Few people know that in 1087 the Barians stole not all the relics of St. from the temple of the Byzantine city of Myra. Nicholas. In their haste and bustle, they left about 20% of the relics in the sarcophagus, which 9 years later the Venetians took from Myra Lycia. We bring to your attention an article by priest Alexy Yastrebov (rector of the parish of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women of the Moscow Patriarchate in Venice), which tells the story of the transfer of part of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra Lycia to Venice, as well as about other Orthodox shrines in Italy. (All photographs presented in the article are taken from the book: priest Alexy Yastrebova “Shrines of Venice. An Orthodox historical and artistic guide to the shrines of St. Mark’s Cathedral and the churches of the city.”) Italy.

Venice – keeper of relics

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

And the history of Venice and, more narrowly, the history of the appearance of shrines in Venice Orthodox Christianity, is closely connected with the East, with the Byzantine Empire. The city in the lagoon was for a long time politically dependent on Byzantium, which served its inhabitants well, for the presence of a powerful patron guaranteed relative safety from barbarian raids, while the special position of Venice - an outpost of the empire in the north-east of the Apennines - and the indispensability of the services of the Venetians as skilled sailors and pilots were provided with broad autonomy of local government.

After the fall of Byzantium, Venice owned a significant part of the former empire and, in particular, many of the Greek islands. It is no coincidence that refugees arrived here after the Turkish victory over Christians in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 15th century. The Greek diaspora in Venice at that time numbered up to ten thousand people. Soon after the refugees arrived, it was built orthodox cathedral and the episcopal see of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was established. The Greeks actively participated in the life of the republic and occupied prominent positions in its civil and military leadership.

They also brought some shrines. For example, in the Cathedral of St. George there is part of the relics of the holy great martyr and patron of the temple. In the 16th century, one of the members imperial family Paleologov, who lived in Venice, donated the right hand of St. Basil the Great to the cathedral. The relics are still preserved in the cathedral.

Let us note that in Venice there was never religious hostility or, especially, persecution for faith, largely because the Venetians were “friends” of the Byzantines, and the Orthodox Greek diaspora in the city enjoyed all the rights and privileges of the religious community.

This closeness with the Greek world comprehensively enriched the citizens of the island republic, and as a cultural type the Venetians are undoubtedly still very close to the Eastern tradition.

The history of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas

The Venetian Republic took a direct part in the first crusades, of which the infamous Fourth, directed exclusively against Byzantium and Orthodoxy, was organized and paid for by the Venetians. This partly explains the fact that a great many relics of Orthodox saints remain in Venice to this day: they were among the trophies captured in Constantinople.

In 1096, Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade against the Saracens, in which Western rulers took part, gathering troops and calling themselves crusaders.

Enetia did not remain aloof from the First Crusade, but took part in it in its own special style*. Before setting off on the campaign, Pietro Badoaro, Patriarch of Grado, and Bishop Enrico of Venice, son of Doge Domenico Contarini, bade farewell to the Venetian troops and fleet in the church of San Niccolo on the island of Lido (chiesa San Niccolo a Lido). Pietro Badoaro turned with a prayer to Saint Nicholas so that he would help the Venetian weapons in the battles against the infidels and would be worthy to receive the relics of the patron saint of Venice. The fact is that Venice, in addition to the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, has two more patrons - the holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates and St. Nicholas. Bishop Enrico Contarini went on a campaign with the army.

*It is obvious that the Venetians did not set off on a campaign immediately after declaring war on the Saracens and sending the bulk of the crusaders to Palestine. Perhaps the year of departure of the fleet from the lagoon can be considered 1099, and the year of return 1101, when the anonymous chronicle was written.

The Enetians headed towards Jerusalem through Dalmatia and Rhodes, where there was a skirmish with their enemies, the Pisans, whom they defeated and many of whom they captured. When they reached the Lycian shores, Bishop Contarini wished to take the relics of St. Nicholas in order, as the chronicler says, “to increase the patrons of his Motherland”*.

*At all, main goal The Venetians, apparently, had only the relics of St. Nicholas, since they were in no hurry to reach Palestine and arrived only towards the end of the campaign.

Spies were sent from the ships to the city, who reported that the city of Myra was located 6 miles from the seashore and that after the Turkish devastation there were almost no inhabitants left in it. In the basilica itself, due to the impoverishment of the faithful, services were performed only once a month. The Venetians set up an ambush and waited for the right moment.

When the crusaders entered the Basilica of St. Nicholas, they found it empty. There were only four guards assigned to guard her. The guards showed the broken reliquary of the saint's relics and said that the Barians came and took away part of the saint's relics (in 1088, a decade earlier). They said: “this is a tomb from which the Barians took part of the relics and left the other part”*. There was also part of the relics, which, according to them, Emperor Basil had taken even earlier to transport to Constantinople; where they were placed subsequently is unknown.

*F.Corner “Notizie storiche delle chiese e monasteri di Venezia e di Torcello”, Padova 1763, p.52.

The Enetians did not believe the Greeks and dismantled the tomb, where they found only water and “oil” (perhaps this is what the author of the chronicle calls myrrh), and then searched the entire church, according to the chronicler, turning everything upside down. In parallel with the search, the guards were tortured, one of whom could not stand the torture and asked to be allowed to talk to the bishop. The bishop called on him to tell him where the relics lay, but the guard only began to beg to spare him from needless torment. Contarini withdrew from helping the unfortunate man, and the soldiers began to torture him again. Then he again cried out to the bishop, who finally ordered the torment to stop, and the guard, in gratitude, showed him the relics of two other saints - the predecessors of St. Nicholas: the Hieromartyr Theodore and St. Nicholas the uncle* - both were bishops of Mir.

