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Construction of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zaraysk
Skysok, it is considered the oldest church building on the Zaraiskaya land. In 1225, the miraculous image of St. Nicholas Nicholas of Mirliki was brought to the city from the Chersonesos of Tauride. Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich, having learned about the miracles of the icon, ordered the creation of a temple in the name of St. Nicholas. The wooden temple stood for three centuries.
At the end of the 1520s, the era of stone construction began in Zaraysk. Then stone walls began to be erected around the city, and they decided to rebuild the Nikolsky temple in stone.
Having stood for only a century and a half, St. Nicholas Church is pretty dilapidated. And then, according to the will of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the five-domed Nikolsky Cathedral was erected in its place, the same one that has survived to our time. It happened in 1681. The walls and vaults of the Nikolsky Church were covered with paintings depicting saints. The wrought-iron doors were also decorated with biblical stories.
Icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraysk
The main shrine of the cathedral is the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraysk. At the behest of Tsar Vasily Shuisky in 1608, a setting of pure gold was made for the icon, which took almost two and a half kilograms, the image was decorated with 133 precious stones and many pearls (more than one and a half thousand!).
Ivan the Terrible came to Zaraysk on a pilgrimage in front of the icon. He especially revered this image of Nicholas the Pleasant and prayed in front of him the "abbot of the Russian land" -.
In the 19th century, St. Nicholas Cathedral lived absolutely comfortably - the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas located in it attracted a huge number of pilgrims from all over the country to the city.
After the revolution
In the 1920s, it was abolished exactly as a temple. The temple itself, fortunately, survived, although everything was not located there - the museum, the NKVD archive, and the warehouse ...
Only in the early 1960s did the authorities begin to restore the Nikolsky Cathedral. At least, they restored the church building from the outside and assigned it the status of an architectural monument of republican significance.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 17.11.2017 07:17
On the picture: The miraculous image of St. Nicholas of Zaraysk in St. John the Baptist Cathedral of the Zaraisk Kremlin.
Nicholas the Pleasant is undoubtedly one of the most revered saints in Russia. And Nikola Zaraisky, along with, perhaps, Nikolai Mozhaisky, is one of the most revered images of this saint, at least in the Moscow region. The story of the miraculous acquisition of the famous icon, its loss and return is instructive and sad, but it is a story with a happy ending.
The main shrine of St. Nicholas Cathedral has always been the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Mirliki... It was brought to the Ryazan land by a Korsun priest, to whom the saint appeared in a dream. It is curious that a little later the Zaraysk prince Fyodor Yuryevich also dreamed about the arrival of the miraculous image: “Prince, come to meet the miraculous image of my Korsun ... And I beg the Human-loving Vladyka Christ, the Son of God, - may he grant you, your wife and son your crowns of the Kingdom of Heaven. " The prince was surprised, for then he had neither a wife nor children, but he went to meet the icon. And the saint's prophecy came true. The prince came out of the city and saw a shrine from afar - an incredible radiance emanated from it. It happened on July 29 (August 11, new style) 1225.
In Soviet times, the miraculous icon was first moved to the local history museum, and then taken to Moscow, to the Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after. When the Zaraysk Nikolsky Church was handed over to the Church, the believers began to advocate for the return of their shrine. The process took almost a quarter of a century, only on August 11, 2013, the icon of St. Nicholas returned to Zaraysk, but not to St. Nicholas Cathedral. Now she is in, in a special case.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 17.11.2017 07:41
"White well" of St. Nicholas Cathedral
Relatively recently - a little more than ten years ago - the parishioners improved the holy spring, which has been venerated in these places since ancient times. It is called "White Well" - this is the very place where Prince Fyodor Yuryevich met the Korsun priest with the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Mirliki. According to legend, as soon as the prince took the miraculous image in his hands, a spring spurted out of the ground. Now the Nikolskaya chapel with a bath has been built over the spring, because it has long been noticed that the water of the White Well is curative - it heals not only bodily but also mental illnesses.
The Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zaraysk is an Orthodox church in the Moscow diocese.
