The appearance of the cross of the Lord in Zhytomyr. The history of the appearance of the life-giving cross The appearance of the cross

The legend about the appearance of the honest and life-giving Cross of the Lord and the great Wonderworker Nicholas in the hierarchs. "Edition of the Russian Charitable Society" Reverend Sergius ", 1999. (According to the publication of the church head of the peasant Vasily Petrovich Ekhlakov, published in the printing house of G. Falk, Yaroslavl in 1882. )

On September 11, 16672 (7175 after the creation of the world) of the reigning city of Moscow, the God-loving circumambulant prince Pyotr Lukich, having heard about the miraculous image of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas, went to the Rostov district to the Nikolsky pogost, located in a swamp, on the promise to pray.
Life-giving Cross of the Lord

Arriving at the Nikolsky churchyard, he entered the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and, taking the priest's blessing, asked him to tell about the miracles of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. How he appeared, how, to what people and at what times. The priest said to him: "I heard from the ancient priests about the previous miracles of the Cross of the Lord, because by God's permission, for our sake of sins, the holy Church of Nicholas the Wonderworker burned down without a trace during the fire, and the church books that were in it at that time were all burned down." Hearing this, Prince Pyotr Lukich was upset. And again he began to ask that priest of the chronicler to tell about the current miracles of the Life-giving Cross for the benefit of the soul. The priest answered: "And you will not find that with us."

Hearing this, the prince was indignant: "How come you, priests, who have been and live at this church for so long, do not have zeal and diligence. I heard from strangers that in the Nikolsky churchyard the grace of God was miraculously revealed. And you are so great by oblivion and neglect. you leave the grace of God. I, a sinful, in the past general, according to the personal decree of the great sovereign, was sent with a regiment to distant countries for Kiev to protect the state from enemies - the Swedish king Sapegov of Lithuania.3 And I was there with the regiment for two years. There are all kinds of people in my regiment. ranks who flow with faith in this Nikolsky churchyard to the Life-giving Cross and the miracle-worker Nicholas, and tell about many miracles and healings from the Life-giving Cross and the miracle-worker Nicholas and glorify them.And when I heard about these marvelous miracles, I promised to go to the Rostov district to pray To the life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas, as soon as God and the great Sovereign will deign to release me and retire from the service. shny, with my princess and my household, I went a long way and carried a great work, fulfilling the promise to see the image of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and to listen to edifying words for the soul. And you, tell me priest, as a keepsake, as long as you remember, about glorious miracles. "

And the priest, as best he could, told and instructed him with teachings. And again, the prince glorified the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, praising God and the great saint Nicholas, ordered to perform a prayer song. Having prayed at the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and from all the holy icons, having taken the blessing from the priest, he ordered him to look for stories about the miracles of the Life-Giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas. He himself promised him to come to the image of the Lord in the near future and returned home, but the priest, seeing the prayer book and giving him a blessing, was very sad about the words of Prince Peter Lukich. Arriving at the church, he prayed to the Lord's Cross with meekness and faith and went to the city of Rostov to find out about the miracles of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord.

Arriving at the monastery of Tsarevich Peter, he sought out Isaiah, the most honorable abbot of this monastery. This abbot was from the Nikolsky churchyard, his grandfathers lived there. Having asked the blessing of the venerable father igumen, the priest addressed the request: "Tell me, holy father, how did the Life-giving Cross appear in the Nikolsky churchyard?" And he told about the prince's petition and how he asked about the miracles of the Life-giving Cross. And the reverend father answered: "I, the sinful hegumen, heard about the appearance of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord from my father, priest monk Ignatius, and from priest monk Varlaam, as they heard it from their ancestors. a field near the swamp, which is now called the Nikolsky Pogost. And they saw - an unspeakable light appeared from the Greek side from heaven to earth and stood in the swamp. The shepherds, seeing this glorious miracle, were afraid. And seeing how some power of God appears and a glorious miracle, they said to each other: “Let's go and see what miracle God shows us, we will see and preach the glory of God.” And leaving the cattle in the field, they went to the swamp to the unspeakable light. people and cattle, through great swamps, tall trees and a thicket of forest close to the unspeakable light, then suddenly the Life-giving Cross of the Lord appeared in the middle of the light in the air. the great Nicholas, the miracle worker, appeared before him with the holy Gospel and stood near the shepherds in the swamp. The shepherds fell from fear as dead for a long time. And strengthened by God's power, as soon as they came to their senses, they heard a voice from the crucifixion of the Lord, saying to them: "The grace of God and the house of God will be in this place; and if someone comes to pray with faith, there will be many healings and miracles from the Life-giving Cross of prayers for the miracle worker. Nicholas. Go and tell all the people about this, so that in this place they will erect My church. " And the phenomenon was not in vain.
Place of the appearance of the Life-giving Cross
a few kilometers away
from the church of St. John Chrysostom

The shepherds returned to the field to their flock and, having come to their village, told about the appearance of the Cross of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas, telling in detail: how the voice came from the crucifixion of the Lord, commanding to put the church of God in this place, promising miracles and healings; and how they, the shepherds, from fear and horror fell to the ground unconscious for a long time. People, having heard this story, told the Bishop of Rostov about everything. The bishop, hearing about the glorious miracle of the appearance of the Life-giving Cross, glorified God. People asked the bishop and the entire sacred rite to build the Church of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas on the site of the appearance in the swamp of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas. The bishop gave a blessed letter and commanded to build a church of God in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and a chapel in honor of the origin of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. With the blessing of the bishop, people came to that miraculous place to build a church, but they could not, since the place was impassable. And they laid a church near that swamp. Having folded three rows of buildings on the first day, the church builders, having rested the night, got up in the morning and went to continue their work. When they arrived, they did not find a single chip in that place. Surprised, they saw in the same place where there was the first appearance to the shepherds, again untold light. They went to this wonderful world and found a church foundation in a swamp. All the logs were transferred to the church building, and in the middle of the foundation of the church, the Life-giving Cross appeared to the masters for the second time and a voice saying to them: "In this place build my church, and there will be a great mountain and many miracles will occur to those who come with faith to pray, and there will be many healings."
Bell tower at the site of the apparition
Of the Life-giving Cross

And on the same night a stream passed in the middle of the swamp and a large river formed and dry land appeared. And then they began to build the church of God without difficulty. And the revealed miraculous image of the Life-giving Cross became visible. And there was joy to all people for the many miraculous healings given to those who come with faith to this day. And just as the image of the Most Holy Theotokos came from the Iberian kingdom to the Holy Mountain of Athos through the air by God's providence, so here, in the swamp, the Most Holy Cross appeared. And when the construction of the holy church was completed, the priests with parishioners asked in the city of Rostov from the previously mentioned bishop for a blessing for the consecration of the church. The priests did not remember the name of that bishop for years ago4.

Hearing about the miraculous phenomenon, about the construction of the church and about its miraculous transfer, the bishop was surprised and went with the sacred cathedral to the crucifixion of the Lord. Arriving, he fell before the feet of the Most Pure, shedding many tears, saying: "What praise to You, O Lord, will I bring praise from unworthy lips and what prayers I will give You, as if you vouchsafed me to kiss your feet with unworthy lips?" And he performed a prayer song. After the moleben, the bishop ordered to ring all the bells, and placed this wonderful image of the Cross of the Lord in the newly created church to the right of the royal doors. And having consecrated the Church of God, he returned to the city of Rostov with much joy on his throne, glorifying the many wondrous miracles of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas. And fame about the miracles of the Life-giving Cross and the miraculous miracles of the miracle worker Nicholas went to many countries, cities and villages.

And to this day healings are given to those who come with faith. Then the bishop gave his blessing to erect a chapel for the burial of the strange at the original site of the church foundation. The priests of those times wrote down in the book about the miracles of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas. And that primordial holy church of God stood for many years, since it was built of oak wood. But by God's permission, and ours for the sake of sins, during the fire, the Church of God burned down. In the event of a fire, the churchmen began to take holy icons out of the church. Taking out all the icons, the priests entered the holy church and wanted to take and carry the Life-giving Cross, but could not move it from its place. The Life-giving Cross of the Lord did not deign to leave the Church of God. And with great difficulty the churchmen themselves were able to leave the church. And the holy books and church vestments were all burned down without a trace. And the book with the record of the miracles of the Life-giving Cross also burned down. And there was no way to defend the holy church from the fire, because a strong wind rose and intensified the fire, and all the people retreated. And they stood in the distance and with tears in contrition of heart cried out: "O Lord, Jesus Christ, our God! Oh, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord! We have sinned, Thy lawless servants. Thou didst not deign to us, Thy sinful servants, to endure the most pure image of Thy Cross. And now, O Lord our God, whom we will call to help us, who will save us and have mercy, who will deliver us from all misfortunes and troubles, and no longer see us, sinners, the most pure image of Thy face. " And according to this prayer, all the people with tears and sadness went to their homes.

Several days after the fire, many people came to the fire site. And everyone began to look for church things in the ashes, iron and copper utensils, and began to rake the ashes and found the wonderful Cross of the Lord unharmed, inviolable by fire. And all people out of fear and joy exclaimed: "Oh, the Most Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord! What praise we, sinners, will bring, or what thanksgiving or what chants to Thy Most Pure Name! He has not yet left us, orphans, helpless, but vouchsafed us, sinners To see your purest image again. " The priest began to perform the prayer singing. At that time they brought in many sick people, possessed by all kinds of sorrows. And the priest ordered the priest to write the names of all the mourners to those who were at the Most Pure Image of the Life-giving Cross, and the Lord God gave healing to all: walking to the lame, insight to the blind, health to the sick. And having consecrated the water, he set up the Cross of the Lord in a most honorable place with due honor.

A few days later, the priest with the parishioners began to ask the bishop for blessing for the construction of a new church. The bishop blessed and ordered to build a new church in the same place. When the construction of the new church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completed, they brought in the wonderful image of the Holy Cross and put it in its place on the right side of the royal doors.6 And from those wonderful images there is great enlightenment and healing to those who come with faith to this day to the glory of the One-hearted and Indivisible Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

In 1510 (7018) 8 under the right-believing Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich (1505-1509) of All Russia and under the right-believing princes George and Demetrius and under the Most Reverend Metropolitan Simon (1494-1511) and under the Right Reverend Archbishop of Rostov Vassian II (1506-1515) 9 and under the noble prince Alexander Fedorovich Yaroslavsky (died in 1671) 10 the priest Elijah from the city of Rostov ordered a certain John to write the book "The Legend of the Life-giving Cross and the Miracle Worker Nicholas".

And in 1520 (7028), Princess Eudokia of Prince Semyon Ivanovich Velsky donated to the crucifixion of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas the air embroidered with gold with the images of the Savior, the Most Holy Theotokos, John the Baptist and other saints 11, and besides that, two more sheets of green taffeta, two rubles of money , the book of the Psalter followed and the book of the Ismaragd, that is, Chrysostom.

