Saint Nikita - Sophia Cathedral. Saint Nikita in the Orthodox religion

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 Caves Monastery. About his past, about who he is, from what family, no information has been preserved. It is only known that he was originally from Kyiv. And at the dawn of his ascetic life, Nikita fell into a great temptation, as St. Polycarp tells in the Kiev Caves Patericon...

retreat

Like other monks of the Caves, Nikita wished for a special feat and decided to shut himself up 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 obey; he could not overcome in himself a strong jealousy for a reclusive life. The young man shut himself up in a cave, firmly blocked the entrance and remained in prayer alone, without going anywhere.

Left alone, Saint Nikita was sure that the Lord would reward him with the gift of miracles. A few days passed, as the monk did not escape the nets of the devil. During his 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 reveal himself to 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 to an angel. Then the demon said to him: From now on, you no longer pray, but read books and you will be conversing with God and give a useful word 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 continually praying for him. Nikita rejoiced, thinking that the Angel himself was praying for him.

Nikita so studied the books of the Old Testament and learned by heart that no one could compare with him in the 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 hearing and instruction. One day, monk Nikita sent a message to Prince Izyaslav to send his son Svyatopolk to the throne of Novgorod as soon as possible, since Prince Gleb Svyatoslavovich was killed in Zavolochye. Indeed, a few days later the news came that Prince Gleb had been killed. It happened on May 30, 1078. And from that time there was great fame about the recluse Nikita. The princes and boyars believed that the recluse was a prophet, and in many respects obeyed him. But the demon did not know the future, and what he himself did or taught evil people - whether to kill, whether to steal, then he announced. When they came to the hermit to hear a word of consolation from him, the demon, an imaginary angel, told what had happened through himself, and Nikita prophesied. And his prophecy always came true.

Shrine of Saint Nikita

But this is what attracted the special attention of the Pechersk ascetics: monk Nikita knew by heart all the books of the Old Testament and did not want to see, hear, or read the Gospels and other books of the New Testament. It became clear to everyone that Monk Nikita was deceived by the enemy of the human race. The Reverend Fathers of the Caves could not tolerate this. Together with their hegumen, the Monk Nikon, they came to the deceived hermit and, by the power of their prayers, drove the demon away from him. Having taken Nikita out of the lock, they asked him about the Old Testament, but he swore that he had never read those books that he had previously known by heart. He did not even know how to read a single word in them, and the brethren 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 that, Nikita left his arbitrary shutter. Continuing to fast strictly, 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 had denied three times, after his repentance: “Feed My sheep,” so the Lord showed His mercy to Nikita, who sincerely repented, for then he elevated him to the bishop of Novgorod. In 1096 the Monk Nikita was erected Metropolitan Ephraim of Kyiv to the episcopal rank and appointed to the chair of Veliky Novgorod. In The Painting, or a Short Chronicle of the Lords of Novgorod, 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 put an end to the great fire in Novgorod with his prayers. Another time, during a drought that threatened the Novgorod land with famine, through his prayers, the rain revived the fields and meadows with fields and grasses.

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

The Novgorod saints were the first to show their activity in various social undertakings: 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 St. Nikita, several churches were built in Novgorod that have not survived to this day: the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Ilyina Street, the Annunciation Church on Gorodische, the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Anthony Monastery.

Anthony 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 a territory for the monastery on the banks of the Volkhov River, where the stone stopped, on which Anthony miraculously sailed from Rome. Shortly before his death, St. Nikita, together with St. Anthony, marked out a place for a new stone monastery church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Nikita himself began to dig a ditch under its foundation. But the temple was built already under his successor - Bishop John.

Anthony Monastery

With numerous labors and concerns for the improvement of the Novgorod diocese, Saint Nikita never left the purely feat of hermit monks: under the hierarch's clothes 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 Sophia Cathedral, in the chapel in the name of Saints Joachim and Anna - the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos.

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

Veneration and miracles

In 1547, during the reign of Tsar Ivan Vasilievich the Terrible, a certain pious boyar walked around the St. Sophia Cathedral on Paschal night for divine services and found the tomb of the saint in complete neglect. Sitting nearby, the boyar dozed off and heard in a dream a voice that said to him: “ The coffin of Bishop Nikita should be covered". Obeying this voice, the boyar went home; from there he soon returned with a cover, which he laid on the tomb of St. Nikita, having previously cleared it of dust and litter. In the same year, the all-Russian glorification of the saint took place at the church council.

On the night of April 30, 1558, a husband appeared in a dream to the Novgorod hierarch Pimen, with a barely noticeable beard and said: Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your primate, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands to open my relics 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 on the same night also saw in a dream St. Nikita, who ordered him to tell Vladyka not to delay opening the relics. Hearing from Isaac about the vision he had had, the archbishop immediately set about opening the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was raised, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his garments were preserved in incorruption. 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 in order to clarify the icon-painting tradition.

Archbishop Pimen ordered the icon painter Simeon to paint an icon of the Mother of God with the Divine Infant, and before Them, standing and praying with upraised hands, Saint Nikita. The saint did not have a beard at all. And the icon painter thought that at least a small beard on the face of St. Nikita should be depicted on the icon. Simeon dozed off and heard a voice in a thin dream: Simeon, you're thinking of writing Bishop Nikita's beard! Don't think about it, for he didn't have a beard. And to erect other icon painters so that they do not write on the icons of Bishop Nikita with a beard". The image of the saint was painted as he himself commanded.