Common name - Nikolsky Cathedral; Nikolaevsky Cathedral; St. Nicholas Cathedral; Nikola the Pleasant Cathedral; St. Nicholas Cathedral of Mirliki; St. Nicholas Cathedral; St. Nicholas Cathedral.
The cathedral is located in Zaraysk, Zaraysky district, Ryazan province (now Zaraysky district of Moscow region), the Kremlin. The status is valid.
History
Period until 1917
The original foundation of the church in honor of St. Nicholas in the city of Zaraysk, which was once called the city of "Red", refers to the first quarter of the XIII century and the present day the bringing of the icon of St. Nicholas from the city of Korsun to the Ryazan Territory.
The Grand Duke of Ryazan, Yuri Igorevich, is told in the legend about the bringing of the icon of St. Nikolay,
"Hearing the arrival of the miraculous image, taking with him Bishop Euphrosynus the Holy Mountain, went to the area of \u200b\u200bhis son, and seeing from the miraculous image great and glorious miracles, in the city called Red, he ordered to create a temple in the name of the great miraculous Saint Nicholas. With God's help, soon the temple was created and consecrated by Bishop Euphrosynus. In that church the image of Korsun was placed and the great prince, together with Bishop Euphrosynus, with great joy departed for his city of Ryazan. "
The time of construction, instead of a wooden, stone church of Nicholas, is not known with accuracy, but in the books of the Zaraisk city, the townspeople and Black Sloboda people of 1625 - the cathedral church
"In the name of St. Nicholas the wonderworker Zarazsky"
is listed as stone and at the same time it is noticed that, according to Archpriest Nikita,
“In the past 1622, according to the Tsar's decree, the sytnik Bogdan Desyatov and the clerk Oleksiy Bludov were sent from Moscow from Moscow by order of the clerk, and by God's grace - images and books, and the great church building was copied into the books of the census of the Moscow order of the Grand Palace”.
Not having at hand the description of the cathedral compiled by Bogdan Desyatov, we can only assume that its sending from Moscow is in direct connection with the construction of the stone St. Nicholas Cathedral, in which every church building
"From ancient times it was Tsar".
The current Nikolsky Cathedral was built in 1681 according to the diploma of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, given from the order of the Grand Palace.
In its outward appearance, the cathedral is a figure of an oblong quadrangle, 34 long, 20 wide and 24 arshins high, with 5 heads on which the crosses are eight-pointed, through with a crown at the top and a crescent at the bottom. The external view of the cathedral with the expansion of the windows, which until that time were narrow and small, completely lost the character of antiquity; the porch near the western side of the cathedral, which looks like a tent, on 14 round stone pillars with capitals and bases, suffered less from the redistribution.
The exact indication of the time of the arrangement inside the cathedral, the three-tiered iconostasis located there, has not reached us; but it can be attributed, if not to the beginning of the 19th century, then no doubt to the last years of the last century.
In 1848, the iconostasis, threatening to fall, was dismantled and reinstalled again, and the gilding on it was cleaned, the icons were repaired; among them is not a few - the ancient style, but thanks to the diligence of home-grown painters, it is difficult to come to any conclusion regarding their antiquity.
The wall painting also did not retain its original antiquity and was renewed twice, as can be seen from the inscription above the western doors of the temple, which says:
“In 1760, this cathedral church was renewed with wall writing under Archpriest Jeremiah Timofeevich to the brethren of this city of Zaraysk by the merchant Nikolai Mikhailov Zaitsevsky. In 1849 the walls were renewed with internal and external writing. "
According to the state of 1873, an archpriest, 1 assistant priest, 1 deacon and 2 psalmists are assigned to the clergy.
Period after 1917
The twentieth century has become a time of bloody trials and sorrows for the Orthodox people. The Zaraisk district, which hitherto had almost a hundred Orthodox churches, turned into a spiritual desert in Soviet times. All the churches, except for one of the Annunciation in the city, were closed, more than half were destroyed.
At the most difficult moment in the history of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archpriest John Smirnov was its rector. According to the explanations of the staff of the Historical-Architectural, Art and Archeological Museum "Zaraisk Kremlin", Father John, despite the prohibitions, carried the icon of St. Nicholas in the surrounding villages, served prayer services, urging not to forget the Pleasant of God Nicholas. The priest, together with the faithful parishioners, tried by all possible means to prevent the closure of the Nikolsky Cathedral and other Orthodox churches.