In 1520 (7028) Job Vasilievich Teterin donated my period to the Life-giving Cross.

And as far as possible, the holy venerable hegumen Isaiah told me everything that he had heard from the ancient priests and the monastic fathers - the inhabitants of those places, and I, an unworthy priest, wrote it down in this book. And he asked about miracles and searched the holy churches for stories about them in ancient scrolls. And everything that I, unworthy, found in the writings about miracles, I wrote down in this book for the glory and honor of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas for the benefit of souls who come with faith.

Lord, hear my prayer,
and my cry to you come.
Psalm 101 v. 1

DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENTS OF THE PHENOMENON OF THE LORD'S LIVING CROSS IN THE LIFE OF ST. NICHOLAS THE WONDERWORKER.

The legend about the apparition of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord is quite fully described in the book "The Life and Miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Mirlikia, and His Glory in Russia" (St. Petersburg, 1999). For completeness of acquainting the reader with this wonderful phenomenon, we would like to give the specified description (with some abbreviations). This is how it starts:

In the Yaroslavl diocese, the ancient image of St. Nicholas is kept in the Nikolayevsky churchyard near the Jesus Cross, Rostov district (55 miles from the city of Rostov). The image of the saint is honored here along with the carved image of the crucifixion of Christ and, according to the news of the Rostov chronicler, miraculously appeared with the Life-giving Cross in the summer of 6931 (1423) May 29 on the Sakhot bog (the old name of the area of ​​the present village). Unfortunately, apart from these general and brief indications, the Rostov Chronicle does not tell us anything about the miraculous image. We learn about all the further circumstances of his miraculous appearance only from a much later recorded local tradition of the following.

“From ancient times, from ancient times,” says this legend, “near that swamp, which is now known as the Nikolsky churchyard, the shepherds of one (nearest) village grazed cattle. And then one day, when these shepherds were here in the field, suddenly appeared to them from the Greek side an inexpressible light from heaven to earth and stood over the swamp. At the sight of such an extraordinary phenomenon, the shepherds were frightened, but they realized that the power of God was revealed before them, and went through the swamp to the wonderful light. With great difficulty they reached it, because the swamp is almost impassable and thick thicket forest led to him, and saw "in the middle of the light in the air the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, and on it the image of the crucifixion of the Lord, as if alive, and before him the great miracle worker Nicholas with the Holy Gospel." In fear of this vision, the shepherds fell to the ground, as dead, and for a long time lay unconscious until they came to their senses with the help of a special divine power. Then they heard a voice from the crucifixion of the Lord: “In this place will be the grace of God and the house of God; If anyone comes to pray in faith, there will be many healings and miracles from the Life-giving Cross, prayers for the miracle worker Nicholas. Come proclaim sowing to all people, so that in this place people will build My church. ”Fulfilling this command from above, the shepherds returned to the field to their flocks, then came to their village and told everything about the appearance of the Cross of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas. Then the pastors told about the vision in Rostov, and finally the Bishop of Rostov learned about it (at that time Dionysius was archbishop here, as can be seen from the Rostov chronicler), and everyone praised God.

Meanwhile, the people asked the bishop for permission to build a church in the name of the Lord and His miracle worker Nicholas on the site of the miraculous vision, in a swamp. Fulfilling the people's desire, Vladyka gave a blessed letter and ordered to build a church of God here in the name of the miracle worker Nicholas with the chapel of the Origin of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. Immediately after that, people came to the indicated place with the aim of laying a church on it, however, the legend says, they could not do this here, because the swamp was impassable, and they laid the temple close to it, a mile away. On the first day of the work, the craftsmen managed to lay three rows of the church log house, but the next morning, when they wanted to start work again, to their great surprise, they did not find any traces, not a single chip from their construction in the place they had chosen. At the same time, at the site of the first appearance of the crucifixion and the Holy Hierarch to the pastors, they again saw an ineffable light. They went there and found here all the church foundation they had made in the swamp and together all the logs prepared for the construction, and in the middle of the church foundation they again saw the Life-giving Cross with the image of the Holy Hierarch in the miraculous radiance and heard a voice from him: "In this place, put My church. And the mountain (grace) will be great, and many miracles will occur with faith for those who come to pray; and there will be many healings. " On the same night, a stream passed through the swamp and a large river formed, the swamp turned into a dry place, and on it the craftsmen easily continued to build the church until the end. At the same time, the manifested images of the crucifixion of Christ and of St. Nicholas after this became visible and accessible to everyone and already always remained in the place they had chosen and consecrated.

When the church was completely finished, the same ruler of Rostov was informed about it. Hearing about new miracles during the creation of the church, Vladyka himself appeared to consecrate the new church with the entire spiritual cathedral and upon its consecration solemnly and reverently placed in it the miraculous image of the crucifixion of Christ on the right hand of the royal gates (from the altar), and the image of the Saint - on the left. In addition, at the place where the church was first founded by the builders, the bishop ordered to build a chapel for the burial of the pilgrims. "And then pass the glory of the miracles of the Life-giving Cross and the miraculous miracles of the miracle worker Nikola to many countries."

This, according to legend, is the original story of the acquisition and glorification of the miraculous icon of the Saint, belonging to the Nikolsky churchyard. Further, from the same legend, we learn that the first church, built in the swamp for the images revealed, stood for many years, because it was built from an oak forest. During all this time, the priests who were at the church wrote down the miracles of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas in a special book. About 80 years later, however, the original temple burned down, with all the utensils and church books without a trace. Then the church book of miracles from holy images was also burned. Only the image of the Wonderworker was saved together with other local icons, but the Life-giving Cross of Christ revealed a new miracle over itself. By miraculous power, as if nailed to his place, he did not allow himself to be taken out of the flame and remained in it, but at the end of the fire he was found unharmed in the ashes. Encouraged by this new sign from the Life-giving Cross, the parishioners of the burnt church, with the blessing of the bishop, soon created a new one in its place - in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and again in the same places they erected honest, revealed images. Then, as before, the holy icons began to show themselves miraculous power and create many signs of wondrous help to all who come to them with warm faith. However, the clergy assigned to the shrine, having lost the ancient record of the wondrous history and ancient miracles of the image, did not find the zeal to restore in his memory the wondrous history of his shrine and did not take the trouble to write it down again for the edification of posterity. This negligence, as can be seen from the legend, lasted for a long time, almost two centuries, so that the past glory of miraculous images was almost forgotten on the spot. Not only did it not become scarce, but their real glory grew and spread. She penetrated far beyond the borders of the Rostov region and, having aroused jealousy of herself among the pious admirers of the sacred antiquity, finally, again from the deep past, recalled the memories of the miraculous acquisition of holy images and immortalized them. This is how it happened.

In 1705 already, says the same legend, one pious okolnichny of Moscow, Prince Pyotr Lukich (the legend did not retain his surname), led by the glory of the miraculous images of St. Nicholas and the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, he himself with his whole family came to the Nikolsky churchyard to bow to them and, for his edification, asked the local clergyman to tell him about the previous miracles of the holy icons. When, in response to his request, the priest of the churchyard replied that the previous inventory of miracles had burned out, and he knew almost nothing of what had happened, the prince was offended by this neglect of the shrine. "What are the priests," he said, "and old creatures, do you live near the sowing churches, but you have no zeal? I have heard from strangers that in your grandfather and fatherland, in the Nikolsky churchyard, from time immemorial the grace of God has been miraculously revealed, and you are oblivion and by your negligence you forsake such great grace of God. " So he rebuked the priest and took a promise from him to collect from the local tradition what was still known about the miraculous images, and to write everything down. The priest kept his word, and it was then that this legend was compiled, from which we will draw all this information about the miraculous images. The same priest added a description of 17 miracles from the honestly revealed images of the Life-giving Cross and St. Nicholas to the legend. Some of them were recorded by him from the words of local witnesses, and some - from the few "ancient old scrolls" preserved in the church. The oldest, however, of miracles - the first - in terms of the time of its accomplishment, dates back to 1674, and the latest - to 1715.

The second wooden church of the churchyard existed until 1776. This year, instead of it, the present stone church was built with the main altar of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross; Saint Nicholas is now dedicated to the southern side-altar in this church. The manifested image of the Life-Giving Cross is also placed in this church, as in the previous one, on the left side of the main altar, behind its altar doors, under a special elegant carved shade, and the image of the Wonderworker is on the right side, in the main iconostasis of the temple. The icon of the Wonderworker is followed by the southern doors of the altar and then the chapel of the Prelate. The image of the crucifix is ​​carved from linden wood. The figure of the Savior on the Cross was made to the full height of a person in the force of the deep decline of Byzantine art - at the upper end of the Cross there is an inscription in semi-Greek, semi-Russian church characters: ?????? ? ????? (Stavro icons). Along the sides of the crucifix, already at a later time (in 1708), two new carvings were approved - the Mother of God and John the Theologian, according to the nature of the work - in the spirit of the crucifixion. Icon of St. Nicholas is also linden, measuring 1 arshin 1 vershok in height, 14 vershok in width. The image of the Saint on it is half-length with the open head of the Wonderworker, blessing with his right hand, and holding the Holy Gospel with his left. The entire icon, except for the face and hands of the saint, is covered with a gilded silver robe. Left open, the face and hands have darkened so much that the features of the painting are not visible, and therefore it is difficult to judge the nature of the painting. True, under the robe, as you can see, the painting is still preserved, but you cannot remove the robe to see the artistry of the work. On the basis, however, that the Cross, which appeared together with the icon and was well preserved hitherto from a carved Greek work, it can be assumed that the icon of St. Nicholas contemporary to him is also of Greek work. Around it, on a carved board in which the icon is fortified, in 16 stamps, paintings depict events from the life of St. Nicholas. These hallmarks, like the entire board on which they are written, are covered with a solid gilded silver riza.

The main celebration in the churchyard is on May 9th. Until now, "the revealed Cross of the Lord and the icon of St. Nicholas are deeply venerated not only in the surrounding area at a great distance, but also far beyond the Yaroslavl diocese. Especially many pilgrims gather here in the summer. Among them there are often admirers who have come from as far away as from Cuba, from Orenburg, Perm, Irkutsk. Passing to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, on the way they come here to worship the Lord's Cross and the image of St. Nicholas (Moscow highway and Moscow-Yaroslavl railway 15 versts from the churchyard). Fans come and : Moscow, St. Petersburg, Finland and from other places, especially natives of Rostov. It often happens that the church of the Nikolsky churchyard receives schismatics. Usually they ask permission to pray to the Lord's Cross alone, without people, in the intervals between services, which, of course, they never refuses but is allowed to pray without the people and priests, under the supervision of only church watchmen. miracles are being reported at the present time, then, since the local clergy are extremely cautious about reports of these manifestations, they equally receive them on rare occasions, and then I report this mostly either during confession or under the condition of non-disclosure, therefore we cannot tell them nothing. That grace-filled help, however, is really sent to those who come with faith to the Cross of the Lord and to St. Nicholas, this is sufficiently evidenced by the deep veneration of these icons and the frequent requests for prayers for the afflicted, sent by mail from afar. "

This is how the events of the appearance of the Lord's Cross in the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Oh my God,
I cry out to You,
And thou art healed me.
Psalm 29 v. 3

MIRACLES AND BLESSING HEALINGS from the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Miracle 1 about the raging wife of Theodosia, how the Life-giving Cross drove out of her the evil devil, and about the robbery of St. churches in the Nikolsky churchyard.

