Saint Nicholas of Zaraysk. An ancient miraculous icon was returned to Zaraysk. Famous church treasures

Construction of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zaraysk

Nebrosok, it is considered the oldest church building on the Zaraisk land. In 1225, a miraculous image of St. Nicholas Nicholas of Myra was brought to the city from Tauric Chersonesus. Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich, having learned about the miraculous work of the icon, ordered the creation of a temple in the name of St. Nicholas. The wooden temple stood for three centuries.

In the late 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 St. Nicholas Church in stone as well.

Having stood for only a century and a half, the St. Nicholas Church was pretty dilapidated. And then, according to the will of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the five-domed Nikolsky Cathedral was erected in its place, the very one that has survived to our time. It happened in 1681. The walls and vaults of the St. Nicholas Church were covered with murals depicting saints. Forged doors were also decorated with biblical scenes.

Icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk

The main shrine of the cathedral is the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk. At the behest of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, in 1608, a setting for the icon was made of pure gold, which took almost two and a half kilograms, and 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. This image of Nikolai Ugodnik was especially revered and the “abbot of the Russian land” himself prayed before him -.

In the 19th century, the St. Nicholas Church 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, exactly as a temple, it was abolished. The temple itself, fortunately, survived, although everything was not housed in it - the museum, the NKVD archive, and the warehouse ...

It was only in the early 1960s that the authorities undertook the restoration of St. Nicholas Cathedral. At least they restored the church building from the outside and gave it the status of an architectural monument of republican significance.

Sasha Mitrahovich 17.11.2017 07:17

On the picture: The miraculous image of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk John the Baptist Cathedral in the Zaraisk Kremlin.

Nikolai Ugodnik is certainly one of the most revered saints in Russia. And Nikola Zaraisky, along with, perhaps, Nikola 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 Myra. 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, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich of Zaraisk also dreamed, informing him of the arrival of the miraculous image: “Prince, come to meet the miraculous image of my Korsunsky ... And I beg the Humane Lord Christ, the Son of God, - may he grant you, your wife and son yours the crown of the Kingdom of Heaven." The prince was surprised, for at that time he had neither a wife nor children, but he went to meet the icon. And the prophecy of the saint came true. The prince came out of the city and from afar saw the shrine - an incredible radiance emanated from it. It happened on July 29 (August 11 according to the 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 Old Russian Culture and Art named after. When the Church of St. Nicholas in Zaraysk was handed over to the Church, the faithful began to fight 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 icon case.

Sasha Mitrahovich 17.11.2017 07:41

"White well" Nikolsky Cathedral

Relatively recently, a little more than ten years ago, the parishioners improved the holy spring, which was revered in these places from time immemorial. It is called the "White Well" - this is the very place where Prince Fyodor Yuryevich met the Korsun priest with the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Myra. According to legend, as soon as the prince took the miraculous image in his hands, a spring gushed out of the ground. Now, over the source, they built the Nikolskaya chapel with a bath, because it has long been noticed that the water of the White Well is healing - it heals not only bodily, but also mental illnesses.

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zaraysk is an Orthodox church of the Moscow diocese.

The common name is Nikolsky Cathedral; Nicholas Cathedral; Nicholas Cathedral; St. Nicholas Cathedral; Nicholas Cathedral of Mirliki; St. Nicholas Cathedral; St. Nicholas Cathedral.

The cathedral is located in Zaraysk, Zaraisk district, Ryazan province (now Zaraisky district of the Moscow region), the Kremlin. Status - active.

Story

Period before 1917

The initial 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 13th century and is contemporary with the bringing of the icon of St. Nicholas from the city of Korsun to the Ryazan Territory.