However, in 1922 the St. Nicholas Cathedral was taken away from the believers, and seven years later the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was also closed. Kremlin churches were mercilessly plundered: hundreds of pounds of gold and pounds of silver were taken away. Without a trace disappeared from the icon the most valuable salary donated by Tsar Vasily Shuisky, ancient church books and gifts of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, other church antiquities disappeared.
In 1937, on a wave of mass repressions, Archpriest Ioann Smirnov, who had been slandered in counter-revolutionary activities, was arrested. After a short investigation, he was sentenced to death. The priest took a martyr's death at the Butovo training ground. In 2000 he was glorified in the face of the New Martyrs Confessors of Russia.
The Nikolsky Cathedral remained mocked and desecrated until the 1990s. It first housed a museum exposition, then an archive and a utility warehouse.
During the years of Soviet power, when the church was outraged, the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas was taken out of Zaraisk. In 1959-1961. the external forms of the cathedral have been restored.
In the 70s of the last century, in order to further improve the protection of architectural monuments, the Nikolsky Cathedral in the city of Zaraysk was classified as an architectural monument of the RSFSR subject to protection and of national importance.
Divine services in the cathedral were resumed in January 1992. There is a Sunday school. The parish carries out publishing activities. The parishioners have arranged the holy spring "White Well" at the site of the appearance of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas; here the Nikolskaya chapel and baths are consecrated. Every year on August 11, a citywide celebration is held in honor of the bringing of the icon of Nikola Zarazsky. At present, St. Nicholas Cathedral is classified as an architectural monument protected by the state as a national treasure.
Famous church values
The miraculous icon of St. Nicholas
Of the sacred objects of antiquity that were in the St. Nicholas Cathedral, the main shrine of the cathedral - the miraculous temple icon of St. Nicholas, brought in 1224 from the city of Korsun to the Ryazan limits by priest Eustathius - deserves special attention.
This icon is with seventeen images of miracles of the saint and fields, 25, and 20 ¼ inches wide, and without miracles 15 ½ in height and 10 inches in width; Saint Nicholas is depicted on it in full growth, in a cross-shaped vestment, with an omophorion, the saint's right hand is extended for a blessing, and in his left hand is the gospel, to the right in a small circle is depicted the Savior, with his right hand blessing the Saint, and with his left hand giving him the gospel, to the left in the same circle - the Mother of God with an omophorion outstretched in her arms.
By its painting, this icon belongs to the ancient Byzantine style, but undoubtedly it was repeatedly renewed, which is proved by the brightness of the colors and the inscription on the icon:
“This miraculous image was repaired by the Moscow merchant Nikita Levontiev in 1797”.
In 1608 the icon of St. Nicholas by Tsar Vasily Ivanovich was decorated with a frame made of pure gold, with stones and pearls, as can be seen from the inscription on a special plate attached to the bottom of the frame, in which it is written in ligature:
"By the order of the Blessed Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich of All Russia, this salary was made on the image of the great miracle worker Nicholas of Zaraisk in the second summer of his state, summer 7116 (1608)."
The robe arranged by Shuisky covers only one image of the saint, and the image of his miracles is covered with a silver-plated setting at a later time, although the plates of gold were made by the same Shuisky.
In the setting on the [icon of pure gold about six pounds, one hundred thirty-three colored stones, three Burmese grains and one thousand six hundred large and medium-sized pearls.
The salary arranged by Shuisky fully retained the character of antiquity, despite the amendments made in 1793 and in 1881.
Other church antiquities
In addition to the icon of St. Nicholas, in the cathedral, in pre-revolutionary times, there were quite a few antiquities, belonging partly to the 15th, partly to the 17th century, of which the following are especially remarkable:
- The shroud of the 15th century, embroidered in gold and over a blue silk fabric superimposed on the dye. On it is embroidered in silver and silk with the most pure body of the Savior, laid in a coffin. Near the head of the Mother of God, clinging to the face of the Savior and the myrrh-bearer, at the feet are depicted John the Theologian, Joseph and Nicodemus. In the corners of the shroud there are four angels with bells; the Holy Spirit is depicted above the body of the Savior in a small circle.
