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Saint Nicholas the holy prince of Chernigov. Venerable Nikola Svyatosha (Svyatoslav), Prince

15.03.2024

“The image of this world is passing away... Dominion passes from nation to nation... The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers and sets the meek in their place” (1 Cor.7:31; Sirach.10:8,17). The noble Prince Nikola from his earliest youth understood this fragility of fleeting dominion on earth. He clearly saw that only in heaven there exists an imperishable, eternally abiding kingdom, filled with those ineffable eternal blessings that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Therefore, he - just like the Indian prince Joasaph once - left the glory and wealth, honor and power of his temporary, earthly reign for the sake of the eternal, heavenly kingdom and, having come to the Pechersk monastery, put on the holy monastic order. In monasticism, Blessed Nicholas shone so brightly with the holiness of his life that everyone, seeing his good deeds, zealously glorified the Lord for him. And above all, he excelled in obedience. At first, Saint Nicholas worked for the brethren in a cookery; here he chopped wood with his own hands and humbly carried it from the shore on his shoulders, diligently doing everything else that was necessary for cooking. He had already worked a lot when his brothers Izyaslav and Vladimir learned about his exploits; they began to keep him from such work. But this true novice begged them with tears to allow him to work for the brethren for one more year in the cookery. And here he served the brethren with full diligence and zeal for three whole years. After this, as a proven man and capable of everything, he was assigned to guard the monastery gates, and in this obedience, without leaving anywhere except the church, he also spent three years. From there he was assigned to serve at the fraternal meal; and he performed this obedience with zeal and such diligence that he enjoyed the favor of all the brethren.

Having thus gracefully passed through all these degrees of obedience, he, with the permission of the abbot and all the brethren, took upon himself the feat of silence in order to take care of his salvation in silence. Fulfilling this obedience, he built a garden at his cell with his own hands, and throughout all the years of his monastic life he was never seen idle; he always had some kind of work in his hands, and on his lips continuously this Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!” He never ate anything other than the common monastic food at meals, and then in small quantities. If, against his wishes, as a prince, he had to receive something from those close to him, then he immediately distributed it all to the needs of wanderers, the poor and for church buildings, so that many books were purchased for the church with his funds.

This blessed prince, even during his possession of his principality, had with him a very skilled doctor named Peter, a Syrian by birth, who came with him to the monastery. This doctor, seeing his master’s voluntary poverty, left him and lived in Kyiv, treating many there. However, he repeatedly came to the blessed one and, seeing him in great hardship and immeasurable fasting, serving in the kitchen and as a guard at the monastery gates, he exhorted him to leave this way of life:

Prince, you should take care of your health so that through excessive labor and abstinence you do not completely weaken your flesh, for if you become exhausted, the yoke that you, for Christ’s sake, wished to take upon yourself will become unbearable for you. After all, God does not seek fasting or deeds beyond one’s strength, but only a pure and humble heart. You work for the monks like a bought slave; After all, you are not used to such need, and it is unworthy of you, since you are a prince. For your noble brothers Vladimir and Izyaslav, your poverty is sorrow and great humiliation, since from such great glory and honor you have come to such deprivation that you kill your body and, due to insufficient food, fall into illness. You previously ate delicious fruits, but now you have subjected yourself to severe hardships by eating raw herbs and dry bread. But be careful lest you fall completely ill, and then you, having no more strength, will lose your life, and I will not be able to help you; So, you are preparing an inconsolable cry for your brothers. Here are the boyars, who once served you and, thanks to you, were formerly noble - and they, having lost their hopes, regret you and are in great despondency. But they built large houses for themselves and now live in them, but you have no place to lay your head, and you sit next to the garbage heaps, then in the kitchen, then at the gate. Which of the Russian princes did this? Isn’t it already your blessed father David, or your ever-memorable grandfather Svyatoslav? And none of the boyars would have wished for such an inglorious life, except for one Varlaam, who was the abbot here. So, if you do not listen to my advice, you will die prematurely.

The doctor Peter, taught by the brothers of St. Nicholas, often spoke similar words to him when he sat with him either in the kitchen or at the gate.

The blessed one always answered him:

Brother Peter! Often thinking about the salvation of my soul, I decided that I should not spare the flesh, so that it does not enter into struggle with the spirit and does not arouse warfare in my soul. Tired by the feat of abstinence, she humbles herself, but does not become exhausted; and even if she were weak, then the apostle said: “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 2:5). And again: “The sufferings of this present time are not worth anything in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:12). God desires a humble and pure heart, but it cannot exist without fasting and asceticism, because fasting is the mother of chastity and purity. And it is also said: “He humbled their hearts with their works” (Ps. 107:12). I thank God for freeing me from worldly worries and making me a slave for His servants, these blessed monks; After all, I, being a prince, under the guise of working for them, work for the King of kings. Let my brothers take care of themselves: “Each one will bear his own burden” (Gal. 6:6). Enough for them is my inheritance, which I left along with my earthly reign in order to receive an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven: “for Him I have given up all things, and count them but rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8). Why do you threaten me with death, reproach me for my poverty and for abstaining from excessive foods? After all, when you treat a physical illness, don’t you command the patient to be abstinent, and to completely avoid certain foods? And I need to heal mental illnesses in the same way. Even if I die physically, then Christ’s “death” is my “gain” (Phil. 1:21). If I’m sitting next to garbage heaps, then why do you consider me worse than the boyars? after all, I must reign with Job, of whom it is said that he was more famous than all the sons of the east (Job 1:3).

