Holy Processions in Honor of St Nicholas. G.A.Romanov (Moscow)
Religious processions in honor of St Nicholas have been held in Russia since the end of the 11th century and to this day. Honoring the «prompt helper» with festive processions took place on St Nicholas days established by the church in memory of the miracles worked by his icons and the days when cathedrals and chapels devoted to him were built and consecrated. Extraordinary processions were often held to beseech protection. Apart from the icons these solemn processions also honored the relics pertaining to the great archpriest.
There are documentary mentions of the early religious processions in honor of St Nicholas, such as direct and indirect evidence of consecrating St Nicholas churches and miracles worked by his icons in Kiev, Great Novgorod, Pskov, Moscow and other cities from the 11th through the 16th century. From the 13th century bust-length images of the saint were characteristic of the icons used for religious processions in the Russian North. Medieval Russian history knows of many cases when the saint's miracle-making images such as «St Nicholas of Zaraisk» and «St Nicholas of Mozhaisk» played an important role and became exemplary sacred objects for religious processions. In the 15th century, copies of the Mozhaisk sculpture were carried by holy processions in Moscow, Mzensk, and Chukhloma. Beginning with Metropolitan Cyprian the priests appointed to the Moscow Cathedra made a solemn entrance of the Kremlin through St Nicholas Gate. In 1506, the miraculously discovered image of St Nicholas was carried to Moscow from the village of Gostun by a holy procession walking all the way by foot. In the 16th–17th century, there were religious processions to the Church of St Nicholas in Gostun during the Easter week, on 10 August, and on Sundays preceding St Nicholas Days in winter and spring. Organization of religious processions by church councils was established as a norm for all Russia in 1551. Holy days at St Nicholas’ churches in all the Russian cities and towns were celebrated with religious processions arriving from all the churches of the diocese.
Every year the 15th-century miracle-making icon of St Nicholas from the River Velikaya, residing in Khlynov (Vyatka), was carried by boat along the system of rivers as a religious procession to the place where it had been discovered. From the 16th century this icon was brought to the various towns in the Vyatka region to ward off epidemics. In 1555 and 1615, the icon was carried to Moscow in a religious procession by waterway. From 1780, the Vyatka icons of Archistrategus Michael and Our Lady of Tikhvin together with the icon of St Nicholas from the River Velikaya were carried by a walking procession to the River Velikaya. The Kurino procession carried these icons from the lst to the 16th of June. And from 18 July to 21 October they were carried by the Sarapul religious procession in the upper reaches of the river. From 1 September to 4 December the icons were taken around the towns along the lower reaches of the river. In 1930, the miracle-making icon disappeared. From 1992, the religious processions on the River Velikaya were fully resumed.
From 1557 the icons of St Nicholas of Berezovka and of the Kama were carried along the Kama banks. In the 17th century the religious processions carrying icons were supposed to stop the plague. From 1859, on the 27th of March St Nicholas icon was escorted from Nikolo-Berezovka to the city of Ufa. The icon was also taken to various towns and villages of the Ufa region until 28 June. In the case of natural calamities the Berezovka icon together with the icon of the Mother of God of Ufa were taken around the districts of Ufa, Belebei, Zlatoust, Menzelei, and Birsk, while the icon of the Mother of God of Tabynsk went to Sterlitamak, Orenburg and the environs.
In 1552, residents of Solikamsk sent an appeal to Ivan the Terrible, asking to deploy armed forces in their city for its defense. Instead of the troops the tsar sent them a folding icon of St Nicholas the Miracle-maker. The saint's protection was seen as more powerful than the troops. Every ninth Friday during Easter the icon was carried around Solikamsk. In 2005, religious processions with the genuine St Nicholas icon were resumed.
In 1552, during the siege of Kazan, Russian troops had several icons of St Nicholas of Mozhaisk. Immediately after the capture of Kazan there was a religious procession carrying St Nicholas icons around the city upon which the Monastery of St Nicholas the Warrior was laid down. In 1564–1565, a gate church was specially constructed in the Pskov-Pechersk monastery-fortress for the sake of the sculpture of St Nicholas to be put above the gates. The icon of St Nicholas the Warrior became the symbol of protecting Russia from Western invasion.