In the summer of 7182 (1674) of the patriarchal estate, the village of Karasha, the nobleman Avraam Vasilyevich Borovitinov's wife Theodosius was spoiled in the past years and screamed with all sorts of different voices, animals and cattle, and birds, and a dog barking, and roared like a bear, and howled like a wolf. And that year, when the relics of the Suzdal miracle worker Euthymius12 appeared, unclean spirits were expelled from many, and this wife was still possessed by an unclean spirit, hiccuping, singing a rooster and crying as a child. And in 7183 (1675), in the month of May, a week before St. Nicholas Day, the holy miracle worker Nicholas with the Monk Euthymius appeared in a dream to her husband Abraham Vasilyevich, commanding him that his wife Theodosia should go on foot to St. Nicholas churchyard in the image of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and pray to the miracle worker Nicholas, and the prayers of Saint Nicholas The miracle of the creator The Life-giving Cross of the Lord will forgive her, the servant of God, grieving Theodosia, and free her from grief joy, tea from the Life-giving Cross of the Lord to his wife, grieving Theodosia, forgiveness and deliverance.

And that month of May, on the 7th day, when he came to the holy church, he listened to prayer singing and Vespers and Matins at the crucifixion of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas, and in the morning singing he also led the priests to perform a prayer service: and when you started the holy Gospel of Honor at the prayer song, and At that time, Theodosius felt an unclean spirit to torment her with hiccups and shout in all sorts of different voices, and tormented that sorrow until the Liturgy of God. And when you started the Holy Gospel at the Liturgy of Honor, Theodosia began to shout: "Oh, it’s sick, oh, it’s sick. Open the windows and doors, and all people go away from the door. Where will I fly so that the unclean spirit does not touch anyone." And how you began to sing the Cherubic song, and Theodosia came out of her, through the prayers of St. Nicholas, an unclean spirit with steam: The Life-giving Cross of the Lord forgave her, the servant of God Theodosius, and allowed her with invisible power from her illness, and from that hour she was healthy. Before the coming of the unclean spirit, she screamed who had corrupted her and what her husband, her brother Jacob, was corrupted by the courtyard wife Mary. And after the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, that Theodosius from the holy church will go with your husband to the fair in the bargaining, preaching to all people about the mercy of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the miracle-worker Nicholas and about your healing, and all people wondering, praise God and the fast helper of St. Nicholas.

Before the appearance of St. Nicholas to Borovitinov, that holy church in St. Nicholas' graveyard was robbed by God's permission, and ours for the sake of sins, was robbed: from the crucifixion of the Lord and from the image of the miracle worker Nicholas, tsata and crosses and monistas with pearls were robbed by thieves. All people, seeing the ineffable miracle that happened over Borovitinov's wife, ordered them to carry the great dish and give it to the plundered place according to their diligence from their labors and their estates of silver, no one can. And on the same date, very much collecting silver, that formerly mentioned Mr. Abraham Borovitinov, taking, and the ambassador to the city of Yaroslavl, her faithful husband, was elected, in the name of Vasily Petrov: ordered to arrange a tsata for the miracle worker Nicholas with that money, and he and his wife, for the time being that the previously mentioned Vasily went to the city of Yaroslavl, to stay in the house of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle-worker Nicholas relentlessly. And when the tsats were built, that husband Vasily took them from the master and went with the tsaty built to the Nikolsky churchyard and, returning from Yaroslavl, came to the river Kotorosti and did not find that carriers, but the raft was attached on the other side of the river to the post and stay sad for duty hour. And by God's dispensation and the prayers of St. Nicholas, that raft was untied from the stgn ba, and when the river came to that sent Basil, as if driven by the wind, and that Vasily crossed the river without difficulty and without a carrier and arrived at the Nikolsky churchyard. And that Borovitinov, applying those tsats to the crucifixion of the Lord and to the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, went with his wife and the household to his house with unspeakable joy, glorifying the mercy of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the prayer-book of Nicholas, the speedy helper and warm intercessor, and even to now from that image of his who comes with faith, he gives much healing.

Miracle 2 about the robbery of St. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

In the summer of 7202 (1694) by God's allowance, and for our sake, for the sake of sins, after the passage of Holy Easter, on Fomin week, on Wednesday night opposite to Thursday, the thieves' people came to the Nikolsky graveyard, at the Church of God St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of the church door above the church porch twisted, the lock was broken, and the wooden locks were unlocked, and entered the Holy Church of God, from the miraculous image of Nicholas the Wonderworker, monists, crosses and pearls and money - they took everything, but they did not take off the crown and tsatu: apparently the holy miracle worker Nicholas did not deign from his miracle-working to give away the image, but the image of the crucifixion of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord did not damage anything: the Holy Cross did not allow the Life-giving Cross on his image. Only from the holy altar the capital - it was with church letters and priest's letters - was taken from the church to the river and left on the bridge on the river, the castle was broken off, and the letters and letters put up did not harm anything by the prayers of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker; and the number of priests in the Nikolsky churchyard did not come to their homes: they were at the call of a certain lord in the Suzdal district, in a distant place, at the commemoration of his parents. And he came from that priestess to the Nikolsky churchyard, examined that everything was plundered in the holy church from the miraculous image from the monist, and then announced to the city of Rostov to the Most Reverend Joasaph the Metropolitan that the second dashing people robbed that holy church of St. It was quick and grievous to be offended, and ordered the priest at that church to make two doors and two locks, hedgehog and to this day.

And after the passage of a short time, that vesti, in which all those robbers brought that robbed miracle-working treasury to the house, a brother of those blasphemers and robbers of the church, to his spiritual father, confessing in repentance, how they came to their house and brought church things to the night. And after the passing of that night on the very first day, his brother, the adversary of God, began to grieve and grieve and give up his mind, maddened, and taught men and cattle to beat, and run through the forests and fields, and came to his house, hanging himself: Life-giving for the Cross of the Lord will not be tolerated by your enemy. And another enemy of God in the same week went to plow his field and, having plowed spring arable land from another weight to his arable land, and boiled it with a certain person in the field, and that person, grappling with him, betrayed that enemy of God to death, and went to his house , and that robber will evilly refute his accursed soul. And after several years had passed, the last brother of that house was taken to Moscow by agreement, where many people were tortured in captivity in the ward, and all the households ran away and their house was ruined. And who their like-minded comrades and robbers were blamed for many robberies and murders, and according to the sovereign's decree, in many cities and villages they were executed by death: they were hanged, but in others their heads were chopped off, and their hands and feet, and in this is the Lord God and the holy saint of God. the miracle worker Nicholas did not tolerate their accursedness: he gave up for his opposite victory: and nothing returned from them to the Church of God of the plundered treasury of the miracle workers.

Miracle 3 about a certain lord who was healed by the name of Herodion.

In the summer of 7223 (1715) of the month of May on the 13th day, in commemoration of St. Leonty, the Rostov wonderworker, in the Rostov district in a certain area, the call of Klimotino, a certain lord will go to the holy church of God for the holy liturgy to pray to the Lord God, and start on the road to do alms to the poor, having never loved the poor with mercy to the poor, he is extremely mobile for God's work, a generous donor of soulful books and a zealous reader to the church consecrated rite. And suddenly, in the Church of God, grief was great for him: hit him on the church platform and was quickly weakened by his arms and legs, not moving anything; and take away his mind and tongue, and remain in that tribulation for 10 days. And little by little from the city of Rostov, from the Right Reverend Dositheus, Bishop of Rostov and Yaroslavl, the priest went with the deacon Nikolsk to the churchyard near the Jesus cross, and came to that whole place where Herodion grieving, told them the people, their leader, in his house he grieves near death, and as that priest of Nikolsk's churchyard he was advised and loving.

And when the priest came to the house of his sorrowing person to visit, and could not dismiss him, his sorrow was still difficult, and went to the Nikolsky churchyard to his own houses. Coming from him, to his household, you advise, even that sick Herodion, although he will feel little from grief, so that they can bring him to us in the Nikolsky churchyard to the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the image of the wonderworker Nicholas, who have come with faith from the Life-giving Cross of the Lord for the prayers of St. Nicholas. healings are taking place. And little by little, he found himself a mournful one in his mind. His family began to narrate in full detail how the priests of Nicholas visited him in grief and he was surprised that he did not remember anything, and how the priests told him to pray to the Life-giving Cross and Nicholas the Wonderworker, and he was touched by his soul about that, he was glad to be, ordered the priest John to take charge of your call, and entrusting your household with this to keep from your grief, go to the churchyard of St. let us bow down and fall down to Him, "and that grieving priests, who came with him and with his household, held him before the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, observing it so that he would not go where and be killed. And at that hour, the Lord God appears to him on the cross, as if he is alive and the Mother of God is coming to His right hand, as if she is alive, praying to her Son Christ God for the whole world and for all Orthodox Christians, the possessors have changed their hands in a cruciform manner, and for him they are laboring in prayer.

And always at Matins start petit: "Praise the name of the Lord," and at that time Herodion appeared to him in front of the second local image of the Kazan Most Holy Theotokos: the ark of life-giving water is boiling and bubbling, as if from a great fire, and the mournful form of that vision is the same and began to that priest and the upcoming people, tell the story, pointing with his hand to that ark, where he sees it; the people who came through it seeing, but not seeing anything, I will be surprised that something is seen by him; and after completing the morning singing, he brought the ailing one to the house of deacon Alexy, and that Herodion persistently questioned the deacon, saying: "To the deacon, tell me, do not hide the Lord for the sake of God:" Such is the grace of God, a small amount of water, where are you doing? " the same one knew that God showed him a vision, and said to him: “We distribute that holy and life-giving water that is holy, we distribute into the world to all who come for healing for the sake of healing.” And then entered the holy church and began to sing a prayer to the Life-giving Cross of the Lord , To the Most Holy Theotokos, to the miracle worker Nicholas and to all the saints with the consecration of water. and with a bright voice singing and supporting the priest, and that in his grief to the previously mentioned by his priest John of the verb before all people: "Do you see the ambulance and miracle worker Nicholas deh of God and singing with the priests? "And when you began the holy liturgy to serve, and the clergymen of the stash on the right kliros sing the liturgy, St. Nicholas from the clergy right there in his place, where and until now his image is to be, helped until the holiday of the holy liturgy.

