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Nikita Novgorodsky what they pray for. Life of Nikita of Novgorod

, Reverend

Worship, miracles

His very first life is found in the letter of Polycarp to Akindinos of the 13th century. In the year his glorification followed for church-wide veneration throughout the Russian Church. On the night of April 30, a husband with a barely noticeable beard appeared in a dream to the Novgorod Saint Pimen and said: “ Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your predecessor, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands that my relics be revealed to the people."

Waking up, Archbishop Pimen heard the bell for matins and hurried to the cathedral. On the way, he met the pious Novgorodian Isaac, who that same night also saw Saint Nikita in a dream, who ordered him to tell the bishop not to delay in opening the relics. Having heard from Isaac about the vision he had, the archbishop immediately began to open the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was lifted, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his vestments were preserved incorruptible. At the same time, a posthumous portrait was drawn from the face of the saint, the details of the appearance and vestments of the saint were clarified, and the information was sent to Metropolitan Macarius in Moscow to clarify the icon-painting tradition. The relics subsequently rested in the Church of St. Philip the Apostle.

This tradition is still honored by the Novgorod priesthood. The relics of St. Nikita now rest in the St. Sophia Cathedral, and the priests of the cathedral always venerate them before the start of the service.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 4

Having enjoyed, God-wise, abstinence / and having curbed the desire of your flesh, / you sat on the throne of the holiness / and, like a many-bright star, / enlightening the hearts of the faithful / with the dawn of your miracles, / Father pray to Saint Nikito,/ and now pray to Christ God,// yes will save our souls.

Troparion, voice 2

Desiring heavenly space, / from your youth you shut yourself up in a cramped place, / in it you were deceived by the enemy, / again with humility and obedience / you defeated the charming strongman, Nikito, / and us No, stand before Christ, pray for us all to be saved.

Memory Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod The Church honors several times a year: 12th of February(January 30, old style), may 13(April 30, old style) and May 27(14 tbsp). Saint Nikita has the grace of preservation from fire and lightning.

Life of Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod

The future Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod, was from Kyiv. In his youth, he took monastic vows at the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery and soon, despite the objections of Abbot Nikon, he wished to go into seclusion. While in retreat, Saint Nikita fell into temptation because he did not listen to Abbot Nikon, but relied on himself, taking on a difficult feat for a young monk. Kiev-Pechersk Patericon reports that he was tempted by the devil and could not resist it:

...and the devil deceived him. ...a demon stood before him in the form of an angel. The monk fell on his face and bowed to him as if he were an angel. And the demon said to him: “Don’t pray, just read books, and in this way you will talk with God, and from books you will begin to give useful words to those who come to you. I will constantly pray to my Creator for your salvation.

Monk Nikita was seduced, abandoned prayer and took up reading and book wisdom. He surpassed everyone in his knowledge of the books of the Old Testament, but did not want to talk or listen to the Gospel. The Kiev-Pechersk monks came to him and, after praying, drove the demon away from him. After this, the monk Nikita, leaving the seclusion with the blessing of the monks, began to spend his life in strict fasting and prayer, most of all practicing obedience and humility. God, through His mercy and the prayers of the monks, raised him from the depths of his fall to a high degree of spiritual perfection.

In 1096, Nikita was elevated to the rank of bishop by Metropolitan Ephraim of Kyiv (11th century) and appointed to the Novgorod see; in “Painting, or a short chronicler of the Novgorod rulers” Nikita is called the sixth Bishop of Novgorod. During Nikita's bishopric, several churches were built (the Transfiguration Church on Ilyin Street (rebuilt in 1374), the Annunciation Church on Gorodishche, the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Anthony Monastery). Bishop Nikita, for his pious life, was awarded by God the gift of miracles. Once, during a drought, he brought rain down from the sky with prayer, another time, through his prayer, a fire in the city stopped. In 1108, Bishop Nikita reposed and was buried in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.

Veneration of Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod

In 1547, at the first Makarievsky Council, Bishop Nikita was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. On April 30, 1558, Archbishop Pimen found the incorruptible relics of St. Nikita. At the same time, a posthumous portrait was drawn from the saint’s face, the details of the saint’s appearance and vestments were clarified, and the information was sent to Metropolitan Macarius in Moscow to clarify the iconographic tradition. F.G. Solntsev in his work " Antiquities of the Russian State" noted:

At the opening of St. of his relics in 1550, a vestment was found on him, preserved incorrupt in the grave, where it lay for 450 years. The entire vestment consists of a phelonion, an epitrachelion, a bridle, a club, a brown damask belt, an omophorion made of white lustrine, and a blue grodetour cap (made of thick taffeta) trimmed with ermine fur; crosses and seraphim with the words Seraphim are embroidered on it in gold. This cap served as a miter. To this episcopal utensil of the 11th century. belongs to the bishop's staff, which will be discussed below, and iron chains weighing 20 pounds, found on the relics of the Hierarch. On the day of the discovery of his incorruptible remains, the Novgorodians brought to his tomb an iron lamp, stored in the sacristy, with a circular incised inscription: “The candle of Veliky Novgorod for all Orthodox Christians, placed to the new wonderworker Nikita...