- The Gospel, printed in 1606 and attached to the cathedral by Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky.
- The Gospel, printed in 1689, is remarkable in its size. It is 16 inches long and 11 inches wide. Its rims and spine are covered with a massive silver-gilded frame. The entire gospel with a salary weighs 1 pood 25 pounds. On the upper board of the centerpiece, decorated with 8 crystals, the descent of Christ into hell is depicted, in the corners are the images of the four evangelists, as well as the centerpiece, chased work. On the sides of the centerpiece, four hallmarks are depicted: the crucifixion of the Lord, the removal from the cross, the position in the coffin and the last supper. On the same board above and below there are inscriptions:
Another inscription lists the names of the deceased parents and relatives of the depositor.“Brought to the Cathedral of the Great Wonderworker by the Bishop of God Nicholas in the blessed city of Zaraysk, for the dependents of the priest Trofim Vasilyevich in the summer of 1724 December on the 6th day under Archpriest Alexei Eliseevich in memory of his parents.”
- Altar cross, silver-gilded, renovated under Archpriest Demetrius in 1617, as can be seen from the inscription on the cross.
- Altar cross, arranged in 1624 by Anthony, Archbishop of Ryazan.
- Silver chalice of water, donated, as can be seen from the inscription on the edges of it, by Dmitry Ivanovich Godunov in 1604.
- Silver-gilded lamp, arranged in 1671.
- Two silver dishes, donated to the cathedral by Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Khvorostin, arranged, as seen from the inscription, in 1700.
- Two silver-gilded dishes donated by Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky.
- Silver bucket, oval shape with an inscription
"This ladle of Vladyka Varlam" of Kolomenskoye and Kashirsky, XVII century
- Gold medal, depicting a cross on one side with an inscription in a circle:
and on the other - the coat of arms of Portuguese with two also circular inscriptions:"IN HOC SIGNO VINCES" ("THE SIGN OF THE WINNER"),
belonging to the end of the XV century. and donated to the cathedral, probably by the same prince Mstislavsky.EMMANUIL R. PORTUGALIE AL. G. VL. IN. O. C + C. ETHIOPIA ARABIA PERSIAE IN. C.H. "(" Emanuel, King of Portugal, Caesar of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persian, etc.),
Notable abbots of the temple
Rectors of the church Dates Rector 1799 - 1837 Smirnov, Pyotr Yakovlevich - archpriest of the Ryazan diocese, dean of Zaraysk and Zaraisk district 1873 - 1878 Remezov, Mikhail Ioannovich - archpriest of the Ryazan diocese late XIX - early XX centuries. Yastrebov, Andrei Kapitonovich - Archpriest of the Ryazan Diocese, early XX century. Smirnov, Ivan Alekseevich - Mitred Archpriest, who suffered innocently during the period of persecution and is now glorified in the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. 1922 - 1992 Closing period present Archpriest Pyotr Spiridonov(Korsun Tavrichesky), and the image was called Nikolai Korsunsky. There was an icon in the temple of the Apostle James. Saint Nicholas appeared to the priest of this church, Presbyter Eustathius, three times in a dream with an insistent request: “Take my miraculous image of Korsun, your wife Theodosia and your son Eustathius, and come to the land of Ryazan. I want to be there and do miracles, and glorify the place. "... But the priest hesitated, not daring to leave his native place and set off to an unknown land. For his disobedience, Eustathius was punished with sudden blindness. And when he realized his sin, he prayed to the miracle worker Nicholas and received forgiveness.
Having healed of his illness, he and his family set off on a long journey. The travelers had to endure many difficulties and sorrows during their wanderings, but they also witnessed glorious miracles from the miraculous image. Only a year later they reached the limits of the Ryazan land.