That is all that Herodion is in a vision, and that Priest John with the people standing in the church of God, according to the verb of his vision, did not see, nor the ministering priest with the church clerks did not see; Only after the release of Divine singing, all the people in the church of that previously mentioned Herodion, having seen it in good health, praised God and the prayer book, the miracle worker Nicholas. After the dismissal of the holy liturgy of that Herodion, signifying at the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and all the miraculous icons, we take a blessing from the priests, coming to the house of Deacon Alexy, and having tasted little of the food and the attack on him, the dream is great until the sun goes down, and from the sleep of his , and go to your house. And on 7 days the second came on a weekday to the St. Nicholas churchyard, and ordered the priest to sing the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, where the ark appeared to him, and began preaching about the miracles of the Life-giving Cross with his whole mind, and completing the prayer singing, and being signified by the Cross of the Life-giving Of the Lord and all the holy miraculous icons and came to Priest Luke and Antipas, and asking for blessings, and glorifying the miracles of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and our intercessor, the Most Holy Theotokos and our intercessor and intercessor of the miracle-worker Nicholas, and commanding these miracles, and his healing from the great sorrow in write a book in the future for the future Christian family, who comes with faith to the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas in glory and honor, go to your house, squandering your property to the churches and the beggars in alms.

Miracle 4 about a priest delivered from sorrow.

To be a certain priest, living in a certain weight, pious and fear God, and in his virtues he is a successful wife and his children-sons, living piously. And when the news came from the city of Rostov to this priest that the decree of the great Sovereign Peter I took place, that there will be an extortion from all the church ranks to the recruiting system in the near future, and from that unintentional news falling into great meditation and sadness, this priest with his wife and their children, and in that meditation dwell for many hours; but do not deign that such a wonderful image be, that the priest previously mentioned prayed to the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos and the great saint and wonderworker of Christ Nicholas, declined to sleep and sleep on the bed, and about midnight of the first weeks of Holy and Great Lent at 4 the first day, Wednesday, March opposite the fifth, in memory of the great martyr 42 others in Ammoria, in the form of that priest in a vision, as if he would be found in the church at the Life-giving Cross of the Lord the wonderworker Nicholas at the morning singing, and after the release of the toga of holy singing in churches extinguished the lights of all the holy icons, and when the priests and all the people went out of the holy church, and one light was not extinguished at the Life-giving Cross on the lamp, and the previously mentioned priest beheld at the Life-giving Cross, I announced that it had not been extinguished, return to the holy church and to crucifixion of the Lord, and wanted to extinguish the light before the image, and remembering the former sadness written from the city of Rostov, calling on the Life-giving Cross of the Lord the power to himself to the unworthy slave to help the hedgehog about his children, and in contrition of his heart with tears, he could very much, he prayed to the life-giving tree, and he wanted to kiss His Most Pure Nose, but he could not touch his unworthy lips; forbid me Divine power from the Cross of the Lord, do not give me His Most Pure Feet to kiss with foul lips, and the Lord will rise to the height of the mountain of His Most Honorable Nose, and to embrace me a sinful priest in that vision, great fear and trembling, and barely able to gaze at His Most Bright image, and in your sorrow and tears, barely at great power, with your foul lips in your thought, to utter: "Eternal God, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner and unworthy. Do not leave me sir and wretched; have mercy on me and do not part, Master, from my household, Even if there are many who have sinned against You, but do not depart from You. "

And crying bitterly, think to leave the holy church with weeping and great weeping, but do not allow some Divine power to recede from the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, and then emit the Life-giving Divine Cross your own and many-luminous rays, and illuminate the whole Church of St. Nicholas and the wonderworker, where he is a wonderful image awaits, and in that ineffable light, appear to me as an unworthy priest the Cross of the Lord, in a tender way in vain for me, a sinner and unworthy, not squeezed by the eyes, as it is now imagined on the Cross, turning to me as a sinner to the right land; and let us take off our most pure hand from the most pure nail, and with our left most pure hand from the glorious tree of the Life-giving Cross and remain inseparable from the nail; also kiss the Lords of Your Honor, and then, as before, stretching out on the cross Your hand and nose to nailing, but the much-sinful, horrified, and in the church the light died, and the light before the image was extinguished by no one, and now in the darkness it appeared and I was not aware of fear where to go and where the church doors were, and the unworthy priest cried out in the church with a great cry, and brother Priest Luke, hearing my cry, lead me out of the holy church of God, and I, having risen from sleep, to remain in great fear and trembling and having made a prayer, he could hardly before the image of God, thanking the Life-giving Cross of the Lord the power and his great mercy and perform the morning singing, and after completing the morning singing at the same hour by go to the city of Rostov in great sorrow and sorrow to be taken away.

And when he came to the city of Rostov, he received the first blessing from the formerly remembered Father Archpriest Simeon and asked him about the decree of the Great Sovereign, like about the church rank, and tell that priestly archpriest: I have truly heard from the Rostov governor named Hilarion that there will be a fight in the whole church rank. in the near future and less than a sinner, after hearing his words, it is bitter to embrace sadness, but even in the strasse of that beginning to think: how to hide from the fear of the tsar, he wanted to leave his Church of God and his house, urgently wanted to retire to a foreign country and go, not although to be parted from his household, and in the middle there is one thought that the parish people have dispersed to foreign countries, and separation with the children is bitter and without parishioners and there will be nothing to live and stay with. And we will take from the father of the archpriest Simeon and from priest Athanasius a blessing and a kissing hedgehog about Christ, come from the city of Rostov to his house in great sadness and sorrow, but also the Life-giving Cross of the crucified Lord, and great is the intercessor and prayer book to God, who gave birth to the Mother of God and the great prayer book to God, the miracle worker Nicholas, not although he will destroy his creation to the end, so will I, a sinner, to the end in my sorrow perish, in the city of Rostov God will give me two priests John and Theodore, Peter's children, as a companion, and about Christ he will give peace and blessing, and they are questioning to me, the unworthy priest:

"Where were you and what is your business to the city of Rostov," and I told the many-sinful priest all the details of my sorrow by that priest, and they also said: "We ourselves have children, and if need has attracted us to the city of Rostov, and the same sorrow embraces, as to you; only you, priest, do not complain and do not grieve; we hear this hour in Rostov, in the order of spiritual bishop's affairs, from the clerk Mikhail Feoktistov, good news about the church rank, that the clerk ask us priests that you What priests for the sake of business came to the order, and we answered him: "With the payment of their quitrent money from the children," and he told us this: "You pay the payment as before, and pray for the great Sovereign God. According to the Tsar's decree, we were ordered to take your children of every church rank into the recruiting system, but now those decrees in Moscow have been removed from the gates, and you live as before. ”And I, unworthy priest, hearing this word from those priests, rejoiced in my heart, and rejoicing in spirit, go to your house, remembering the appearance of the Life-giving Cross and to yourself the mercy of God from inexpressible joy, hedgehog about the safe and good preservation of the church rank and your house in good stay, in tears. And our Savior Jesus Christ, to the Life-giving Cross and in all a miraculous way, having performed a prayer, and surrender to yourself the will of God, as God delights, so wake up, and put all your thoughts aside. The Life-giving Cross and with the help of the All-Holy Spirit, the much-sinful priest was able to propose this phenomenon to the Scriptures from now on to us as a future priest and to all believers who come with faith. people for the benefit of souls, then I could write very much. Her truly false miraculous image

It is impossible to disappear since many people with faith give healing to those who are obsessed with sorrows, heal most of the unclean spirits and drive all invisible demons away, and all those who grieve are given inexpressible mercy so reasonably. - Oh, blessed one, priestly and deacon's ranks, and all the church clerks! Pray in the Trinity to the glorious God and the Most Pure Theotokos and all the heavenly powers, that the Lord God would turn away his righteous anger and quench every tear in the Christian race, and that the Lord God would grant our pious Tsar and Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich of all Russia to resisting languages ​​victory and overcoming, and tamed foreign languages ​​of resistance, and bestowed peace and silence and prosperity on Orthodox Christians. And according to the prayer singing, we take a blessing from the priest, that priest will leave for his house with inexpressible joy, glorifying the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the miracle-worker Nicholas, and make your promise for all the years to come to worship at the house of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle-worker Nicholas.

Miracle 16 about a certain unmerciful and evil-minded husband of Eusebius.

In the summer of 7203 (1695) of the month of November on the 13th day in memory of our saints, our father John Chrysostago, in a certain way, a multitude of people descended to his relatives, including a certain widow named Irina. , Ivan's daughter, and rejoice with my compassions all day long; and after the days passed, in the night of that day, a fire time occurred in a certain area, near that day, where the feast of John Chrysostom was celebrated, and all those people who saw that fire time, having come out of their houses with their guests, male and female, and maiden and a child's, including a girl named Glyceria, a daughter of Yevseviev, who was 20 years old or older from her birth, and started a dispute with the previously mentioned widow, Irina, about the fire where it was burning; the widow says that a fire time has taken place in the village of Godenovo, and the girl says that it was a crime, and in that dispute they made a pledge and a great agreement with many witnesses that if the girl Glykeria would argue with the widow Irina, then she would take the widow from her for her brother His own daughter Catherine is his wife, and if the widow will repress that girl, then she will take the widow that disputant for her son Fyodor as a wife, and not tell herself, and that she will strike between her hands that this should be so, and many witnesses have agreed on them. , also in that agreement of theirs, shaking hands until the morning sweeping day; and early in the morning, that widow of the ambassador in all, where the fire was, her son Fyodor inquired about the truth.

When that one came to the village of Godenovo and saw a fire place, the smoke was still smoking, and returned joyfully to your mother, and told all in a row that the mother's verb had become right, and about that brother that the faithful pledge was laid with the girl, why the marriage was postponed after the passage of holy Filippov's fast into a great meat-eater, after the passage of the feast of the holy Epiphany; and from that weight of the holiday, all people dispersed home. After the passage of the feast of the holy Epiphany, that widow of the ambassador to that all intercessor to the previously mentioned maiden and hostage Glyceria, then to her father, by the name of Eusebius, that as their word was spoken of a brother, then how to have a wedding, so that by love and indisputable marriage to create to his son. And the intercessor came to that father Eusebius, about the widow's brother, having fulfilled all the verbs, the same Eusebius was filled with anger and rage against that widow, and having almost insulted that intercessor, he was expelled from his house with reproach and great anger, saying: widows take a girl's daughter for my son; my daughter argued that she should prepare her daughter for marriage, my son for a wife "; intercessor come to the widow, all the verbs of the tale I will detail; But the widow, hearing that intercessor's words, take his son, go to the city of Rostov, at that time I was in the city of Rostov to the Most Reverend Metropolitan Joasaph, made a petition against the formerly mentioned Eusebius, so that he, Eusebius, would give his daughter to marriage by agreement her son Fyodor, and the Right Reverend Joasaph, the Metropolitan, listening to that widow's petition, ordered to put that defendant Eusebius and his daughter in front of him, and yes, they were confronted with the widow, and from the face-to-face confrontation they sent the petitioner and the defendant to those witnesses who they had were according to the agreement and the hands were divided, and the Right Reverend Metropolitan ordered to put those witnesses before himself, interrogating them himself in God's truth, that like them, the widow and the girl, the dispute and the agreement was about the fire time and about the brother, and like hands discredited, and who is right and who is wrong; and the witnesses said that that Eusebius and his daughter were wrong, that that widow sent the maiden, for the widow found out what was happening in the village of Godenovo, and the maiden began to be guilty.