In 1956, the relics of St. Nikita were transferred by Bishop Sergius (Golubtsov; 1906-1982) from St. Sophia Cathedral to St. Nicholas Cathedral, and in 1962 - to the church in the name of the Apostle Philip. In 1993, the relics of St. Nikita were returned to the St. Sophia Cathedral. The first Life of St. Niketas is found in the letter of Polycarp to Akindinos of the 13th century. In 1942, the Nazis drove over three thousand Novgorodians to Lithuania. In the autumn of the same year, to the Lithuanian town of Vekshni, where the Novgorodians were assigned to settle, a German military train brought five silver shrines with the relics of Novgorod saints. The rector of the local church, Archimandrite Alexy (Cheran), who arrived immediately, was the first to identify the shrine of St. Nikita. All the relics were immediately transported to the church, and Metropolitan of Lithuania Sergius (Voskresensky) in a telephone conversation instructed the rector to open the shrines and straighten the robes of the saints before the all-night vigil. Archimandrite writes:

After a long journey, the saints in the shrines moved from their place, and they had to be laid down in the proper way, and therefore the Lord vouchsafed me, unworthy, to raise Saint Nikita entirely, in my arms, with the help of Hierodeacon Hilarion. The saint was dressed in a dark crimson velvet veil, on top of which lay a large omophorion of forged gold brocade. His face was covered with great air; on the head there is a golden miter, darkened by time. The face of the saint is remarkable; the completely preserved features of his face express strict calm and at the same time meekness and humility. The beard is almost invisible, only sparse hair on the chin is noticeable. The right hand, blessing, is folded with two fingers - a very darkened place from application for 400 years clearly stands out on it. God is marvelous in His saints!” At the same time, Deacon Hilarion, who was helping the rector of the temple put the relics of the saints in order, saw the same dream twice: Saint Nikita, dressed in a mantle, stood in the middle of the temple and read the penitential canon. The hierodeacon, who entered the temple and saw the bishop, immediately fell at his feet and asked for a blessing. The saint blessed the Novgorodian with a gesture and said: “Pray, everyone, for deliverance from the disasters coming to our homeland and people. The evil enemy is taking up arms. You should all receive a blessing before God's service.

Troparion and Kontakion to Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod

Troparion, tone 4

Enjoy the Divine Wisdom of abstinence, and having curbed the desire of your flesh, sit on the throne of holiness. And like a multi-bright star, illuminating the faithful hearts with the dawn of your miracles, Our Father to Saint Nikito. Praying to Christ God, may our souls be saved.

Kontakion, tone 6

Honor the rank of bishop, standing before the Most Purest One, diligently offering your prayers for the people. Just like you brought down the rain with prayer, and even extinguished the hail of fire. And now to Saint Nikito, pray to Christ God to save our country and your praying people. Yes, we all cry out to you, rejoice, wonderful holy father.

Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod. Icons

It is known that Archbishop Pimen ordered the icon painter Simeon to paint an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Infant Christ, and in front of Them St. Nikita standing and praying with raised hands. The saint did not have a beard. And the icon painter thought that at least a small beard on the face of Bishop Nikita should be depicted on the icon. Simeon dozed off and heard a voice in his thin sleep:

Simeon, are you thinking of writing a message to Bishop Nikita! Don’t think about it, because he didn’t have a brad. And tell other icon painters not to paint Bishop Nikita with a brad on their icons.

The image of the saint was painted as he himself commanded. On the icons, Bishop Nikita is depicted in holy vestments with the Gospel in his hands. On the icon “St. Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod, and St. Sergius of Radonezh,” St. Nikita is depicted with a small beard, probably because the presence of a beard corresponded to the medieval understanding of the image of God in man.

At the time when Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavovich (1058–1078) ruled in Kyiv, there lived a young man named Nikita, who at an early age was one of the first to take monastic vows in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. No information has been preserved about his past, who he is, what family he is from. It is only known that he was originally from Kyiv. And so, at the dawn of his ascetic life, Nikita fell into a great temptation, which Saint Polycarp tells about in the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon...

Reclusion

Like other Pechersk monks, Nikita wished for a special feat and decided to seclude himself in a secluded cell. Hegumen Nikon objected to his decision. Usually the retreat must be preceded by a period of novitiate lasting at least 3 years. In his opinion, the young monk was not ready to spend days and nights in solitude and prayer."Your desire is greater than your strength"- the abbot told him. However, Nikita did not listen; he could not overcome his strong jealousy for the reclusive life. The young man locked himself in a cave, tightly blocked the entrance and remained in prayer alone, without leaving anywhere.

Left alone, Saint Nikita was confident that the Lord would reward him with the gift of miracles. Few days passed until the monk escaped the snares of the devil. While he was singing, he heard a certain voice, as if someone was praying with him. At the same time, Nikita smelled an indescribable fragrance. The young man immediately thought that he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. He began to ask frantically that the Lord would appear before him. Then a demon appeared before him in the form of an Angel. Saint Nikita did not even doubt the Divine nature of his vision. It was madness on his part to mistake the devil's temptation for the mercy of God. And the inexperienced ascetic, seduced, bowed to him as an Angel. Then the demon said to him: “From now on, don’t pray anymore, but read books and you will talk with God and give useful words to those who come to you. I will always pray to the Creator for your salvation.” Nikita, believing what was said and being even more deceived, stopped praying, but began to read books more diligently, seeing the demon constantly praying for him. Nikita rejoiced, thinking that the Angel himself was praying for him.

Nikita studied the books of the Old Testament so much and memorized them that no one could compare with him in knowledge of these books. When his brilliant knowledge of the Old Testament Scripture became known to many, princes and boyars began to come to him for listening and instruction. One day the monk Nikita sent to tell Prince Izyaslav that he should quickly send his son Svyatopolk to the Novgorod throne, since Prince Gleb Svyatoslavovich was killed in Zavolochye. And indeed, a few days later the news came that Prince Gleb had been killed. This happened on May 30, 1078. And from that time on, great fame began to spread about the recluse Nikita. The princes and boyars believed that the recluse was a prophet, and in many ways they obeyed him. But the demon did not know the future, and what he himself did or taught evil people - whether to kill or steal - he proclaimed. When they came to the recluse to hear a word of consolation from him, the demon, an imaginary angel, told what happened through himself, and Nikita prophesied. And his prophecy always came true.