At this time, Saint Nicholas appeared in a dream to the appanage prince Theodore Yuryevich, reigning in Krasnoye, and announced the arrival of his miraculous icon: "Prince, come to the meeting of the miraculous image of my Korsun. For I want to be here and do miracles, and glorify this place. And I beg the Human-loving Lord Christ, the Son of God - may he grant you, your wife and your son, the crowns of the Kingdom of Heaven." And although the prince was perplexed, since he did not yet have a family, he obeyed the will of the saint, left the city with the entire sacred cathedral to meet the miraculous image. From afar he saw the shrine, from which the radiance emanated. With great reverence and joy, Theodore received the icon from Eustathius. This happened on July 29 of the year.
For the brought icon, a wooden St. Nicholas Church was laid in the city of Krasnoye. After some time, Prince Theodore was legally married to Eupraxia, and their son John was born - with this fulfillment of one of the predictions of St. Nicholas, the first part of the ancient chronicles about Nicholas Zarazsky ends.
The second part of the old tales describes the fate of the faithful princes of Zaraya during the invasion of the hordes of Tatar-Mongols in Russia in the year. Khan Batu demanded from the Russians a tenth share in everything: "in princes, in all kinds of people and in the rest." The appanage prince Theodore went to Batu's headquarters with great gifts in order to "persuade the khan not to go to war on the Ryazan land." The khan accepted the gifts and falsely promised "not to fight the Ryazan land" and began "to ask the princes of the Ryazan daughters and sisters on his bed." Having heard from one of the traitors, the Ryazan grandee, that the prince has a young and beautiful wife, Batu turned to him with the words: "Let me, prince, enjoy the beauty of your wife." Theodore replied to the haughty conqueror: "It is not good for us Christians to lead our wives to you, an impious and godless king, to fornication. When you overcome us, then you will own us and our wives."
Batu was enraged by such an answer from the blessed prince and immediately ordered to kill him, and throw his body to beasts and birds to be torn apart. One of the guides of Prince Aponitsa secretly hid the body of his master and hurry to Krasny to tell the princess about the death of her husband. The noble princess stood at that time "in a high mansion and held her beloved child - Prince Ivan Fyodorovich" and "when she heard the deadly words, filled with sorrow, threw herself to the ground and was infected (killed) to death." The body of the murdered prince was brought to his native inheritance and was buried next to the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, in the same grave with his wife and son, and three stone crosses were placed over them.
From this event, the icon of Nikola Korsunsky began to be called Zarazskybecause the blessed princess Eupraxia with her son Prince John "infected" herself. Over time, the place where the tragedy occurred began to be called Zaraz, Zarazsk, and then Zaraysk - this is one of the versions of the name of the city.
The fame of miracles from the icon spread quickly. For many centuries, the day the icon was brought to Zaraysk was revered as a citywide holiday. The day before, on July 28, a prayer service was served to Nicholas the Wonderworker, then a lithium for the deceased princes at the tombstone with three crosses; at the all-night vigil, the "Stories of Nicholas Zarazsky" were read. On the very day of the holiday, July 29, the Divine Liturgy was performed in the Nikolsky Church by all the Zaraisky clergy, after which the inhabitants of the city and its guests went on a procession along with the miraculous icon to the White Well. This is the name of the source, which, according to legend, at the meeting place of the icon by Prince Theodore. A prayer service for water was served here and the water of the spring was blessed, then the procession returned to the Kremlin.
The writer Vasily Selivanov in 1892 left the following description of the Zaraysk shrine:
With the resumption of church life in the Kremlin cathedrals, the efforts of the faithful to return the shrine began. However, for a long time the management of the Museum responded with a refusal to the petitions and written appeals of the Zaraysk people, motivating it with the absence of the necessary conditions for the preservation of the ancient image in the churches of the Zaraisk Kremlin. For fifteen years, through the efforts of parishioners, work has been carried out on the repair and restoration of the John the Baptist Church. In the year, a copy of the icon of St. Nicholas Zaraisky was written, which was placed in a carved canopy and installed to the left of the central altar.