Grand Duke Ryazansky Yuri Igorevich, is narrated in a legend about bringing the icon of St. Nicholas,

"having heard the arrival of the miraculous image, taking with him Bishop Euphrosynus the Holy Mountaineer, he went to the region of his son, and seeing great and glorious miracles from the miraculous image, in the city called Red, ordered to create a temple in the name of the great miraculous saint Nicholas. With the help of God, the temple was soon created and consecrated by Bishop Euphrosynus. In that temple, the image of Korsun was placed and the noble Grand Duke, together with Bishop Euphrosynus, departed with great joy for his city of Ryazan. "

The time of construction, instead of the wooden, stone church of Nikolai, is not known with accuracy, but in the books of the Zaraisk city to the landing and Chernoslobodsky people of 1625 - the cathedral church

"In the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Zaraz"

is listed as stone and at the same time it is noted that according to the words of Archpriest Nikita in

“Last 1622, by the Sovereign’s decree, sent from Moscow from the order of the Grand Palace, the clerk Bogdan Desyatov, and the clerk Oleksy Bludov, and by God’s grace, images and books, and the great church building were copied into the census books 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 sending it from Moscow is directly related to the construction of the stone St. Nicholas Cathedral, in which any church building

"from of old it was the Sovereign."

The current Nikolsky Cathedral was built in 1681 according to the charter of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, given from the order of the Grand Palace.

In its external appearance, the cathedral represents the figure of an oblong quadrangle, 34 arshins long, 20 wide and 24 arshins high, with 5 domes on which crosses are octagonal, through with a crown at the top and a crescent at the bottom. The external view of the cathedral with the expansion of 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 redistribution.

An exact indication of the time of the device 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 without a doubt to the last years of the last century.

In 1848, the iconostasis, which threatened to fall, was dismantled and reinstalled again, and the gilding on it was cleaned, the icons were corrected; among them there are quite a few - the ancient style, but thanks to the diligence of home-grown painters, it is difficult to come to any conclusion about 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 tells:

“In 1760, this cathedral church was renewed with murals under Archpriest Jeremiah Timofeevich to the brethren of this city of Zaraysk, merchant Nikolai Mikhailov Zaitsevsky. In 1849, the walls were renewed with internal and external writing.

According to the state of 1873, an archpriest, 1 priest-assistant, 1 deacon and 2 psalmists were placed in the clergy.

Period after 1917

The twentieth century has become a time of bloody trials and sorrows for the Orthodox people. Zaraisky district, which until then had almost a hundred Orthodox churches, turned into a spiritual desert in Soviet times. All churches, except for one Annunciation in the city, were closed, more than half were destroyed.

At the most difficult moment in the history of St. Nicholas Cathedral, its rector was Archpriest John Smirnov. According to the explanations of the employees of the Historical-Architectural, Artistic and Archeological Museum "Zaraisk Kremlin", Father John, despite the prohibitions, carried the icon of St. Nicholas in the surrounding villages, served prayers, urging not to forget the Pleasant of God Nicholas. The priest, together with faithful parishioners, tried by all possible means to prevent the closure of St. Nicholas Cathedral and other Orthodox churches.

However, in 1922, St. Nicholas Cathedral was taken away from believers, and seven years later, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was also closed. The Kremlin temples were ruthlessly plundered: hundreds of pounds of gold and pounds of silver were taken away. The most valuable salary, donated by Tsar Vasily Shuisky, disappeared from the icon without a trace, ancient church books and gifts from Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, and other church antiquities disappeared.

In 1937, in the wake of mass repressions, Archpriest John Smirnov, slandered in counter-revolutionary activities, was arrested. After a short trial, he was sentenced to death penalty. The priest accepted martyrdom at the Butovo training ground. In 2000 he was glorified as the New Martyrs Confessors of Russia.

The St. Nicholas Cathedral remained desecrated and desecrated until the 1990s. It first housed a museum exposition, then an archive and a warehouse.

During the years of Soviet power, when the temple was desecrated, the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas was taken out of Zaraysk. In 1959-1961. the outer forms of the cathedral were restored.

In the 70s of the last century, in order to further improve the protection of architectural monuments, St. Nicholas 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 have been resumed since January 1992. There is a Sunday school. The church parish conducts publishing activities. The parishioners improved the holy spring "White Well" at the site of the appearance of the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas; Nikolskaya chapel and bathing place are consecrated here. Every year on August 11, a city-wide celebration is held in honor of the bringing of the icon of St. Nicholas of Zarazsky. Currently, St. Nicholas Cathedral is classified as an architectural monument protected by the state as a national property.

Famous church treasures

Miraculous icon of St. Nicholas

Of the sacred objects of antiquity that were in the Nikolsky Cathedral, the main shrine of the cathedral deserves special attention - the temple miraculous icon of St. Nicholas, brought in 1224 from the city of Korsun to the Ryazan limits by the priest Eustathius.

