On June 9, 2024, celebrations were held in the Nilo-Stolobensky Desert Tver Eparchy on the occasion of the feast of the finding of the relics of St. Nil Stolobensky, the Wonderworker.
The night before, the monastery celebrated Small Vespers with the Akathist to St. Nil and the festive All-Night Vigil.
The night before, the monastery celebrated the Small Vespers with the Akathist to St. Nil and the festive All-Night Vigil.
On June 9, the Divine Liturgy in the Epiphany Cathedral of the Nilo-Stoloben Desert was celebrated by Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary, the hierarch of Serbian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Ioannikiy of Montenegro and Primorye, Metropolitan Aristarkh of Kemerovo and Prokopyevsk, Metropolitan Amvrosy of Tver and Kashin.
Metropolitan Amvrosy of Tver and Kashin.
The hierarchs were served by the dean of monasteries and suburbs, secretary of the Tver diocese Archimandrite Boris (Tulupov), the vicar of the Nilo-Stolobensk punbsp;Hieromonk Gabriel (Baglai), the clergyman of the Serbian Orthodox Church Archpriest Ostoya Knjazhevich, the rector of the Borisoglebsk Novotorzhsky Monastery Archimandrite Amfilohiy (Zhelyabovsky), the brethren of the monastery in the priesthood, the clergy of the Tver diocese, The clergy of the Kemerovo Diocese were Priest Demetrius Vladimirov and Priest John Pavlyuk, Deacon John Zorin, Protodeacon Roman Sokolov, Deacons Mikhail Bykov and Vyacheslav Lee.
The service was sung by the youth choir of the Tver Diocese conducted by Elizaveta Pilyugaeva.
The youth choir of the Tver diocese conducted by Elizaveta Pilyugaeva sang at the service.
The Abbesses of the monasteries of the Tver Diocese, numerous guests and pilgrims prayed at the service.
The service was attended by the head of the Ostashkov city district A.A. Titov, honorary air transport worker of the Russian Federation, holder of a certificate of honor of the President of Russia and the highest award of Kuzbass — gold sign «Kuzbass» V.A. Khomsky.
At the Litany of Supplication special petitions were offered. A prayer for Holy Russia was read.
A prayer for Holy Russia was read.
After the Liturgy of the Holy Communion a sermon on the theme of Sunday's Gospel reading was delivered by Archpriest Demetrius Kurdyukov, archpriest of the III Tver district.
After the intercessory prayer around the monastery was made a procession with the relics of St. Nil Stolobensky. During the procession its participants honored the memory of the renewer of monastic life on the island of Stolobny Archimandrite Vassian (Shusty) and deceased residents of the monastery, to whom was proclaimed «Eternal Memory»
.
At the conclusion of the procession of the cross The icon of the Stolobensky martyrs Vitaly, Paul, Dionisy and Vladimir, painted for the feast day, was consecrated. Metropolitan Amvrosy read a prayer for the consecration of the new image, Metropolitans Hilarion, Ioannikiy and Aristarchus sprinkled the icon with holy water.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary read a prayer to St. Nilus, archpastors and clergy laid their hands on his holy relics.
After the Liturgy was dismissed, the head of the Tver Metropolis congratulated the archpastors, clergy, pilgrims and guests on the special feast of the monastery — the day of commemoration of St. Nil, the holy hermit, thanks to whom the monastic life arose on the island of Stolobnoye, and presented the rulers with icons with the image of St. Nil of Stolobensk and a part of his holy relics as a memento:
«Several times a year we celebrate the day of his memory. This year we will prayerfully commemorate in December the 470th anniversary of his repose. In the same year the holy monastery celebrates 430 years from the moment when the first Patriarch of our Church — Holy Patriarch Job, who was brought up and ended his life on the Tver land, in Staritsa, gave a charter to found a monastery here, here, on the place of the exploits and labors of the Monk Nil Stolobensky. Inspired by his example Prayer, asceticism, true monastic humility, and most importantly — love for God and people, many, many generations have followed him in his monastic ministry.