And the Right Reverend Metropolitan Joasaph, hearing this from the witnesses, ordered to invite the Archpriest Simeon Simeonov, who was at that time in Rostov in the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, the archpriest, how to judge the matter in spirituality without sin, and the Right Reverend Metropolitan Joasaph told the archpriest about about their controversial agreement and about the witnesses, that that widow conveyed that damsel in truth, and the priestly archpriest with the brethren would give advice to the bishop that every verb spoken by the Apostle, with two and three witnesses, is right, then if even more so in the presence of many, and leave home, and the bishop blessed the newly-born widow's son with the maiden for marriage, and commanded the priest to go to the holy church and marry them in law; and after the wedding of that Eusebius, came from the city of Rostov with much shame and great annoyance to his house, weakened by his mind, and wondering what to do, having begun to hold on to the anger of the above-mentioned archpriest, as if to quench his anger and rage and take revenge on the archpriest, and in In your thoughts, think: I will go to the Nikolsky churchyard, his father and brothers live there, I will light his father's house and his brothers' houses.

And when you come in the summer, take fire and potions in your house, than to light the houses of priests and deacons in Nikolskoye, and come at night in the courtyard of Deacon Antipas, and put the fire and potions behind the courtyard on dry straw, and he himself will run away from the courtyard. so that the fire does not light up, so that people do not look at it near the courtyard and do not catch it, and start from afar to look at the courtyard, and whenever the fire reaches gunpowder, many numbers exploded in height, and began to burn on the straw, and with the prayers of the holy saint and miracle worker Nicholas The Life-giving Cross of the Lord is covered with his right hand, as if extinguish with water; and in that hour fear and terror and blindness attacked me, and I wanted to go to my house, and I did not know where to go to my house, and worked a lot, wandered through the forest and through the swamp; knowing his sin, the call of the saint of Christ, Nicholas the Wonderworker, saying: "Bring me out, miracle worker Nicholas, then I will not do this work"; and Saint Nicholas, a quick helper, soon having heard my prayer, give me light to the sinner, and he came to his house, and stay in the house for a small number of days. Not for many days the enemy has inflamed my heart, and in my thoughts there are rivers: I will go and light the house of priest Luke; and taking the fire as before, and when he came to the priest's house, he wanted to put the fire under the jam in the straw, and suddenly a lot of people appeared at the yard and wanted to catch me and put me to death, and I did not dare to go to the court and do that thing, soon run to to your house.

But even in the third, I thought: “I will go and light the house of the old priest Simeon, their father; and I fell to the ground, as if I was dead and weakened, and I could not leave the priest’s court, and lay for an hour, and hardly remembering in my mind, fear would attack me: if people saw me, they would call me an unkind person, and they would kill me either from squeaky will shoot, or the dogs will eat, and could hardly move with his weakened arms; from fear, very much, crawled on all fours, and I myself do not know where I got lost in the thicket of the forest, and stayed there day and night in the forest, and I wondered where to go to my house, and crying out to God, saying: " Life-giving Cross of the Lord, forgive my many sins! O miraculous Nicholas, warm helper and warm intercessor, pray to the Lord God for me and the Most Pure Mother of God, the Most Holy Theotokos, may have mercy on me; I will not think of doing any evil from your servant, only forgive my sins, Confirm my noses on my way to go to my house; already in this way God has delighted my daughter to be with this man; God's judgment is ready, and after my death I will not think of doing any evil to God's servants. " And by that prayer of mine the Lord God gave me legs, and I hardly with great need was attracted to my house. And after small days, my daughter Glyceria settled into eternal rest, and there was no sorrow for me about her. And then my son-in-law Theodore passed away.

And after the passage of 17 years, the previously mentioned Eusebius came to a certain Christian in the house and all this told in a conversation with many people a certain spiritual priest named Basil, and that priest told in spirituality his father Eusebius the spiritual priest John: "Father John, I was in a conversation with your spiritual son Eusebius, I heard unkind speeches from him, he said that he went to the Nikolsky churchyard three times to light the priest's courtyards with fire, but God did not allow him to do this with the prayers of St.Nicholas, and you forbid him from such a sin that the enemy has not yet tempted him. " But the spiritual father John began, according to the word of Priest Basil, to expect that son of his spiritual Eusebius for repentance during the previous holy Great Lent; and when Eusebius is in Great Lent, when he comes to confess to his father, the spiritual priest John, and remembering the verb of the former priest Vasily, ask in confession: "What a sinful priest I have heard from a certain person that you wanted to do the evil deed of Nicolae to Sima children with children, "the same Eusebius will bring guilt to God before your spiritual father, I will tell you in detail how I first told Priest Basil in detail to Priest John, repenting of his repentance. Priest John, having confessed him and having taught a lot, let him go to his house and then in your thoughts ponder that this story is worthy of writing to give into the miracles of the Life-giving Cross, and not put in oblivion how the innocent priests will be saved from death and from the fiery burning of their houses. but they, the priests, did not know the matter, did not know how our adversary the devil acted wickedly as an evil, unkind person. And when that priest John came to St. in memory, to the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas for the glory and honor of God.

The miracle of the 17th about priest Vasily, delivered from the sword-cutting and vain death.

In the summer of 7104 (1596) by God's permission, and ours for the sake of sins, the Lithuanian people fought our Russian kingdom, and everyone lived in the city and in the villages and in the villages, and in those days in the Nikolsky churchyard, which is near the Jesus Cross and the wonderworker Nikola, the priest Vasily Ivanov lived with the brethren, and during the wartime he went with the sexton Mikhail and his patron peasants to the threshing floor to thresh the barn on a dull day, and suddenly Lithuanian people, there are only three of them, at that priest from the peasants naskakash and unmercifully shout dasha , the same priest with the sexton and the peasants of tea their enemies are many, they escaped from the peasants in the middle, wanted to hide, and they, the Lithuanian people, ran around the barn and the barn with fire, and those involuntary people and Priest Vasily from the fire themselves poidosh to death , and first went the sexton Michael from the subordinate, cut off the head for him, then the peasant Zakhariy with the rest of his retinue, Christians, and so cut off the heads, after everyone came Priest Basil, that he poimash and naopako tied his hands, and at the tree they had tied it up on the threshing floor, saying: "We will torture this; his church is high; he has a lot of property and money, "and having tied his brother deacon to another threshing floor, saying:" Come, we will destroy people there, and we will take others into the plan. "

But with the prayers of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Life-giving Cross did not deign to give into the hands of the enemy the mockery of his slaves; his own and in tears, seeing the inevitable death, the call of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle-worker Nikolay: "Oh, saint of Christ, Nicholas, have mercy on me, and pray for me, unworthy of the priest to the Life-giving Cross; save me from vain death and from a sword-beating; I am already a sinner do not serve in your house at the throne of God. " And in that hour, speed up the fast helper Saint Nicholas, to his prayer, deliver that innocent priest, the fetters from his hand and his leg fall, and calling the prayer book to Nikolai, escaping across the river with a bridge, and from the bridge, scattering logs into the river with another bank, behind the river Soon it began to flow, you enemies, seeing that running priest, on horseback soon rushed to the bridge, and did not find that bridge, rekosha to himself: "This heretic priest, enveloped us that we did not cut off his heads" and galloping after him the visha: "Pop, surrender," and two Ethiopians caught up with him, wanting to catch that priest with their hands, and in that hour with the prayers of St. Nicholas the stirrups of the saddles and girths of those Ethiopians broke off and they themselves fell off their horses and scattered; but the third Ethiopian at the end of the river, Toya, the priest caught up and, taking out his sword, wanted to strike the priest at the head already at the edge of the forest, and put that priest Saint Nicholas a good thought, cry out in a great and loud voice: "Oh, our Christian people, my sovereigns, do not give me a cut, some enemy people. "

And that Ethiopian was horrified by the words of the priest, on his horse galloped backward, hoped many people in the forest, afraid to jump into the forest after the priest, and came to his squad, lean, and all, disgraced by the prayers of Saint Nicholas, those Ethiopians departed, camo the way is presented, the priest of that one found his wife from his children in a bond under the tree of those who sat and wept bitterly, and from the joy that Saint Nicholas saved him from vain death and from the rudeness of the enemies of the poster with his wife and from the child for many hours. And then, having cast your sorrow on the Lord God and on the saint of Christ, holy Nicholas, taking his wife from his children, you will go to your house. And on small days, those Lithuanian people from the Russian kingdom of God, with God's help, went to their Lithuanian land, and that priest, having lived happily for years, settled into eternal rest and with due honor was buried by that church in the house of the Life-giving Cross and the miracle-worker Nicholas, and after him His Grace Metropolitan Joasaph installed his son, Deacon Simeon, in his place.

NOTES

1. In the Nikolskoye churchyard, near the Jesus Cross, Rostov district, 35 versts from Rostov.

2.According to another manuscript of 1705 (see Yarosl. Guberniya Ved. 1848, No. 35 and 36.

3. Historical infidelity.

4. Nevertheless, one repeated mention of the bishop, the use of this word, speaks for the fact that the appearance of the Cross took place earlier than 1387, when St. Theodore began a number of archbishops in Rostov.

5. This was the case at the time of the origin of the manuscript "The Legend of the Appearance of the Cross", hence even up to the first quarter of the last century. But now there are no traces of this chapel. From the time of the appearance of the Cross, according to legend, only a half-dried pine stump remained, which, in addition, indicates the place of the original foundation of the church.

