God's help to crippled people in our time. Testimonies of the miraculous help of the Most Holy Theotokos "The Redeemer from Troubles

For our readers: the help of the holy saints of God in our days with a detailed description from various sources.

The husband went fishing, the son - to friends ... I decided to wash my hair and go to church. I think: while I wash my head, I will put the potatoes - they will just be cooked for my departure. She put potatoes on the stove, washed herself and went to the temple. And only towards the end of the service she remembered the pot on the stove. I ran out to the embankment and started hailing a taxi to get home faster. Nobody stopped. Then I prayed to St. Nicholas, and immediately a GAZelle stopped in front of me. I told the driver about my misfortune, asked him to drive faster, asked him his name. "Nikolai!" he replied. Well, it means that the Saint heard me! We rushed home, and then I saw that the potatoes were boiling quietly on the stove, and even after a few hours! - the water in the pan did not decrease at all. This struck me the most.

My husband and I were picking mushrooms, but the rain drove us out of the forest. In the car, we discovered the loss of documents: rights, technical certificate, which we dropped in the forest. We searched for them for a long time, asked God, but did not find them. A week later, I advised my husband to pray on his knees before the image of St. Nicholas, to ask him for help. The husband agreed, only asked: “What should I do after the prayer, go to the forest again?” I replied: "As God wills." A minute later they called us and said that they found our documents safe and sound, despite the fact that it had been pouring rain for a week. Returned free of charge.

V. went to work with his comrades. They built cottages outside the city. They lived near the construction site in wagons, which were heated in winter with electrical heating appliances, often home-made. Once, the men left the electric stove turned on for the night, and washed laundry was hung around it. At night, when everyone was sleeping, a fire broke out. Half-asleep workers jumped out of the trailer in horror. V. did not wake up immediately, but when he woke up, it was too late to run away, and there was nowhere to go. He sat in the middle of the trailer, and flames raged on all sides. Suddenly, among the fire and smoke, he saw St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The saint called him, and then abruptly pushed him out of the window. V. received burns, but survived. The hands were especially affected, but they did not lose their working capacity. Soon V. recovered and changed his profession. Now he is a priest.

For many years I suffered from insomnia, and for the last two or three years, I have only fallen asleep with pills. And then I found out that the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It will also be in Tolyatti, where I live. I have been waiting for this day with impatience and hope. When the image was brought to the temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, a procession was made. There were a lot of people: it seemed that the whole city had gathered. The soul was light and joyful, and the heart harbored hope for healing. And thanks to God's mercy, it came. Now I sleep soundly. And every morning I thank our Savior, His Most Pure Mother and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Kaliningrad is a port city. Many people live there, whose fate is connected with the sea. Therefore, a special craft is visible in the fact that the first city church was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of sailors. The church has a chapel in honor of All the Saints who shone in the Russian land, above the entrance to which from the side of the street hangs the icon of St. Nicholas. Late one evening several guys were walking past the temple. They decided to remove the image of the saint, which is not very high above the ground. Having done this, one of them gouged out the eyes of the saint on the icon… A few days later, Fr. Marian, one of the priests of the temple, a woman ran up and began to ask for forgiveness for her son. It turned out that this is the mother of a guy who went blind after the incident. What happened next is unknown.

I have an image of St. Nicholas, simple in execution, but not easy in its grace-filled power. I cut it out of the calendar, and it seemed to me, - Lord, forgive me - not very successful: it was painfully dark face. But just looked into the eyes of St. Nikolai Ugodnik felt uneasy: his stern look looks straight into your soul, and you can’t get away from this look. It's like in childhood: you stand in front of your parents and feel that they know about your wrongdoing, but they are waiting for you to admit it yourself, and it is impossible to shirk in any way. So I hung this paper image in the holy corner. And soon I found out that my mother's friend lost her son. Fourth day away from home: left work and never returned. Rushed to the holy corner. To whom to pray? How to pray? And suddenly in my head - a very clear thought: to pray for the prisoner. Usually in difficult times I turn to St. Blessed Xenia, but there was a particularly warm prayer when she prayed to St. Nicholas. With tears, in simple words, she prayed and asked for a speedy helper in sorrow to return the prisoner. I did not expect that everything would happen so quickly: in half an hour my mother called and said that our friend had been released. All beaten up, he returned home. And then he said that suddenly the robbers stopped demanding money from him and brought him to the house.