Today, believers venerate another copy from the miraculous icon - the image of Nikola of Korsunsky-Zaraisky. With this icon the Zaraya priests made pilgrimages to the holy places of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus; the new image was also consecrated at the great shrines of Greece, Mount Athos, on the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari. Recently, it is with the icon of St. Nicholas of Korsunsky-Zaraisky that annual processions of the cross have been performed in the city of Zaraysk (May 22) and to the holy spring White Well (August 11).
On August 11, the ancient miraculous icon of St. Nicholas Zaraisky was returned to the Zaraisk John the Baptist Church. The festive divine service was led by Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Yuvenaly (Poyarkov). The holy image is installed to the right of the central altar, in a special icon case. Prayer chants are performed in front of him daily.
Used materials
- Icon of Nikola Zaraisky // Website of the Zaraisk Deanery
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - the most revered saint in Russia since ancient times - was born in Asia Minor in the second half of the 3rd century in the Greek colony of Patara in the Roman province of Lycia into a family of wealthy Christian parents; in his youth he was given over to the service of God under the guidance of his uncle, the bishop Patarsky. His uncle elevated him to the rank of priest. The saint's entire life was indeed an example of Christian service to God and people. When his parents died, Saint Nicholas inherited their fortune, which he gave to the needs of charity. Saint Nicholas was the bishop of the city of Myra in Lycia in Asia Minor (present-day Demre), his ascetic life and miracles won fame during his lifetime. The saint took part in the First Ecumenical Council of 325, at which he condemned the heresy of Arius, who denied the Divinity of the Son of God Jesus Christ. According to church tradition, for a slap in the face to the wicked Arius, he was deprived of the priesthood, the Savior and the Mother of God Himself brought the Gospel and the omophorion to Nicholas - signs of hierarchical dignity. This event is called the Nicene miracle and is depicted in almost all the icons of the saint. Saint Nicholas died about 345 and was buried in the city of Myra in Lycia. In 1087, when the Turks took the city, his relics were transferred to the Italian city of Bari.
Local veneration of the saint began immediately after his death. In Constantinople, his cult took shape in the 4th-7th centuries. The veneration of St. Nicholas came to Russia with the adoption of Christianity, and from the 11th century it became widespread. The iconographic type of St. Nicholas of Zaraysk is a full-length depiction of the saint with his arms spread apart: the right hand is folded in a gesture of blessing, in the left is the closed Gospel. According to A. Poppé, the name "Zaraisky" appeared only in the 16th century. "The Tale of St. Nicholas Zaraysky" describes the history of the ancient miraculous icon that has not survived, which was brought from Korsun through Novgorod to Zaraisk in 1225. In 1237 Ryazan was the first to experience the horror of the Tatar invasion. In "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu", it is said that after the murder of the Ryazan prince Theodore by the Tatars, his princess threw herself from a high tower onto the ground and "became infected (broke) to death." After they were buried near the icon of Nikola Korsunsky, the image was called Zarazsky or Zaraysky.
The spread of this iconography in the XIII-XIV centuries is confirmed by the number of monuments in icon painting and small plastic. In Byzantium, this iconographic type was not widespread. In Russian art, he becomes one of the favorites, which was facilitated by the popularity of the plot in literature. The earliest works: the icon of the first half of the XIV century "Nikola Zaraisky and the Apostle Philip" from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Novgorod icon of St. Nicholas of the first half of the XIV century from the Ozerovo churchyard.
The memory of St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6 (December 19, old style), July 29 (August 11, old style, the birth of the saint), May 9 (May 22, old style, transfer of the relics).
Zhanna Grigorievna Belik,
phD in Art History, Senior Researcher at the Andrei Rublev Museum, Keeper of the Tempera Painting Fund.
Olga Evgenievna Savchenko,
researcher at the Andrei Rublev Museum.
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32. Icons of the XIII - XVI centuries in the collection of the Museum named after Andrei Rublev. M., 2007.
According to legend, the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas was brought to the city of Krasny (now Zaraisk) in 1225. The history of the appearance of the holy image in our area is full of miracles and signs of God's ineffable mercy; it is transmitted in the ancient chronicle - "The Tale of Nicholas Zarazsky".