Place of retreat of St. Nikita

But here’s what attracted the special attention of the Pechersk ascetics: the monk Nikita knew all the books of the Old Testament by heart and did not want to see, hear, or read the Gospels and other books of the New Testament. It became clear to everyone that the monk Nikita was seduced by the enemy of the human race. The venerable fathers of Pechersk could not tolerate this. Together with their abbot, the Monk Nikon, they came to the seduced recluse and, with the power of their prayers, drove the demon away from him. Having brought Nikita out of seclusion, they asked him about the Old Testament, but he swore that he had never read those books that he previously knew by heart. He couldn’t even read a single word in them, and the brothers barely taught Nikita to read and write.

When the young man realized what was happening to him in seclusion, he sincerely repented of his sin. After this, Nikita left his arbitrary retreat. Continuing to strictly fast, he began to diligently pray to God, and after a short time he surpassed other monks with his obedience and humility.

At the Novgorod department

And just as Christ said to Peter, who denied three times, after his repentance: “Feed My sheep,” so the Lord showed His mercy to Nikita, who sincerely repented, for he then elevated him to the bishop of Novgorod.In 1096 Reverend Nikita waserected Metropolitan Ephraim of Kyivto the episcopate and appointed to the see of Veliky Novgorod . In the “Mural, or short chronicler of the Novgorod rulers,” Saint Nikita is listed as the sixth Bishop of Novgorod.

Novgorod

The Lord glorified His saint with the gift of miracles. In the second year of his ministry, Saint Nikita stopped a great fire in Novgorod with his prayers. Another time, during a drought that threatened the Novgorod land with famine, through his prayers, rain revived the fields and meadows with fields and herbs.

The saint was an example of a virtuous life for his flock. The Eulogy to Saint Nikita says that he secretly gave alms to the poor, fulfilling the word of God: When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret (Matthew 6:3-4).

The Novgorod saints were the first to show their activity in various public endeavors: they built and decorated churches with the help of the best craftsmen who were invited from Byzantium and Western Europe. The most significant literary works of Novgorod were created mainly at the Vladychny court. Thanks to the labors of Saint Nikita, several churches were built in Novgorod that have not survived to this day: the Transfiguration Church on Ilyin Street, the Annunciation Church on Gorodishche, the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Anthony Monastery.

Anthony's Monastery - the second in Novgorod - was founded with the blessing of St. Nikita by the Monk Anthony the Roman († 1147) at the beginning of the 12th century. With the assistance of Saint Nikita, the Monk Anthony received territory for the monastery on the banks of the Volkhov River, where the stone on which Anthony miraculously sailed from Rome stopped. Shortly before his death, Saint Nikita, together with the Monk Anthony, marked out the site for a new stone monastery church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Nikita with his own hands began to dig a ditch for its foundation. But the temple was built already under his successor - Bishop John.

Anthony's Monastery

Despite his numerous labors and concerns for the improvement of the Novgorod diocese, Saint Nikita never abandoned the special feat of the hermit monks: under his saintly robes he wore heavy iron chains.

For 13 years Saint Nikita ruled the Novgorod flock and peacefully died in 1109, January 31 . The saint was buried in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, in the chapel in the name of Saints Joachim and Anna - the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos.

After the death of Saint Nikita, painting of the walls of the Novgorod Cathedral in the name of St. Sophia the Wisdom of God began, according to the will of Saint Nikita.

Worship and miracles

In 1547, during the reign of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, a certain pious boyar walked around the St. Sophia Cathedral during the service on Easter night and found the saint’s tomb completely neglected. Having sat down nearby, the boyar dozed off and heard a voice in his sleep that said to him:“Bishop Nikita’s coffin must be covered.”Obeying this voice, the boyar went home; from there he soon returned with a covering, which he laid on the tomb of Saint Nikita, having first cleansed it of dust and debris. In the same year, at a church council, the all-Russian glorification of the saint took place.

On the night of April 30, 1558, a husband with a barely noticeable beard appeared in a dream to the Novgorod Saint Pimen and said: “Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your predecessor, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands that my relics be revealed to the people.” Waking up, Archbishop Pimen heard the bell for matins and hurried to the cathedral. On the way, he met the pious Novgorodian Isaac, who that same night also saw Saint Nikita in a dream, who ordered him to tell the bishop not to delay in opening the relics. Having heard from Isaac about the vision he had, the archbishop immediately began to open the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was lifted, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his vestments were preserved incorruptible. At the same time, a posthumous portrait was drawn from the face of the saint, the details of the appearance and vestments of the saint were specified, and the information was sent to Metropolitan Macarius in Moscow to clarify the icon-painting tradition.

Archbishop Pimen ordered the icon painter Simeon to paint an icon of the Mother of God with the Child of God, and in front of Them, St. Nikita standing and praying with raised hands. The saint had no beard at all. And the icon painter thought that at least a small beard on the face of Saint Nikita should be depicted on the icon. Simeon dozed off and heard a voice in his thin sleep: “Simeon, are you thinking of writing a message to Bishop Nikita! Don’t think about it, because he didn’t have a brad. And tell other icon painters not to paint Bishop Nikita with a brad on their icons.” The image of the saint was painted as he himself commanded.

Soon after the discovery of the relics of St. Nikita, one of the city leaders revealed his doubts about their incorruptibility. To dispel his doubts, Archbishop Pimen opened the cover on the relics of the saint before Persia. Seeing the saint’s face, like that of a healthy sleeping person, the mayor repented of his sin. Despite this, soon the city priests came to the archbishop with a request to give them the opportunity to see with their own eyes the incorruptibility of the relics of St. Nikita. The archbishop imposed a seven-day fast on them to repent of their sins, after which the clergy gathered to the relics of St. Nikita, and then the archbishop, having removed the cover from them, showed them the body of the saint to the extremities of the legs, then put his hands under the head of the saint so that it rose, and with it the whole body began to move. The priests were amazed by the miracle and asked the archbishop to allow them to sing a prayer service every year in memory of this incident with the entire cathedral at the relics of the saint, which is why the archbishop established a holiday on the heel of the second week in the week of All Saints.