It was in the market. A strong wind was blowing, and a 4-meter iron sheet was torn off the roof of one of the pavilions. The sellers, white with horror, followed the iron colossus flying directly at me, and I walked and prayed to Nikolai Ugodnik about something of my own, I was so carried away by the “conversation” with the saint that I did not immediately realize what was happening. And suddenly this huge sheet rolls up into a tube, slightly catching my shoulder, and stands up like a pole, as if rooted to the spot. The seller Nikolai, who witnessed the miracle (who was born on December 19 and was named strictly according to the holy calendar!), quietly congratulated me: “Happy birthday! You almost died, we saw it ... So happy new birthday to you ... ". And it would be ungrateful not to talk about it.

home
Who to pray and ask for help
How to Pray for Healing from the Ailment of Drunkenness
Is it possible to be healed from the icon and holy relics
How and to whom to pray for childbearing
Let's talk about repentance
Prayers
Akathists
holy holidays
Orthodox video
Articles from Pravoslavia.Ru
Orthodox stories
My personal stories
Miracles of God
Diveevo miracles
Matrona of Moscow
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Reverend Seraphim of Sarov
Bl Xenia of Petersburg
Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
John of Kronstadt
Reverend Sergius of Radonezh
St. Peter and Fevronia of Murom
Icon of the Virgin of Tikhvin
Icon of the Mother of God Merciful
Icon of the Mother of God of the All-Tsaritsa
Icon of the Mother of God Burning Bush
Icon of the Mother of God Seven Arrows
Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir
Icon of the Mother of God Fedorovskaya
Icon of the Mother of God of Iverskaya
Icon of the Mother of God Pochaevskaya
Icon of the Mother of God Inexhaustible Chalice
Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan
Icon of the Mother of God the Quick Hearer
Rev. Alexander Svirsky
Saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky
General church news
Teachings of the holy fathers for every day
ads
Photo gallery
Website banner
useful links
Search on Orthodox sites
About me and our monastery
Request for Prayer
Guest book
Feedback

Saint Nicholas is a real person of the 3rd century AD. This saint became famous for his purposefulness in serving the Almighty Lord and sincere kindness to others. For his great work, he was canonized by the church as a saint. The unbelievable deeds of the monk were known even during his lifetime.

Help of St. Nicholas

Modern miracles of Nicholas the Wonderworker are distinguished by colossal power and are intended to save people who find themselves in the most difficult or deadly situations. There is a lot of information from the laity and church ministers who saw with their own eyes the divine accomplishments on behalf of this great monk.

During the period of the USSR, famous for its anti-religious persecution of Christians, people were afraid to share stories about incredible incidents of a divine nature. Soviet citizens saw how the monasteries were closed and the bells were removed, and then melted down for the needs of the metallurgical industry. The communist authorities forbade conversations about God and canceled all church holidays.

At present, the laity have a great opportunity to share with each other the stories of the miraculous deeds of Nicholas the Pleasant (Wonderworker).

Adoration of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Appearance of the Angel of the Lord

This incident happened to one woman in 1991. Walking along the shore of the lake, she started a conversation with an old grandmother. The latter began to confess, saying that her family did not love her at all and wished her a speedy death. The pious woman presented her with a prayer book, began to talk about God's help and said that salvation should be sought from the Creator or His eternal servants.

Grandma answered this with her story.

A week before this acquaintance, she came to the same place with the aim of suicide. She was saved from a terrible deed by an old man who pointed out her sins to her grandmother and ordered her to come here in seven days, because here she would learn to ask before the Lord. The elder introduced himself as Nicholas and recalled that suicide brings colossal suffering to the soul.

Miracles consisted in the fact that the woman gave the old woman a prayer book.

On a note! The reverend has many names, because he provides diverse assistance to all people. He was called a miracle worker, so he could resurrect the dead and heal terrible ailments. He is a saint because he devoted his whole life to asceticism and serving the Heavenly Father.

The reverend is rightfully revered throughout the Christian tradition.

Miracles of Saint Nicholas in the form of a cross

The story took place in 1941. The wife stayed in Moscow with the children, and the husband went to the front. Mother and family had a very hard time. She plunged into despair, seeing the suffering of her offspring, and conceived suicide. She was not religious, she did not know how to read prayers, but an old icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was found at home.

The doomed mother impulsively began to reproach the holy image for the fact that the Lord was not able to save her family from starvation.