Soon after finding the relics of St. Nikita, one of the rulers of the city revealed his doubts about their incorruptibility. To dispel his doubts, Archbishop Pimen opened the veil on the relics of the saint before Perseus. Seeing the face of the saint, like that of a healthy sleeping person, the mayor repented of his sin. Despite this, the city priests soon came to the archbishop with a request to give them the opportunity to see for themselves 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 at the relics of St. rose, and with it the whole body began to move. The priests were amazed at the miracle and asked the archbishop to allow them to annually commemorate this incident to send prayer singing to the whole cathedral at the relics of the saint, which is why the archbishop established a feast on the fifth 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 Kosoy was very widespread, rejecting, among other things, the veneration of holy icons and relics; it also had its effect on the clergy and partly shook their faith in miracles.

Meanwhile, many miracles happened at the relics of St. Nikita, after finding them. But it is especially noteworthy that, through the grace-filled help of the saint, mainly the sick with eyes and the blind received healing. Once, during the liturgy, the old and blind Ksenia, who had not seen anything for 12 years, was praying at the relics of the saint. She insistently asked Archbishop Pimen to pray for her to St. Nikita. He said: “Get away from me, old woman, get away, go to Saint Nikita, and he will save you according to your faith, if he wants to.” At the tomb of Saint Xenia, she prayed fervently, and one of her eyes began to see. With tears of joy, she again persistently implored that, through the prayers of the archbishop, her other eye would also see. Vladyka answered her: “I see, old woman, 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 tomb of the saint with the words: "He who opened one eye to you will open the other." Again she fell to the cancer with tears and her hope was not in vain: she received her sight in the second eye, to the general surprise of those who were then in the church of Hagia Sophia.

During the uncovering of the relics of St. Nikita, through his prayers, God crowned Russian weapons with victory in the war against the Livonians. During the capture of Rugodiv, both the Russian army and the enemy saw that St. Nikita rides along the banks of the Narova River on a horse in hierarchal robes and with a rod in his hand topped with a cross, repulses the 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, overlaid with silver basmen. Novgorodians brought a lampada with a gilded inscription as a gift to their heavenly patron: “The candle of Veliky Novgorod, of all Orthodox Christians, was placed by the new Novgorod miracle worker 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, was later kept in the sacristy of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.

After 1917, when an 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 vault. 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 Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral on Yaroslav's Court. But they didn't 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 Saint Philip the Apostle where they stayed until 1993.

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

Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod

Cancer with the relics of St. Nikita

The relics of the saint during the Second World War

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

In 1942, the Nazis drove over 3,000 Novgorodians to Lithuania. In the autumn of the same year, in 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 transferred 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 put down in the proper way, and therefore the Lord vouchsafed me, the unworthy one, the Lord to raise Saint Nikita entirely, in my arms, with the help of Hierodeacon Hilarion. The saint was dressed in a dark crimson velvet phelonion, 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 that has darkened with time. The face of the saint is wonderful; the completely preserved features of his face express strict calmness and at the same time meekness and humility. The beard is almost invisible, only sparse vegetation on the chin is noticeable. The right hand, blessing, is folded with two fingers - a strongly darkened place from application for 400 years clearly stands out on it. Wonderful is God in His saints!»

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

After these words, the saint became invisible. Having learned about this, Metropolitan Sergius established a rule that before the beginning of each service, when opening the shrine of St. Nikita, the clergy should go out and kiss the right hand of St. Nikita, return to the altar, and then only begin the liturgy. This tradition is honored even now 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 wisdom of abstinence, and having curbed the desire of your flesh, you sat on the throne of hierarchy, and like a many-light star, enlightening faithful hearts with the dawns of your miracles, our father to St. Nikito: and now pray to Christ God, save our souls.

Kontakion, tone 6:
Honoring the rank of bishopric, and standing up to the purest, diligently praying for your people, thou didst bring down the rain with prayer, and extinguished the hail of fire. And now pray to Saint Nikito to Christ God, to save the Orthodox emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, and your people praying, let us all cry out to you: rejoice in the holy hierarch of the Father.

His memory is celebrated in the month of January on the 31st day, in the month of February on the 10th day, in the month of April on the 30th day, in the month of May on the 14th day and in the month of October on the 4th day.

+ 1108

At the Novgorod department from 1096 to 1107 or 1108.

With St. Nikita, he ministered in Novgorod during the happy reign here of Mstislav Vladimirovich the Brave, the son of Monomakhov. In the host of the Novgorod hierarchs, he is better known as a strict ascetic, according to the compiler of the service, he was "a maker of the grapes of Christ, a divine mind, a spiritual organ, a lamp of light and an inexhaustible stream of love." Biographers are exclusively engaged in describing his exploits. From this side, the life of the saint is very instructive, because the Lord, like once the Apostle Peter, allowed him to fall, but, listening to his repentance, raised him up so that he himself, having been tempted, could help those who were tempted.

Saint Nikita was a native of Kiev and one of the first tonsurers of the Pechersk monastery, in whose memory the spiritual exploits of the first founders of the Lavra are still vividly preserved. Wanting to become along with many ascetics of the Pechersks, who then shone with the holiness of life, Nikita wished for a shutter. The experienced hegumen persuaded him for a long time to stay in the monastery to serve the brethren, pointed to his youth, inexperience and the danger of this feat, pointed to the instructive example of Isaac, who at that time was still alive, but the young ascetic did not want to and hear. Finally, his burning desire was granted. Nikita, admonished by the blessing and prayers of the elders, retired to a secluded cell and blocked the entrance to it. But in a secluded cave, his peaceful exploits did not last long. The temptation that once befell Isaac, now befell the young man Nikita. One day, when he was standing at prayer, he suddenly heard the voice of a certain person praying invisibly with him, and at the same time the cave was filled with an unusual fragrance. The inexperienced Nikita mistook this charm of the spirit for a visit from an angel of God and began to beg the invisible guest to appear to him in a sensual way. But the mysterious voice answered: “I will not appear to you for the sake of your youth, so that you do not exalt yourself,” affirming even more with these cunning words of the hermit in his charms. When he began to beg with tears and made a promise to fulfill his will in everything, then the tempter appeared to him sensually, and the seduced one bowed to him. “Now you have nothing to pray for,” the enemy of God and people told him, “for I will send prayers for you, but you only read books and give useful advice to those who come to you.” The inexperienced recluse also obeyed this charm of the spirit of malice, for the tempter showed the appearance that he was constantly praying for him.