If none of the Russian princes did this before me, then I, following the King of Heaven, will make a beginning; maybe from now on someone will imitate me, following my example. Finally, together with those who teach you, I advise you to take more care of yourself!

The following also happened many times. When this blessed prince, tired of the feat of obedience, fell into illness, then the doctor Peter, learning about this, immediately prepared him the medicines needed for this or that illness. But the prince always became healthy before the doctor arrived with medicine, God’s help, and never allowed himself to be treated.

One day the doctor himself had to fall ill. The blessed one sent to him to say:

If you don’t take medicine, you will soon recover, but if you don’t listen to me, you will suffer for a long time.

But the doctor did not listen and drank his medicine and, wanting to be cured of the disease, almost lost his life, although he was later healed through the prayer of the saint. When the same doctor soon fell ill again, the blessed one ordered the same message to be conveyed to him:

If you do not undergo treatment, you will recover on the third day.

Having been punished for his first disobedience, this time the doctor obeyed the blessed one and, according to his word, recovered on the third day. Blessed Nicholas at the same time was completing his obedience as a monastery gatekeeper; calling the recovered doctor, he told him:

Peter! It is appropriate for you to take monastic vows and, instead of me, work in this monastery for the Lord and His Most Pure Mother, because after three months I will depart from this world.

The doctor Peter, hearing this, fell at his feet and cried out, shedding tears:

Alas for me, my lord, my benefactor, my precious life! Who will receive me when I come here? Who will feed the orphaned and needy, who will stand up for the downtrodden, who will show mercy to many who require help? Didn’t I tell you, prince, that you would soon bring inconsolable crying to your brothers? Didn’t I tell you: Prince, take care of your life, for you can be useful to many, and in your life - the lives of many people. Didn't you heal me by the power of God and your prayer? Where are you going, good shepherd? If you yourself, my healer, fall ill, then tell me, your servant, about your illness, and if I do not cure you, then let my life and my soul be for your life and for your soul. Do not leave me in silence, my lord, but tell me where did this news come from? If from people, then I will give my life for you, and if the Lord proclaims this to you, then pray to Him that I may die in your place. If you leave me, then where should I sit and cry about my loss, whether at this garbage heap where you so often sat - but they won’t let me in here either. And will I be able to inherit anything from your estate when you yourself are naked? Are these these patched rags that you are wearing? But even in those, when you depart from the world, you will be placed. Grant, at least to me - just as Elijah did to Elisha of old - your prayer, so that I can share with it the depths of my heart and the waters of my life and go to a place of distant shelter, to the house of God, where you now want to go. And the beast, after all, after sunset understands that he needs to go and lie down in his lair, but I don’t know where I will go after your departure. And the bird “And the bird finds a place for itself, and a swallow finds 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 a place for yourself: where will you leave me? - Raising the crying doctor, the blessed one said to him: - Peter! Do not complain: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Ps. 118:9). The Lord knows how to preserve His creation, which He Himself created. He will take care to feed the hungry, intercede for the poor and save those in trouble, and He will be a refuge for you. Let my brothers according to the flesh cry not about me, but about themselves and about their deeds, in the deplorable vale of this world, in order to receive consolation and bliss in the future. For the sake of temporary life, I do not need healing, because I have long since died for everything temporary: “The dead will not live” (Is. 26:14) (speaking by nature), as Isaiah says.

Having said this, blessed Nikola Svyatosha, together with the doctor, went to the cave and prepared a place for his grave there. At the same time, he told the doctor:

Which of us loves this place more?

Peter answered weeping:

I know that if you wish, you will pray to the Lord that you may live longer, and put me here.

The blessed one told him:

Let it be as you wish, if it pleases the Lord. So, let us both pray to Him, but only in the monastic rite.

Then, on the advice of the blessed one, the doctor took monastic vows and spent three months in prayer, incessantly, day and night, shedding tears.

One day blessed Nikola said to him:

Brother Peter, do you want me to take you with me? He, as before, answered him with tears:

I wish you would let me die for you, and you stay here and pray for me.

The blessed one told him:

Brother, take heart and be ready, because, according to your desire, on the third day you will depart from this life.

When the predicted time arrived, Peter, having received the holy and life-giving Mysteries of Christ, lay down on his bed and gave up his spirit in the hands of the Lord. After the death of the doctor, blessed Prince Nikola Svyatosha labored for another thirty years without leaving the monastery and, having achieved, according to his nickname, perfection in a holy life, he reposed in eternal life to the Most Holy of all saints, the King of humility - Jesus. On the day of the death of this holy prince, almost the entire city of Kyiv gathered, giving him the last kiss and asking for his prayers with copious tears.

The brothers of the blessed one, Izyaslav and Vladimir, especially cried. Izyaslav turned to the abbot of the monastery with a request that he give him the cross of the deceased, the pillow and the bench on which he knelt for blessing and consolation. The abbot, giving them to him, said:

According to your faith, may you receive help from these things in what you desire.