Thanks to the religious processions with the icon of St Nicholas the Warrior, the protector of the Belgorod region, the local people saved themselves from Crimean Tatars' invasions. On 5 July 1765, the miracle-making icon was transported to the Trinity Cathedral of Belgorod and from there each year on May 5 it was carried to the village of Ustinka by a religious procession. In the 19th century not less than 20,000 people walked to Ustinka to accompany the icon. In 1995 these religious processions were resumed.
According to the old legend, in 1552 on a hill at the confluence of the river Promza and the river Sura there was a vision of St Nicholas with a sword raised high which warded off the invasion of the Nogai tribe. From the 17th century every year on May 9, a religious procession is held from the church on the river bank towards the belfry on the top of the hill. In the 19th century this spring event became the main holiday in the Simbirsk region. To ascend St Nicholas Mount pilgrims from Kazan, Penza and Saratov regions made special journeys to the Alatyr district. Many thousands of pilgrims climbed the mount on those occasions. In the 1990s this religious procession was resumed.
Annual processions around various regions carrying St Nicholas icons were held from the local monasteries of St Nicholas of Trebeni, St Nicholas of Pereyaslavl, St Nicholas of Modenka, St Nicholas of Malitsa, St Nicholas of Odrino, St Nicholas of Babaiki, St Nicholas of Rylsk, and the Assumption of Valui. In the 18th century new religious processions were established in the port-cities of Voronezh and St Petersburg. The Siberian city of Tomsk was protected from calamities by religious processions with two miraclemaking icons. In the trans-Baikal area numerous religious processions were held with five St Nicholas miraclemaking icons. The «reform of piety» initiated by Peter the Great during the Synod period, created certain obstacles for holding religious processions. Carved images fell under prohibition for a time. In January 1728, the miracle-making icon of St Nicholas of Radovitsi was released from arrest and was carried by foot for 150 kilometers to the Radovitsi monastery. From 1771, in memory of the relief from plague religious processions were held from Volokolamsk to St Joseph monastery, from St Nicholas monastery around the city of Arzamas, and from the Saint Lake nunnery in Gorokhovets district of Vladimir Region to the village of Lower Landekh. From 1784, in memory of the relief from the atrocities of Yemelyan Pugachev, in the town of Sysert of Yekaterinburg Region a religious procession used to walk to the Bessonova Mount.
In the 19th century some religious processions were organized annually as a protection from cholera: they moved from the village of Luga to the town of Roslavl in Smolensk region, and from the town of Peremyshl in Kaluga region to the village of Ilyinskoye.
Honoring the Mother of God and St Nicholas with joint processions was characteristic of the following monasteries: Pskov-Pechera, Tikhvin Godmother, Tikhvin St Nicholas-Communion, Godmother of Kazan, Saints Cyric and lulita nunnery in Ladva, St Nicholas of Borki, Epiphany and St Anastasia, Erection of the Cross in Kostroma, Godmother on Ploschansky Lake, Holy Spirit of Tupichevschina, and St Nicholas of Shartom.
Among peasants St Nicholas was believed to be a protector of harvests, domestic cattle, and the family. Processions with St Nicholas' icon around fields, blessing of herds, and prayers for the rain took place in practically all the villages. In memory of the icon's help in coping with the fire or cattle epidemics peasants swore a «pledge» to hold religious processions every year. Beginning in 1629 as monastery processions in the village of Mamontovo, Tambov region, they soon became parish processions for extraordinary occasions. In Soviet times the processions involved from two to four thousand people who went to the holy lake to pray to St Nicholas the Protector. In 2005, they were resumed as monastery processions.
Religious processions in honor of St Nicholas are an important part of Russian peoplés spiritual life, their culture and faith. Religious processions for the Miraclemaker were missionary in spirit in many parts of Russia, attracting local people on the outskirts of the country to St Nicholas worship and to the Orthodox Christianity in general. Such religious processions warding off calamities contributed to the ages-old tradition of pilgrimage. The resurrection of many traditional religious processions in the 21st century is one of the most joyous manifestations of peoplés religious life today.