This icon is with seventeen images of the miracles of the saint and fields, 25, and 20 ¼ vershoks wide, and without miracles 15 ½ vershoks high and 10 vershoks wide; St. Nicholas is depicted on it in full growth, in cross-shaped vestments, with an omophorion, the right hand of the saint is outstretched for blessing, and in his left he has the gospel, to the right in a small circle the Savior is depicted, right hand blessing the Saint, and to the left giving him the gospel, to the left in the same circle - the Mother of God with an omophorion outstretched in her hands.

According to 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 setting of pure gold, with stones and pearls, as can be seen from the inscription located on a special plate attached at the bottom of the setting, in which it is written in script:

“By 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 Nikolai Zaraisky in the second year of his state, summer 7116 (1608).”

The riza arranged by Shuisky covers only one image of the Saint, and the image of his miracles is covered with a silver-gilded salary at a later time, although the gold plates were made by the same Shuisky.

In the salary on [the icon of pure gold, about six pounds, one hundred and thirty-three multi-colored stones, three Burmitz grains and one thousand six hundred large and medium pearls.

The salary, arranged by Shuisky, completely retained the character of antiquity, despite the amendments made in 1793 and 1881.

Other church antiquities

In addition to the icon of St. Nicholas, in the cathedral, in pre-revolutionary times, quite a few antiquities were kept, partly belonging to the 15th, partly to the 17th century, of which the most remarkable are:

1. Shroud of the 15th century, embroidered with gold and blue silk fabric, superimposed on krashenina. On it is embroidered with silver and silk 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-bearing woman, John the Theologian, Joseph and Nicodemus are depicted at the feet. In the corners of the shroud are four angels with bells, above the body of the Savior in a small circle the Holy Spirit is depicted.
2. The gospel, printed in 1606 and attached to the cathedral by Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky.
3. Gospel printed in 1689 and remarkable in size. It is 16 inches long and 11 inches wide. Its rims and spine are covered with a massive gilded silver setting. The whole gospel with a salary weighs 1 pood 25 pounds. On the top board of the centerpiece, decorated with 8 crystals, the descent of Christ into hell is depicted, in the corners of the image of the four evangelists, as well as the centerpiece, chased work. On the sides of the centerpiece in four hallmarks are depicted: the crucifixion of the Lord, the removal from the cross, the position in the tomb and the last supper. On the same board, above and below, are the inscriptions:

   "Brought to the Cathedral of the Great Wonderworker, Bishop of God Nicholas in the blessed city of Zaraysk, at the expense of the priest Trofim Vasilyevich in the summer of 1724 December on the 6th day under Archpriest Alexei Eliseevich in memory of his parents."

   Another inscription lists the names of the deceased parents and relatives of the depositor.
4. Altar cross, silver-gilded, renewed under Archpriest Demetrius in 1617, as can be seen from the inscription on the cross.
5. The altar cross, arranged in 1624 by Anthony, Archbishop of Ryazan.
6. A water-sanctified silver bowl, donated, as can be seen from the inscription along its edges, by Dmitry Ivanovich Godunov in 1604.
7. Silver-gilded lampada, arranged in 1671.
8. Two silver dishes donated to the cathedral by Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Khvorostin, arranged, as can be seen from the inscription, in 1700.
9. Two silver-gilded dishes donated by Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky.
10. Ladle silver, oval shape with an inscription

    "Kolomensky and Kashirsky this ladle of lord Varlam" XVII century.

11. Gold medal, with the image on one side of the cross with the inscription in a circle:

    "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES" ("THE SIGN OF VICTORY"),

    and on the other - the coat of arms of the Portuguese with two circular inscriptions:

    EMMANUIL R. PORTUGALIE AL. G.V.L. IN. O.C+C. ETHIOPIA ARABIA PERSIAE IN. C.H." ("Emanuel, King of Portugal, Caesar of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persian, etc.),

    belonging to the end of the XV century. and donated to the cathedral, probably by the same Prince Mstislavsky.