The demand made by the clergy of Novgorod to their archpastor to examine the relics of St. Nikita can be explained as follows. At that time, the heresy of Theodosius the Oblique was very widespread, which rejected, among other things, the veneration of holy icons and relics; it also had an effect on the clergy and partly shook their faith in miracles.

Meanwhile, many miracles took place at the relics of St. Nikita, upon their discovery. But what is especially noteworthy is that, through the gracious help of the saint, it was mainly those with eyes and the blind who received healing. Once, during the liturgy, the old and blind Ksenia, who had not seen anything for 12 years, prayed at the relics of the saint. She persistently asked Archbishop Pimen to pray for her to St. Nikita. He said: “Get away from me, old lady, go away, go to Saint Nikita, and he will save you according to your faith, if he wants.” At the tomb of Saint Xenia she prayed earnestly, and one of her eyes received sight. With tears of joy, she again persistently begged that through the prayers of the archbishop her other eye would receive the light. The Bishop answered her: “I see, old lady, that you are many years old, and one eye would be enough to serve you until your death.” And again he sends her to the saint’s tomb with the words: “He who opened one eye for you will open the other.” She again fell to the shrine with tears, and her hope was not in vain: she also regained sight in her second eye, to the general surprise of those who were then in the Church of Hagia Sophia.

During the discovery of the relics of Saint Nikita, through his prayers, God crowned Russian weapons with victory in the war with the Livonians. During the capture of Rugodiv, both the Russian army and the enemy saw Saint Nikita riding along the banks of the Narova River on a horse in holy robes and with a staff in his hand, crowned with a cross, repelling enemies from the Russian regiments. This was witnessed by the soldiers themselves who returned to Novgorod; The same was confirmed by the elder of the city of Rugodiva, a Latin named John, when he saw the image of St. Nikita.

The relics of the saint were transferred in 1629 from a dilapidated tomb to a new, wooden one, lined with basma silver. The Novgorodians brought a lamp with a gilded inscription as a gift to their heavenly patron: “The candle of Veliky Novgorod, of all Orthodox Christians, was put on the new Novgorod wonderworker Nikita in the summer of 7066, April 30, under Archbishop Pimen.” This “candle” of St. Nikita, together with the ancient tomb, vestments, staff and chains, were later kept in the sacristy of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.

After 1917, when open persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church began, the relics of the saint, like many saints of the Russian Church, were desecrated. Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum, and the relics of the saint, packed in a paper bag, lay in the museum's storage room. And only in 1957, with the blessing of Archbishop Sergius (Golubtsov), on a dark evening, on a truck, the relics of St. Nikita were reverently transported to the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Yaroslav's Dvorishche. But they did not stay there long. During the years of Khrushchev's persecution of the Orthodox Church, this cathedral was closed, like many other churches, and the relics of the saint were transferred to Church of St. Philip the Apostle , where they stayed until 1993.

On May 13, 1993, with the blessing of His Eminence Leo, Archbishop of Novgorod and Staraya Russia, the relics of the saint were solemnly transferred from the Church of the Apostle Philip to St. Sophia Cathedral and were placed with honor in the very place where they had rested centuries before.

St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod

Reliquary with the relics of St. Nikita

Relics of the saint during World War II

But here is one amazing fact from the times of the Great Patriotic War: after the Novgorodians driven into captivity, the Novgorod saints of God, led by St. Nikita, followed to their rescue...

In 1942, the Nazis deported over 3,000 Novgorod residents to Lithuania. In the autumn of the same year, to the Lithuanian town of Vekshni, where the Novgorodians were assigned to settle, a German military train brought five silver shrines with the relics of Novgorod saints. The rector of the local church, Archimandrite Alexy (Cheran), who arrived immediately, was the first to identify the shrine of St. Nikita. All the relics were immediately transported to the church, and Metropolitan Sergius of Lithuania, in a telephone conversation, instructed the rector to open the shrines and straighten the robes of the saints before the all-night vigil. Father Archimandrite himself writes:

“After a long journey, the saints in the shrines moved from their place and they had to be laid down in the proper way, and therefore the Lord vouchsafed me, unworthy, to raise Saint Nikita entirely, in my arms, with the help of Hierodeacon Hilarion. The saint was dressed in a dark crimson velvet veil, on top of which lay a large omophorion of forged gold brocade. His face was covered with great air; on the head there is a golden miter, darkened by time. The face of the saint is remarkable; the completely preserved features of his face express strict calm and at the same time meekness and humility. The beard is almost invisible, only sparse hair on the chin is noticeable. The right hand, blessing, is folded with two fingers - a very darkened place from application for 400 years clearly stands out on it. God is marvelous in His saints!”

The entire Orthodox people who found themselves in that Lithuanian region greeted the holy relics with trepidation and inspiration. At the same time, Hierodeacon Hilarion, who was helping the rector of the temple put in order the relics of the saints, a man not very educated, but burning with faith, saw the same dream twice: Saint Nikita, dressed in a mantle, stood in the middle of the temple and read the canon of repentance. The hierodeacon, who entered the temple and saw the bishop, immediately fell at his feet and asked for a blessing. The saint blessed the Novgorodian with a gesture and said: “Pray all for deliverance from the disasters coming to our homeland and people. The evil enemy is taking up arms. You should all receive a blessing before God’s service.”

After these words the saint became invisible. Having learned about this, Metropolitan Sergius established a rule that before the start of each service, when the shrine of St. Nikita is opened, the clergy should go out and venerate the right hand of St. Nikita, return to the altar, and then only begin the liturgy. This tradition is still honored by the Novgorod priesthood. It is especially adhered to by the priests of St. Sophia Cathedral, who do not think of starting a divine service without venerating the relics of the saint.