She was about to put the terrible idea of suicide into action, but on the way she stumbled and found two ten-ruble banknotes folded in the form of a cross. After a while, she realized that the money was handed to her by the mercy of the Almighty.

The incident changed her worldview, she sincerely believed, began to go to churches and thank Nicholas for the wonderful gift.

Miracles through prayer

Atheistically minded people are hard to convince of the real viability of the holy image.

In our time, there is a large amount of convincing evidence from the lips of people praying for something. Some survived in accidents, others gained health after many years of a terrible illness, and still others found their other half and happiness until their death.

Once, before going to bed, a woman who rarely turns to the icon of the Wonderworker, which was left from her deceased mother, heard the words "My daughter." She did not attach much importance to this "vision", but three days later everything happened again. The woman realized that Saint Nicholas wanted to communicate. Her mind began to see clearly, the worldview turned towards religion. The woman began to join the church and ask for protection for her family and all of humanity.
In one wealthy family, a God-fearing housekeeper worked until old age. When the pension law came out, the hostess could not find the necessary documents, which greatly upset the pious grandmother. She offered to humbly pray in front of the image of St. Nicholas the Pleasant. On the same evening, the hostess found a paper bundle with the documents necessary for the pension.
A small child (2 years old) had a severe food poisoning, the temperature rose, and the condition quickly worsened. The father was shocked to see the open "spring", and the mother passionately read a prayer in front of the shrine of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Upon the arrival of the doctor, the child's condition improved somewhat, and the parents hurried to anoint his forehead and stomach with consecrated oil, which received strength from a fervent request. The boy recovered without even taking ordinary medicines.

The miracles of St. Nicholas presented above are only a small part of the many created deeds.

Important! The saint humbly served God and worked for the good of society, his spirit and body are so pure that they continue to help for a long time after death. The Christian world has high hopes for the images of this incredible man.

Watch a video about the miracles of Nicholas the Wonderworker

The material was prepared by Alexandra Dracheva

HOW OFTEN WITH THE SMALLEST DIFFICULTIES WE FALL INTO DISAPPOINTMENT... HOWEVER, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THEY DO NOT ONLY DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED, BUT BECOME AN EXAMPLE OF RESISTANCE, FORCE OF THE SPIRIT AND OPTIMISM.

2016 marked the 1000th anniversary of Russian monasticism on Mount Athos. The celebration in Ukraine of the 1000th anniversary of the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos was not without the participation of the most vulnerable people in our society - those who have serious illnesses and the first groups of visual impairment or have been disabled since childhood. The Mother of God, through the Orthodox people, extended Her good hand to these courageous Her children. Six blind Orthodox Christians from Ukraine, including two Kharkiv residents, on the eve of the International Day of the Blind, dared to make a pilgrimage to Athos.

During their stay on the Holy Mountain, blind Christians visited the ancient skete of Xilurgu, where at the beginning of the 11th century, Saint Anthony of the Caves received a blessing, following the baptism of Russia, to establish monasticism in our land. “Sent by the Providence of God, he brought the blessing of the Holy Mountain to Russia, laid the foundation for a perfect monastic life here, and founded the Holy Caves Lavra with wondrous miracles” (Pechersky Paterik, life of St. Anthony of the Caves).

Great joy for us was the news that the head of the group of blind pilgrims, Vladimir Nikolaevich Tursky, brought a copy of the prototype of the Ozeryansk Icon of the Mother of God as a gift to this skete, and now, in front of the image of our Slobozhan intercessor, five Russian monks on Athos will offer prayers for you and me.

On the day of departure from the Holy Mountain - November 12, 2016 - in the Assumption Monastery, Ukrainian pilgrims received a gift from the rector of the icon of the great martyr and healer Panteleimon, which was handed over to one of the participants in this amazing journey, the head of the Kharkov organization of the blind - Igor Shramko. "Pokrovsky Bulletin" brings to your attention an interview with this wonderful person.

Igor Alexandrovich Shramko was the first blind graduate of the Kharkov Theological Seminary and received a diploma from the hands of the ever-memorable Vladyka Nikodim (Rusnak). After graduating from a specialized gymnasium for blind children, Igor Shramko received two higher educations - theological and legal. Now he heads the Kharkiv Public Organization of Blind Lawyers, and also helps people with visual impairments to comprehend the basics of the Orthodox faith. This is how an album of embossed icons was released, designed by a girl in a wheelchair. Igor Alexandrovich spoke about the fact that the lack of vision does not at all prevent one from engaging in social service, participating in worship services and traveling. In the autumn of 2016, a pilgrimage trip for the blind from Ukraine to Mount Athos took place, in which two Kharkiv residents also took part. Igor Alexandrovich shared his impressions of this trip with us.