Izyaslav, having received these objects with great reverence, sent a lot of gold to the monastery so that it would not be for nothing that his brother would receive these things.

This same Izyaslav once fell severely ill and did not even hope to get up from his bed. At this time, his wife, children and all the boyars were with him. Some time passed like this; then the patient, having recovered somewhat, stood up and asked to drink water from the Pechersk well. But soon he lost his tongue again and after that he could no longer say anything. They sent it to the Pechersk Monastery and took there in a vessel the water with which they had previously washed the tomb of the Monk Theodosius. The abbot also handed over the hair shirt of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha, so that his body could be dressed in it. And the messenger with water and hair shirt had not yet returned when Prince Izyaslav said:

Hurry up and go to meet the Reverend Fathers Theodosius and Nikola outside the city.

When the messenger entered with a hair shirt and water, the prince exclaimed again:

Nikola, Nikola Svyatosha!

They gave him that water to drink, dressed him in a hair shirt, and he soon became healthy, and everyone glorified God and His saints.

Since then, Izyaslav always put on this hair shirt when he fell ill, and immediately became healthy. In addition, he always had this hair shirt on him when he went to war, and thus remained unharmed. Having sinned once, he did not dare to put it on himself and that time he was killed in the war; however, he ordered in advance to bury himself in it.

So we too, relying on the prayers of this reverend prince, of whose salvation we have obvious news, may we be honored by the power of his prayers to receive healing from all diseases and ulcers, both temporary and eternal - by the grace of the King of humility, and together with the King of glory Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, to Him be glory with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Troparion of St. Nicholas Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk Wonderworker, in the Near Caves

You left the Fatherland and the glory of your reign, / You zealously followed the Prince of humility, Christ, / Our Reverend Father Nikolo; / Thus you received from Him the eternal kingdom and glory in Heaven, / Where, rejoicing, remember us who honor your memory faithfully.

Kontakion of St. Nicholas Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk Wonderworker, in the Near Caves

All the red of this world / and perishable wealth having been counted as nothing, / you have been enriched by many miracles and signs from Christ God, / standing before Him in joy, / remember us, who honor your memory with love, and we call you: / Rejoice, most wonderful Nikolo.

Nikolai Svyatosha was the first Rurikovich to become a saint

A beautiful name, like his grandfather, Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who founded the Great Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. The boy began to be affectionately called Saint (which was the custom then, for example Stanislav - Stanisha, Dobyslav - Dobysha). The nickname turned out to be providential and prophetic.

For us, the image of this man came from the depths of history as the image of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha.

The “Life of St. Nicholas Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk miracle worker, resting in nearby caves” tells that he was the son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich, the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise.

Rev. Nicholas Svyatosha

Upon reaching adulthood, he married (his wife's name was Anna) and had children. One of his daughters was married to Saint Vsevolod, the Pskov prince. In 1097, Svyatoslav-Pankraty was the prince of Lutsk, but in the same year, besieged by Bonyak and Prince David Olgovich, he voluntarily left Lutsk and went to his allotment, Chernigov. The villages of Pakul and Navoz that belonged to him with the surrounding area near the Dnieper were subsequently given to him by the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. According to the chronicle, the prince also owned the lands of Borshchagovka, bordering the territory where the Svyatoshinsky district of the capital is located today.

Having arranged the life of his wife and children, the pious 26-year-old prince decided to “leave glory and wealth, honor and power of reign” and came to the Pechersky Monastery, where in February 1106 he became a monk with the name Nicholas, greatly surprising the public with his act.

In the same year, on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the first stone of the famous Trinity Gate Church of the future Lavra was laid. It was placed on the second floor on the monastery wall. They say that in the spring, perhaps on the last Sunday of April according to the new style, that is, even before Trinity, Nikolai Svyatosha planted the first tree in his Lavra garden. Therefore, this year marks the 906th anniversary of the event.

The garden was not where it is now, above the Near Caves, but at the hospital. The Saint also founded it: a small monastery and a hospital attached to it, right on the Lavra corner.

St. Nicholas Church and former wards of the monastery hospital

To the north-west of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra, next to the Trinity Church, there is the entrance to the former St. Nicholas Hospital Monastery with a church in the name of St. Nicholas, founded by the Monk St. Nicholas the Svyatosha. Here he spent the rest of his days, caring for the elderly and sick monks. In 1902-1903, according to the design of architect Evgeny Ermakov, a two-story pharmacy building with a bell tower was built on the site of old buildings. This pharmacy was the largest in Kyiv and was very popular in the city. Currently, this building houses the State Historical Library. The reserve's service premises are located in the church and other buildings of the hospital monastery.

We can also think about the fact that in his worship of the Holy Trinity, Nikola Svyatosha became the forerunner of the teaching about the Holy Trinity of St. Sergius of Radonezh, thanks to which we have now found both the Trinity Lavra and the most famous and beautiful Rublev icon.

“For three years,” writes Blessed Simon, “Nicholas spent in the kitchen, working for the brethren, with his own hands he chopped wood for cooking for the brethren, and often carried water from the bank of the Dnieper on his shoulders.” Having undergone various obediences, St. Nicholas imposed a vow of silence on himself. When he received money, he used it to decorate the temple, to buy books (for he loved reading books), or distributed it to the poor. In all his years of monasticism, he was never seen idle, always in work and prayer.