Troparion, tone 4:
Having enjoyed the divine wisdom of abstinence, and having curbed the desire of your flesh, you sat down on the throne of the priesthood, and like a many-bright star, enlightening the faithful hearts with the dawn of your miracles, Our Father to Saint Nikito: and now pray to Christ God that he may save our souls.

Kontakion, tone 6:
Having honored the rank of bishop, and standing before the purest, you diligently offered prayer for your people, just as you brought down the rain with prayer, and when you extinguished the burning of hail. And now pray to Saint Nikita, Christ God, to save the Orthodox Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, and your praying people, and we all cry out to you: Rejoice, wonderful holy father.

When and where Saint Nikita was born, and who his parents were, no news has reached us. We also know nothing about the years of his childhood and adolescence. It is only known that during the reign of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Izyaslav Yaroslavich, he was already a young monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery and here he experienced a great temptation, which Saint Polycarp tells about in his letter to Archimandrite Akindinus of the Pechersk.

The young monk Nikita, looking with reverence at the high feats of the Pechersk brethren and partly carried away by worldly glory and honor, wished to labor in seclusion. He asks for blessings from his abbot, St. Nikon. But, forbidding Nikita to act as he wished, the abbot told him: “Child, it will not do you any good if in your youth you begin to sit alone in idleness; it is much better for you to stay and live with your brothers and work for them - then you will not lose your reward. You yourself saw our brother Isaac, how he was seduced by demons in seclusion; but he was saved by the great grace of God through the prayers of Saints Anthony and Theodosius, who to this day work many miracles.”

Nikita replied that he would no longer be deceived like Isaac, but would stand firmly against the wiles of the devil and pray to God that the Lord would grant him the gift of miracles, like Isaac the recluse. But the abbot again objected to him: “Your desire is beyond your strength; Beware, child, lest, having become exalted, you fall. Our humility commands you to serve the holy brethren, and for this you will be crowned by God.”

Nikita did not listen to the abbot and did what he had in mind: shutting himself up tightly in his cell, he prayed in it endlessly. But several days passed, and he was tempted by the devil. One day, while chanting prayers, Nikita heard a voice praying with him, and felt an inexplicable fragrance. The seduced monk thought: “If it were not for an Angel, he would not have prayed with me and there would not have been such a fragrance of the Holy Spirit here.”

Nikita began to pray with great fervor, crying out: “Lord, appear to me Yourself, so that I can see You.” And then a voice came to him: “I will not appear to you because you are young, so that you do not become proud and fall.” The recluse said with tears: “I will not be deceived, Lord, the abbot ordered me not to listen to demonic deception. I am ready to fulfill Your commands."

From that moment the seducer took power over him and said: “It is impossible for a person in the flesh to see me, but I am sending my angel who will be with you, but you do his will.”

And immediately a demon stood in front of Nikita in the form of an Angel. The monk bowed to him as an Angel. And then the demon said to him: “Don’t pray anymore, but read books, and through this you will constantly talk with God and give useful advice to those who come to you. I will continually pray to the Creator of all for your salvation.”

The seduced recluse completely stopped praying and, seeing the demon constantly praying, rejoiced that the Angel was praying for him; All he himself did was diligently read books and teach those who came to him, and from time to time he prophesied.

One day he sent a message to Prince Izyaslav to quickly send his son Svyatopolk to the Novgorod throne, since Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich was killed in Zavolochye. And indeed, a few days later the news came that Prince Gleb was killed by the Zavolotsk miracle. This happened on May 30, 1078.

From that time on, great fame began to spread about the recluse Nikita. The princes and boyars believed that the recluse was a prophet and obeyed him in everything and in many ways. Although the demon does not know the future, he proclaims what he himself does or what he teaches evil people: whether to kill someone or steal. So it was with Nikita: when they came to him for a word of instruction and consolation, then the demon, an imaginary Angel, informed the recluse about what had happened, and he prophesied, and the predictions came true.

But here’s what attracted the special attention of the Pechersk ascetics: the monk Nikita knew by heart all the books of the Old Testament and did not want to see or hear, and not just read the Gospel and the Apostle - those Holy books that were given to us by grace for our correction and confirmation in faith. It became clear to everyone that the monk Nikita was seduced by the enemy of the human race. The venerable fathers of Pechersk could not tolerate this.

Together with their abbot, the Monk Nikon, they came to the seduced recluse and, with the power of their prayers, drove the demon away from him.
Having brought Nikita out of seclusion, they asked him about the Old Testament, but he swore that he had never read those books that he previously knew by heart; he couldn’t even read a single word in them, and the brothers barely taught Nikita to read and write. Having come to his senses through the prayers of the holy brethren of Pechersk, Nikita confessed and mourned his sin before them with bitter tears, and then doomed himself to strict abstinence and monastic obedience. Through a pure and humble life he acquired high virtues, the fame of which spread far beyond the borders of the Kyiv land.

God, the lover of mankind, accepted Nikita’s true repentance and made him shepherd of the verbal flock of Christ. In 1096, Saint Nikita, by the Providence of God, was elected and ordained bishop of Veliky Novgorod, where the Lord glorified His saint with the gift of miracles. In the second year of his priesthood, Nikita stopped a great fire in Novgorod with his prayers. Another time, during a drought that threatened the Novgorod land with famine, through his prayers, rain revived the fields and meadows with fields and herbs.

According to the life of St. Anthony the Roman, the ascetic miraculously arrived in Novgorod during the life of St. Nikita and, with his blessing, founded his monastery.

Saint Nikita was preoccupied with the arrangement and decoration of the churches of God in Novgorod, but of the churches built in his time, only one has survived to this day - the Blagoveshchenskaya on Gorodishche. And to this day there is a monument to his efforts to improve the Novgorod bishop's house - this is a stone building, which is known both in written monuments and in folk tradition under the name Nikitinsky.