6. So it stands to this day, that is, on the right side of the royal doors, if you look into the church from the altar, or behind the north, left doors of the altar, if you look into it from the church. This Holy Cross is placed under a canopy, gracefully decorated with scalloped figures. Carved image of the Savior on it to the full height of a man. The tree of the cross, the crown of thorns on the head of the Crucified and the girdle are lavishly decorated in decent places with gold, silver, yahonts, emeralds, diamonds, rhinestones and pearls. At the upper end of the Cross, Greek words are depicted in semi-Greek, semi-Russian church style letters: "??????? ?????" (Stavro icons). The very image of the Divine Sufferer is carved from lipovago wood. The seal of the separated antiquity lies on the holy image; but, despite the prescription of the existence of the Cross and the fragility of the substance from which it is made, time does not dare to touch the image of the One who is inviolable in His being: it has retained its primitive freshness until now. And the simplicity of the material did not prevent the artist from depicting the sacred idea with high art, so that not only the sight of the Crucified, but the very fulfillment of the artistic thought arouses in the viewer a deep reverence for the holy image. The purity of the finish, the naturalness of the image and the height of thought, artistically embodied in a substance not accepted for works of sculpture, testify to the high degree of development of this art in the artist's homeland, from under whose chisel this sacred work came out. The link to the inscription on the Cross "??????? ?????", inscribed in semi-Russian letters, probably already in a later time by inexperienced imitation of the blotted out or damaged original, even more asserts in the thought that this Cross is not a work of our Fatherland, where the arts prior to the time of the Reformer were at a low level. On the sides of the Cross there are two sculptural images: the Mother of God and John the Theologian. This is the gift of the Rostov steward Ilya Ivanovich Meshcherinov, brought by him in 1708 in memory of a grateful soul about a happy circumstance that miraculously marked the presence of the grace of the Cross in his family. In these images, the artist successfully approached the character of the cross, and all three figures make up a sacred artistic group, vividly reminiscent of the touching event on Calvary (Yarosl. 179).

7. Or to the right, as viewed from the church towards the altar. The face of the icon has darkened from prescription. With the pious zeal of his admirers, he is covered with a whole mass of precious ornaments.

8. So according to our manuscript, according to other lists in 7015 (1507).

9. In the manuscript it is erroneous: Vasiliy.

10. The mention of Prince of Yaroslavl Alexander Feodorovich at this time is erroneous, because he died back in 1471.

11. It is safe to this day, despite the former fires. It is made of crimson granite cloth with blue taffeta frames. In the middle are embroidered with gold images of the Savior, the Mother of God and John the Baptist; on the frames at the top are cherubs and two angels, and on the sides are faces of various saints with embroidered inscriptions: Ivan, Pet. chyutv., Nikola miracle., Alexey miracle., Ivan miracle., Sergei miracle., Varlam. miracle, Kiril. miracle. The air is lined around with scarlet taffeta, and the bottom is hemmed with white linen. In addition, as a remnant from antiquity, the shroud is remarkable. It is made of red granite, with silk frames. The edges are bordered with gold trim: in the middle, the position of Jesus Christ in the coffin is embroidered in silver and gold. Green embrace lining. On the sides of the shroud, the chronicle is embroidered: "7101 (1595) summer" and the name of the investor: "Marya Mikhailovna Pugovskaya".

13. Life and Miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Mirliki, and his glory in Russia. St. Petersburg, 1990, pp. 565-579.

Holiday description

After the death of the first Christian, noble and pious tsar Constantine the Great, his son Constantius took the royal throne, who deviated into the evil heresy of Arius, who blasphemed the Son of God. Then, in the shame of the wicked heretics, for the assurance of the unbelievers and the confirmation of the Orthodox, a wondrous sign appeared in the holy city of Jerusalem: on the days of Holy Pentecost, on May 7, at the third hour in heaven there appeared an image of the honest Cross of the Lord, shining with an ineffable light, the strongest of the sun's rays, that saw all the people, struck with great horror and surprise. This sign of the Cross, beginning over the holy mountain of Golgotha, on which our Lord was crucified, reached the very Mount of Olives, at a distance of fifteen stadia from Golgotha, the breadth of the sign of the cross corresponded to its length; his beauty, reminiscent of the semblance of a multi-colored rainbow, was so great that it attracted the eyes of everyone. And everyone, whether anyone had any business in their hands, whether they were in the dwellings, leaving all their affairs and leaving the houses, with attention and fear contemplated the wonderful sign. Then all the numerous crowds of Jerusalemites, filled with this divine vision of fear and joy, hurried with deep affection and warmth to the holy church - all the elders and youths, men and wives, moreover, with nursing babies, as well as celibate girls who were locked in silence. - and those, coming out of their dwellings, rushed there, and in general, inhabitants of Jerusalem of all ages and conditions, strangers and foreigners, Orthodox Christians and non-believers. And they all unanimously loudly glorified Jesus Christ, our Lord, the only begotten Son of God, true God from true God, Provider of great miracles.

Then the unbelieving heretics, enemies and blasphemers of the Divinity of Christ, were filled with shame, seeing in the appearance of the Cross such great, divine glory and power of Christ the Lord, having made sure at that time that the Christian faith is right, true and pious and does not offer the believer from human outer wisdom is a learned word, but is affirmed by the revelation of the Holy Spirit and grace, and attested by heavenly signs and wonders. The Holy Patriarch of Jerusalem informed about the narrated miraculous manifestation of the sign of the Cross with a message from Tsar Constantius, exhorting him to turn to Orthodox teaching. Hermias testifies that through this appearance of the Holy Cross in heaven, very many of the Jews and Greeks came to the true faith and, having come with repentance to Christ our God, received holy baptism. And everyone piously glorified Christ our God, Consubstantial and co-existing with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We, confessing His inscrutable power, manifested by the Cross, exalt with our grateful praises of the Lord our God and worship His footstool, the Holy Cross, pleading for the mercy of the Lord, so that in His second terrible coming, Christ will enable us to behold what will then appear. "The Sign of the Son of Man"(), The Holy Cross, in the joy and hope of salvation, and with it, as if with a key, opened the doors of the kingdom of heaven to us, like the once prudent thief of paradise (), and punished us together with His blessed sheep forever (). Amen.

Notes (edit)

Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great, after the death of his father received the East, Asia and Egypt, in 357, having defeated the murderer of his brother Constance, Magnentius, he united the entire Roman Empire under his rule. He destroyed pagan temples or gave them to Christians for conversion in the church; several times he issued a law prohibiting the practice of pagan worship. But with his sympathy for the heresy, Arius Constantius greatly increased the religious strife of that time: he persecuted Orthodox bishops, demoted them from their pulpits, and even imprisoned them; under him, the Arians occupied the highest places in the state. Constantius died in 361, during a campaign against his cousin Julian, who was proclaimed emperor by the troops in Gaul, where he himself appointed him commander-in-chief. Gregory Nazianzen reports that before his death, Constantius repented of his persecution of the Orthodox.

The ancestor of the Arian heresy was the Alexandrian presbyter Arius. He denied the consubstantial nature of the Son of God with the Father, revered Jesus Christ as a creation and did not recognize for Him divine perfections - omnipotence, omniscience, etc. The heresy of Arius was strongly condemned at the first (325) and second (381) Ecumenical Councils, and the equality of the Son of God with the Father was established, which is what every Christian professes in the second term of the Creed, which was compiled by the fathers of the First All. cathedral. In the V century. Arianism had almost no followers in the Roman Empire, but revived in Germany among the Goths, Burgundians, Vandals and Loggobards, where it existed until the 7th century.

According to our count, it is about 9 o'clock in the morning. - The event itself should be attributed to 351. This year Easter was March 31, next. Pentecost May 19; May 7 falls on the Tuesday of the last week before Pentecost.

Golgotha ​​was previously outside Jerusalem (;); lies on the northwest side of St. cities. Its name (Golgotha ​​from the Hebrew - skull, place of execution (), probably received by the resemblance to the skull. By faithful here Adam was buried.

Mount of Olives and Olives are the mountains of the Jews, lie to the east of Jerusalem (), the Olive got its name from the many olive trees that grew on it. The Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly life often came to the mountain with His disciples (). On the western slope of the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Lord prayed on the night before suffering and where he was betrayed by Judas (;) On the southeastern slope of the mountain was the village of Bethany, from where the Lord entered Jerusalem (;). According to legend, from the Mount of Olives, the Lord ascended to heaven (). B IV c. the mother of Constantine the Great erected a Christian temple on the Mount of Olives, which was later converted by the Turks into a mosque.

St. Cyril, Archbishop Jerusalem, patriarchal from 350 to 387, known for his struggle with the heresy of the Arians. His memory is celebrated on March 18.

Sozomen is a church historian of the 5th century. His "Ecclesiastical History" embraces the period from 323 to 439 (but the story has survived to this day only until 423). Sozomen also wrote a history of the first three centuries of Christianity, but, unfortunately, it has not reached us. - Sozomen mentions the described wondrous sign in the IV book. his Church History, in chapter 5.

The appearance of the Cross in heaven foreshadowed difficult times for the Church - the rule of Arianism. Exactly 10 years (up to 361), Arianism remained on the throne in the person of Constantius, then it was replaced by the apostasy of Julian (361-363); after Julian, the emperor Valens (364-378) patronized Arianism for 14 years.

Prayers

Troparion remembrance of the appearance in heaven of the Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem

Thy cross is now more image than the sun of hope, / it is from the holy mountain even to the lobnogo place of prophecy / and in it Thy, Spase, fortress understood by the Divine, / reinforcing Christ and save us.

Translation: Your appearance has now shone stronger than the sun of Your Cross, spread it from the holy mountain to the Execution Ground, and in it Your, Savior, revealed your power, thereby strengthening us, and always save us in the world through the prayers of the Theotokos, Christ God, and save us.

Kontakion Memories of the Appearance of the Cross of the Lord in Heaven in Jerusalem

Opened Heaven, imprisoned, in Heaven, holy rays, / on the earth, the ascent of the Most Pure Cross: / also, the radiance of his action has come, we are instructed to the inescapable light / and in the brains about him.

Translation: He who opened the closed Heavens, the brightest rays in Heaven, the Most Pure Cross shone on earth: therefore, accepting the radiance of His power, we are brought to the inevitable and in battles we have his weapon of peace, an invincible victory.

Together with Galina Alekseevna, she went on pilgrimage trips to holy places: Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl Region and Godenovo.
One of the greatest shrines of Orthodox Russia - the only Life-giving Cross of the Lord in the world, revealed from Heaven almost 600 years ago, is located in the village of Godenovo in the church in the name of St. John Chrysostom in the courtyard of the Nikolsky monastery.

year 2001. The asphalt road ended, we arrived at Godenovo. The place turned out to be deserted and deserted, and only in the distance could I see a hill, Nikolsky Pogost, where the appearance of the Cross of the Lord took place. The distance to it is decent, Galina Alekseevna warned that there are swampy places around and we will have to get forty minutes. It was a cold autumn day, but the sun invigorated us. The tired ones came and a grim picture appeared before us: the ruins and dilapidated walls of the temple, but the wind was blowing between them. And in the place where the Life-giving Cross of two and a half meters once stood, there is a depression. Disappointment seized me, but it soon disappeared ...
On this deserted land, abandoned for decades, I suddenly felt a surge of strength! Amazingly, it turns out that for almost six hundred years on this holy land the power of the Life-giving Cross and that prayer incense, lifted up by the clergy from the walls of this destroyed temple, have been preserved. We felt this life-giving grace on ourselves. And wherever the fatigue disappeared, everyone scattered to explore the area and for a long time ...