…I teach classes at a school for the blind in Kharkov (Sumskaya St., 55). Our first work - drawings from the "Law of God" by Seraphim Slobodsky for blind children. Initially, this school was built as a parochial school, and inside it was the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was the central place for all educational activities (now the assembly hall is located in this room). Blind children received here the experience of choir singing and choir service.

I was very interested in the history of this school, and I was lucky to talk with people who received knowledge here even before the revolution. They remembered how the day began with the morning prayer, how the Law of God was taught. The evening prayer was also obligatory.

In each temple there were special numbered circles, where it was written "for the blind", that is, for the maintenance of this educational institution. There was a board of trustees, which included honorary citizens of Kharkov. At one time L. Girshman (1) was the chairman of this Council.

Is it possible at the present time to revive the tradition of such mugs?

Theoretically possible, why not. For this, first of all, there should be the blessing of the ruling bishop. Up to ten people consistently attended classes in the society of the blind, which I taught. I do not know how many people want to join the church culture, but I can say for sure that there is a need for prayer books in Braille. This is a question people ask quite often. Man comes to God in different ways. Today he does not want to deal with matters of faith, but tomorrow he cannot live without it.

How did your meeting with God happen? Or have you been a believer since childhood?

I was brought up in such a family. My late grandmother, God rest her soul, always went to church and took me with her. Therefore, I cannot say that there was some kind of turning point of discovery, a personal meeting with God. This has always been inherent in my worldview, understanding and perception. At school, our teachers read the Bible to us. Alla Ivanovna Kiyashko, a believing woman, at our request, always went with us to the Useknovenskaya church - it was closest to the school.

What period are we talking about?

Mid nineties. First, they read the children's Bible, then - already the usual text, not adapted, and went to church. On Easter, Easter cakes were always blessed, and, probably, somewhere since 1990, Father Michael (Skorik) always comes to us for Baptism with a choir and performs the blessing of water. We can say that he is the spiritual mentor of our educational institution. This is an unshakable tradition, which is more than two decades old.

How did you come back to this school as a teacher?

I am not formal. This is a voluntary circle, and, in fact, I did not leave it, because when I entered the seminary, I continued to communicate with my teachers, who are still there

work, and with children. So, little by little, one turned into the other.

How long have you been involved in a public organization of blind lawyers?

It has existed since 1998, that is, for 18 years. I joined her a little later, when I entered the law academy.

Social work is, by and large, my job. I deal directly with civil cases. We work mainly with vulnerable groups of the population - pensioners, the disabled - and recently we have been working a lot on internally displaced persons.

You work with such segments of the population that cannot always pay for such services. So your organization is not profitable?

Yes, our organization is not profitable, and therefore it exists largely due to grants. You understand that in order to get some kind of support, you need to try very hard. Since 2001, we have been partly financed by the city through a system of social projects at the expense of the city budget. But these are very small amounts.

In our monastery, the Ozeryansk Icon of the Mother of God has recently appeared in Braille format. Today it is the only one in Kharkov. How popular are these icons?

There should be such icons in the temple. They will remind you that there are people with vision problems. This is on the one hand, and on the other hand, the icon should serve as a prototype of the one to whom we pray, worship. Of course, it is good if it is possible to have such relief icons at home so that a person in a calm environment can understand, study and imagine what is depicted on it. For example, when compiling an album of relief icons, we consulted both iconographers and typhlopedagogues (teachers who work with the blind). There are saints here, and George the Victorious, who strikes the serpent, and Matrona of Moscow, and Seraphim of Sarov, and St. Nicholas.

Thus, the main iconographic types are presented. These icons should be in the temple, and, if possible, at home, and in various societies, specialized libraries ... By the way, we sent these collections of icons to all specialized schools in Ukraine (at the moment we have seven schools), to the libraries of the society the blind (according to regional centers), so whoever wants to, will look and find.

You were the first blind person who graduated from the Kharkov Seminary. Have there been other cases like this since you?