Saint Nikita had the intention of decorating the walls of the Church of Hagia Sophia with paintings; but he did not succeed: “at the expense of the saint” the painting of the cathedral was carried out only after his death, several months later. Saint Nikita reposed on January 30, 1108, after 13 years of ruling the Novgorod diocese. His venerable relics were buried in the cathedral St. Sophia Church, in the chapel of Godfather Joachim and Anna.

Probably the local celebration of the memory of Saint Nikita began shortly after his death. From the half of the 12th century, the news has been preserved: “And now with the saints they honor him, the holy and blessed Nikita.” But it is unknown at what time, at least until the middle of the 16th century, the celebration of his memory stopped in Novgorod. The widespread celebration of Saint Nikita was established, if not at the Moscow Councils of 1547 and 1549, then after the discovery of his relics, which took place on April 30, 1558.

Finding the honest relics of St. Nikita happened under the following circumstances.

In 1551, on the evening of Holy Saturday, when Christians gathered in the St. Sophia Cathedral to listen to the reading of the Acts of the Apostles before Bright Matins, the boyar who was in charge of royal affairs in the city also came there, and, walking around the cathedral porches occupied by the tombs of bishops, entered the chapel of the Godfather Joachim and Anna, in which the tomb of St. Nikita was completely neglected. The church reader was sleeping at that time, leaning on her. Having left the border, the boyar went to the main temple, where on the left side, near the doors leading to the altar, he sat down and soon fell asleep. In a dream, he heard a voice that told him: “The coffin of Bishop Nikita must be covered.”

Obeying this voice, the boyar went home; from there he soon returned with a covering, which he laid on the tomb of Saint Nikita, having first cleansed it of dust and debris. Prompted by the desire to look at the relics of the saint, the boyar made a crack in the tomb and saw that the body of the saint lay covered with a shroud on the church platform, completely intact, without signs of destruction. Little by little, other residents of this city learned about this, from time to time they looked into the crack of the tomb and were amazed at what they saw. This continued until 1558.

In the same year, Archbishop Pimen, having become convinced through others and personally of the incorruptibility of the relics of Saint Nikita, reported this in writing to the Tsar and the Metropolitan, who with great joy commanded him to open the tomb of the saint, transfer his body to a new wooden tomb so that it would rest openly, and establish a church-wide celebration of the saint. To open the tomb of the saint, it was necessary to dismantle the iconostasis, since the chapel of the Godfather of Joachim and Anna was very small and half of the saint’s tomb was in the altar.

When the tomb was opened, they saw that the body of the saint rested in the ground, two cubits below the church platform; it was covered with a shroud, and the face of the saint was illuminated by heavenly light; His right hand, blessing, lay on his forearms, while his left hand was extended to his knees; the right foot was turned with the sole up, and the left foot to the side. Having dressed the saint in new bishop's clothes, he was again placed in the tomb in the same place.

At the appointed time, Archbishop Pimen with a large council of clergy performed a prayer service at the tomb of St. Nikita, during which his venerable relics were transferred to the “prepared bed” and transferred to the main cathedral church, where an all-night vigil was then served. During the service, when the statutory reading was taking place and the clergy were sitting, one of the abbots had a vision that Saint Nikita, rising from the grave, in a phelonion and with a censer in his hands, went first to burn incense at the altar, and then into the temple and soon became invisible.

At the end of the all-night vigil, the people venerated the relics of the saint, and the archbishop transferred them to the tomb, which was temporarily, by order of the metropolitan, placed on the right side of the church near the small pillar opposite the ambo until the completion of work on expanding the chapel of the Holy Father Joachim and Anna.

The archbishop imposed a seven-day fast on them to repent of their sins, after which the clergy gathered to the relics of St. Nikita, and then the archbishop, having removed the cover from them, showed them the body of the saint to the extremities of the legs, then put his hands under the head of the saint so that it rose, and with it the whole body began to move. The priests were amazed by the miracle and asked the archbishop to allow them to sing a prayer service every year in memory of this incident with the entire cathedral at the relics of the saint, which is why the archbishop established a holiday on the heel of the second week in the week of All Saints.

Meanwhile, many miracles took place at the relics of St. Nikita, after they were found: the paralytic, the lame, the withered, the lepers, the demon-possessed were healed, but what is worthy of special attention is the fact that mainly those with sick eyes, the blind or those with impaired vision received healing.

When the honest relics of St. Nikita were found and the amazing healing of one paralytic took place, many residents of Novgorod and the surrounding area began to flock to the relics of the wonderworker with their sick people. Among the patients was the old and blind Ksenia, who had not seen anything for 12 years. At that time, the liturgy was going on. Ksenia prayed to the Lord for healing, turned her thoughts to St. Nikita, and then with tears said publicly to Archbishop Pimen, who was standing in the church: “I pray to you, Your Eminence Archbishop: pray to your co-servant, the great saint and wonderworker Nikita, that he will grant me insight.” .

And she repeated her blind prayer more than once. Seeing the woman’s persistence and her tears, the archbishop said: “Get away from me, old woman, go away, go to Saint Nikita, and he will save you according to your faith, if he wants.”

At the tomb of Saint Xenia she prayed earnestly, and one of her eyes received sight. But she took the courage to turn to Archbishop Pimen again, falling at his feet, and with tears of joy again begged that through the archbishop’s prayers her other eye would see the light. The Bishop answered her: “I see, old lady, that you are many years old, and one eye would be enough to serve you until your death.”

But Ksenia, with the same persistence, tearfully begs the archbishop. He sends her again to the tomb of Saint Nikita with the words: “He who opened one eye for you will open the other.”