Today we consecrated an image painted before the feast of St. Nil, — the image of the Stolobensky martyrs, who died for their faith in Christ in the difficult XX century. They too were inspired by the Venerable's exploits, absorbed his trust in God and made no concessions, no compromises, but knowing the value of earthly life, which is given to us in order to prepare us for eternity, they were not afraid to end it at a time when persecutors were testing their faith, and passed on to those who in white robes now stand before the Lamb of God and with the angels sing a victorious song to God.
I am very happy to welcome our distinguished guests today. I thank God for this blessing that He has sent us on this festive day. I thank Metropolitan Hilarion, Metropolitan Ioannikios, Metropolitan Aristarchus for their holy prayers, for the opportunity to celebrate the holy Liturgy together in the brotherhood today, to rejoice in the Risen Christ and to honor the memory of St. Nil Stolobensky. In prayerful remembrance of today and with the hope that also within Hungary, Montenegro and The Monk Nil of Kuzbass will also be honored and his fame will spread across the face of the whole earth, let me give you the images of the Monk Nil of Stolobensk with parts of his holy relics.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary greeted the praying people and thanked Metropolitan Ambrosius for the invitation to the feast:
«The Feast of the Resurrection of Christ lasts 40 days, and all these days fill our hearts with special joy, because we feel that the Risen Christ is with us, and together with Him the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints, and all the deceased. And today, when we gathered at the relics of St. Nil Stolobensky to honor his holy memory, we feel his presence among us in a special way. And we believe that he will answer our prayers, comfort us in our sorrows, help us in our trials and be our guide on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is difficult to imagine where the monastic path of the Monk Nil began. After spending 10 years in a dormitory monastery, acquiring the skills of prayer, obedience, participation in church services, acquiring knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and holy theological writings, he was ignited by the desire to remove himself from the world, following the example of the ancient ascetics. And not just to remove himself from the world, remaining in the monastery, but to go even farther away, into the Russian desert, that is, into the dense forest. First in one place, and then here, on this holy island, he began to ascend in complete obscurity, in complete silence, in complete solitude, when no one helped him. Only from time to time robbers came and tried to attack him. Or local fishermen would come to share fish with him. But gradually the fame of his ascetic life began to spread through the neighborhood, and people began to come to him. But the true glory of all-Russian and world-wide fame came to him after his death, when this holy monastery arose here, at the place of his repose, when numerous healings began to flow from his relics, when people began to receive answers to the questions they asked him in prayer, and when many people realized that this man, who spent his days in obscurity, in monastic work of many sorrows and many labors, received grace from God and stands before the throne of the Lord today.
It is not by chance that we are gathered here today, like the apostles who arrived at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on clouds. We too have traveled through the clouds on our way from Montenegro, from Hungary, from Kuzbass, from distant lands in order to here together to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and offer prayers to our Venerable and God-bearing Father Neil. I heartily thank Metropolitan Amvrosy for the invitation and for the spiritual comfort you have brought us, for the unforgettable days we have spent on the Tver land and in this holy monastery. And may the Lord keep you for many and good years. And all of you, dear fathers, brothers and sisters, I heartily congratulate you on the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, on the day of the memory of St. Nil of Stolobensk. And may the risen Lord Himself, through the prayers of St. Nil and the saints of the Tver land, bless us on our path of life.
Metropolitan Ioannikiy of Montenegro and Primorye addressed words of greeting:
«I thank God and thank Him for the fact that today I have had the opportunity to pray and take part in the day of commemoration of our Monk and God-bearing father Nil of Stoloben.