Nikita, reassured by the fact that an angel was praying for him, himself left the feat of prayer and began to read books and talk with those who came about the benefits of the soul. Sometimes he even predicted the future, for the same tempter, in order to strengthen the deceived, foreshadowed certain events. Once he sent to the Grand Duke Izyaslav to say: “Today your nephew Gleb Svyatoslavich was killed in Zavolochye, hurry to send your son Svyatopolk to reign in Novgorod.” Soon the message received justified the words of the seer, and from that time the people began to gather to him in multitudes for the benefit of the soul. But this is what denounced the prophet: Nikita knew by heart all the books of the Old Testament, but he could not say anything from the New Testament and did not even want to hear about it. The brethren of the Caves were embarrassed when they learned about the danger in which the inexperienced recluse was. Then there were still living the Monk Nikon Abbot and his successor - John, Pimen the Faster, Isaiah - Bishop of Rostov, Matthew and Onesiphorus the perspicacious, Agapit the doctor, Nikola, Bishop of Tmutorakan, Feoktist, Bishop of Chernigov, Gregory the Wonderworker and Gregory, the creator of the canons, Nestor the chronicler and Isaac the hermit - the same one who, shortly before that time, also underwent a severe temptation from the spirit of malice and was barely saved by the prayers of the holy fathers of the Caves. This living host of the righteous, who were then ascetic in the caves, having come to the deceived one, by the power of their prayer drove the tempter away from him. And what? When they took him out of the prison and began to ask him about the Old Testament, then Nikita sincerely admitted that he had never read those books that he had hitherto known by heart, and this was confirmed by an oath. “To this, - adds the writer of his life, - and you know not a single word, as if you had barely taught him to read and write.”

Having thus freed himself from the machinations of the tempter through the prayers of the holy fathers, the recluse Nikita confessed his sin before everyone and long and bitterly lamented his deep fall. To this, he added great abstinence and obedience and led such a humble and pure life, "as if he surpassed everyone in virtue." Saved by fraternal prayer, Nikita himself was soon chosen as an instrument for the salvation of others.

In 1096 Bishop Herman died in Novgorod, and in his place Saint Nikita was chosen for his lofty virtues, ordained by Metropolitan Ephraim of Kyiv, and in the same year he came to his throne. Since that time, the labors and cares of St. Nikita have multiplied, but the exploits with which he adorned himself in the Pechersk monastery have not diminished even now. The iron chains taken from the relics of the saint, weighing 14 pounds, are a faithful witness to the fact that the saint, until his very death, zealously struggled against the flesh. For this, the Lord soon glorified him with the gift of miracles, which was so beneficial for the flock. In the next year of his hierarchship, a terrible fire broke out in Novgorod. The saint prayed, his tearful prayer put out the terrible flame. Another time there was a terrible drought in Novgorod and its environs, which threatened everyone with terrible death. The saint again prayed, and the Lord sent heavy rain on the pastures. By the power of his prayer, he protected his flock even outside Novgorod. The chronicler, speaking about the campaign of Mstislav, Prince of Novgorod, against Oleg and about the two victories of the former over the latter, concludes his story with the fact that Mstislav returned to Novgorod "to his city through the prayers of the Monk Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod."

By the example of his holy life, Saint Nikita contributed much to the spread and maintenance of piety in his flock. Under him, Novgorod was adorned with holy temples. Of the churches of that time, the Annunciation on Gorodische, built by Mstislav, the son of Monomakh, in 1103, is remarkable, which still exists. Under him, in Novgorod, the beginning of monastic life was laid by the Monk Anthony the Roman, who miraculously sailed here on a stone a little over a year before the death of the saint.

Worthy of note is the first friendly meeting of these two saints of God. Here the holy soul of the archpastor was fully revealed. “As soon as a rumor reached Bishop Nikita about a miraculous stranger,” it is said in the life of the monk, “the saint immediately wished to see him. Moved by joy and fear, with deep humility, the monk went to him. The saint led him into his cell. Entering, the monk made the usual prayer and, when the saint said "amen", with fear and love he received a blessing from him, as from the hand of God. Having already foreseen, according to the teaching of God, all the miraculous in the life of the monk, the saint, in spite of this, began to ask him about the fatherland, from where and how he arrived in Veliky Novgorod. The monk did not want to reveal to the saint a mysterious and miraculous event in his life, for the sake of human glory. “Wouldn’t you tell me, brother,” the saint said then, “your secret. Or do you not know that God will reveal everything to our humility, even about you, and then you will deserve the condemnation of a disobedient will of God? And then urgently, also with a spell, asked him for an answer. After this, the monk fell down before the saint and wept bitterly, begging him not to reveal his secrets to anyone while he was alive, and then frankly told him about the place of his birth and upbringing, and about how he arrived in Novgorod. Listening to this wonderful story, the saint thought that he saw before him not a man, but an angel of God, got up from his seat, put aside the pastor's staff, and from emotion and joy prayed for a long time to the Lord, wondrous and glorious in his true and faithful servants. After the prayer, to which the monk said “amen,” the humble saint of God fell to the ground before him and began to ask for his prayers, the saint did the same, begging the saint to bless him and pray for him, and calling himself a sinner and unworthy. “You have been honored with extraordinary gifts from the Lord,” St. Nikita said to the Monk, “you have become like the ancient miracle workers - Elijah the Thesbite or the apostles, who from various places by Divine power were brought to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. With you, your saint, the Lord overshadowed and blessed our city, people newly enlightened with holy faith. “You are the bishop of the Most High God,” the monk told him, “you are the anointed of God, you should pray for us.” And for a long time they were bowed to the ground, shedding abundant tears and asking one another for prayers and blessings, as if competing with each other in humility, which is so natural to a soul with a properly developed consciousness and a Christian conscience. Finally, the saint, having risen, raised up the monk, blessed him, fraternally kissed him, and conversed with him for a long time with love. After that, he began to persuade the monk to stay and live with him until death, but Anthony answered: “For the Lord's sake, holy God, do not force me. I must strive with patience in the very place where the Lord commanded me.” No longer insisting on his desire, the saint once again blessed him, released him in peace to the place indicated to him by God. Such was the first meeting between the saint and the Monk Anthony.