In that distant 1423, the shepherds grazing cattle in the field near that swamp, in this place - Nikolsky Pogost, appeared from the Greek side an ineffable light pouring down from heaven to earth. This light settled over the swamp. The shepherds, seeing such a glorious miracle, were at first very frightened, but when they realized that it was the Power of God that appeared and showed them a miracle, they decided to approach the place where the light came from. They said: “Let's go and see what a miracle God shows us, we will see and preach the glory of God. Leaving the cattle in the field, the shepherds went to the swamp, over which an inexpressible light emanated. Their path was not easy, because those places were completely inaccessible for either man or livestock. They had to overcome great swamps, and tall trees, and thick thickets. Finally, they reached the unspeakable light and saw in the middle of it in the air the Life-giving Cross with the image of the Crucifixion of the Lord, and in front of it - the miracle worker Nikolai with the Holy Gospel, who stood near the shepherds in the swamp. From fear, the shepherds fell to the ground for a long time, like dead. But when Divine power strengthened them, and they came to themselves, then the voice of God emanating from the Crucifixion cried out: There will be the grace of God and the house of God in this place; If anyone comes to pray in faith, there will be many healings and miracles from the Life-giving Cross of prayers for the miracle worker Nikola. Come preach this to all people, so that in this place people will build My church.

The shepherds, heeding the voice of God, returned to the field to their flock. Arriving home, they told about the appearance of the Cross of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas to their fellow villagers, telling everything as it was, in order: how the voice called from the Crucifixion of the Lord, and how He commanded to put the Church of God in the place where the Cross appeared, and about healings and the miracles that will come from the Crucifixion, and how they fell from fear and horror to the ground, like dead, for several hours. The rumor about that miraculous phenomenon that happened to the shepherds reached Rostov and the bishop, having learned about the miracle of the appearance of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, thanked God. The Orthodox began to ask the bishop and the entire priestly order to build the Church of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas in the very place, in the swamp, where the appearance of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the miracle worker Nicholas took place. The bishop, having given a blessed letter, commanded the creation of a church of God in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a chapel of the origin of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord.
With the blessing of the bishop, the architects decided to build a church on this miraculous place, but they could not do it, because the place was impassable, and then they laid the church next to the swamp. On the first day, they erected three crowns to the church. At the end of the day, tired of the work, the craftsmen fell asleep not far from their construction. Waking up the next morning, they came to the same place, but they did not find the construction started the day before. The masters were surprised. Suddenly they noticed an ineffable light above the swamp, exactly where there was a miraculous appearance to the shepherds.

They went to this light and saw the church foundation standing right in the swamp, and in the middle of the foundation the Life-giving Cross appeared for the second time, and they heard a voice coming from it: “In this place, put My church, and the mountain will be great and many miracles will happen with faith those who come, pray, and there will be many healings. " On the same night, a stream formed in the middle of the swamp, which carried out all the swamp water from the indicated place. And there a hill was formed, on which, without difficulties, the masters were able to erect a temple of God. And the wonderful image of the Life-giving Cross, revealed twice, remained standing in the middle of the church.
And there was great joy to people. To all who come in faith, he gives miraculous healings through prayer. By God's providence, the Most Holy Cross appeared in the swamp as miraculously as the image of the Most Holy Theotokos that came from the Iberian kingdom to the holy Mount Athos.
At the end of the construction of the holy church, the priests with parish people asked in the city of Rostov from the previously mentioned bishop for a blessing for its consecration.

The bishop, hearing about the miraculous transfer of the foundation of the church, arrived himself with the sacred cathedral to the Crucifixion of the Lord. And falling on the ground in front of the Cross, with tears he exclaimed: "What kind of praise to You, Master, will I bring praise from those unworthy of my lips and which I will give to Ti prayers, as if you have freed me with unworthy lips, cleansing Thy nose of love ?!" Having created a prayer service, the bishop commanded to ring all the bells and place the wonderful image of the Cross of the Lord in the newly created church at the right hand of the royal gates. And the consecration of God's church was accomplished. After that, with great joy, he returned to Rostov on his throne, and did not cease to glorify the miracles of the Life-Giving Cross and the miracle worker Nicholas. In many cities and villages fame went about the miracles of the Crucifixion of the Lord and healing. Since that time, former clergymen have written down miracles in the book from the Life-giving Cross and the miracle worker Nikola.

And that primordial holy church, built of solid oak logs, would have stood for a long time, but by God's will, according to our sins, a fire broke out, and the church was completely burned down. In a fire, the clergy and laity first rushed to save the holy icons: they managed to take all the local icons out of the fire. But when they entered the holy church to pick up the image of the Life-giving Cross, they could not move the Holy Crucifixion: the Life-giving Cross of the Lord did not deign to be removed from the church. They were barely able to escape by running out of the church on fire. All the holy books and vestments of the church burned without a trace, and the holy Divine book of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord with the testimony of miracles burned down.
The fire engulfed the entire temple, a violent storm arose, and it was already impossible to defend the holy church from the fire. People, in powerlessness, retreated from her, watching the fire from afar and praying in contrition: “Lord Jesus Christ our God! About the Life-giving Cross of the Lord! We have sinned, Thy servants in lawlessness; Thou didst not deign to us, Thy sinful servant, to endure the most pure image of Thy Cross. And now, O Lord our God, whom we will call to help us, and who will save and have mercy on us, and who will deliver us from all misfortunes and troubles, and we, sinners, will not see the most pure image of Thy face ”. Long moaning, people prayed with bitter tears. With great sorrow they went home.

Soon, when the fire died down, many people came to the ashes. People began to search in the ashes for the surviving church things made of iron and copper. Raking up the ashes, they saw the wonderful Cross of the Lord completely unharmed - the fire did not even touch it. In joy, everyone exclaimed: “O Most Holy and Life-giving Cross of the Lord! Which we will bring praise, sinners, or which thanksgiving, or which unworthy will we call out hymns to Your most pure name! If you didn’t leave us orphans, but you gave us, sinners, the purest image of Your pack to see. ”
The priests and ministers of this church ordered to ring all the bells in order to gather all the people to thank God for such a miracle: "Lord, have mercy!"
The priest began to serve a prayer service. Many sick people were brought, people came, possessed by all kinds of sorrows. He ordered the priest to write the names of all the mournful ones who came to the most pure image of the Life-giving Cross. And the Lord God gave healing to all: walking lame, blind insight, sick health. The priest sanctified the water and set up the Cross of the Lord with due honor in a most honorable place.
Soon the priest, together with the parish people, asked the bishop for his blessing for the construction of a new church. The bishop ordered to build a temple in the same place. And when they built and consecrated the new Church of Nicholas the Wonderworker, they first brought into it the wonderful image of the Holy Cross and put it at the right hand of the royal gates. The miraculous image of the Holy Mother of God Odigidria was also placed on the right side near the Royal Doors, and the miraculous image of St. Nicholas the Saint and the Wonderworker was placed on the left side.

In the new church, due to the negligence of the church clerk, the good tradition of recording miracles of healings did not take root until the pious boyar from Moscow Pyotr Lukich came to pray before the Cross. He began to ask about the miraculous phenomena from the Cross, and in the church they only shrug their shoulders. Yes, many are healed, but no one in particular could remember anything. “The great grace of God is abandoned by oblivion and neglect,” Lukich reproached the negligent Orthodox. They were ashamed, and they restored the chronicle of miracles in the church.
Several centuries have passed since the construction of a new church of Nicholas the Pleasant on the site of the burnt down church. The fame of miracles and healings from the Life-giving Cross of the Lord spread far beyond the boundaries of the Yaroslavl province. Many people constantly flocked to the Honorable Cross in the hope of receiving healing from their ailments and finding God's help.
The second wooden church of Nikolsky Pogost existed until 1776.
A magnificent stone five-domed temple with a bell tower was built in its place. The main throne was consecrated in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Life-giving Cross; the throne of the southern side-altar - in the name of St. Nicholas, the northern one - in honor of the Protection of the Mother of God. Pilgrims traveled to the Cross from all parts of Orthodox Russia. They washed the Holy Crucifix with tears, knelt down and asked for help, consolation, healing, strengthening in faith, God's mercies and admonitions.

But since 1917, the atheist years began. The new authorities tried with all their might to erase from the people's memory the amazing legend of the miraculous Crucifixion. And, indeed, for some time they forgot about the Life-giving Cross. Rather, they were forced to forget outwardly - by force and brutal repression. However, even the very presence of the shrine, which had become abandoned in the wilderness of the Yaroslavl region and not as revered as in the old days, did not give rest to the atheists - they decided to destroy the Life-giving Cross.

From the story of Anna Alexandrovna Shefova, born in 1928, who lived four kilometers from Nikolsky Pogost:
"There was the mercy of God around this place. There were no snakes for twelve kilometers. And the bell ringing was heard for twenty-five kilometers."
When the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was closed, there was a decree to remove the bells from it. The atheist Vasily lived in our village. He went to destroy the temple and went to remove the bells. With him was another one from the village of Zakharovo. And so, when they came for the first time, a great storm arose. Then he came back angry. The storm prevented them. And the second time, God's enemies did nothing again. The temple shook, began to move. They couldn't even get to the bell tower. The Lord did not allow it. And for the third time already everything, got there, dropped the bells. And as the people said, there was a pillar of fire over the temple. And Vasily, after removing the bells, came home to the village of Zady and cut his throat with a sickle. And around the well ran all cut up, and bleeding. All people, looking at him, of course, were horrified. The Lord punished him.

Old-timers tell how several activists gathered to burn the Holy Crucifix in the street, before deciding to take it out of the temple. But they failed to lift the Cross. He seemed to be filled with lead, as in the old days, when they tried to save him from the fire that destroyed the first church of Nicholas the Pleasure. The atheists, no matter how hard they tried, could not even budge him. Frustrated atheists, never enlightened by the miraculous phenomenon that happened before their eyes, furiously began to saw the Holy Crucifixion in order to pull it out of the church in parts. But the saw teeth stumbled upon an inexplicably hard material and snapped, as if the Cross had been carved not from wood, but from stone.
As evidence of these events, on the hand of the image of the Crucified Lord there was a shallow mark from a saw for the edification and admonition of all who doubt the miracles of the Lord. So, having achieved nothing, the God-fighters left the shrine alone.