*The assumption that Saint Nicholas the Uncle is the uncle of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is unfounded, as has been shown on the basis of various studies. It's about about the confusion of two persons: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Middle Ages was confused with St. Nicholas of Pinar, who lived in the middle of the 6th century, that is, two centuries after St. Nicholas. Saint Nicholas of Pinar is the uncle of Saint Nicholas, called “Uncle” in Venice. See in particular: L.G.Paludet, Ricognizione delle reliquie di S.Nicol?. ed. L.I.E.F., Vicenza 1994. pp. 4-5 or G.Cioffari, “S.Nicola nella critica storica”, ed.C.S.N., Bari 1988. In last job Dominican Gerardo Cioffari questions, in particular, the authenticity of the “Venetian” relics of St. Nicholas, on the grounds that, in his opinion, the Venetians sought and found the “relics” of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the wrong place where they should have been looked for. They arrived at the Zion monastery not far from Mir and found exactly the resting place of St. Nicholas of Zion or otherwise of Pinar, which explains the location of the relics of his uncle there. (footnote 33 on p. 213 op. cit.). However, an anonymous Venetian source telling about the transfer of the relics of the saint from Myra of Lycia to Venice clearly says: 1) about the city of Myra, and not the Zion monastery, located three kilometers from the city and 2) that, according to the guards, the Barians had already taken from there most of the relics - thus, if you agree with Cioffari, you will have to admit that the relics in Bari do not belong to St. Nicholas, since they were taken from the same place.

They loaded the relics onto the ship and were about to set sail when some of their comrades who had slowed down in the church said that they felt a wonderful fragrance in one of the church chapels.

Then some residents remembered that on major holidays the bishop did not perform services in the chapel of St. Nicholas, but went to a room nearby. A portable throne was installed there, on which he served. On the ceiling of the room, in addition, there was a fresco depicting St. Nicholas. Thus, the incense exuding from that place and the icon told the crusaders where to look for the relics of the Saint.

Then the Venetians returned to the church, broke the floor of the altar, began to dig and discovered another floor, under a layer of earth. They broke it too and, having removed the large stones that supported it, found a certain thick layer of glassy substance, in the middle of which there was a mass of petrified asphalt. When they opened it, they saw inside, as the chronicler says, another sintered mixture of metal and asphalt, and inside it were the holy relics of the wonderworker Nicholas. A wonderful fragrance spread throughout the church.

Enrico Contarini wrapped the relics of the saint in his bishop's robe. Here the first miracle took place at the relics of St. Nicholas - a palm branch brought by the Saint from Jerusalem and placed with him in the tomb sprouted. The Venetians took the branch with them as evidence of the power of God.

At the place where the relics were placed, they found an inscription in Greek that read: “Here rests the great Bishop Nicholas, famous for his miracles on earth and at sea.”

Chronist refers to unnamed Greek sources(in his words, "the annals") to explain the reason why the relics were buried so deeply and so carefully hidden. Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (867-886) wanted to transport these relics to Constantinople, but miraculously prevented from doing so, he wanted to make sure that no one else could take what he could not take, and therefore ordered them to be sealed and buried in one of the church rooms.

This attempt is also indirectly mentioned in both Barian chronicles, which we will talk about in a little more detail below: the chronicle of Nicephorus narrates that the inhabitants of Myra Lycia, seeing that they were deprived of their shrine, exclaimed: “behold, according to our Greek chronicler, 775 years have passed , during which neither the emperor nor anyone else could commit such an act." Another Bari chronicler, John the Archdeacon, trying to justify in this way God’s will for the removal of relics from Mir to Bari, says that many rulers and the mighty of the world In previous centuries they tried to remove the relics, but in vain.

When the relics were taken, there were Pisans and Barians who could confirm the authenticity of the sacred find.

The overjoyed Venetians released some of the captured Pisans and gave the local archbishop one hundred coins to restore the damage they had done to the church.

The Restonians collected all the fragments of the alloy that contained the relics and took them to the ship, where they built a special church in honor of St. Nicholas, and instructed the priests to pray day and night and glorify the holy Archbishop Mir.

Then they moved to the Holy Land and arrived in Jerusalem on the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. We stayed in the Holy Land for some time and sailed to Venice. From the chronicle it can be understood that the Venetians did not directly participate in the war, which at that time was already almost over, but were mostly involved in treaties and contracts for ships, sailors and food.

Upon returning home, the participants of the campaign were greeted with great triumph by the Doge, the people and clergy of Venice. The relics were temporarily placed for veneration in one of the churches. Numerous miracles and healings of the sick were performed at the shrine. Then they were placed in the church of St. Nicholas of the Benedictine monastery on the island of Lido, from where the army set off on a campaign and where, according to the vow, the relics of the saint were supposed to be placed, although there were different opinions regarding their location.

The relics of the three saints were taken from Myra Lycia on May 30, and brought to Venice on December 6, the day of remembrance of St. Nicholas [for the time of the expedition, see the first note].

Venetian and Barian sources on the transfer of relics

The material concerning the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas to Venice was taken mainly from the fundamental study of Flaminius Corner, “Historical News of the Churches and Monasteries of Venice and Torcello,” who published this abridged one-volume version of his work in Italian in 1758. The Latin Izvestia contains 12 volumes.

In his narrative, he is based on an anonymous Venetian manuscript written around 1101 - this is the main source providing information about the transfer of the relics of the Saint to Venice.

In addition, there are two more manuscripts - Nikephoros and John the Archdeacon - describing the taking of the holy relics of St. Nicholas by the Barians.

These manuscripts are the most important sources for clarifying the history of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas to Bari and, indirectly, to Venice. For us, the version of the anonymous author of the “Venetian manuscript” will be the main one, while we only mention the Barian sources in connection with the transfer of the relics to Venice.

And so, the chronicler Nikephoros, whose manuscript exists in three ancient editions, telling about the taking of the relics of St. Nicholas, says that the local residents resisted the Latins. The Barians had to hastily open the tomb and take out the holy relics from the shrine filled with the world. A sailor named Matteo took the head and other parts of the saint’s relics. Considering the haste with which the relics were taken, as well as the impossibility of reliably seeing all the holy remains in the shrine filled with the world, it is quite natural to assume that some of the relics remained in the shrine. In addition, apparently the mentioned Matteo did not have a vessel or bag to place the holy relics, so he took as much as he could. Nikifor writes only that he plunged his hands into the ointment and began to take out the relics, some of which, however, were visible on the surface of the world. Having found the head, he immediately left the tomb.