Famous priests of the temple

Rectors of the temple Dates Rector 1799 - 1837 Smirnov, Pyotr Yakovlevich - archpriest of the Ryazan diocese, dean of Zaraisk 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 20th century. Smirnov, Ivan Alekseevich - mitred archpriest, who suffered innocently during the period of persecution and is now glorified in the Cathedral of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. 1922 - 1992 Closing period present Archpriest Peter Spiridonov

(Korsun Tauride), and the image was called Nicholas of Korsun. There was an icon in the church of the Apostle James. The priest of this temple, Presbyter Eustathius, appeared three times in a dream to St. Nicholas with an insistent request: “Take my image of the miraculous Korsunsky, your wife Theodosia and your son Eustace and come to the land of Ryazan. I want to be there and work miracles, and glorify that place ". But the priest hesitated, not daring to leave his native places and embark on 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.

Healed from the disease, together with his family, he went on a long journey. 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 Feodor Yuryevich, who reigned in Krasnoe, and announced the arrival of his miraculous icon: “Prince, come to the meeting of my miraculous image of Korsun. For I want to be here and work miracles, and glorify this place. And although the prince was perplexed, since he did not yet have a family, he obeyed the will of the saint, he left the city with the entire sacred cathedral towards the miraculous image. Even from afar, he saw a shrine, from which a radiance emanated. With great reverence and joy, Theodore received the icon from Eustathius. This happened on July 29th.

For the brought icon in the city of Krasnoe, a wooden St. Nicholas Church was laid down. After some time, Prince Theodore was legally married to Eupraxia, and their son John was born - this fulfillment of one of the predictions of St. Nicholas ends the first part of the ancient chronicles about Nicholas of Zaraz.

The second part of the old stories describes the fate of the noble princes of Zaraysk during the invasion of hordes of the Tatar-Mongols to Russia in the year. Khan Batu demanded from the Russians a tenth of everything: "in princes, in all sorts of people and in the rest." The specific 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." Khan accepted the gifts and falsely promised "not to fight the Ryazan land" and began "to ask the princes of Ryazan daughters and sisters to come to his bed." Hearing from one and a traitor, a Ryazan nobleman, 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 arrogant conqueror: "It is not good for us Christians to lead our wives to you, the impious and godless king, for fornication. When you defeat us, then you will rule over us and our wives."

Batu was furious at such an answer from the right-believing prince and immediately ordered him to be killed, and his body to be thrown to animals and birds to be torn to pieces. 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. At that time, the noble princess was standing "in a lofty chamber and holding her beloved child - Prince Ivan Fedorovich" and "as she heard the deadly words filled with sorrow, she threw herself to the ground and became infected (killed) to death." The body of the murdered prince was brought to his native inheritance and 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 St. Nicholas of Korsun 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 the city.

The fame of the miracles from the icon quickly spread. For many centuries, the day of bringing the icon 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 litany for the deceased princes at a tombstone with three crosses; at the all-night vigil, the Tales of Nikol Zarazsky were read. On the very day of the holiday, July 29, in the St. Nicholas Church, all the clergy of Zaraysk celebrated the Divine Liturgy, after which the inhabitants of the city and its guests, together with the miraculous icon, went to the White Well in a procession. This is the name of the source, which, according to legend, appeared 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 Zaraisk 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 refused the petitions and written appeals of the Zaraysk residents, motivating it by the absence in the temples of the Zaraysk Kremlin necessary conditions to preserve the ancient image. For a decade and a half, the efforts of the parishioners carried out work on the repair and restoration of the Church of St. John the Baptist. In the same year, a list was written from the icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk, which was placed in a carved canopy and installed to the left of the central altar.

Now believers revere another list from the miraculous icon - the image of St. Nicholas of Korsun-Zaraisky. With this icon, Zaraysk priests made pilgrimages to the holy places of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus; the new image was also consecrated on the great shrines of Greece, Mount Athos, on the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari. Recently, it is with the icon of St. Nicholas of Korsun-Zaraisky that annual processions of the cross are made around 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 of Zaraisk was returned to the Zaraisk St. John the Baptist Church. The festive service was led by Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly (Poyarkov). The holy image is installed to the right of the central altar, in a special icon case. Prayers are sung before him every day.