For a long time, the icon was in Chersonesos (Korsun Tauride), and the image was called Nikolai Korsunsky. There was an icon in the church of the Apostle James, in which the Grand Duke Vladimir once received Holy Baptism. Saint Nicholas appeared to the priest of this church, Presbyter Eustathius, three times in a dream with an insistent request: “Take my miraculous image of Korsun, your wife Theodosia and your son Eustathius, and come to the land of Ryazan. I want to be there and do miracles, and glorify the place. " But the priest hesitated, not daring to leave his native place and set off to an unknown land. For his disobedience, Eustathius was punished by sudden blindness. And when he realized his sin, he prayed to the Miracle Worker Nicholas and received forgiveness. Having healed of his illness, he and his family set off on a long journey.
The travelers had to endure many difficulties and sorrows during their wanderings, but they also witnessed glorious miracles from the miraculous image. Only a year later they reached the limits of the Ryazan land. 
At this time, Saint Nicholas appeared in a dream to the appanage prince Theodore Yuryevich, reigning in Krasnoye, and announced the arrival of his miraculous icon: “Prince, come to meet the miraculous image of my Korsunsky. For I want to be here and do miracles, and glorify this place. And I will implore the Human-loving Lord Christ, the Son of God - may he grant you, your wife and your son, the crowns of the Kingdom of Heaven. And although the prince was perplexed, since he did not yet have a family, he obeyed the will of the saint, left the city with the entire sacred cathedral to meet the miraculous image. From afar he saw the shrine, from which the radiance emanated. With great reverence and joy, Theodore received the icon from Eustathius. This happened on July 29 (August 11 BC) 1225.
For the brought icon, a wooden St. Nicholas Church was laid in the city of Krasnoye. After some time, Prince Theodore was legally married to Eupraxia, and their son John was born - with this fulfillment of one of the predictions of St. Nicholas, the first part of the ancient chronicles about Nicholas Zarazsky ends.
The second part of the old Tales describes the fate of the noble Zaraysk princes during the invasion of the hordes of the Tatar-Mongols into Russia in 1237. Khan Batu demanded from the Russians a tenth share in everything: "in princes, in all kinds of people and in the rest." The appanage prince Theodore went to the headquarters of Batu with great gifts in order to "persuade the khan not to go to war on the Ryazan land." The khan accepted the gifts and falsely promised “not to fight the Ryazan land” and began “to ask the princes of Ryazan’s daughters and sisters on his bed.” Hearing from one of the traitors, the Ryazan grandee, that the prince had a young and beautiful wife, Batu turned to him with the words: "Let me, prince, enjoy the beauty of your wife." Theodore answered the haughty conqueror with a contemptuous laugh: “It is not good for us Christians to lead our wives to you, the impious and godless king, for fornication. When you overcome us, then you will own us and our wives. "
Batu was furious at such an answer from the blessed prince and immediately ordered to kill him, and throw his body to the beasts and birds to be torn apart. One of Prince Aponitsa's guides secretly hid the body of his master and hurry to Krasny to tell the princess about the death of her husband. The noble princess stood at that time "in a high mansion and held her beloved child - Prince Ivan Fyodorovich" and "as she heard the deadly words, filled with sorrow, threw herself to the ground and was infected (killed) to death." The body of the murdered prince was brought to his native inheritance and was buried next to the church of Nicholas the Wonderworker, in the same grave with his wife and son, and three stone crosses were placed over them.
From this event, the icon of St. Nicholas of Korsunsky began to be called Zarazskaya, because the blessed princess Eupraxia with her son Prince John "infected" herself. Over time, the place where the tragedy occurred began to be called Zaraz, Zarazsk, and then Zaraysk - this is one of the versions of the origin of the name of our city. 
The glory of miracles from the icon quickly crossed the borders of the Ryazan principality and bypassed all of Orthodox Russia. For many centuries, the day the icon was brought to Zaraysk was revered as a citywide holiday. On the eve, on July 28 (old style), a prayer service was served to Nicholas the Wonderworker, then a lithium for the deceased princes at the tombstone with three crosses; at the all-night vigil, the "Stories of Nicholas Zarazsky" were read. On the very day of the holiday, July 29, the Divine Liturgy was performed in the Nikolsky Church by all the Zaraisky clergy, after which the inhabitants of the city and its guests went on a procession along with the miraculous icon to the White Well. This is the name of the source, which, according to legend, at the meeting place of the icon by Prince Theodore. A prayer service for water was served here and the water of the spring was blessed, then the procession returned to the Kremlin.