To date, I know at least five people with vision problems who have received a spiritual education. One person studied at the Pochaev Seminary, although he was originally from Odessa, but then he took a slightly different path - he began to seriously engage in powerlifting, and, by the way, achieved very good results. There are two more guys: one graduated first from the Volyn Seminary, then from the Uzhgorod Academy; the second graduated from the seminary and academy in Kyiv... We have the only one in Ukraine, that's for sure, a blind hieromonk, Father Pimen Matsolo. This is a man who was ordained when he was already blind. That is, we have blind priests who, for various reasons, lost their sight while in the ministry. And Father Pimen is quite young, he is 27, he is a hieromonk, and - moreover - he heads the pilgrimage department of the Transcarpathian Diocese.

You are communcating?

Of course we communicate! Of the people I named, three people with spiritual education went to the Holy Mountain: me, Bogdan Semey from Kyiv and a guy from the Volyn region, who graduated from the Lutsk Seminary and the Uzhgorod Academy. Five absolutely blind people went to Athos, however, there were three accompanying them. By the way, one of them has a very serious hand injury.

Have you traveled to holy places before?

Even with school, we went to the Svyatogorsk Lavra, before graduation we were also taken to our shrines. As part of these social projects with a group of blind people in 2011 we traveled to the holy places of Crimea, and in 2014 to the shrines of Transcarpathia. Father Pimen Matsolo met us, he organized everything.

It was a very rewarding trip. We visited many monasteries, as well as the monastery of Father Pimen himself in the village of Grushevo, Tyachevsky district, near Romania.

Can you tell us more about your trip to Athos? When it took place, what were the goals?

There is such a person in Ukraine, Vladimir Nikolaevich Tursky. He is an honored lawyer of Ukraine, a lawyer, blind, and he is a very active representative of public organizations. He constantly implements some projects, some ideas. And last year he came to us in Kharkov, brought an exhibition of relief icons. In the Intercession Monastery, it was exhibited on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin. We knew him before, and after that we began to communicate more closely and work in the field of spiritual education and enlightenment of the blind. In December last year, he went to Athos on his own, with a cane. And the idea arose to organize a pilgrimage trip specifically for the blind to Agios Oros, to the Holy Mountain. The Lord directed that this trip took place (from November 7 to 13 we were in Greece, and on the Holy Mountain itself from November 7 to 10 - 4 days, from Monday to Friday).

Everything was organized at the highest level, that is, we were already expected everywhere and received very well. We flew from Kyiv to Thessaloniki on Sunday. We immediately went to the Assumption Convent. The sisters of the monastery settled us in a separate room - they have an apartment that belongs to the monastery. Since the monastery is female, men are not left on the territory. And in the morning, one might even say, almost at night, at 4 o'clock, we left Thessaloniki for Ouranoupolis. They got a visa to Athos. To get there, you need a separate permit - diamonitirion. This is a standard four-day visa, it gives the right to stay in any of the twenty monasteries of Athos. We sailed on the ferry "Axion Estin" ("It is worthy to eat") to the very last pier - Daphne, and from there we took a bus to Karyes, the capital of the Holy Mountain. Then we transferred to another bus and drove to the Great Lavra of St. Athanasius - the most important monastery, which is first on the list. We spent the night, Liturgy in the morning, after that we rented a minibus, and our group visited three monasteries the next day. First we visited Caracal, there we bowed to the icons, from there we went to the monastery, where the miraculous Tver Icon of the Mother of God is located, and arrived in Vatopedi. After that, we went to the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, and on the way we stopped at Xylourga. This is a skete from the St. Panteleimon Monastery, with which, according to legend, there is a connection between the Kiev-Pechersk monasticism.

We had already been staying at the Panteleimon Monastery for two nights. There were services from half past two at night until six in the morning. Then a short rest before eating, about 10 hours - a meal. Moreover, meals on Athos are two times a day, and not three, as we are used to.

And one more interesting point: Athos lives in Byzantine time. European time there coincides with ours, because Athens and Kyiv are in the same time zone. And on Mount Athos, the day begins at sunset: this is where the tradition of the Church originated that Vespers is served on the next holiday. They have both Byzantine time and European time, so you had to carefully look at the clock.