A holy and closest friendship bound the two holy men even afterward, until the very death of the saint. Immediately after the miraculous arrival of St. Anthony in Novgorod, the foundation was laid for his future monastery. Sincerely falling in love with the Roman, Saint Nikita ordered to build a small wooden church near his stone, which he himself consecrated, and “then put a single cell” as a refuge for the monks. The next year, a place was prepared for the foundation of the stone church of the Nativity of the Virgin, which still exists. Shortly before his death, the saint, together with the monk, measured the place for the temple and began to dig a ditch for the foundation, but the church was already built under his successor, Bishop John.

Wanting to leave a memory in the church of Hagia Sophia, Nikita wanted to decorate it with wall writing, but death prevented his zealous desire from being fulfilled. That is why the cathedral was painted already after his death with the acquisition, as noted in the annals, of St. Nikita the bishop, according to his will. To this day, the stone building, built by St. Nikita for the Novgorod lord, is still intact, it is known both in monuments and in folk tradition under the name of Nikitsky, as built by St. Nikita. The annals say nothing about whether St. Nikita took any part in the affairs of foreign Novgorod policy. Probably, with the then turmoil in all parts of Russia, he cared a lot about observing a peaceful spirit in his flock. This partly explains why the Novgorodians took little part in the internecine war of the princes at that time, and if they raised arms against Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, it was solely for their personal safety.

Saint Nikita ruled the flock for eleven years. He reposed on the 31st day of January 1107 or 1108 and was buried in the chapel of the Godfather of Joachim and Anna. His relics were hidden in the ground for 450 years and were discovered in the most difficult time for Novgorod, when all the horrors of the wrath of John IV gathered over it. The deceased saint again appeared, as if alive, in the midst of his mournful flock. Seven years before the discovery of his relics, precisely in 1551, one pious courtier, who was entrusted with the organization of church affairs in Novgorod, listening to the reading of the Acts of the Apostles in the St. Sophia Church on Easter night, grieved in spirit for the neglect in which the tomb of the ancient great saint was located Nikita. Moved then by an incomprehensible secret feeling, he had a fiery desire to find out if the relics of the saint were kept inside the coffin? Having drilled a hole in the upper plank of the stone reliquary and lowered a candle into it, he was struck with astonishment. He saw that the body of the saint was not subject to decay in any of the members. At the same time, he was zealous to make a rich cover on the cancer, and she remained in this position under the archbishops Theodosius and Serapion. Meanwhile, the Orthodox, driven by faith, came every day to look through the hole at the incorrupt remains of their ancient pastor, and everyone ardently desired their discovery. Finally, in 1558, Archbishop Pimen reported the miraculous appearance of the relics of St. Nikita to Tsar John and Metropolitan Macarius. Having received the blessing of the primate and the consent of the king to the opening of the relics, Archbishop Pimen saw in a dream a husband with a barely noticeable beard and heard the words: “Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your primate, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands my relics to be revealed to the people. Waking up, Pimen heard the bell for matins and hurried to the cathedral. On the way he met a pious Novgorodian named Isaac, who that night also saw in a dream St. Nikita, who commanded him to convey to the lord that he would not hesitate to open the relics and pray for the king's victory over his enemies and for the abundance of the fruits of the earth. Hearing from Isaac about the vision he had had, the archbishop immediately set about opening the holy relics of St. Nikita. First, Pimen prepared a new full vestment for the incorruptible body of the saint and, lifting the lid, in the presence of the entire spiritual cathedral found the deceased completely whole. In the imperishable features of his face, even the imprint of that spiritual feat and the heavenly world with which he fell asleep on earth was preserved. The right hand lay on the Persians, and her fingers were folded for blessing, and the left was stretched out. The very clothes on the saint, consisting of a simple priestly phelonion, a brown damask with green borders, and over it was an omophorion, not only did not decay, being 450 years underground, but could also serve for the sacred service of the successors of the deceased. A modern narrator about the discovery and glorification of the relics of the saint rightly noted that this glorification of the saint put to shame the "godless heresy of Bashkin", who rejected everything supernatural, and the grace of God, and all the miracles of Christianity. The saint with prayer was clothed in new vestments, and his incorruptible body was placed in the middle of the temple. The people, rejoiced at the appearance of their ancient archpastor, witnessed by miracles even during his lifetime, now flocked to him in multitudes with prayer for their needs, and at the same time, according to an eyewitness to the solemn opening, many blind, dry, paralyzed and other sick men and women were healed. from touching the incorruptible remains. And not only in Novgorod, but also far from it: in the ranks of Russian soldiers besieging the Livonian city of Narva, Saint Nikita showed his miraculous power and help on the day of the discovery of his relics. Many Livonians then saw between the Russian regiments a beardless man, in hierarchal robes, with a rod and a cross, traveling along the banks of the Narova River. It was none other than St. Nikita of Christ. At the same time, in Narva, a German brewer threw into the fire, diluted under the boiler, two icons stolen from Ivangorod. On one of them was depicted the Mother of God with the Eternal Child, and on the other - the saints of God: Nicholas the Wonderworker, Blasius, Kozma and Damian. Suddenly a strong wind arose, and the flames, spilling from under the cauldron, engulfed the entire city. Not only the houses, but also the walls and gates burned down, and the Russian troops, together with the inhabitants of Ivangorod, taking advantage of the confusion of the Germans, quickly crossed the river and captured Narva (Rugodivy) without an attack and battering rams. To complete the miraculous event, both icons, thrown into the fire by the wicked followers of Luther, were found unharmed at the place of brewing. Such miraculous signs for the help and glory of the faithful and for the shame of unbelief were performed at the opening of the relics of St. Nikita and outside Novgorod, in a foreign country. The archbishop placed them first on the right side of the St. Sophia altar, and then transferred them to the place where they rested before.