And John the Archdeacon wrote his chronicle around 1088. His story abounds various parts, which Nicephorus does not have, but in principle the essence of his presentation is the same. He especially insists on the “indivisibility” of the relics of St. Nicholas, who allegedly himself appeared to the sailors and forbade the division of his bones. By this the Barians wanted to emphasize that they possessed all the relics of the Saint.

It is absolutely obvious that all chronicles in general, and the Bari chronicles in particular, are not free from the then prevailing spirit of political competition, therefore the chroniclers retain the right to exclusive possession of the shrine, and in the course of the chronicle they resort to outright lies. John, for example, puts the following words into the mouth of one of the Barians: “We have been sent by the Roman Pontiff!”, which was, of course, not true.

In general, the desire to capture as much as possible more shrines was not so much or not only religious zeal as political calculation. In the Middle Ages it was a matter of prestige to have hometown the relics of many saints, who thus became patrons of the city. They protected citizens and were the pride of the state. As noted at the beginning of the article, this partly explains why Venice became the owner of so many relics of eastern saints: the proximity of Byzantium and the increased political power of the Venetian republic - these factors determined the “wealth” of Venice in relics.

It is important for us that the historical sources of Bari - the chronicles of Nikephoros and John - in general do not contradict the fact that part of the relics remained in Myra, untouched by the Barians.

Which part? It is difficult to determine with certainty whether the Venetians took part of the relics left by the Barians and then hidden by the inhabitants of Mir in another place, or whether it was that part of the relics that Emperor Basil once tried to take out and which he then walled up in one of the internal rooms of the basilica *. The main thing is that whether it is one or another part of the relics, the Bari sources do not contradict the Venetian one and their narrative does not at all exclude the possibility of the existence of a part of the relics of St. Nicholas that was not taken to Bari.

*According to Professor Martino, this is the part of the relics that the Barians did not take with them. The sailor Matteo, who entered the holy tomb to steal the shrine, literally trampled the fragile bones of the saint, located at the bottom of the shrine, when he took the larger relics. That is why the relics are greatly fragmented.

Veneration of St. Nicholas in Venice

As was said, Saint Nicholas was one of the patrons of the Venetian Republic. In one of the conversations, the church historian of Venice, Monsignor Antonio Niero, expressed confidence that after the final reconstruction in 1097, they wanted to dedicate St. Mark’s Cathedral not to St. Mark, but to St. Nicholas, or, in any case, to make the temple double-altared and dedicate it to both saints. One of the visible proofs of this is the fact that in the central apse of the Cathedral of San Marco, next to the mosaic depicting the Apostle Peter, there is also a large mosaic icon of St. Nicholas. However, the relics were placed in the Church of St. Nicholas on the Lido in accordance with the vow made by the participants in the campaign themselves. The Lido Island is a natural barrier protecting the Venetian Gulf from winds, floods and enemy attacks. The Church of San Niccolo is located at the very entrance to the bay next to the fort that blocked the path to the lagoon, and St. Nicholas, being at the gates of the city, seems to protect its inhabitants.

Of course, the Venetians, eternal travelers, greatly revered St. Nicholas. Ships arriving in the Venetian harbor stopped at the first church of the city - the Church of St. Nicholas - and thanked him for giving them the opportunity to return home safe and sound.

Not far from Venice in the direction of Padua on the banks of the Brenta River there is a small town called Mira. There is an interesting folk legend associated with the name of the city: sailors who returned with goods from distant countries, after praying at the relics of the Saint, set off upstream the Brenta to deliver the goods to Padua. After a day's journey, they spent the night in a village, where they built a chapel dedicated to the Miracle Worker of Myra. Over time, this village began to be called Mira in honor of St. Nicholas. Now it is a town in the province of Venice, which, by the way, is a twin city of Stupino near Moscow.

After the location of the honorable relics of Saints Nicholas the Wonderworker, Saint Nicholas the Uncle (who was called so in the mistaken belief that he was the uncle of Saint Nicholas) and the Hieromartyr Theodore, the B-Nedictine monastery on the Lido became one of the centers of the spiritual life of the city. Over the following years, rulers and wealthy citizens donated churches, landholdings and monetary contributions to the monastery, which indicates the deep veneration of St. Nicholas in Venice*.

*In the monastery, in addition to the relics of the three named saints, other relics also rested: parts of the relics of Mary the Egyptian, the holy martyrs Placis, Procopius and the infants beaten by Herod in Bethlehem.

The relics of the three saints were placed in the same shrine, but in different wooden containers. The anonymous author of a manuscript dating back to 1101 and telling about the transfer of the relics to Venice, talks about the miracles that took place at the relics of the Saint, many of which he personally witnessed when he performed obedience to the monastery choir.

This anonymous author, at the end of his chronicle, distinguished by its exquisite literary style, placed a Praise to Venice, in which he writes about the patron saints of the city: “Happy and blessed are you, O Venice, because you have the Evangelist Mark as a lion for your protection in wars and the father of the Greeks, Nikola, as the helmsman of ships. In battles you raise the banner of the Lion, and in sea storms you are protected by the wise Greek Helmsman. With such a Lion you pierce the enemy’s impregnable formations, with such a Helmsman you are protected from the waves of the sea...”

Examination of relics and their authenticity

The reliquary with the relics of the three saints was opened, and not just once, but at least three times before the relics were placed in the new church building in the 17th century.

So, for example, in 1449 the reliquary was discovered due to the emanation of a wonderful, pure liquid that settled on the outside of the stone reliquary. Abbot Bortolomeo III, who witnessed the miraculous phenomenon, ordered this transparent viscous liquid to be collected using linen cloth and placed in a glass vessel, which, when placed in a cold room in winter, did not freeze. With the permission of Lorenzo Giustiniani, Bishop of Venice, the shrine was opened and a vessel with myrrh, thickened to the state of an ointment, was found next to the relics of St. Nicholas, and a stone with an inscription in Greek was also discovered. These items were also discovered during the 1992 survey.