Trinity, the main gate of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

The saint sat down for a long time at the entrance gate of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, which everyone who comes to the Lavra sees today.

Only once, as legend says, did this prayer book leave his post. Nikola was 62 years old when Grand Duke Vsevolod Olgovich was attacked by aggressive Chernigov relatives. The saint reconciled the warring parties, but went through strong experiences that led to his death. The ascetic died in his garden near the Lavra gate.

And the ascetic answered: “Brother Peter, I thought a lot about the salvation of my soul and decided that it is not necessary to spare the flesh, so that it does not burden the spirit with lusts and does not rebel against me in struggle. Tormented by abstinence and labor, she will humble herself and not become exhausted; and even if she were weak, then as the Lord said to the Apostle: My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) ... "

Crosses of St. Nicholas Svyatoshi. Found during restoration work in the Trinity Gate Church. Kievan Rus. 12th century

An amazing thing happened: Peter listened to Nikola Svyatoshi’s answer with tears and took monastic vows. Moreover, according to the words of the saint who said “take heart, brother, and be ready; in three days, according to your desire, you will depart from this life,” he “lay down on his bed and gave up his spirit into the hands of the Lord.”

And the blessed Prince Svyatosha labored in the monastery for another 30 years, without leaving the monastery.

All of Kyiv gathered for the burial of Nikola Svyatosha, many shed tears over him, and his brothers Vladimir and Izyaslav especially mourned his death. Izyaslav sent to the abbot with a prayer to give him for blessing and consolation the cross of his deceased brother, the head and the platform on which the blessed one bowed. Having received these things, he carefully kept them and donated a lot of gold to the monastery to thank him for the memory of his brother.

However, the story of the miraculous life of Nikola Svyatoshi continued after his death. Izyaslav once fell very ill, was already close to death and, asking for water from the Pechersk well, fell silent. At the Pechersky Monastery they took water, washing it with the coffin of St. Theodosius of Pechersk, the founder of the monastery. The abbot also gave those sent the hair shirt of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha, brother of Izyaslav, to help them. It’s amazing: before the messengers arrived at Izyaslav’s bed with water and a hair shirt, the numb, sick man opened his mouth and said: “Go quickly out of the city to meet the Reverend Fathers Theodosius and Nicholas!” And when the messenger entered with water and hair shirt, Prince Izyaslav again exclaimed: “Nicholas the Svyatosha!”

Reliquary with the honorable relics of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha in the Anthony Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra

After drinking that water and putting on a hair shirt, Izyaslav was healed. And since then he always wore a hair shirt for healing, as well as in battles. “Once, after a sin, he did not dare to put it on himself and then he 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 Nikola Svyatoshi rest in the Antoniev (Near Caves). A special service has been compiled for St. Nicholas.

Monument to Nikola Svyatosha in Kiev Svyatoshin

On February 17, 2006, on the day of the 900th anniversary of Prince Svyatoslav, the first of the Rurikovichs, taking monastic vows with the name Nikola, residents of the Svyatoshinsky microdistrict of Kyiv opened a memorial (sculptor Evgeniy Derevyanko) using funds from the local budget.

Assumption Cathedral in Serpukhov

In 1744, the stone Church of the Assumption was built. Damaged by a fire in 1817, it was rebuilt and consecrated in 1854. In this church, which we see in the photo, there are three chapels: in the name of the holy Apostle John the Theologian, the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and in the name of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha (in the lower tier of the bell tower). During Soviet times, the Assumption Church was closed, and the rector, Archpriest Alexy Sinaisky, was shot at the Butovo training ground in 1938.

And the Church of Matthew the Apostle and Paraskeva Friday of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery near Moscow was built in 1854 in a building with abbots’ cells on the ground floor under the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1763). The church was closed along with the monastery in 1925 and restored in 1994. From the outside it stands out with a protrusion with a golden head. This temple was built at the expense of a certain Alexandrov, a close friend of Archimandrite Pimen. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, the temple had a black iconostasis with silver decorations, chased copper, slotted and silver-plated Royal Doors. It was in this temple, or rather, in front of the entrance to the temple, that there stood the coffin from under the relics of the 12th century Russian saint Nikola Svyatoshi.

In the foreground with a golden dome is the Church of St. Matthew the Apostle and Paraskeva Pyatnitsa of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery

Thus the second voice in the Troparion proclaims to Nikola the Saint, Prince of Chernigov: “You have left the Fatherland and the glory of your reign, You have diligently followed the Prince of Humility, Christ, O Reverend Father Nikolo; Thus you received from Him eternal kingdom and glory in Heaven, where, rejoicing, remember us who honor your memory faithfully."