However, an atheist who watched everything that happened, was outraged that two strong men could not saw through the fake Crucifixion. Having cried out in his hearts that he did not believe in God, but only in his own strengths, which had never let him down, he grabbed an ax and in a rage hit the foot of the Savior's image. A small piece of the little finger from the shrine fell to the floor. The God-fighter triumphed: he conquered the Power of God.
Years passed, passions subsided. According to the stories of fellow villagers, in the 70s, the unfortunate one who "defeated" the Cross, having lived a difficult life, dies. And he dies of blood poisoning, which struck on the leg exactly the same little finger that he chopped off 50 years ago in the image of the Crucified Christ.
In 1945, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord by the Providence of God was transferred to the St. John Chrysostom Church in the village of Godenovo.

All these years - almost six centuries - the Life-giving Cross has become an attractive force for believers. The cross appeared to people in the most amazing way, to some in a dreamy vision, to some in some other way, but it necessarily led to the goal. People found him and found miraculous healing from their ailments. The Afghan warrior, paralyzed by his feet, venerated the Cross, prayed at a prayer service and ... with his feet he left the temple. And there are countless succession of such miracles. One is more incredible than the other.

... Time flew by quickly. And I didn't want to leave. Before leaving, I collected the holy land where the Life-giving Cross stood, I believe that in a difficult moment of illness it will help. We returned to the bus quickly, in one breath.

The second time, now to the Life-giving Cross, we drove in the winter, a blizzard and a blizzard accompanied us. Here is the village of Godenovo - a temple in the name of St. John Chrysostom, which is to be restored. And the area is again deserted. Pilgrims rarely appear here. In the most difficult conditions, but with God's help, only two nuns serve here. But they do not lose heart, their faces radiate light, their humble souls praise the Lord with gratitude, daily reading the akathist to the Life-giving Cross.
Finally, my meeting took place with the Life-giving Cross. His greatness amazed me. Carved image of the Savior on it to the full height of a man. The seal of distant antiquity lies on the holy image. But, despite the ancient existence of the Cross, time does not dare to touch the image of the One who is inviolable in His Being.
The nuns did not limit us in time and everyone could calmly pray, venerate the Cross and more than once.
Glory, Lord, to Thy Honest Cross. We worship Thy Cross, Master, and we sing and praise Thy Holy Resurrection.
The Honest Cross, the guardian of the soul and body, wake me up: casting down demons in your image, driving away enemies, exercising passions and giving me reverence, and life, and strength, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and honest prayers of the Most Pure Theotokos. Amen.
Lord save my soul.

For spiritual support, I bought a blessed oil, a photo of the Life-giving Cross (it is shown on my page) and much more.
Thank you, Lord, for your unnumbered blessings.

To be continued.

In the old days, people believed: if a person saw a cross in heaven, it means that great grace descended on him. Say, such a vision bestows health, happiness, luck and prosperity on everyone.

In particular, in Dinuba, in a house that was occupied by a family of immigrants from Mexico named Davala, a golden cross also appeared in the window, but only in the children's room. At the same time, he seemed to be hanging in the air in the immediate vicinity of the glass, like a hologram. It decreased in size when they approached the window, and increased if they moved away. It was worth looking inside the room from the street - the cross shone in the children's room and seemed very large.

Frightened Mrs.Dala several times changed the lamp in the nursery and even put in new windows, but the vision reappeared.

I must say that family relationships have improved significantly since the appearance of the cross: the hostess of the house has become calmer and more tolerant, the children are more obedient, and the husband is more attentive to his household. Positive changes also affected a neighbor of the family - a witness to the events described. He stopped drinking the bottle, became frequent visits to the Dawala family, and even began giving interviews to local correspondents at a time when all the Dawala family members were absent.

SIM WIN

In the old days, people quite often noticed a similar phenomenon. Either the times were different, or people were more attentive, or really crosses were shown more often. Maybe people were cleaner and more sinless before? Here is how the biographer of the emperor of Rome Saint Constantine, his contemporary and interlocutor Eusebius, tells about this event: “Diligently offering up his prayers and petitions, Tsar Constantine received an amazing sign sent from God, so it would not be easy to believe if someone else spoke.

Once at noon hours of the day, when the sun began to lean towards the west, the king said, I saw with my own eyes the sign of the cross, made up of light and playing in the sun, with the inscription: "By this, conquer." This spectacle engulfed in fear both the Emperor Constantine himself and the entire army. But the Byzantines worried in vain: in 312 the king defeated Maxentius in the famous battle at the bridge and became the only full-fledged ruler of the state. The cross became a harbinger of happy changes in the life of the sovereign.

GOOD OR HOOD?

However, the crosses are shown both to the powers that be and to ordinary people. Here is the story of an ordinary eyewitness, which he posted on the Internet: “Two days ago, on the outskirts of Zelenograd (the former village of Kutuzovo), there was an amazing phenomenon that many people passing by had the opportunity to see. The appearance of the cross in the sky. My mother's friend saw this amazing phenomenon when she returned from Moscow from a concert. In addition to her, many have seen. Arriving home, she (a non-believer) called my mother and began to talk about what she had seen. For some reason, she said that all who saw it regarded it as a formidable sign. People said it was an omen of the coming war. Someone remembered that similar, according to the stories, was observed before, before the Great Patriotic War. "

Stills from the video with the manifestations of the shining cross in the sky

From 13 to 14 September 1925 over the chapel of St. John the Evangelist in Athens, with a large crowd of eyewitnesses and police officers in the sky, a special, extraordinary event took place.

The local Orthodox community celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. About two thousand people had gathered since the evening before at the country chapel of St. John the Theologian, where the all-night vigil was served. For the sake of maintaining order, a police outfit also pulled up there. And suddenly at 23:30 a bright white cross appeared directly above the church and in the direction from west to east. The light from it fell only on the space around the church, flooding all the worshipers. It completely overshadowed the glare of the stars, while illuminating the church and courtyard as if an electric searchlight was aimed at them.

This heavenly sign was continuously visible for half an hour, and then began to fade little by little. What followed next cannot be described in any words. All those present at the all-night vigil fell to their knees and shouted in one impulse, glorifying the Almighty. The policemen forgot about their duties and just fell to the ground, bowing and praying. The vigil lasted all night until 4 o'clock in the morning. People began to disperse, carrying with them the news of a miracle and overwhelming enthusiasm.

FROM MOSCOW TO THE MOST TO THE OUTSIDE

And here is a fact, documented. In the same Los Angeles, television producer Dan Minan, together with his colleague, filmed a television movie about the appearance of a cross in the sky of Louisiana in 1989. They have already interviewed a Catholic priest, a witness to the event, and watched the footage. And suddenly on the tape they saw a cross, as if superimposed on the figure of the padre. However, according to Minan's assurances, "nothing of the kind was observed when we talked with the monk." But something else is surprising: soon crosses began to appear on the windows of ordinary houses, and two, or even more, crucifixes were displayed at the same time.

In November 1990, the Dallas Morning Newspaper reported that a radiant panorama of crosses appeared in a private house in the Violet area, three of which were white and one gold ... In Louisiana, in 1991, four white and gold crosses appeared on the bathroom window of a former plumber. The 61-year-old owner, who almost lost his sight, took this as a sign from above and began to pray earnestly for healing. Vision returned, although not in full. The news spread quickly, and hundreds of people poured into his house. The former locksmith even had to set visiting hours.

Similar events took place in the Russian open spaces. On August 16, 2008, a bright glowing cross appeared in the sky over the city of Sharya, Kostroma region! Moreover, the cross is of the correct shape. From a scientific point of view, such a correct form cannot exist in nature. Experts say that the video does not have elements of computer graphics and it would be difficult to create such a thing.

A similar phenomenon of the cross happened on January 4, 2010 in the sky of Moscow. The glow looks like pillars of energy, and the color of the cross itself is clearly different from other objects in the sky. A beautiful sight!

What is the origin of the light-bearing crosses? Why do they appear in this or that particular place? Could it be a mass hallucination? But after all, we are usually talking about a large-scale spectacle, so a hallucination or hoax is impossible. So it turns out that, whatever one may say, but without some kind of intervention from above, it could not be done. And if you ever happen to contemplate something like this with your own eyes, do not be alarmed. Rather, on the contrary - rejoice.

Sergey SHAPOVALOV

From the Akathist to the Life-giving Cross

The cross came from heaven, "from the Greek side," and is possibly a Constantinople shrine, miraculously transferred to Russia 30 years before the fall of the Christian kingdom of Byzantium. "Moscow is the Third Rome, and there will be no Fourth!" How in those distant times, still full of rude pagan customs, could Russia become a saint and carry out the worldwide service of Orthodoxy? The ways of God's destinies are incomprehensible to the human mind. But, casting a glance through the centuries, you are amazed at how God's Providence was transformed into the fate of Russia through the real events of history. One of such events was the appearance in the wilderness of the Rostov swamps of the Cross, named after its prototype - Life-giving, and together with it - the image of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of these places. This event is captured in historical sources that have preserved the date of the appearance of the shrine - June 29/11, 1423. The legend tells that on that day the shepherds grazing cattle near the Sakhot bog in the field near the Nikolsky churchyard * saw in the east an inexpressible light pouring from heaven to earth. At first, the shepherds were frightened, but fascinated by the unearthly beauty of this phenomenon, after consulting, they decided: “Let's go, let's see what miracle is to us? And if God manifests this miracle, then we preach the glory of God. " When they reached the place of the miraculous phenomenon, they saw the Life-giving Cross with the image of the Crucifixion of the Lord standing in the air in an inexpressible light, and in front of it - the image of the miracle worker Nicholas with the Holy Gospel. The shepherds bowed down to the greatness of God and heard a voice: “The grace of God and the house of God will be in this place; If anyone comes to pray in faith, there will be many healings and miracles from the Life-giving Cross of Prayers for the sake of the miracle worker Nicholas. Go preach about this to all the people, so that My church will be erected in this place. "

Having learned about the miraculous phenomenon, Archbishop Dionysius, who at that time occupied the Rostov See, gave his blessing to build on that place the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with the chapel of the Life-giving Cross. The builders questioned the possibility of building a temple in the swamp and laid the foundation aside. But in the morning we saw the building, miraculously transferred to the swampy soil to the place of the appearance of the Cross. The next night, a river formed in the middle of the swamp and land appeared, on which the temple was safely completed.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the priest of this temple recorded the history of the appearance of the Life-giving Cross from the words of the inhabitants of those places. To the story, he attached a list of miracles performed from the shrine, which he asked about and which he found "in the ancient scrolls." In this legend, the priest mentions a terrible fire, in which a book with a record of the miracles of the Life-giving Cross burned down, and the Cross itself miraculously survived - it was found completely unharmed in the ashes. During the thanksgiving service before the surviving Cross, "the Lord God gave healings to all: the lame - walking, the blind - insight, the sick - health."