In honor of this event, Giustiniani celebrated a solemn mass in the presence of Doge Francesco Foscari and many people, after which the shrine was closed again.

Construction was completed in 1634 new church, and the relics of the three saints were transferred to a new marble shrine, in which they have been preserved to this day. At the same time, another examination of the relics of St. Nicholas was made, about which it is said that they are whiter than the relics of the other two saints, and the most crushed, which is explained by the fact that they were severely damaged when they were separated from the substance (“bitumen”, as the chronicler writes), in which they were sealed.

As for the examination of the relics of saints, then Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, when the spirit of criticism prevailed, they were held frequently. One of these examinations was carried out in 1992 with the participation of Franciscan L. Palude, who subsequently published an illustrated report on the examination, photographs from which are given here. The examination of the relics was attended by Monsignor Luigi Martino, a professor at the University of Bari, who headed a similar examination of the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari, which took place in 1953.

When the marble sarcophagus was opened, in which the relics of three saints rest above the altar, three wooden containers were found. The largest of them contained the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. When the coffin was opened, they discovered another lead covering, after removing which the commission members saw many bones of different sizes and colors. In addition, there were:

1. A round black stone with an inscription in Greek: “ myrrh-streaming relics Saint Humble Nicholas";

2. The upper part of the skull, which could not in any way be the head of St. Nicholas, since after the examination of the relics in Bari it was reliably known that the head of the saint was there*;

3. Vessel with peace.

*It was established that the head belonged to Saint Nicholas the uncle.

The result of the examination: according to the conclusion of Professor Martino, whose opinion was especially valuable as an anthropologist who participated in the examination of the relics in Bari, “the white bones located in Venice complement the remains preserved in Bari”*. The white color of the remains suggests that they may have been under the sun for a long time, or, more likely, preserved in lime, as F. Korner writes about this in the Latin edition of his Izvestia**.

*L.G.Paludet, Ricognizione delle reliquie di S.Nicol?. p.37 Vicenza 1994.

**F. Corner, “Ecclesiae Venete”, XI, p. 71, 1.

An extract from the commission’s conclusion speaks more fully about this: “The bones of St. Nicholas, consisting of large quantity wreckage white, correspond to parts of the saint's skeleton that are missing in Bari. Unfortunately, the bones were crushed into small pieces by a Barian sailor during his escape."*

*L.G.Paludet, Ibid., p.59.

Thus, the opinions of experts fully confirm the authenticity of the relics of St. Nicholas preserved in Venice.

* * *

The spiritual meaning of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas to Venice is the same as in Bari: according to the Providence of God, this relic was transferred from Orthodox lands to non-Orthodox lands. For what? Perhaps to shine with their grace-filled holiness on this ancient Christian land and to call Western Christians to return to the Mother Church, or perhaps so that Orthodox pilgrims, who come in large numbers to venerate the relics of the Saint, would testify with their veneration and faith to Orthodoxy in the West. Of course, both are true—through the second, we strive to achieve the first.

Saint Nicholas, thus, in addition to all his miracles and benefits to all people (and not only Orthodox, but even non-Christians), becomes, as it were, a beacon of reconciliation between Christians of different confessions, first of all, between Orthodox and Catholics, and therefore as Bari, so Venice could become a place not only of pilgrimage, but also of interfaith dialogue.

Veneration by Orthodox believers

relics of St. Nicholas and others

shrines of Venice today

The faithful of the parish of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women of the Moscow Patriarchate in Venice are trying to “reopen” Orthodox shrines for Russian pilgrims. Materials for publications are being collected, a “Guide to the Shrines of Venice” is being prepared, prayers and liturgies are being served on the relics of saints. Gradually we learned more and more about the shrines and talked about it in Russia. Immediately the number of pilgrims, previously small, increased, so that a parish pilgrimage service was even opened, preparing trips to the North of Italy.

In the churches of Venice rest the relics of the holy righteous Zechariah, father of St. John the Baptist, the holy First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen, the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, the holy Patriarchs of Alexandria Athanasius the Great and John the Merciful, two Patriarchs of Constantinople - the fighter against iconoclasm of St. Herman and Saint Eutyches, who was the chairman of the V Ecumenical Council. Let us also name the relics of the first monk - St. Paul of Thebes, the holy martyr Christina of Tyre, the holy great martyrs Theodore Tiron and Theodore Stratilates, so revered in the Russian Church, the holy martyr Luke of Syracuse, the martyr Valeria, the holy martyr Paul, the Venerable Mary of Bithynia, who was called Marinus in monasticism, the Venerable Martyr Anastasius the Persian, the holy martyrs and the unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Arabia, the holy apostle and evangelist Luke in Padua, as well as the most important parts of the relics of especially revered saints: the hand of St. the great martyr and healer Panteleimon, the right hand of St. Basil the Great and the hand of St. John Chrysostom. In Venice, several needles from the crown of thorns of the Savior are preserved, which was preserved for some time in Venice on the way to France, and also a great many relics of saints and other shrines.

In Venice there are many relics of Roman martyrs of the first centuries, about whom almost nothing is sometimes known except their names. But holiness is not measured by fame and the breadth of popular veneration - many “witnesses” of the faith of Christ suffered unknown, but Orthodox Christians with love and reverence resort to all holy saints, regardless of their faces. For example, in Venice the relics of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus rest. Little is known about these martyrs, but the once young Bartholomew took monastic vows with the name Sergius, and then became a great saint not only for Russia, but for the entire Christian world. The whereabouts of these relics were not known in Russia, but now there is an opportunity to venerate the relics of the saint, in whose honor the “abbot of all Rus'” was named in monasticism - Venerable Sergius Radonezh.

We can say with confidence that in terms of the number of shrines, Venice, together with Rome, ranks first in the entire Christian world.

On the days of remembrance of the saints whose relics rest in Venice, at the parish of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, a tradition was established of performing divine services at these shrines. The Catholic side welcomes this initiative, and the rectors of the churches where the relics are located are meeting the Orthodox halfway. Prayers and veneration of the saints are performed at their relics and with pilgrimage groups from Russia.