Now the relics of the saint rest openly in a rich silver reliquary, into which they were transferred with great solemnity on April 30, 1846.

“I saw a lot of lofty things,” says an eyewitness who described this celebration, “at the sacred celebrations of the Orthodox Motherland, but I didn’t see anything like it.” The reliquary is placed in the arch of the wall separating the chapel of the Nativity of the Theotokos from the chapel of the Godfather of Joachim and Anna, where the saint was buried. His memory is celebrated on January 31 - on the day of death, and on April 30 - in memory of the finding of relics.

Troparion, tone 4

Having enjoyed, God-wise, restraining and curbing the desire of your flesh, you sat on the throne of hierarchy, and like a many-light star, enlightening faithful hearts with the dawns of your miracles, our father, Saint Nikito, and now pray to Christ God, may save our souls.

Kontakion, tone 6

You honored the rank of bishop, and standing up to the purest, diligently praying for your people brought thou; as if you brought down the rain with prayer, when you extinguished the hail of fire. And now, to Saint Nikito, pray to Christ God to save your people who are praying, let us all cry out to you: rejoice in the saint, the divine father.

When and where St. Nikita was born, who were his parents, no news has come down to 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, as St. Polycarp narrates in a letter to Archimandrite Akindin of the Caves.

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

Nikita answered that he would no longer be deceived like Isaac, but would firmly stand against the wiles of the devil and pray to God that the Lord would grant him the gift of miracles, like Isaac the hermit. But the abbot again objected to him: “Your desire is beyond your strength; beware, child, lest, being 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 hegumen and did what he planned: shutting himself firmly in his cell, he prayed in it incessantly. But several days passed, and the devil tempted him. Once, while singing prayers, Nikita heard a voice praying with him, and felt an inexplicable fragrance. The deceived monk thought: “If it were not an Angel, then 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 Thyself, that I may see Thee." 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 heed the demonic charm. I am ready to carry out Your commands."

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

And immediately a demon in the form of an angel stood before Nikita. The monk bowed to him like 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 ceaselessly pray to the Creator of all for your salvation.”

The deceived hermit completely stopped praying and, seeing the constantly praying demon, rejoiced that the Angel was praying for him; but he himself did nothing but diligently read books and instructed those who came to him, and at times prophesied.

Once he sent a message to Prince Izyaslav to send his son Svyatopolk to the throne of Novgorod as soon as possible, since Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich was killed in Zavolochye. And indeed, a few days later the news came that Prince Gleb had been killed by the Zavolotsk miracle. It happened on May 30, 1078.

Since that time, great fame has gone about the recluse Nikita. The princes and boyars believed that the recluse was a prophet, they 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 hermit about what had happened, and he prophesied, and the predictions came true.

But this is what attracted the special attention of the Pechersk ascetics: 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 are given to us by grace for our correction and confirmation in faith. It became clear to everyone that Monk Nikita was deceived by the enemy of the human race. The Reverend Fathers of the Caves could not tolerate this.

Together with their hegumen, the Monk Nikon, they came to the deceived hermit and, by the power of their prayers, drove the demon away from him.
Having taken Nikita out of the lock, they asked him about the Old Testament, but he swore that he had never read those books that he had previously known by heart; he did not even know how to read a single word in them, and the brethren barely taught Nikita to read and write. Having come to his senses through the prayers of the holy brethren of the Caves, Nikita confessed and with bitter tears wept over his sin before them, and then doomed himself to strict abstinence and monastic obedience. With a pure and humble life, he acquired high virtues, the fame of which spread far beyond the borders of the Kievan land.

The philanthropic God accepted the true repentance of Nikita and made him the shepherd of the verbal flock of Christ. In 1096 Saint Nikita was chosen by Divine Providence and consecrated Bishop of Veliky Novgorod, where the Lord glorified His saint with the gift of miracles. In the second year of his hierarchship, Nikita, with his prayers, put an end to the great fire in Novgorod. Another time, during a drought that threatened the Novgorod land with famine, through his prayers, the rain revived the fields and meadows with fields and grasses.

According to the life story 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 - Blagoveshchenskaya on Gorodische. And to this day there is a monument to his concern for the improvement of the Novgorod Bishop's House - this is a stone building, which is known both in written monuments and in folk tradition under the name of Nikitinsky.

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

Probably, the local celebration of the memory of St. Nikita began soon after his death. From the middle of the XII century, the news has been preserved: “And now they honor him, the holy and blessed Nikita, with the saints.” But it is not known at what time, at least until the middle of the 16th century, honoring his memory ceased in Novgorod. The universal celebration of St. 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.