Ksenia again comes to the miracle worker’s shrine, adds tears to her tears and weaves prayers with heartfelt sighs and faith. And the woman’s hope was not in vain: she also received sight in her second eye, to the general surprise of those who were then in the Church of Hagia Sophia.

Archbishop Pimen ordered the icon painter Simeon to paint an icon of the Mother of God with the Child of God, and in front of Them, St. Nikita standing and praying with raised hands. The saint had no beard at all. And the icon painter thought that at least a small bruise on the face of Saint Nikita should be depicted on the icon. Thinking about this, Simeon began to doze off, went to his bed and fell asleep. And then, in a subtle dream, he suddenly heard a voice: “Simeon, are you thinking of writing to Bishop Nikita! Don’t think about it, because he didn’t have a brad. And tell other icon painters not to paint Bishop Nikita with a brad on their icons.”

Simeon woke up, but did not see anyone. He hastened to convey his vision to Archbishop Pimen, and the archbishop glorified God. The image of the saint was painted as he himself commanded.

At the same time, in every place and under every circumstance, Saint Nikita appeared to help those who ran to him with faith and prayer. During the discovery of the relics of Saint Nikita, through his prayers, God crowned Russian weapons with victory in the war with the Livonians. During the capture of Rugodiv, both the Russian army and the enemy saw Saint Nikita riding along the banks of the Narova River on a horse in holy robes and with a staff in his hand, crowned with a cross, repelling enemies from the Russian regiments. This was witnessed by the soldiers themselves who returned to Novgorod; The same was confirmed by the elder of the city of Rugodiva, a Latin named John, when he saw the image of St. Nikita.

Currently, the relics of Saint Nikita rest openly in the same place where they were found: under the arch between the chapels of the Godfather Joachim and Anna and the Mother of God of the Nativity in a rich silver shrine, into which they were transferred from an ancient one in 1846, on April 30.

The memory of the saint is celebrated twice a year: January 31/February 13 and April 30/May 3, old style - on the day of the discovery of his honest relics.

Worship, miracles

The very first life of Saint Niketas is found in the letter of Polycarp to Akindinos of the 13th century. In 1547, he was glorified for church-wide veneration throughout the Russian Church. On the night of April 30, 1558, a husband with a barely noticeable beard appeared in a dream to the Novgorod Saint Pimen and said: “ Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your predecessor, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands that my relics be revealed to the people.»

Waking up, Archbishop Pimen heard the bell for matins and hurried to the cathedral. On the way, he met the pious Novgorodian Isaac, who that same night also saw Saint Nikita in a dream, who ordered him to tell the bishop not to delay in opening the relics. Having heard from Isaac about the vision he had, the archbishop immediately began to open the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was lifted, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his vestments were preserved incorruptible. At the same time, a posthumous portrait was drawn from the face of the saint, the details of the appearance and vestments of the saint were specified, and the information was sent to Metropolitan Macarius in Moscow to clarify the icon-painting tradition. The relics subsequently rested in the Church of St. Philip the Apostle.

In 1942, the Nazis drove over three thousand Novgorodians to Lithuania. In the autumn of the same year, to the Lithuanian town of Vekshni, where the Novgorodians were assigned to settle, a German military train brought five silver shrines with the relics of Novgorod saints. The rector of the local church, Archimandrite Alexy (Cheran), who arrived immediately, was the first to identify the shrine of St. Nikita.

All the relics were immediately transported to the church, and Metropolitan of Lithuania Sergius (Voskresensky) in a telephone conversation instructed the rector to open the shrines and straighten the robes of the saints before the all-night vigil.

Father Archimandrite himself writes: “ After a long journey, the saints in the shrines moved from their place and they had to be laid down in the proper way, and therefore the Lord vouchsafed me, unworthy, to raise St. Nikitas entirely, in my arms, with the help of Hierodeacon Hilarion. The saint was dressed in a dark crimson velvet veil, on top of which lay a large omophorion of forged gold brocade. His face was covered with great air; on the head is a golden miter, darkened by time. The face of the saint is remarkable; the completely preserved features of his face express strict calm and at the same time meekness and humility. The beard is almost invisible, only sparse hair on the chin is noticeable. The right hand, blessing, is folded with two fingers - a very darkened place from application for 400 years clearly stands out on it. God is marvelous in His saints!»

The hierodeacon, who entered the temple and saw the bishop, immediately fell at his feet and asked for a blessing. The saint blessed the Novgorodian with a gesture and said: “ Pray all for deliverance from the disasters coming to our homeland and people. The evil enemy is taking up arms. Before the service of God, you should all receive a blessing«.

Memorial Days:

June 17 (movable) – Cathedral of Novgorod Saints
February 13
May 13 – Finding of relics
May 27

NIKITA NOVOGORODSKY
Troparion, tone 4

Having rejoiced, O God-wise, in abstinence / and having curbed the desire of your flesh, / you sat down on the throne of the sanctity, / and like a many-bright star, enlightening the faithful hearts / with the dawn of your miracles, our Father, to Saint Nikita, / and now pray to Christ God, / that he may save our souls.

Another troparion, tone 2

Desiring heavenly space, / from your youth you shut yourself up in a cramped place, / in it you were seduced by the enemy, / but through humility and obedience / you conquered the seductive one more powerfully, Nikito, / and now, standing before Christ, / pray for us all to be saved.

Kontakion, tone 6

And having honored the rank of bishop / and standing before the purest One, / you diligently offered prayer for your people, / just as you drove away the rain with prayer, / when you extinguished the burning of hail. / And now, to Saint Nikito, / pray to Christ God / to save your praying people, / and let us all cry out to you: / Rejoice, wonderful holy saint.

Another kontakion, tone 1

Having defeated the enemy with flattery, / and having shone brightly with virtue, / you have clothed yourself with the robe of holiness, O glorious Nikito, / in it, with the light of your life and miracles, shining more than the sun, / having enlightened many, you have brought Christ, / Who prayed for us, who sing to you.