On May 8, 2004, on the day of remembrance of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark, in the famous cathedral named after him, considered in the Catholic Church to be second in importance after the Roman Councils, the first service in the entire history of this temple was performed at the relics of the saint. Orthodox liturgy. In contrast to the Cathedral of St. Peter - a monument of the Renaissance, very “Western” in its style, the Cathedral of the Apostle Mark is, as it were, an icon of the Orthodox East, written specifically for the West. Therefore, according to the recognition of representatives of the Catholic Church present at the Liturgy, Orthodox worship This very “oriental” temple in essence fit very organically into the spiritual architectonics of the ancient basilica.

The relics of St. Nicholas are, of course, the most important shrine in Venice. Previously, only prayer services and akathists were performed on the relics of St. Nicholas. This year the parish received permission to celebrate the liturgy on the relics of the saint Myra Miracle Worker. This will be the first liturgy on the relics of the renowned saint, kept in Venice. We hope that this liturgy will be the beginning general church veneration"Venetian" relics of the saint.

In 2004, by the grace of God, we managed to obtain a piece of the relics of St. Nicholas. She was given as a gift To His Holiness the Patriarch on the day of the transfer of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.

Prospects for Orthodox Witness in Venice

Thus, Venice rightfully becomes one of the centers of pilgrimage to Western Europe. At the same time, the Orthodox community of Venice not only does not have any infrastructure for working with pilgrims, but it does not even have its own temple for worship. Today, thanks to the hospitality of the Catholic side, the parish has been temporarily provided with a church for worship.

Of course, given the importance of Venice for Orthodoxy, the Russian community would be worthy of having its own church, as the representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople have. Undoubtedly, the city should become one of the main places of visit for pilgrims not only in Italy, but also in Europe as a whole.

The parish of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women is in dire need of sponsorship. Now on the agenda is the opening of the parish website and ensuring the normal functioning of the parish press service. All this requires funds. And the prospect is, of course, a Russian temple in Venice.

And this idea appeared two years ago, when we realized how many shrines are kept in the churches of Venice. During this time, we received the blessing of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church to begin work towards the construction of the temple, and carried out initial work in the city institutions responsible for construction and architectural planning. Met everywhere positive attitude and interest. The matter remains with the philanthropists. When visiting Moscow, I always present the idea of ​​building a church in the church media, but so far the Lord has not sent helpers in the formation of the Russian spiritual mission in Venice.

We at the parish pray earnestly so that we can glorify the saints of God, whose relics rest in Venice, and build a temple and a pilgrim’s house here. We ask for the prayerful help of all who sympathize with the cause of church building in Venice.

I hope that the publication of this article will be good news for our believers, it will open to them the great shrine of Orthodoxy kept in Venice, and thereby serve the cause of church building in Venice.

The expansion of the Orthodox witness on Italian soil will make it possible, on the one hand, to provide spiritual nourishment for our flock who find themselves in a foreign land, and, on the other hand, to help familiarize compatriots with the shrines of Italy, which will be served, first of all, by the parish in the name of Sts. Myrrh-Bearing Woman. In addition, this will greatly contribute to improving attitudes and deepening interest in Orthodoxy among Catholic believers.

In the 11th century, the Greek Empire was going through difficult times. The Turks devastated her possessions in Asia Minor, ravaged cities and villages, killing their inhabitants, and accompanied their cruelties by insulting holy temples, relics, icons and books. Muslims attempted to destroy the relics of St. Nicholas, deeply revered by the entire Christian world.

In 792, Caliph Aaron Al-Rashid sent the commander of the fleet, Humaid, to plunder the island of Rhodes. Having devastated this island, Humaid went to Myra Lycia with the intention of breaking into the tomb of St. Nicholas. But instead of it, he broke into another one, which stood next to the tomb of the saint. The sacrilege had barely managed to do this when a terrible storm arose at sea and almost all the ships were broken.

The desecration of shrines outraged not only Eastern, but also Western Christians. Christians in Italy, among whom there were many Greeks, were especially afraid for the relics of St. Nicholas. Residents of the city of Bar, located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, decided to save the relics of St. Nicholas.

In 1087, noble and Venetian merchants went to Antioch to trade. Both of them planned to take the relics of St. Nicholas on the way back and transport them to Italy. In this intention, the inhabitants of Bar were ahead of the Venetians and were the first to land in Myra. Two people were sent ahead, who, upon returning, reported that everything was quiet in the city, and in the church where the greatest shrine rested, they met only four monks. Immediately 47 people, armed, went to the Church of St. Nicholas. The guard monks, suspecting nothing, showed them the platform, under which the saint’s tomb was hidden, where, according to custom, strangers were anointed with the oil from the saint’s relics. At the same time, the monk told one elder about the appearance of St. Nicholas the day before. In this vision, the saint ordered that his relics be preserved more carefully. This story inspired the nobles; They saw for themselves in this phenomenon the permission and, as it were, an indication of the saint. To facilitate their actions, they revealed their intentions to the monks and offered them a ransom of 300 gold coins. The watchmen refused the money and wanted to notify the residents of the misfortune that threatened them. But the aliens tied them up and placed their guards at the doors. They smashed the church platform, under which stood a tomb with relics. In this matter, the young man Matthew was particularly zealous, wanting to discover the relics of the saint as quickly as possible. In impatience, he broke the lid and the nobles saw that the sarcophagus was filled with fragrant holy myrrh. The barians' compatriots, presbyters Luppus and Drogo, performed a litany, after which the same Matthew began to extract the relics of the saint from the sarcophagus overflowing with the world. This happened on April 20, 1087.

Due to the absence of the ark, Presbyter Drogo wrapped the relics in outer clothing and, accompanied by the nobles, carried them to the ship. The liberated monks told the city the sad news about the theft of the relics of the Wonderworker by foreigners. Crowds of people gathered on the shore, but it was too late...