Used materials

• Icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk // Website of the Zaraisk deanery

Saint 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 in a family of wealthy Christian parents, in his youth he was given to serve God under the guidance of his uncle, a bishop Patarsky. His uncle elevated him to the priesthood. The whole life of the saint was indeed a model of Christian service to God and people. When his parents died, Saint Nicholas inherited their fortune, which he donated to charity. Saint Nicholas was the bishop of the city of Myra Lycian in Asia Minor (modern city of Demre), his ascetic life and miracles gained 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 slapping the wicked Arius, he was deprived of the priesthood, the Savior Himself and the Mother of God brought Nicholas the Gospel and the omophorion - signs of hierarchal dignity. This event is called the Nicene miracle and is depicted on almost all icons of the saint. Saint Nicholas died about the year 345 and was buried in the city of Lycian Myra. In 1087, when the Turks took the city, his relics were transferred to italian city Bari.

Local veneration of the saint began immediately after his death. In Constantinople, his cult took shape in IV - VII centuries. The veneration of St. Nicholas came to Russia with the adoption of Christianity, and since the 11th century it has become widespread. The iconographic type of Saint Nicholas of Zaraisk is a full-length depiction of the saint with his arms outstretched: his right hand is folded in a gesture of blessing, in his left is a closed Gospel. According to A. Poppe, the name "Zaraisky" appeared only in the 16th century. "The Tale of Nicholas of Zaraisk" describes the history of an ancient miraculous icon that has not been preserved, which was brought from Korsun through Novgorod to Zaraysk in 1225. In 1237, Ryazan was the first to experience the horror of the Tatar invasion. The "Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu" tells that after the murder of the Ryazan prince Theodore by the Tatars, his princess threw herself from a high tower to the ground and "was infected (crashed) to death." After they were buried near the icon of Nikola Korsunsky, the image began to be called Zarazsky or Zaraysky.

The spread of this iconography in the 13th-14th centuries is confirmed by the number of monuments in iconography and small plastic. In Byzantium, this iconographic type was not widely used. 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 14th century "Nikola of Zaraisk 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 14th century from the churchyard of Ozerovo.

The memory of St. Nicholas is celebrated on December 6 (December 19 according to the old style), July 29 (August 11 according to the old style, the Nativity of the saint), May 9 (May 22 according to the old style, the transfer of relics).

Zhanna Grigorievna Belik,

candidate of art history, senior Researcher Museum named after Andrei Rublev, curator of the tempera painting fund.

Olga Evgenievna Savchenko,

researcher at the Andrey Rublev Museum.

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32. Icons of the 13th - 16th centuries in the collection of the Andrei Rublev Museum. M., 2007.

According to legend, the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas was brought to the city of Krasny (now Zaraysk) in 1225. The history of the appearance of the holy image in our area is full of miracles and signs of the inexpressible mercy of God; it is transmitted in an ancient chronicle - "The Tale of Nicholas of Zaraz".

For a long time the icon was located in Chersonese (Korsun Tauride), and the image was called Nicholas of Korsun. There was an icon in the church of the Apostle James, in which Grand Duke Vladimir once received Holy Baptism. The priest of this temple, Presbyter Eustathius, appeared three times in a dream to Saint Nicholas 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 work miracles, and glorify that place. But the priest hesitated, not daring to leave his native places and embark on an unknown land. For his disobedience, Eustathius was punished with sudden blindness. And when he realized his sin, he prayed to the Wonderworker Nicholas and received forgiveness. Healed from the illness, together with his family he went on a long journey.

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 Feodor Yuryevich, who reigned 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 work miracles, and glorify this place. And I will beseech the Humanitarian Master of Christ, the Son of God, to 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, he left the city with the entire sacred cathedral towards the miraculous image. Even from afar, he saw a shrine, from which a radiance emanated. With great reverence and joy, Theodore received the icon from Eustathius. This happened on July 29 (August 11, NS), 1225.

For the brought icon in the city of Krasnoe, a wooden St. Nicholas Church was laid down. After some time, Prince Theodore was legally married to Eupraxia, and their son John was born - this fulfillment of one of the predictions of St. Nicholas ends the first part of the ancient chronicles about Nicholas of Zarazsky.

The second part of the old Tales describes the fate of the noble princes of Zaraysk during the invasion of hordes of the Tatar-Mongols to Russia in 1237. Khan Batu demanded from the Russians a tenth of everything: "in princes, in all sorts of people and in the rest." The specific 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." Khan accepted the gifts and falsely promised "not to fight the Ryazan land" and began "to ask the princes of Ryazan daughters and sisters to come to his bed." Hearing from one traitor, a Ryazan nobleman, 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 arrogant 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 rule over us and our wives.”