Uncovering the Holy Relics of Saint Nikita happened under the following circumstances.

In the evening of 1551, on Holy Saturday, when Christians gathered in 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, came there, and, bypassing the cathedral porches, occupied by the tombs of bishops, went into the aisle of the godfather Joachim and Anna, in which the tomb of St. Nikita was in complete neglect. The church reader at that time was sleeping, leaning on her. Coming out of the limit, 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 himself. 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 cover, which he laid on the tomb of St. Nikita, having previously cleared it of dust and litter. Motivated by the desire to look at the relics of the saint, the boyar made a slit in the tomb and saw that the body of the saint lay covered with a veil on the church platform, completely intact, without signs of destruction. Little by little, other residents of this city also learned about this, from time to time they looked into the crack of the tomb and marveled at what they saw. This continued until 1558.

In the same year, Archbishop Pimen, 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 ordered him to open the tomb of the saint, to transfer his body to a new wooden tomb so that it would openly rest, and establish a church-wide celebration of the saint. To open the tomb of the saint, the iconostasis had to be dismantled, 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 platform of the church; it was covered with a shroud, and the face of the saint was illuminated by heavenly light; His right hand, blessing, lay on his Persians, while his left was stretched out to his knees; the right foot was turned with the sole up, the left to the side. Having dressed the saint in new bishop's clothes, he was again laid in the tomb in the same place.

At the appointed time, Archbishop Pimen, with a numerous cathedral of clergy, performed prayer singing at the tomb of St. Nikita, during which his relics were transferred to the “prepared bed” and transferred to the main cathedral church, where the all-night vigil was then served. During the divine service, when the statutory reading was taking place and the clergy were sitting, one of the abbots had a vision that Saint Nikita, having risen from the tomb, in a phelonion and with a censer in his hands, went first to cense in the altar, and then to 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, by order of the metropolitan, was temporarily placed on the right side of the temple near the small pillar against the pulpit until the completion of work to expand the chapel of the Father Joachim and Anna.

Soon after finding the relics of St. Nikita, one of the rulers of the city revealed his doubts about their incorruptibility. To dispel his doubts, Archbishop Pimen opened the veil on the relics of the saint before Perseus. Seeing the face of the saint, like that of a healthy sleeping person, the mayor repented of his sin. Despite this, the city priests soon came to the archbishop with a request to give them the opportunity to see for themselves 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 at the relics of St. rose, and with it the whole body began to move. The priests were amazed at the miracle and asked the archbishop to allow them to annually commemorate this incident to send prayer singing to the whole cathedral at the relics of the saint, which is why the archbishop established a feast on the fifth 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 Kosoy was very widespread, rejecting, among other things, the veneration of holy icons and relics; it also had its effect on the clergy and partly shook their faith in miracles.

Meanwhile, many miracles took place at the relics of St. Nikita, after they were found: the paralyzed, the lame, the withered hands, the lepers, the possessed received healing, but it is worthy of special attention that those who were mostly healed were those who were sick with the eyes, the blind or those with impaired vision.

When the honest relics of St. Nikita were found and a striking healing of one paralytic took place, many residents of Novgorod and the surrounding area began to flow to the relics of the miracle worker with their sick. Among the sick was an old and blind Xenia, who had not seen anything for 12 years. At that time, the liturgy was going on. Xenia prayed to the Lord for healing, turned her thoughts to St. Nikita, and then with tears she said publicly to Archbishop Pimen, who was standing in the temple: “I pray to you, your Grace Archbishop: pray to your comrade-in-arms, the great saint and miracle worker Nikita, that he would grant me insight.” .

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

At the tomb of Saint Xenia, she prayed fervently, and one of her eyes began to see. But she took the courage to turn again to Archbishop Pimen, falling at his feet, and with tears of joy she again begged that, through the prayers of the archbishop, her other eye would also see. Vladyka answered her: “I see, old woman, that you are many years old, and one eye would be enough to serve you until your death.”

But Xenia, with the same persistence, tearfully pleads with the archbishop. He sends her again to the tomb of St. Nikita with the words: "He who opened one eye to you will open the other."

Xenia again comes to the shrine of the miracle worker, adds tears to her tears and weaves prayers with heartfelt sighs and faith. And the hope of the woman was not in vain: she saw the light in the 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 Divine Infant, and before Them, standing and praying with upraised hands, Saint Nikita. The saint did not have a beard at all. And the icon painter thought that it was necessary to depict on the icon at least a small brada on the face of St. Nikita. Thinking about this, Simeon began to doze, went to his bed and fell asleep. And in a thin dream, he suddenly heard a voice: “Simeon, you are thinking of writing Bishop Nikita’s beard! Don't think about it, for he didn't have a beard. And to erect other icon painters so that they do not write Bishop Nikita with a beard on the icons.

Simeon woke up, but saw no one. 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, with faith and prayer, resorted to him. During the uncovering of the relics of St. Nikita, through his prayers, God crowned Russian weapons with victory in the war against the Livonians. During the capture of Rugodiv, both the Russian army and the enemy saw that St. Nikita rides along the banks of the Narova River on a horse in hierarchal robes and with a rod in his hand topped with a cross, repulses the 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.

At present, the relics of St. Nikita openly rest in the same place where they were found: under the arch between the aisles of the Holy Father Joachim and Anna and the Mother of God of the Nativity in a rich silver shrine, into which they were transferred from the 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, according to the old style - on the day of finding his honest relics.

