Author
Andrey Sorokin
Уроки святителя Николая Японского

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Andrey Sorokin

A Japanese friend once asked me why I was learning Japanese. Then he admitted that in response he expected to hear something about how I admire the Japanese culture or its technological wonder, or even that I want to find out more about the world of anime. But instead I answered: "I want to make a film about St. Nicholas of Japan!". That really left my friend dumfounded.

And that would be a really good idea. St. Nicholas, bishop of Japan, deserves not just a film, I am sure that a multi-part series would not be enough to show the life of this amazing man. Every step in the life of the saint could serve us as a lesson.

He had to preach in a country where everything foreign is treated with great caution. The Japanese are especially thorough in matters of faith, what with their centuries-old Shinto tradition. Perhaps the best known story of the St. Nicholas's ministry is how he was attacked by Savabe Takuma, a fencing teacher armed with a sword. Takuma confronted the saint and shouted: "You have come to ruin our country!".  And Father Nicholas (let me call him that) humbly said to his attacker that before you scold something, you need to know exactly what you are scolding and for what. He did what a real good shepherd should do - started talking to this man. And after several conversations, that fearsome Savabe asked Father Nicholas to baptize him. The former fencing master became a faithful assistant to Saint Nicholas. He turned into a zealous Christian too, as if the evil Saul had been reborn into the Apostle Paul. This is one of many lessons left to us by St. Nicholas - of patience and the true preachment.

Another disciple of St.Nicholas, priest Jacob Galakhov, left us a description of the usual day of the saint. "His grace always got up at five o'clock in the morning, and even earlier, if there was a lot to do. After prayer, he would go straight to work, and worked without straightening his back until lunch, which was at noon. After lunch he would rest a while, and read a newspaper. And then again he would return to matters of the diocese until the evening. In the evening – a short walk, and then, instead of resting, he would read a multitude of letters that needed answering. Every Japanese priest, every preacher considered it his duty to write to the bishop at least once a month. Japanese people love a long and eloquent speech, and most of all they love writing... They will write you a yard-long letter with an apology at the end of not having written a fathom. And all this needs to be read, weighed and answered, everything has to be explained and resolved appropriately."

This is another lesson of patience and hard work for us. I always thought that it was impossible to learn Japanese, but St.Nicholas learned it without any newfangled methods, so much so that he preached all over the country and corresponded with almost the whole country! During fifty years of service in a hostile country where there was not a single Orthodox, the saint left 265 communities, 31538 Christians, 42 clergymen, of whom only the archbishop and bishop were Russians, the rest of the priests and deacons were Japanese. He also created a seminary and a women's school in Tokyo. There he also built a cathedral, which is now a local landmark. What's more, St.Nicholas and his disciples created a network of Christian men's and women's clubs everywhere around Japan. In fact, by his preachment of Christian love and unity St.Nicholas has truly changed the psychology of the Japanese. People were surprised to see, for example if even the poorest Christian happened to get sick and end up in the hospital, fellow Christians would always visit him and offered help, consolation, or just a kind word. Well, isn't all this a lesson in real Christian work for all of us?

There was also a very difficult situation in the life of the bishop.  In 1904, Russia entered into war with Japan. Immediately the local patriots were upon him, demanding that he declare his allegiance: "Well, who are you with now, Russian priest?!". His own parishioners would ask him what to do. How could they go to war with Russia, if they were now a part of the Russian Church? And St.Nicholas found an answer for them. If there was a war with Russia, he said, then they should fight for their own country, for Japan. As for himself, as a man of Church, he would simply pray that there be no war at all. And when the terrible events did break out, the bishop removed himself from preaching and started organizing assistance for the captured Russian soldiers. The Japanese government respected the wisdom of the Russian priest and did not hinder the spread of Orthodox faith even after Russia was defeated. Isn't this a lesson in wisdom even in the most difficult moments of life choices?

St.Nicholas had been translating sacred books into Japanese for twenty years, striving to convey  "crystal clarity of thought." He was engaged in this work until his last day.

When the bishop died, thousands of Japanese came to pay their respects to the man who helped them find Christ even in a distant country. The Emperor sent a wreath of flowers to St.Nicholas' funeral with the inscription "The highest gift".

And for us, the whole life of the St.Nicholas has become the highest gift and example. All I can add to this is: Saint Nicholas, bishop of Japan, pray to God for us.

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