On May 8, the ships arrived in Bar, and soon the good news spread throughout the city. The next day, May 9, the relics of St. Nicholas were solemnly transferred to the Church of St. Stephen, located not far from the sea. The celebration of the transfer of the shrine was accompanied by numerous miraculous healings of the sick, which aroused even greater reverence for the great saint of God. A year later, a church was built in the name of St. Nicholas and consecrated by Pope Urban II.

The event associated with the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas caused special veneration The Wonderworker and was marked by the establishment of a special holiday on May 9 (22). At first, the feast of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas was celebrated only by residents of the Italian city of Bar. In other countries of the Christian East and West it was not accepted, despite the fact that the transfer of relics was widely known. This circumstance is explained by the custom of honoring mainly local shrines, characteristic of the Middle Ages. In addition, the Greek Church did not establish a celebration of this memory, because the loss of the relics of the saint was a sad event for it.

The Russian Orthodox Church established the commemoration of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bar on May 9, shortly after 1087, on the basis of the deep, already established veneration by the Russian people of the great saint of God, who crossed over from Greece simultaneously with the adoption of Christianity. The glory of the miracles performed by the saint on land and sea was widely known to the Russian people. Their inexhaustible power and abundance testify to the special gracious help of the great saint to suffering humanity. The image of the saint, the all-powerful Wonderworker and benefactor, became especially dear to the heart of the Russian people, because he instilled deep faith in him and hope for his help. Countless miracles marked the faith of the Russian people in the inexhaustible help of the saint of God.

In Russian writing, significant literature about him was compiled very early. Tales of the saint’s miracles performed on Russian soil began to be written down in ancient times. Soon after the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bargrad, a Russian edition of the life and the story of the transfer of his holy relics, written by a contemporary of this event, appeared. Even earlier, a word of praise to the Wonderworker was written. Weekly, every Thursday, Russian Orthodox Church especially honors his memory.

Numerous churches and monasteries were erected in honor of St. Nicholas, and Russian people named their children after him at Baptism. Numerous miraculous icons great saint. The most famous images among them are Mozhaisky, Zaraisky, Volokolamsky, Ugreshsky, Ratny. There is not a single house and not a single temple in the Russian Church in which there would not be an image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The meaning of the gracious intercession of the great saint of God is expressed by the ancient compiler of his life, according to whom St. Nicholas “worked many great and glorious miracles on earth and on the sea, helping those in trouble and saving them from drowning, and carrying them dry from the depths of the sea, delighting them from corruption and bringing them into the house, delivering them from bonds and prisons, interceding from the beating of swords and from freeing death, giving much healing to many: sight for the blind, walking for the lame, hearing for the deaf, speech for the dumb. He enriched many in the squalor and poverty of the last suffering, gave food to the hungry and was a ready helper for everyone in every need, a warm intercessor and a quick intercessor and defender, and he helped others who called upon him and delivered them from troubles. The message of this great Wonderworker is that the East and the West and all the ends of the earth know his miracles.”.

In the 11th century, the Greek Empire was going through difficult times. The Turks devastated her possessions in Asia Minor, ravaged cities and villages, killing their inhabitants, and accompanied their cruelties by insulting holy temples, relics, icons and books. Muslims attempted to destroy the relics of St. Nicholas, deeply revered by the entire Christian world.

In 792, Caliph Aaron Al-Rashid sent the commander of the fleet, Humaid, to plunder the island of Rhodes. Having devastated this island, Humaid went to Myra Lycia with the intention of breaking into the tomb of St. Nicholas. But instead of it, he broke into another one, which stood next to the tomb of the Saint. The sacrilege had barely managed to do this when a terrible storm arose at sea and almost all the ships were broken.

The desecration of shrines outraged not only Eastern, but also Western Christians. Christians in Italy, among whom there were many Greeks, were especially afraid for the relics of St. Nicholas. Residents of the city of Bar, located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, decided to save the relics of St. Nicholas.

In 1087, noble and Venetian merchants went to Antioch to trade. Both of them planned to take the relics of St. Nicholas on the way back and transport them to Italy. In this intention, the inhabitants of Bar were ahead of the Venetians and were the first to land in Myra. Two people were sent ahead, who, upon returning, reported that everything was quiet in the city, and in the church where the greatest shrine rested, they met only four monks. Immediately 47 people, armed, went to the temple of St. Nicholas, the guard monks, not suspecting anything, showed them the platform, under which the tomb of the saint was hidden, where, according to custom, strangers were anointed with myrrh from the relics of the saint. At the same time, the monk told one elder about the appearance of St. Nicholas the day before. In this vision, the Saint ordered that his relics be preserved more carefully. This story inspired the nobles; They saw for themselves in this phenomenon the permission and, as it were, an indication of the Holy One. To facilitate their actions, they revealed their intentions to the monks and offered them a ransom of 300 gold coins. The watchmen refused the money and wanted to notify the residents of the misfortune that threatened them. But the aliens tied them up and placed their guards at the doors. They smashed the church platform, under which stood a tomb with relics. In this matter, the young man Matthew was particularly zealous, wanting to discover the relics of the Saint as quickly as possible. In impatience, he broke the lid and the nobles saw that the sarcophagus was filled with fragrant holy myrrh. The barians' compatriots, presbyters Luppus and Drogo, performed a litany, after which the same Matthew began to extract the relics of the Saint from the sarcophagus overflowing with the world. This happened on April 20, 1087.

Due to the absence of the ark, Presbyter Drogo wrapped the relics in outer clothing and, accompanied by the nobles, carried them to the ship. The liberated monks told the city the sad news about the theft of the relics of the Wonderworker by foreigners. Crowds of people gathered on the shore, but it was too late...

On May 8, the ships arrived in Bar, and soon the good news spread throughout the city. The next day, May 9, the relics of St. Nicholas were solemnly transferred to the Church of St. Stephen, located not far from the sea. The celebration of the transfer of the shrine was accompanied by numerous miraculous healings of the sick, which aroused even greater reverence for the great saint of God. A year later, a church was built in the name of St. Nicholas and consecrated by Pope Urban II.