Batu was furious at such an answer from the right-believing prince and immediately ordered him to be killed, and his body to be thrown to animals and birds to be torn to pieces. 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 lofty chamber and held her beloved child, Prince Ivan Fedorovich” and “as she heard the deadly words filled with sorrow, she threw herself to the ground and became infected (killed) to death.” The body of the murdered prince was brought to his native inheritance and 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 St. Nicholas of Korsun began to be called Zarazskaya, because the blessed Princess Evpraksia with her son Prince John “infected” herself. Over time, the place where the tragedy occurred became known as Zaraz, Zarazsk, and then Zaraysk - this is one of the versions of the origin of the name of our city.

The fame of miracles from the icon quickly crossed the borders of the Ryazan principality and went around the whole of Orthodox Russia. For many centuries, the day of bringing the icon to Zaraysk was revered as a citywide holiday. The day before, on July 28 (O.S.), a prayer service was served to Nicholas the Wonderworker, then litia for the deceased princes at the tombstone with three crosses; at the all-night vigil, the Tales of Nikol Zarazsky were read. On the very day of the holiday, July 29, in the St. Nicholas Church, all the clergy of Zaraysk celebrated the Divine Liturgy, after which the inhabitants of the city and its guests, together with the miraculous icon, went to the White Well in a procession. This is the name of the source, which, according to legend, appeared 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.

Here is a description by the writer Vasily Selivanov in 1892 about the Zaraisky shrine: “In the Zaraisky Nikolaev 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, the full image of the Saint is written in paints, in priestly crucifix robes. The right hand is stretched out for blessing, and the left holds the Gospel in a veil. On the right side the Savior is depicted on the clouds, 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 outstretched omophorion in her hands. This image, with seventeen depictions of the life and miracles of the Saint, is twenty-five and a half inches long and 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 communicated to the features of the saint's face. The riza 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 alone, about six pounds of silver, one hundred thirty-three semi-precious stones, three or more Burmitz grains were used for the riza and decoration of the image of St. Nicholas six hundred and six hundred large and medium-sized pearls... The image of the Saint is placed in an ancient icon case... The icon case is upholstered on three sides with sheet chased and gilded silver and decorated with stones, pearls and icon-painting images of the Mother of God at the top and saints on the sides, and inside is upholstered with crimson velvet.

In Soviet times, the temples of the Kremlin were closed and looted. The miraculous image of Nikola Zaraisky first ended up in the local museum of local lore, and later, in 1966, was taken for restoration to Moscow, to the Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art. Andrei 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 refused the petitions and written appeals of the Zaraysk residents, citing the lack of the necessary conditions for the preservation of the ancient image in the temples of the Zaraysk Kremlin. For a decade and a half, the efforts of the parishioners carried out work on the repair and restoration of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. In 1997, a list (an exact copy) was written from the icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk, which was placed in a carved canopy and installed to the left of the central altar. Now believers revere another list from the miraculous icon - the image of St. Nicholas of Korsun-Zaraisky. With this icon, Zaraysk priests made pilgrimages to the holy places of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus; the new image was also consecrated on the great shrines of Greece, Mount Athos, on the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari. Recently, it is with the icon of St. Nicholas of Korsun-Zaraisky that annual processions of the cross are made around the city of Zaraysk (May 22) and to the holy spring White Well (August 11).

A few years ago, work was completed on the restoration of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the Zaraisk Kremlin. And after the visit of the Acting Governor of the Moscow Region, A.Yu. Andrei Rublev. In an extremely short time (and this is another miracle of St. Nicholas!) all legal, technical, financial questions on the transfer and further stay of the icon in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist of the Zaraisk Kremlin.

On August 11, 2013, a great celebration took place in Zaraisk: the ancient miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraisk returned to its historical place. The festive service was led by Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly, Administrator of the Moscow diocese. At the Divine Liturgy, Acting Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Yuryevich Vorobyov prayed.

The holy image is installed to the right of the central altar, in a special icon case. Prayers are sung before him every day.

John the Baptist Cathedral of the Zaraisk Kremlin

http://nikola-zaraysk.ru