Veneration, miracles

The very first life of St. Nikita is found in the letter of Polycarp to Akindin of the XIII century. In 1547 he was glorified for general church veneration throughout the Russian Church. On the night of April 30, 1558, a man with a barely noticeable beard appeared in a dream to the Novgorod hierarch Pimen and said: Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your primate, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands to open my relics 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 on the same night also saw in a dream St. Nikita, who ordered him to tell Vladyka not to delay opening the relics. Hearing from Isaac about the vision he had had, the archbishop immediately set about opening the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was raised, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his garments were preserved in incorruption. 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 in order 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, in 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 transferred to the church, and Metropolitan Sergius (Voskresensky) 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 shrines moved from their place and they had to be put down in the proper way, and therefore the Lord vouchsafed me, the unworthy one, the Lord to raise Saint Nikita entirely, in my arms, with the help of Hierodeacon Hilarion. The saint was dressed in a dark crimson velvet phelonion, 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 wonderful; the completely preserved features of his face express strict calmness and at the same time meekness and humility. The beard is almost invisible, only sparse vegetation on the chin is noticeable. The right hand, blessing, is folded with two fingers - a strongly darkened place from application for 400 years clearly stands out on it. Wonderful is God in His saints!»

The entire Orthodox people, who found themselves in that Lithuanian region, met the holy relics with trepidation and enthusiasm. At the same time, Hierodeacon Hilarion, who was helping the rector of the temple to put the relics of the saints in order, a man not very educated, but burning with faith, twice saw one dream: Saint Nikita, dressed in a mantle, stood in the middle of the temple and read the penitential canon.

Hierodeacon, who entered the temple and saw the bishop, immediately fell at his feet and asked for blessings. The saint blessed the Novgorodian with a gesture and said: Pray all for deliverance from the disasters coming to our homeland and people. The wicked enemy takes up arms. You must all before the service of God to receive the blessing«.

After these words, the saint became invisible. Having learned about this, Metropolitan Sergius established a rule that before the beginning of each service, when opening the shrine of St. Nikita, the clergy should go out and kiss the right hand of St. Nikita, return to the altar, and then only begin the liturgy.

This tradition is honored even now by the Novgorod priesthood. The relics of St. Nikita are now resting in St. Sophia Cathedral, and the priests of the cathedral must venerate them before the start of divine services.

Days of Remembrance:

• June 17 (transitional) - Cathedral of the Novgorod Saints
• February 13
• May 13 - Uncovering the relics
• May 27

NIKI NOVOGORODSKII
Troparion, tone 4

Having enjoyed, God-wise, abstinence / and curbing the desire of your flesh, / you sat on the throne of hierarchy, / and like a many-light star, enlightening faithful hearts / with the dawns of your miracles, our father, Saint Nikito, / and now pray to Christ God, / may he save our souls.

Another troparion, tone 2

Desiring heavenly space, / from youth in a cramped place you shut yourself up, / being deceived from the enemy in it, / again with humility and obedience / you defeated the strong charmer, Nikito, / and now, standing before Christ, / pray that we all be saved.

Kontakion, tone 6

And having honored the hierarchy with the dignity / and purely standing before you, / you diligently brought prayer for your people, / like you brought down the rain with prayer, / when you extinguished the hail of burning. / And now, to St. Nikito, / pray to Christ God / save your praying people, / yes, we all cry out to you: / rejoice, holy hierarch.

Another kontakion, tone 1

Having defeated the enemy’s flattery / and shining brightly with virtue, / you put on the clothes of hierarchs, glorious Nikito, / in it the light of your life and miracles shining more than the sun, / having enlightened many, you brought Christ, / Him pray for us who sing thee.

More than others, those brave warriors deserve respect, who have the habit of fighting the enemy not in a general formation, but rushing at the enemy one by one. Although the Lord allows them to fall temporarily many times, so that they do not become arrogant, he never leaves them completely without grace-filled help, but restores them and makes them invincible. One of these brave warriors of Christ, namely the blessed Nikita, gained special fame for himself after the Monk Isaac the Recluse. The most praiseworthy Polycarp reports about him from the words of Saint Simon as follows.

During his tenure as abbot of the Monk Nikon, a brother of the holy Caves Monastery, named Nikita, began to ask the abbot to bless him to asceticise alone and retire into seclusion.

My son! it will not do you any good, in your youth, to sit idly. It will be much better if you stay with the brethren and work together without losing your reward. You yourself saw how our brother Isaac the cave-dweller was tempted in seclusion by demons and would have died if he had not been saved by the great grace of God through the prayers of our venerable fathers Anthony and Theodosius.

Nikita replied to this:

Never, my father, will I be tempted by any temptation. I have the intention to firmly resist the demonic temptations and will pray to God, the Lover of mankind, that He would give me the gift of miracle-working, as once Isaac the hermit, who still works many miracles.

Then the abbot said to him more insistently:

Your desire is beyond your strength. Take heed, my son, lest you fall for your prestige. I command you to serve better than the brethren, and for your obedience you will be crowned by God.

However, Nikita did not want to obey the hegumen's instructions: he could not overcome his strong zeal for the reclusive life. Therefore, what he aspired to, he fulfilled: he closed himself in a cave, firmly blocked the entrance and remained alone in prayer, not going anywhere. However, after only a few days, he did not escape the wiles of the devil: during prayer singing, he heard a voice praying with him, and felt an inexpressible fragrance. Tempted by this, he thought to himself thus: if it were not an angel, he would not pray with me, and there would be no fragrance of the Holy Spirit here.

He began to pray even more earnestly, saying:

God! appear to me Thyself palpably, that I may see Thee.

I will not appear to you because you are young; otherwise you will become proud and may fall.

The recluse continued to tearfully ask:

Never, Lord, will I be offended. The abbot taught me not to listen to demonic temptations, but I will do everything that You command.

Then the soul-destroying serpent, having obtained power over him, said:

It is impossible for a man clothed with flesh to see me. Therefore, I send my angel to be with you, and you do his will.