Mikhail KHUSTOCHKA, “One Motherland”

- (before baptism Svyatoslav, in baptism Pankraty) son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich, in 1107 he took monastic vows at the Pechersk monastery. He spent 6 years of experience at the monastery cook and as a gatekeeper, against which his brothers strongly rebelled... ... Biographical Dictionary

Nikolai Svyatosha

Nikolai Svyatosha- (before baptism Svyatoslav, in baptism Pankraty) son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich, in 1107 he took monastic vows at the Pechersk monastery. N. spent 6 years of experience in a humiliating service for the prince as a cook and as a gatekeeper, which he was strongly against... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

Nikolai Svyatosha- son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavovich, took monastic vows in 1107 in the Pechersk monastery, was an ascetic; memory October 14... Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary

Nikolai (disambiguation)- Nikolai is a male name. Personalities known by the name of Pope Nicholas I, Pope of Rome in 858-867. Nicholas II Pope in 1059-1061. Nicholas III Pope in 1277-1280. Nicholas IV Pope... ... Wikipedia

Nikola Svyatosha- Reverend, son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich and grandson of Svyatoslav. At birth he was given the name Svyatoslav, and at baptism Nicholas. Subsequently, he was nicknamed the Saint for his piety. In the world he was distinguished by his abusive exploits. In 1099... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

October 14- ← October → Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 … Wikipedia

VSEVOLOD (GABRIIL) MSTISLAVICH- (approx. 1095/1100 10/11.02.1138), bgv. book (memorial: February 11, November 27, April 22, in the 3rd week after Pentecost in the Cathedral of Pskov Saints). Printing the book. Vsevolod Mstislavich. 1117 1136 Look up. (NGOMZ) Print book. Vsevolod Mstislavich. 1117 1136 years ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Holy princes- The list of holy princes includes saints canonized by the Orthodox Church who were members of the ruling dynasties of Rus' and Russia. Locally revered saints are marked in gray, canonized in green under Nicholas II, pink after... ... Wikipedia

Trinity Gate Church- located above the Holy Gates, the entrance to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra ... Wikipedia

Books

Sovereign's mark. First edition, Evgeny Trimoruk, “The Sovereign’s Brand” - in the capital of independent Evgetia, the former president of the country Nikolai Kolchak, nicknamed Svyatosha, is to be executed. While waiting for his death, Nikolai ponders why this happened and... Category:

Svyatoshino, the intriguing name of the Kyiv district, comes from the nickname “Svyatosha”, which our ancestors awarded to one of the Russian princes. Now in Kyiv on Vernadsky Avenue, opposite the Svyatoshinsky District State Administration, a monument has been erected to an amazing fellow countryman, the first saint of the Rurikovichs, whose memory is celebrated on October 14/27. He was born before the Crusades, in 1080. Then the prince was given two names - in the old Slavic pagan tradition, and in baptism. According to the patron saint, the prince was named Pankratiy, and according to pagan custom - Svyatoslav, a beautiful name, like his grandfather, Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who founded the Great Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. The boy began to be affectionately called Saint (which was the custom then, for example Stanislav - Stanisha, Dobyslav - Dobysha). The nickname turned out to be providential and prophetic. For us, the image of this man came from the depths of history as the image of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha.

Rev. Nicholas Svyatosha

In the “Life of the Venerable Nicholas Svyatosha, Prince of Chernigov, Pechersk miracle worker, resting in nearby caves,” it is said that he was the son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich, the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. Upon reaching adulthood, he married (his wife's name was Anna) and had children; one of his daughters was married to Saint Vsevo-Lod, the Pskov prince. In 1097, Svyatoslav-Pankraty was the prince of Lutsk, but in the same year, besieged by Bonyak and Prince David Olgovich, he voluntarily left Lutsk and went to his allotment, Chernigov. The villages of Pakul and Navoz, which belonged to him, with the surrounding area near the Dnieper, were subsequently given to him by him to the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. According to the chronicle, the prince also owned the lands of Borshchagovka, bordering the territory where the Svyatoshinsky district of the capital is located today. Having arranged the life of his wife and children, the pious 26-year-old prince decided to “leave glory and wealth, honor and power of reign” and came to the Pechersky Monastery, where in February 1106 he became a monk with the name Nicholas, greatly surprising the public with his act. In the same year, on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the first stone of the famous Trinity Gate Church of the future Lavra was laid. It was placed on the second floor on the monastery wall. They say that in the spring, perhaps on the last Sunday of April according to the new style, that is, even before Trinity, Nikolai Svyatosha planted the first tree in his Lavra garden. Therefore, this year marks the 905th anniversary of the event. The garden was not where it is now, above the Near Caves, but at the hospital. The Saint also founded it: a small monastery and a hospital attached to it, right on the Lavra corner.

St. Nicholas Church and former wards of the monastery hospital

To the northwest of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra, next to the Trinity Church, there is the entrance to the former St. Nicholas Hospital Monastery with a church in the name of St. Nicholas, founded by the Monk St. Nicholas the Svyatosha. Here he spent the rest of his days, caring for the elderly and sick monks. In 1902-1903, according to the design of architect Evgeny Ermakov, a two-story pharmacy building with a bell tower was built on the site of old buildings. This pharmacy was the largest in Kyiv and was very popular in the city. Currently, this building houses the State Historical Library. The reserve's service premises are located in the church and other buildings of the hospital monastery. We can also think about the fact that in his worship of the Holy Trinity, Nikola Svyatosha became the forerunner of the teaching about the Holy Trinity of St. Sergius of Radonezh, thanks to which we have now found both the Trinity Lavra and the most famous and beautiful Rublev icon. “For three years,” writes Blessed Simon, “Nicholas spent in the kitchen, working for the brethren, with his own hands he chopped wood for cooking for the brethren, and often carried water from the bank of the Dnieper on his shoulders.” Having undergone various obediences, St. Nicholas imposed a vow of silence on himself. When he received money, he used it to decorate the temple, to buy books (for he loved reading books), or distributed it to the poor. In all his years of monasticism, he was never seen idle, always in work and prayer. The saint sat down for a long time at the entrance gate of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, which everyone who comes to the Lavra sees today.