Reclusion

Like other Pechersk monks, Nikita wished for a special feat and decided to seclude himself in a secluded cell. Hegumen Nikon objected to his decision. Usually the retreat must be preceded by a period of novitiate lasting at least 3 years. In his opinion, the young monk was not ready to spend days and nights in solitude and prayer. " Your desire is beyond your strength“- the abbot told him. However, Nikita did not listen; he could not overcome his strong jealousy for the reclusive life. The young man locked himself in a cave, tightly blocked the entrance and remained in prayer alone, without leaving anywhere.

Left alone, Saint Nikita was confident that the Lord would reward him with the gift of miracles. Few days passed until the monk escaped the snares of the devil. While he was singing, he heard a certain voice, as if someone was praying with him. At the same time, Nikita smelled an indescribable fragrance. The young man immediately thought that he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. He began to ask frantically that the Lord would appear before him. Then a demon appeared before him in the form of an Angel. Saint Nikita did not even doubt the Divine nature of his vision. It was madness on his part to mistake the devil's temptation for the mercy of God. And the inexperienced ascetic, seduced, bowed to him as an Angel. Then the demon said to him: “ From now on, don’t pray anymore, but read books and you will talk with God and give useful words to those who come to you. I will always pray to the Creator for your salvation" Nikita, believing what was said and being even more deceived, stopped praying, but began to read books more diligently, seeing the demon constantly praying for him. Nikita rejoiced, thinking that the Angel himself was praying for him.

Place of retreat of St. Nikita

At the Novgorod department

And just as Christ said to Peter, who denied three times, after his repentance: “Feed My sheep,” so the Lord showed His mercy to Nikita, who sincerely repented, for he then elevated him to the bishop of Novgorod. In 1096 the Monk Nikita was elevated Metropolitan Ephraim of Kyiv to the episcopate and appointed to the see of Veliky Novgorod. In the “Mural, or short chronicler of the Novgorod rulers,” Saint Nikita is listed as the sixth Bishop of Novgorod.

Novgorod

Anthony's Monastery

For 13 years Saint Nikita ruled the Novgorod flock and peacefully died in 1109, January 31. The saint was buried in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, in the chapel in the name of Saints Joachim and Anna - the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos.

After the death of Saint Nikita, painting of the walls of the Novgorod Cathedral in the name of St. Sophia the Wisdom of God began, according to the will of Saint Nikita.

Worship and miracles

In 1547, during the reign of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, a certain pious boyar walked around the St. Sophia Cathedral during the service on Easter night and found the saint’s tomb completely neglected. Having sat down nearby, the boyar dozed off and heard a voice in his sleep that said to him: “ The coffin of Bishop Nikita must be covered" Obeying this voice, the boyar went home; from there he soon returned with a covering, which he laid on the tomb of Saint Nikita, having first cleansed it of dust and debris. In the same year, at a church council, the all-Russian glorification of the saint took place.

On the night of April 30, 1558, a husband with a barely noticeable beard appeared in a dream to the Novgorod Saint Pimen and said: “ Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your predecessor, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands that my relics be revealed to the people.“When Archbishop Pimen woke up, he heard the bell for matins and hurried to the cathedral. On the way, he met the pious Novgorodian Isaac, who that same night also saw Saint Nikita in a dream, who ordered him to tell the bishop not to delay in opening the relics. Having heard from Isaac about the vision he had, the archbishop immediately began to open the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was lifted, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his vestments were preserved incorruptible. At the same time, a posthumous portrait was drawn from the face of the saint, the details of the appearance and vestments of the saint were specified, and the information was sent to Metropolitan Macarius in Moscow to clarify the icon-painting tradition.

Archbishop Pimen ordered the icon painter Simeon to paint an icon of the Mother of God with the Child of God, and in front of Them, St. Nikita standing and praying with raised hands. The saint had no beard at all. And the icon painter thought that at least a small beard on the face of Saint Nikita should be depicted on the icon. Simeon dozed off and heard a voice in his thin sleep: “ Simeon, are you thinking of writing a message to Bishop Nikita! Don’t think about it, because he didn’t have a brad. And tell other icon painters not to paint Bishop Nikita with a braid on icons" The image of the saint was painted as he himself commanded.

St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod

Reliquary with the relics of St. Nikita

Relics of the saint during World War II

But here is one amazing fact from the times of the Great Patriotic War: after the Novgorodians driven into captivity, the Novgorod saints of God, led by St. Nikita, followed to their rescue...

« After a long journey, the saints in the shrines moved from their place and they had to be placed in the proper way, and therefore the Lord vouchsafed me, unworthy, to raise Saint Nikita entirely, in my arms, with the help of Hierodeacon Hilarion. The saint was dressed in a dark crimson velvet veil, on top of which lay a large omophorion of forged gold brocade. His face was covered with great air; on the head there is a golden miter, darkened by time. The face of the saint is remarkable; the completely preserved features of his face express strict calm and at the same time meekness and humility. The beard is almost invisible, only sparse hair on the chin is noticeable. The right hand, blessing, is folded with two fingers - a very darkened place from application for 400 years clearly stands out on it. God is marvelous in His saints!»

The entire Orthodox people who found themselves in that Lithuanian region greeted the holy relics with trepidation and inspiration. At the same time, Hierodeacon Hilarion, who was helping the rector of the temple put in order the relics of the saints, a man not very educated, but burning with faith, saw the same dream twice: Saint Nikita, dressed in a mantle, stood in the middle of the temple and read the canon of repentance. The hierodeacon, who entered the temple and saw the bishop, immediately fell at his feet and asked for a blessing. The saint blessed the Novgorodian with a gesture and said: “ Pray all for deliverance from the disasters coming to our homeland and people. The evil enemy is taking up arms. Before the service of God, you should all receive a blessing».