Patriarch Kirill Celebrates Divine Liturgy at Nicholas-Ugresh Monastery in Moscow Region

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On May 22, on the feast day of the translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Nicholas-Ugresh Monastery in the town of Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Region.

The Patriarch was warmly welcomed by numerous parishioners, as well as by the Governor of the Moscow Region, Andrey Vorobyov, Metropolitan Krutitsky and Kolomensky Pavel, and the superior of the Nicholas-Ugresh Stavropegial Male Monastery, Hegumen Mefodiy.

In his sermon after the Liturgy, Patriarch Kirill emphasized that Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is "a special phenomenon of God's providence" and has a special care for Russia. The Patriarch noted that pilgrims from Russia have significantly contributed to the revival of the veneration of Saint Nicholas in Western churches.

"The Western Church in Bari has always revered, prayed, and held certain processions, but a significant impulse to the revival of the veneration of Saint Nicholas in the West came in connection with the massive pilgrimages of Russian people. At first, Western Christians, including hierarchs and priests, did not quite understand why we celebrate this day so fervently and why such huge pilgrimages to Bari were organized, but then they realized and began to celebrate this day solemnly, especially in Bari," said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to the Patriarch, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker "by a special phenomenon of God's providence" has a care for Russia. "After all, this veneration we have would not exist without the response of Saint Nicholas to our people, and his icons would not hang in almost every home of an Orthodox person," he remarked, emphasizing that there have never been any special church instructions regarding this celebration; it is a spontaneous celebration originating from the people.

Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop in Myra, Lycia, during the Roman Empire. He reposed around the year 345. In the 5th century, the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II ordered the construction of a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas at the place where the saint served as bishop. His relics were kept in this church until the 11th century. In 1087, after the invasion of the city by the Seljuk Turks, the relics of the saint were taken by Italian merchants to the city of Bari. A basilica was built in honor of the saint to permanently house his relics.

The relics of Saint Nicholas, preserved in the basilica, are particularly revered by believers of the Russian Orthodox Church, many of whom annually made pilgrimages to Bari. Since 1969, Orthodox Christians have been granted the right to regularly serve in the crypt of the basilica. Once a week, a service is held in the church according to the Byzantine-Russian rite, during which all who wish can venerate the relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.

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