Trinity, the main gate of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

Crosses of St. Nicholas Svyatoshi. Found during restoration work in the Trinity Gate Church. Kievan Rus. 12th century

The admonitions that a certain healer Peter addressed to Nikola on behalf of the brother princes on behalf of the brother princes are still read today: “The boyars who served you, who were proud of you, now, having lost their hope in you, regret you and are cast into despondency, but all - after all, they live in rich houses that they built for themselves, but you have nowhere to lay your head and nowhere to sit, only on trash heaps, sometimes near the cook, sometimes at the gate. Which of the Russian princes did this - your blessed father David or your ever-memorable grandfather Svyatoslav? Not even one of the boyars wished for the inglorious path of such a life, only Varlaam, who was the abbot here. Therefore, if you do not listen to my advice, you will die before your destiny.” And the ascetic answered: “Brother Peter, I thought a lot about the salvation of my soul and decided that it is not necessary to spare the flesh, so that it does not burden the spirit with lusts and does not rebel against me in struggle. Tormented by abstinence and labor, she will humble herself and not become exhausted; and even if she were weak, then as the Lord said to the Apostle: My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)....”

An amazing thing happened: Peter listened to Nikola Svyatoshi’s answer with tears and took monastic vows. Moreover, according to the words of the saint, who said, “Be bold, brother, and be ready; in three days, according to your desire, you will depart from this life,” he “lay down on his bed and gave up his spirit into the hands of the Lord.” And the blessed Prince Svyatosha labored in the monastery for another 30 years, without leaving the monastery. All of Kyiv gathered for the burial of Nikola Svyatosha, many shed tears over him, and his brothers Vladimir and Izyaslav especially mourned his death. Izyaslav sent to the abbot with a prayer to give him for blessing and consolation the cross of his deceased brother, the head and the platform on which the blessed one bowed. Having received these things, he carefully kept them and donated a lot of gold to the monastery to thank him for the memory of his brother. However, the story of the miraculous life of Nikola Svyatoshi continued after his death. Izyaslav once fell very ill, was already close to death and, asking for water from the Pechersk well, fell silent. At the Pechersky Monastery they took water, washing it with the coffin of St. Theodosius of Pechersk, the founder of the monastery. The abbot also gave those sent the hair shirt of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha, brother of Izyaslav, to help them. It’s amazing: before the messengers arrived at Izyaslav’s bed with water and a hair shirt, the numb, sick man opened his mouth and said: “Go quickly out of the city to meet the Reverend Fathers Theodosius and Nicholas!” And when the messenger entered with water and hair shirt, Prince Izyaslav again exclaimed: “Nicholas the Svyatosha!” After drinking that water and putting on a hair shirt, Izyaslav was healed. And since then he always wore a hair shirt for healing, as well as in battles. “Once, after a sin, he did not dare to put it on himself and then he 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 Nikola Svyatoshi rest in the Antoniev (Near Caves). A special service has been compiled for St. Nicholas.

Reliquary with the honest relics of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha in the Anthony Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Let us listen to the words of Blessed Simon, who ended the story about St. Nicholas the Holy One with this appeal: “What did you do like that? Did you leave behind any 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...” On February 17, 2006, on the day of the 900th anniversary of Prince Svyatoslav, the first of the Rurikovichs, taking monastic vows with the name Nikola, residents of the Svyatoshinsky microdistrict of Kyiv opened a memorial (sculptor Evgeniy Derevyanko) using funds from the local budget.

Monument to Nikola Svyatosha in Kiev Svyatoshin

St. Nicholas the Svyatosha, the Kiev-Pechersk ascetic, is revered today throughout Rus'. In particular, in the city of Serpukhov, in a suburb adjacent to the fortress, but located upstream of the Nara River, there is a picturesque group of churches. Closer to the river and the ramparts, on a stone-lined hill, stands the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A wooden temple on this site was first mentioned in 1620. In 1352, 1426 and 1693, Serpukhov was visited by a pestilence; once the city almost completely died out: according to legend, only six families remained at that time. The dead were buried near the Church of the Assumption in a common grave; this place was called a “poor house.” In 1744, the stone Church of the Assumption was built. Damaged by a fire in 1817, it was rebuilt and consecrated in 1854. In this church, which we see in the photo, there are three chapels: in the name of the holy Apostle John the Theologian, the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and in the name of St. Nicholas the Svyatosha (in the lower tier of the bell tower). During Soviet times, the Assumption Church was closed, and the rector, Archpriest Alexy Sinaisky, was shot at the Butovo training ground in 1938.