The event associated with the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas aroused special veneration of the Wonderworker and was marked by the establishment of a special holiday on May 9. At first, the feast of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas was celebrated only by residents of the Italian city of Bar. In other countries of the Christian East and West it was not accepted, despite the fact that the transfer of relics was widely known. This circumstance is explained by the custom of honoring mainly local shrines, characteristic of the Middle Ages. In addition, the Greek Church did not establish a celebration of this memory, because the loss of the relics of the Saint was a sad event for it.

The Russian Orthodox Church established the commemoration of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bar on May 9, shortly after 1087, on the basis of the deep, already established veneration by the Russian people of the great saint of God, who crossed over from Greece simultaneously with the adoption of Christianity. The glory of the miracles performed by the Saint on land and at sea was widely known to the Russian people. Their inexhaustible power and abundance testify to the special gracious help of the great saint to suffering humanity. The image of the Saint, the all-powerful Wonderworker and benefactor, became especially dear to the heart of the Russian people, because he instilled deep faith in him and hope for his help. Countless miracles marked the faith of the Russian people in the inexhaustible help of the Pleasant of God.

In Russian writing, significant literature about him was compiled very early. Tales of the miracles of the Saint performed on Russian soil began to be written down in ancient times. Soon after the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bargrad, a Russian edition of the life and the story of the transfer of his holy relics, written by a contemporary of this event, appeared. Even earlier, a word of praise to the Wonderworker was written. Every week, every Thursday, the Russian Orthodox Church especially honors his memory.

Numerous churches and monasteries were erected in honor of St. Nicholas, and Russian people named their children after him at Baptism. Numerous miraculous icons of the great Saint have been preserved in Russia. The most famous among them are the images of Mozhaisk, Zaraisk, Volokolamsk, Ugreshsky, Ratny. There is not a single house and not a single temple in the Russian Church in which there would not be an image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The meaning of the gracious intercession of the great saint of God is expressed by the ancient compiler of the life, according to whom St. Nicholas “worked many great and glorious miracles on earth and on the sea, helping those in trouble and saving them from drowning, and from the depths of the sea to wear dry, delighting them from corruption and bringing into the house, delivering from bonds and prisons, interceding from the sword beating and freeing from death, giving much healing to many: sight to the blind, walking to the lame, hearing to the deaf, speaking to the dumb. He enriched many in the squalor and poverty of the last suffering, gave food to the hungry and was a ready helper for everyone in every need, a warm intercessor and a quick intercessor and defender, and he helped others who called upon him and delivered them from troubles. The message of this great Wonderworker is that the East and West and all the ends of the earth know his miracles.”

Nikola Veshny
May 9/22 – Day of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra Lycia (modern Turkey) to the southern Italian port of Bari. The holiday is popularly known as St. Nicholas the Spring.

Adventures of Italians in Lycia

Delicate blue lagoons, a sea melting in the sunny haze and scatterings of the purest white sand in which giant eggs are laid sea ​​turtles, - this is modern Patara - the small homeland of St. Nicholas. Nowadays it is a Turkish resort town on the Mediterranean coast, famous for the longest beaches in the country, Roman baths, the ruins of the Temple of Apollo and... the St. Nicholas restaurant.
In the 3rd century, when the Pleasant of God, a Greek by nationality, was born, Patara was part of Lycia (the so-called “Wolf Country”), which was part of the Roman Empire.

Archbishop Nicholas served for many years in the capital city of Myra. Here he found rest, here his holy relics remained until the second half of the 11th century, when the Saracens attacked the eastern lands of the Roman Empire. In 1034, the Lycian region was actually occupied, and the Zion Temple, which contained a treasure of the honorable relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, was guarded by only a few pious monks.

And so Nicholas the Pleasant, in a dream vision, appears to one of the priests of the Italian city of Bari and orders him to take his remains from Myra Lycia. In 1087, the so-called “transfer of relics” takes place, more like a daring Viking raid. 47 armed Barians, under the guise of merchants, land in Myra and rush to the Zion Temple, where they offer the guards a ransom of 300 gold coins for the relics. Having received a refusal, the Barians tie up the monks and use an iron hammer to crush the marble floor of the platform, under which the relics of St. Nicholas are buried. The young man Matthew impatiently breaks the lid of the tomb and removes the remains of St. Nicholas the Pleasant from the sarcophagus overflowing with the world. The temple and the whole city are filled with a wonderful fragrance.

On the night of April 11, the caravel with the precious cargo leaves Myra, and on May 9 it arrives in Bari, whose residents, together with the bishop and clergy, go out to sea on ships and boats for a solemn meeting of the shrine.

...The last word of science is the first word of the Bible. When Italian anthropologists, led by professor at the University of Bari Luigi Martino, in 1953 tried to restore the true historical appearance of the saint from cranial bones extracted from the tomb in Bari, they were amazed at how similar it turned out to be with the iconographic face characteristic of Russian icons, as well as with image in the Bari basilica, which is considered a copy of the lifetime image of the saint.

“According to the structure of the skull and skeleton, the Saint belonged to the white Caucasian Mediterranean race, which is characterized by medium height and dark skin,” the professor writes. “With a high forehead, a nose that tends to be aquiline, a skeleton of medium strength.” An anthropological study of the relics indicates that the great saint did not eat meat, but only ate plant foods. The height of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was also determined - 167 cm.

Experts even made conclusions about the saint’s illnesses. Damaged joints, spine and bones chest testify to the torment that Saint Nicholas suffered in prison: he was tortured on the rack. Radiological examination of the skull showed extensive internal bony compaction of the skull.

Professor Martino believes that these changes are caused by many years of influence of prison cold and dampness (according to the chairman Orthodox society“Tabernacle”, by the modern hagiographer and Nicholas scholar Alexander Bugaevsky, the saint spent about 20 years in prison).

In 1992, Luigi Martino took part in the examination of particles of relics in the Church of St. Nicholas on the island of Lido, in the suburbs of Venice, and came to the conclusion that the authentic remains of the saint were kept in this Italian city. An extract from the commission's conclusion reads:

“The bones of St. Nicholas, consisting of a large number of white fragments, correspond to parts of the skeleton of St. Pleasant that are missing in Bari. Unfortunately, the bones were crushed into small pieces by a Barian sailor during his escape.”

