sides with precious stones, emits a variety of brilliance, so the bodies of the holy martyrs, dotted with precious stones, as it were, ulcers raised for the Lord, are more precious and worthy of any imperial crown”

“... the sight of one garment of the dead or one word reproduced in thought often encourages the soul and revives a weakening memory. That is why God gave us the remains of the saints!”

John of Damascus in his Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith devoted a whole chapter to the analysis of the veneration of relics. He writes about the saints: “These have become God’s inner dwellings and His pure abodes, for, says God, I will dwell in them and walk around, and God will be them.”

“According to the law, anyone who touched the dead was called unclean, but these are not dead. For after He who is life itself, the Author of life, has been reckoned among the dead, we do not call those who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and with faith in Him dead. For how can a dead body work wonders?”

“The Lord Christ gave us the relics of the saints as saving sources that exude various blessings and pour out fragrant myrrh ... Through the relics of the saints, demons are expelled, illnesses are repelled, the weak are healed, the blind see, lepers are cleansed, temptations and sorrows cease, and every good gift from the Father of lights descends upon those who ask with undoubted faith."

Ephraim the Syrian in the "Word to all the martyrs" writes:

“The dead act like the living, heal the sick, cast out demons, and by the power of Christ remove all obscene power, for in the holy remains there is always the grace of the Holy Spirit, performing all miracles in them.”

As a result, the dogma on the veneration of relics was adopted at the VIII Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, along with the dogma on the veneration of icons.

The relics are stored in the temple in specially equipped places

Holy relics are stored in different ways:

In crabs. Cancer - a box with holy relics, usually made in the form of a coffin. Cancers are installed in temples and monasteries.

Shrines of especially revered saints are made of expensive materials and are richly decorated.

If the cancer is not opened for worship, then they say that it is kept "under a bushel."

In arks. An ark is a small box for relics. Arks can be with several compartments - then the relics of various saints can be placed in it.

They try to make arks from expensive and reliable materials and decorate them richly.

The relics in the ark are placed under the altar of the temple during the consecration. In this case, they read a prayer: “The Lord Himself, the Good Giver of This, with the prayers of the saints, you also favored the position of relics in this honest altar of Your being, vouchsafe us uncondemnedly bloodless to You on it to offer sacrifice.”

In reliquaries. A relic is a common name for any place where relics are kept. Usually, a reliquary is understood as a pectoral cross with particles of relics, which protects the person wearing it.

The cross-shaped reliquary is called the encolpion.

in reliquaries. A reliquary is an exquisitely made and richly decorated reliquary, which is usually made in the form of a church. Reliquaries have become widespread in Catholic countries.

To properly venerate the relics of the saints, you must follow a few rules

The rules for the correct application to the relics are extremely simple:

Before the shrine of the saint, two bows to the earth must be made;
After the bows, you need to cross yourself;
After having crossed himself, you can touch the shrine with relics;
If the relics are open, you can venerate the arm or leg, but not the face;

You can’t touch the saint’s face - in the Orthodox Church, such an act is considered impudent.

During the application, one must mentally turn to the saint, ask for help;
After applying, you need to cross yourself, bow and move away from the shrine.

At the relics they read a prayer to the saint

There are no special prayers for reading before the relics. They read a prayer to the saint, to whose relics a person wants to venerate. Prayer is not read at the relics out of respect for other people - after all, when the holy relics are brought, a line of believers line up to them who want to venerate and receive divine grace.

Often, instead of relics, they are applied to the icon of a saint

The holy relics themselves are not always opened for application. This is done for their best safety. In this case, people kiss the icon of the saint. There is nothing wrong with this - the Lord will hear and help if the one who turns to him believes and is pure in soul.

To venerate the relics of Matrona, people stand in line for a long time

In Russia, the cult of veneration of relics is extremely widely developed. The relics of the Holy Matrona of Moscow are especially widely venerated.

Early blind Matrona became famous during her lifetime as a healer and fortune teller. The Lord gave her strength and the ability to help people.

Miraculous relics are stored in the Intercession Monastery in Moscow. It is located at st. Taganskaya, 58. You can visit the monastery every day, and it is not difficult to get to it: you need to take the metro to the Marxistskaya station, get off at Taganskaya street and walk to the monastery (15 minutes). There is also public transport, you need to get to the stop "Bolshaya Andronievskaya" on it.