Assumption Cathedral in Serpukhov

And the Church of Matthew the Apostle and Paraskeva Friday of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery near Moscow was built in 1854 in a building with abbots’ cells on the ground floor under the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1763). The church was closed along with the monastery in 1925 and restored in 1994. From the outside it stands out with a protrusion with a golden head. This temple was built at the expense of P. M. Alexandrov, a close friend of Archimandrite Pimen. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, the temple had a black iconostasis with silver decorations, copper, chased, slotted and silvered Royal Doors. It was in this temple, or rather, in front of the entrance to the temple, that there stood the coffin from under the relics of the 12th century Russian saint Nikola Svyatoshi.

In the foreground, with a golden dome, is the Church of St. Matthew the Apostle and Paraskeva Pyatnitsa of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery.

Thus proclaims the second voice in the Troparion to St. Nicholas the Holy, Prince of Chernigov:

He left the fatherland and the glory of your reign,
Thou didst diligently follow 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.

Reverend Nikola (or otherwise Svyatoslav), Prince of Chernigov, was the great-grandson of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and the son of Prince David Svyatoslavich of Chernigov.

The noble Prince Nikola 1 from his earliest youth understood this fragility of fleeting dominion on earth. He clearly saw that only in heaven there exists an imperishable, eternally abiding kingdom, filled with those ineffable eternal blessings that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Therefore, he - just like the once Indian prince Joasaph 2 - left the glory and wealth, honor and power of his temporary, earthly reign for the sake of the eternal, heavenly kingdom and, having come to the Pechersk monastery, put on the holy monastic order 3. In monasticism, Blessed Nicholas shone so brightly with the holiness of his life that everyone, seeing his good deeds, zealously glorified the Lord for him. And above all, he excelled in obedience. At first, Saint Nicholas worked for the brethren in a cookery; here he chopped wood with his own hands and humbly carried it from the shore on his shoulders, diligently doing everything else that was necessary for cooking. He had already worked a lot when his brothers Izyaslav and Vladimir learned about his exploits; they began to keep him from such work. But this true novice begged them with tears to allow him to work for the brethren for one more year in the cookery. And here he served the brethren with full diligence and zeal for three whole years. After this, as a proven man and capable of everything, he was assigned to guard the monastery gates, and in this obedience, without leaving anywhere except the church, he also spent three years. From there he was assigned to serve at the fraternal meal; and he performed this obedience with zeal and such diligence that he enjoyed the favor of all the brethren.

“Prince, you should take care of your health so that through excessive labor and abstinence you do not completely weaken your flesh, for if you become exhausted, the yoke that you, for Christ’s sake, wished to take upon yourself will become unbearable for you.” After all, God does not seek fasting or deeds beyond one’s strength, but only a pure and humble heart. You work for the monks like a bought slave; After all, you are not used to such need, and it is unworthy of you, since you are a prince. For your noble brothers Vladimir and Izyaslav, your poverty is sorrow and great humiliation, since from such great glory and honor you have come to such deprivation that you kill your body and, due to insufficient food, fall into illness. You previously ate delicious fruits, but now you have subjected yourself to severe hardships by eating raw herbs and dry bread. But be careful lest you fall completely ill, and then you, having no more strength, will lose your life, and I will not be able to help you; So, you are preparing an inconsolable cry for your brothers. Here are the boyars, who once served you and, thanks to you, were formerly noble - and they, having lost their hopes, regret you and are in great despondency. But they built large houses for themselves and now live in them, but you have no place to lay your head, and you sit next to the garbage heaps, then in the kitchen, then at the gate. Which of the Russian princes did this? Isn’t it already your blessed father David, or your ever-memorable grandfather Svyatoslav? And none of the boyars would have wished for such an inglorious life, except for one Varlaam 4, who was the abbot here.

So, if you do not listen to my advice, you will die prematurely.

The doctor Peter, taught by the brothers of St. Nicholas, often spoke similar words to him when he sat with him either in the kitchen or at the gate.

The blessed one always answered him:

- Brother Peter! Often thinking about the salvation of my soul, I decided that I should not spare the flesh, so that it does not enter into struggle with the spirit and does not arouse warfare in my soul. Tired by the feat of abstinence, she humbles herself, but does not become exhausted; and even if she were exhausted, then the apostle said: “ my strength is made perfect in weakness"(2 Cor. 2:5). And further: " the sufferings of this present time are worth nothing in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us"(Rom.8:12). God desires a humble and pure heart, but it cannot exist without fasting and asceticism, because fasting is the mother of chastity and purity. And it is also said: “ He humbled his heart with their works"(Ps. 106:12). I thank God for freeing me from worldly worries and making me a slave for His servants - these blessed monks; After all, I, being a prince, under the guise of working for them, work for the King of kings. Let my brothers take care of themselves: “ each one will bear his own burden"(Gal.6:6). Enough is enough for them of my inheritance, which I left along with my earthly reign in order to receive an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven: “ for Him I have given up everything and count everything as rubbish, in order to gain Christ"(Phil.3:8). Why do you threaten me with death, reproach me for my poverty and for abstaining from excessive foods? After all, when you treat a physical illness, don’t you command the patient to be abstinent, and to completely avoid certain foods? And I need to heal mental illnesses in the same way. If I die physically, then I will “ death"For Christ's sake" acquisition"(Phil.1:21). If I’m sitting next to garbage heaps, then why do you consider me worse than the boyars? after all, I must reign with Job, of whom it is said that he was more famous than all the sons of the east (Job 1:3).