Then immediately a demon appeared before him in the form of an angel. Nikita fell to the ground and bowed to him like an angel. Bes said to him:

From now on, you no longer pray, but read books. In this way you will converse with God, and you will give useful instructions to those who come to you, and I will always pray to the Creator of all for your salvation.

The hermit believed these words and, seduced, no longer prayed, but began to read books zealously. At the same time, he saw the demon constantly praying for him and rejoiced, thinking that it was an angel who was praying for him. With those who came to him, he talked a lot on the basis of Holy Scripture about the benefits of the soul; he even began to prophesy. His fame spread everywhere, and everyone marveled at the fulfillment of his predictions. Once he sent a notice to Prince Izyaslav: "Today Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich was killed; immediately send your son Svyatopolk to the princely throne in Novgorod." As he said, so it did. Indeed, a few days later, news came of the murder of Prince Gleb. From that time on, they began to talk even more about the recluse, that he was a prophet, and both princes and boyars fully believed him. - In fact, the demon, of course, does not know the future, but what he himself did - if, for example, he taught evil people to kill or steal, then he proclaims. In the same way, when those who sought consolation from him came to the hermit, the demon, revered by him as an angel, told him everything that had happened to them. Nikita prophesied, and everything he predicted came true.

At the same time, no one could compare with Nikita in the knowledge of the books of the Old Testament; he knew everything by heart: the book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Judges, Kings, all the prophecies in order. In general, he knew all the books of the Old Testament very well, but he never wanted to see or hear, not only to read the holy gospel and apostolic books given to us by the grace of God for our salvation and establishment in goodness; he did not want to talk to anyone about the New Testament. Hence it became clear to everyone that he was tempted by the devil. Dejected by this, the venerable fathers came to the tempted father: hegumen Nikon, John, who was after him the hegumen, Pimen the faster, Isaiah, who later became the bishop of Rostov, Matthew the seer, Isaac the hermit, Agapit the doctor, Gregory the wonderworker, Nicholas, the former bishop of Tmutarakan, Nestor the chronicler , Gregory the compiler of the canons, Theoktist, former bishop of Chernigov, Onesiphorus the seer. All of them, glorified by virtues, having come, offered up prayers to God for Nikita and drove the demon away from him, so that Nikita no longer saw him. Then, leading him out of the cave, they asked him to tell them something from the Old Testament. He began to swear that he had never even read those books that he knew by heart very recently; moreover, now he did not know a single word of them. Now he could hardly be taught to read and write. Gradually coming to his senses through the prayers of the venerable fathers, he confessed his sin and bitterly repented of it. After that, he imposed on himself a special abstinence and exploits, began to lead a strict and humble life and surpassed others in virtues. The philanthropic Lord, seeing such deeds of blessed Nikita, without rejecting his former virtues, in which he practiced from the day of his youth, accepted his true repentance, and just as he once accepted the repentance of St. Peter, who denied Him three times, said to him: feed the sheep My, so similar, gave the same sign of acceptance of repentance to this blessed Nikita. For his great love, revealed in the observance of the commandments, the Lord created him the shepherd of His verbal flock, elevating him to the Novgorod episcopal throne. There the Lord, in order to assure the flock and fully convince them of forgiving the saint of the temptation that happened to him, glorified his virtuous life with the gift of miracles. So, once, during a lack of rain, the Saint prayed to God and sent down rain from heaven; another time he extinguished the fire of the city with his prayers; he performed many other miracles. After the good management of his verbal flock, he passed to the Lord into eternal life, in 1108, on January 30. He was a bishop for thirteen years. He was buried with honor in the chapel of the great church of the holy fathers of God Joachim and Anna. The body of the blessed Nikita remained hidden in the tomb for four hundred and fifty years, and then in 1558, during the reign of the pious sovereign John Vasilievich, autocrat of all Russia, under Metropolitan Macarius and under Archbishop Theodosius of Novgorod, the relics of Saint Nikita were found whole and completely unharmed. To this day they radiate many healings to those who come to them in faith. Glory to our God, now and forever, and forever and ever, amen.

, reverend

Veneration, miracles

His very first life is found in the letter of Polycarp to Akindin of the XIII century. In the year followed his glorification for general church veneration throughout the Russian Church. On the night of April 30, a husband appeared in a dream to the Novgorod hierarch Pimen, with a barely noticeable beard, and said: Peace be with you, beloved brother! Do not be afraid, I am your primate, the sixth bishop of Novgorod, Nikita. The time has come, and the Lord commands to open my relics 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 on the same night also saw in a dream St. Nikita, who ordered him to tell Vladyka not to delay opening the relics. Hearing from Isaac about the vision he had had, the archbishop immediately set about opening the holy relics. When the lid of the tomb was raised, they saw the sacred treasures of grace: not only the body of the saint of God, but also his garments were preserved in incorruption. 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 Moscow to Metropolitan Macarius in order to clarify the icon-painting tradition. The relics subsequently rested in the church of St. Philip the Apostle.

This tradition is honored even now by the Novgorod priesthood. The relics of St. Nikita now rest in St. Sophia Cathedral, and the priests of the cathedral must venerate them before the start of divine services.

prayers

Troparion, tone 4

Having enjoyed, God-wise, abstinence / and curbing the desire of your flesh, / you sat on the throne of the priesthood / and, like a many-light star, / enlightening faithful hearts / with the dawns of your miracles, / our father to St. Nikito, / and now pray to God / Christ save our souls.

John troparion, tone 2

Desiring heavenly space, / from youth in a cramped place you shut yourself up, / in it you were deceived by the enemy, / again with humility and obedience / you defeated the charmer of the strong, Nikito, / and now, standing before Christ, / / ​​pray that we all be saved.