Italian researchers suggested that the Barian sailors in a hurry did not remove all the relics: having obtained the holy head, they hurried to the ship. The remaining parts were hidden by the Lycians under the floor of the altar, but were captured by the Venetians in 1096, during the First Crusade against the Saracens. Along with the relics of the Pleasant of God, the Venetians removed the remains of two more saints from the Mirlikian church - the Hieromartyr Theodore and St. Nicholas the Uncle - both bishops of Mir. Nowadays the shrines are located in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of the Benedictine monastery on Lido Island.

We only add that the material concerning the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas to Venice is based on the research of Flaminius Corner “Historical News of the Churches and Monasteries of Venice and Torcello” (Padua, 1763), and he, in turn, on an anonymous Venetian manuscript around 1101. Today this is the main source providing information about the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas to Venice.

However, Russian travelers of the late XVII - early XVIII centuries. (P.A. Tolstoy, V.G. Grigorovich-Barsky, B.P. Sheremetyev), who described the Venetian shrines in detail, do not tell us anything about the relics of St. Nicholas on Lido Island, which may indicate that they are simply not there was.

Two Nicholas

Saint Nicholas's parents were rich and pious. After their death, the young man inherited a fortune and immediately showed an example of extraordinary mercy, which the poet Sergei Yesenin would write about many centuries later (“the almsman Nikola walks past villages and villages”). A kind young man came to the aid of the widower and his three daughters, throwing three bags of gold one after another - this money made up the girls’ dowry.

Further, the ancient life of Simeon Metaphrastus tells about the installation of St. Nicholas as a presbyter by his uncle, Bishop Nicholas of Patar, and the journey of St. Nicholas the Pleasant to Palestine, to the Holy Land. But, according to researchers, there was a confusion of two narratives by ancient hagiographers. To this end in the 19th century. pointed out, in particular, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), who believed that there were two Saint Nicholas in Lycia. The first is Nicholas of Myra (lived in the 4th century, under Emperor Constantine), and the second is Nicholas of Pinar (lived in the 6th century, became an archbishop under Emperor Justinian I and was the abbot of the Zion Monastery for a long time). The ancient texts of his life, dating back to the 6th century, have been preserved.

Because of this, historical inconsistencies arose in the life of the great Wonderworker. For example, it turned out that Nicholas of Myra visited the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in the Holy Land long before its foundation by Empress Helena. According to Archimandrite Antonin, Nicholas the Wonderworker was not in the Holy Land.

Nikolai Pinarsky.

Further, the hagiographers again come to an agreement: hiding from human glory, Saint Nicholas goes to Myra, the populous capital city of Lycia, where he lives like a beggar, tirelessly attending divine services. By the providence of God he was placed on the capital's Myra See. Elected to the highest hierarchical service, Saint Nicholas becomes a living rule of faith and an image of meekness. At the same time, Nikolai Ugodnik zealously guards the purity of the Gospel teaching from heresies and false teachings. Church tradition has preserved the story of how he denounced the heretic Arius at the First Council in 325 in Nicaea for his “impious” teaching about the Son of God (Arius rejected the consubstantiality of Jesus Christ with God the Father). Not accepting the blasphemy against the Son of God, Saint Nicholas struck the heretic on the cheek.

The Fathers of the Council considered such an act to be inappropriate jealousy and imprisoned Nicholas in a prison tower. But soon some of them had a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave St. Nicholas the Gospel, and Holy Mother of God placed the holy omophorion on him. Saint Nicholas was released from prison and restored to his rank.

Being the “image of meekness,” Saint Nicholas pacifies those at war and stands up for the defense of the innocently condemned. With a kind word he pacifies the rebellion in Phrygia, saves the slandered inhabitants of the city of Myra. This episode is captured on the canvas by Ilya Repin “Nicholas of Myra delivers from death penalty three innocently convicted." The painting was painted at the request of Repin’s cousin, a nun of the Verkho-Kharkov Nikolaev Olympiada Monastery. Nicholas the Wonderworker prevents the imminent death of the royal governors Nepotian, Urs and Erpilion, and provides assistance to the sailors.

Good helmsman

In the book of the modern historian and hagiographer Alexander Bugaevsky, “The Good Helmsman,” published in 2010, previously unpublished Latin and Greek manuscripts of the 8th–9th centuries were published. As a result, the life of Nicholas the Pleasant was replenished with a previously unknown miracle - the so-called “Act of Taxes”.

From the manuscripts it follows that Nicholas the Wonderworker saved his native Lycia from an unbearable tax, which plunged the people into terrible poverty. Seeing the misfortune of his flock, Saint Nicholas went to Constantinople to ask for mercy from the emperor. Before meeting with the ruler, the archbishop and bishops served the liturgy. And when during the sacrament the saint said: “Holy to saints!” – at the altar they saw a fiery flame coming out of his mouth. Entering the throne room, the saint noticed how the sun was blinding the eyes of Emperor Constantine. He took the robe off his shoulders and threw it... on Sunbeam. At the same time, the mantle hung in the air. The amazed emperor fulfilled the request of St. Nicholas and reduced the ruinous tax.

Alexander Bugaevsky clarifies the years of birth and death of the saint:

“We managed to find out when St. Nicholas died. This is 334, as has now been reliably established by comparing events from ancient texts. Thanks to the exhumation of the relics, it is clear that St. Nicholas lived for about 75 years. Therefore, he was born in 260."

In conclusion, we note that, caring for the spiritual needs of his flock, Nicholas the Pleasant never neglected their bodily needs. When a great famine occurred in Lycia, the good shepherd appeared to a certain merchant in a dream and ordered him to deliver bread to Lycia. Waking up, he saw a deposit in his hand - three gold coins, after which he took bread to Myra and saved the starving.

During his lifetime, Saint Nicholas was a benefactor of the human race; remains so even after his death. His relics continue to exude fragrant myrrh, which has the gift of miracles.

The Holy Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Nicholas on December 6/19, May 9/22 and weekly, every Thursday.