The following description was compiled by the writer Vasily Selivanov in 1892 about the Zaraysk shrine: “In the Zaraisk Nicholas Cathedral there is a miraculous image of St. Nicholas, brought to Zaraisk in 1225 from the Greek city of Korsun by Presbyter Eustathius. In the middle of this image there is a complete depiction of the Saint, in the priestly cross-shaped vestments. The right hand is stretched out for blessing, and with the left one holds the Gospel on the shroud. On the right side, on the clouds, the Savior is depicted, blessing the saint with his right hand, and giving him the Gospel with his left; on the left side is the Mother of God holding an open omophorion in her hands. This image with seventeen images of the life and miracles of the Saint is twenty-five and a half inches long, twenty and a quarter inches wide. The painting on the image is ancient, Byzantine, of a high style, which is especially evident from the expression of spirituality, imparted to the features of the saint's face. The robe on the image of pure gold with semi-precious stones and pearls, arranged by Tsar Vasily Shuisky in 1608 ... More than seven pounds of gold was used for the robe and decoration of the image of St. Nicholas, about six pounds of silver, one hundred thirty-three semi-precious stones, three and more Burmese grains thousand six hundred large and medium-sized pearls ... The image of the saint is placed in an old icon case ... The icon case is upholstered on three sides with chased and gilded silver sheets and decorated with stones, pearls and icon-painting images of the Mother of God above and saints on the sides, and inside it is lined with crimson velvet.
In Soviet times, the Kremlin churches were closed and plundered. The miraculous image of Nikolai Zaraisky first appeared in the local museum of local lore, and later, in 1966, was taken for restoration to Moscow, to the Central Museum of Old Russian Culture and Art named after A. Andrey Rublev. 
With the resumption of church life in the Kremlin cathedrals, the efforts of the faithful to return the shrine began. However, for a long time, the management of the Museum responded with a refusal to the petitions and written appeals of the Zaraysk people, motivating it with the absence of the necessary conditions for the preservation of the ancient image in the churches of the Zaraisk Kremlin. For fifteen years, through the efforts of the parishioners, work has been carried out on the repair and restoration of St. John the Baptist Cathedral. In 1997, a copy (exact copy) of the icon of Nikola Zaraisky was written, which was placed in a carved canopy and installed to the left of the central altar. Today, believers venerate another copy from the miraculous icon - the image of Nikola Korsunsky-Zaraisky. With this icon the Zaraysk priests made pilgrimages to the holy places of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus; the new image was also consecrated at the great shrines of Greece, Mount Athos, on the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari. Recently, it is with the icon of St. Nicholas of Korsunsky-Zaraisky that annual processions of the cross have been performed in the city of Zaraysk (May 22) and to the holy spring White Well (August 11).
Several years ago, the restoration of the St. John the Baptist Cathedral of the Zaraisk Kremlin was completed. And after the visit of the Acting Governor of the Moscow Region A.Yu. Vorobiev to Zaraysk on June 5, 2013, when he promised to do everything to return the Zaraisk shrine, active work began to solve all the problems of transferring the icon from the Museum. Andrey Rublev. In an extremely short time (and this is another miracle of St. Nicholas!), All legal, technical, financial issues related to the transfer and further stay of the icon in the St. John the Baptist Cathedral of the Zaraisk Kremlin were resolved.
On August 11, 2013, a great celebration took place in Zaraysk: the ancient miraculous icon of Nikola Zaraisky returned to its historical place. The festive service was led by the Governor of the Moscow diocese, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Yuvenaly. During the Divine Liturgy, the Acting Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Yuryevich Vorobyov prayed.
The holy image is installed to the right of the central altar, in a special icon case. Prayer chants are performed in front of him daily.
John the Baptist Cathedral of the Zaraisk Kremlin
http://nikola-zaraysk.ru