Particularly I would like to note our reverence and gratitude to our dear colleague Metropolitan Ambrosius, with whom we have known for many years, for inviting us to pray together and participate in the celebration, through which we strengthen our friendship. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to pray with the Russians by bishops, monks, clergy and the Russian people during the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. We are very happy about the revival of this monastery. After all, the Resurrection of our Lord not only grants eternal life, but also enriches us with spiritual strength and gives us the opportunity to restore our historical memory and all that was lost. So this holy monastery has been restored by the power of God in our time. As a bishop of the Montenegrin-Primorian Metropolis, I come from a country that is also rich in saints. Probably many of you have heard about some of the saints who are in Montenegro, for example, St. Basil of Ostrog. I convey the blessing of our saints to all who are gathered here, with the love and honor of our clergy and the people of Montenegro.
Montenegro has always treated Russia with love and reverence. Our ties in history are deep. We do not forget that it was Russia that helped us to endure the Muslim yoke that was on our land and to free ourselves from it. Dear Bishops Hilarion, Aristarchus and Ambrosius visited Montenegro, and we do the same today, visiting each other, supporting each other spiritually. And we hope that we will continue to stand together in our faith. Christ is Risen!
At the end of the ceremony, Metropolitan of St. John the Baptist gave a welcome address Aristarkh of Kemerovo and Prokopyevsk:
«The current event is historic and significant because we once again glorify our great saint, St. Nil Stolobensky, on Sunday afternoon, in the period after the Bright Resurrection of Christ, when we experience a special spiritual joy in our heart and soul. In the Week after Easter about Thomas, the Holy Church called you and me to confess our faith in the Risen Savior and to be confirmed in it. Then, in the Week of the Myrrh-bearing Women, she called you and me, like precious ointment, to offer our love and our good deeds to the Risen Savior and to be adorned with them. Together with the paralytic, who waited 38 years for his miraculous recovery, the Church called us to always put our hope and trust in God alone in our earthly life and to be strengthened in this life by God. Through the example of the Samaritan woman, the Holy Church taught us how to pray to God, — to pray to Him in Spirit and in truth, because it is such followers that the Lord Jesus Christ is looking for. And so today you and I together with the man born blind glorified the Risen Savior with the words of the Church hymns: "O Light-giver, illumine our soul feelings," just as He illumined the soul feelings of the now glorified St. Nilus of Stolobensk. This saint lived on this the earth. He walked under the same sun and moon. He prayed in the same churches that we attend today. He was a flesh from flesh, blood from blood Orthodox Christian. And the grace of God the Risen Savior enlightened him, transformed him and made him an angel in the flesh, and then brought to him a whole world of other people, you and me, seeking salvation. This glorification of the saints is very important and necessary for us, because by imitating them, we ourselves grow and improve spiritually.
Greetings to the venerable archpastors. We have also brought you congratulations and good wishes from the mining region, from Kuzbass, where you, Vladyka Ambrosy, have worked and left a good trace of your life. We wish you that this Tver molten land be adorned with churches, and especially that your prayers and labors strengthen faith, hope and love in the hearts of those who work here and carry out their ministry. I wish all of us, both lords and shepherds, that through the prayers of St. Nil Stolobensky what the Lord calls us to before every Divine Liturgy be fulfilled: that your light may shine before people, so that they, seeing your good works, may glorify God, Who is in Heaven.
At the end of the service, the faithful traditionally passed under the holy relics of St. Neil, which on the A special stretcher was held by the clergy.
The rite of the panagia was celebrated. The bishops, clergy and all those praying shared a meal in the fraternal refectory and on the territory of the monastery. In total, more than 600 people took part in the meal.
The meal was attended by more than 600 people.
After the meal, Metropolitans Amvrosy and Aristarchus visited the Holy Cross Church of the monastery and familiarized themselves with the progress of the restoration work.
On the same day, Metropolitan Ambrosy together with Metropolitan Aristarchus traveled to the Zhitenny Monastery on a peninsula near the town of Ostashkov. The guests from the Kemerovo land were given a tour of the monastery island of Fomino and the school at the monastery. After the tour, the archpastors attended a concert prepared for them by the pupils of the monastery school.
Press Service of the Tver Eparchy/Patriarchy.ru