One day the doctor himself had to fall ill. The blessed one sent to him to say:

“If you don’t take medicine, you will soon recover, but if you don’t listen to me, you will suffer for a long time.”

“If you don’t get treatment, you’ll recover on the third day.”

- Peter! It is appropriate for you to take monastic vows and, instead of me, work in this monastery for the Lord and His Most Pure Mother, because after three months I will depart from this world.

The doctor Peter, hearing this, fell at his feet and cried out, shedding tears:

“Alas for me, my lord, my benefactor, my precious life!” Who will receive me when I come here? Who will feed the orphaned and needy, who will stand up for the downtrodden, who will show mercy to many who require help? Didn’t I tell you, prince, that you would soon bring inconsolable crying to your brothers? Didn’t I tell you: Prince, take care of your life, for you can be useful to many, and in your life - the lives of many people. Didn't you heal me by the power of God and your prayer? Where are you going, good shepherd? If you yourself, my healer, fall ill, then tell me, your servant, about your illness, and if I do not cure you, then let my life and my soul be for your life and for your soul. Do not leave me in silence, my lord, but tell me where did this news come from? If from people, then I will give my life for you, and if the Lord proclaims this to you, then pray to Him that I may die in your place. If you leave me, then where should I sit and cry about my loss, whether at this garbage heap where you so often sat - but they won’t let me in here either. And will I be able to inherit anything from your estate when you yourself are naked? Are these these patched rags that you are wearing? But even in those, when you depart from the world, you will be placed. Grant, at least to me - just as Elijah did to Elisha of old - your prayer, so that I can share with it the depth of my heart and the waters of my life 5 and go to a place of distant shelter, to the house of God, where you now want to go. And the beast, after all, after sunset understands that he needs to go and lie down in his lair, but I don’t know where I will go after your departure. And the bird And the bird finds a home for itself, and the swallow finds a nest for itself, where to lay its chicks"(Ps. 83:4), you have been living in a monastery for six years and have not found a place for yourself: where will you leave me? Raising the crying doctor, the blessed one said to him: “Peter!” Don't complain: " It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes"(Ps. 118:9). The Lord knows how to preserve His creation, which He Himself created. He will take care to feed the hungry, intercede for the poor and save those in trouble, and He will be a refuge for you. Let my brothers according to the flesh cry not about me, but about themselves and about their deeds, in the deplorable vale of this world, in order to receive consolation and bliss in the future. For the sake of temporary life, I do not need healing, because I have long since died for everything temporary: “ The dead will not come to life” (Is. 26:14) (speaking by nature), as Isaiah says.

Having said this, blessed Nikola Svyatosha, together with the doctor, went to the cave and prepared a place for his grave there. At the same time, he told the doctor:

-Which of us loves this place more?

Peter answered weeping:

“I know that if you wish, you will pray to the Lord that you may live longer, and put me here.”

The blessed one told him:

“Let it be as you wish, if the Lord so pleases.” So, let us both pray to Him, but only in the monastic rite.

Then, on the advice of the blessed one, the doctor took monastic vows and spent three months in prayer, incessantly, day and night, shedding tears.

One day blessed Nikola said to him:

“Brother Peter, do you want me to take you with me?” He, as before, answered him with tears:

“I wish you would let me die for you, and you stay here and pray for me.”

The blessed one told him:

- Brother, dare and be ready, because, according to your desire, on the third day you will depart from this life.

When the predicted time arrived, Peter, having received the holy and life-giving Mysteries of Christ, lay down on his bed and gave up his spirit in the hands of the Lord. After the death of the doctor, blessed Prince Nikola Svyatosha labored for another thirty years without leaving the monastery and, having achieved, according to his nickname, perfection in a holy life, he reposed in eternal life to the Most Holy of all saints, the King of humility - Jesus 6. On the day of the death of this holy prince, almost the entire city of Kyiv gathered, giving him the last kiss and asking for his prayers with copious tears.

- According to your faith, may you receive help from these things in what you desire.

Izyaslav, having received these objects with great reverence, sent a lot of gold to the monastery so that it would not be for nothing that his brother would receive these things.

“Hurry up and go to meet the Reverend Fathers Theodosius and Nikola outside the city.”

When the messenger entered with a hair shirt and water, the prince exclaimed again:

- Nikola, Nikola Svyatosha!

They gave him that water to drink, dressed him in a hair shirt, and he soon became healthy, and everyone glorified God and His saints.

Note:
1 Svyatoslav Svyatosha (so named for his piety) was called Pankratiy at baptism, and Nikolai in monasticism. He was the son of the Chernigov prince David Svyatoslavich and the grandson of the Kyiv and Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, who founded the holy Pechersk Church, created by God.
2 His memory is November 19. He was the son of the Indian king Abner; his memory at the same time.
3 This was in 1107.
4 Varlaam was the first abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery; he was the son of the first Kyiv boyar John; his memory is November 19
5 That is, to dispel heartache and sadness in life. The expression was taken to correspond with the well-known story from the life of the prophet Elisha.
6 It was October 14, 1143. The relics of St. St. Nicholas the Saint rests incorruptibly in the cave of St. Anthony.

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