After the service, we boarded the Aksion Estin ferry and went to Dohiar. There we managed to meet with Geronda Gregory, the abbot of this monastery, talk with him, receive a blessing, sing an akathist to the miraculous icon “The Quick Hearer” located there. We had to make it back to the Panteleimon Monastery, but we had to go on foot, and on the way we still really wanted to go to Xenophon, which is located between Dohiar and the Panteleimon Monastery. But we understood that we would not make it before dark. Then Geronda Gregory blessed the truck for us. Together we climbed into his body and part of the way - until the road ended - we were taken. The Lord directed that we managed to get to Xenophon just in time for the moment when the relics were taken out for worship. This is the right hand of George the Victorious, and the head of the First Martyr Archdeacon Stephen, and the right hand of the Monk Marina of Antioch, and a lot of other holy relics to which we were able to venerate.

And again the brethren, wishing to help us, said that they did not have a bus, but they had a truck: they say, if you want, we can give it to you, it will take you to St. Panteleimon. We replied that this was not the case for us again, we came to you in the back of a truck, and with gratitude took advantage of the kindness of the brethren. Already in the dark we were taken to St. Panteleimon.

There we rested a little and went to the night service, which begins at half past one in the night.

On the last day of our stay on Mount Athos, we met with one of the spirit-bearing elders of the Panteleimon Monastery, Father Macarius. We confessed to him, took communion… We were presented with an icon of the healer Panteleimon to the Kharkov Organization of the Blind and had a short tour of the monastery, told about the main points of its history. We also hit the bone.

There is a tradition on Mount Athos: when a monk dies, he is first buried in the ground, and after three years his remains are found. All the main bones are put into a special ossuary, and the bones of the entire brethren are mixed. And the chapters, skulls, are put on a shelf and signed - when the person died, what his name was and what his obedience was: for example, a monk, a clerk of the Great Chancellery, a hieromonk. This, of course, makes a very strong impression - the sight of the remains, the heads - and makes a lot of things rethink.

Although we planned to stay one more day, a storm warning came in and there was a good chance that the ferries would not run the next day. Actually, that's how it happened. The ferry from Ouranoupolis left, reached the extreme point, to the port of Daphne, and did not take people back, because there was a very strong excitement.

If we hadn't left that day, I don't know how we would have got to Thessaloniki and on the plane. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. That is, we had a warning, we heard. We spent the night in Thessaloniki, and the next day we went to the temple of Demetrius of Thessalonica, where the shrine with his relics is located. Myrrh constantly flows from this ark - a very fragrant liquid, surprisingly fragrant. The ark itself is under a Plexiglas cube, and even through this cube you can smell the fragrance. We hit the moment when the brethren removed this cube, rearranged the ark on the table and began to collect myrrh. And we had the opportunity to venerate the ark itself, which stood nearby on the table, to feel that it is all in this fragrant world, what a great grace it is. The Lord, by His mercy, allowed us to such a miracle.

In the evening we had a meeting with the chairman of the Union of the Blind of Northern Greece, Dimitrios (I don't remember his last name, unfortunately). We noticed that in Greece there are problems with parking. That is, vehicles are parked as they want, even on the sidewalks. And when the sidewalk is blocked by a car, then for a blind person this is a very serious problem - in this regard, the situation in our country is better. During the time we were there, in Thessaloniki we did not meet a single sounded traffic light, but the entire center is lined with special tactile relief tiles that help the blind to navigate. We do not have this, and there, in fact, the entire center is laid out. Dimitrios said that this was done not so long ago at the request of the European Union in accordance with accessibility standards.

It turns out that in Ukraine the situation with the adaptation of the blind is somewhat better?

When they ask a question related to infrastructure, architectural, information accessibility, I always say: the most important thing we have is our people who can always help and give advice. Of course, we still have work to do, but still, sounded traffic lights are being installed, and in some places the already mentioned embossed contrast tiles are beginning to appear (in particular, at new metro stations). Why is it so important? Because it is safety. When relief tiles are laid along the edge of the platform, it is less likely that a blind person will fall down. Just before the steps and after them. Therefore, our situation is not very bad. There is, of course, something to strive for and develop.

Is there a merit of public organizations in the fact that the system of adaptation of the blind is developing?

In many ways, yes. There was a very big campaign to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2009, Ukraine ratified both the convention and the protocol, and assumed certain obligations to create conditions for people with disabilities. Public organizations inform the authorities that there are certain problems. As they say, do not do for us without us - you need to consult with representatives of the target audience. And, on the other hand, of course, if we do not declare this, then no one will do anything.

Athos has a rather harsh climate - it is very difficult for an ordinary person there. Was it difficult for you to move?

It's not hard at all. You know, if you ask a person to describe paradise, it will be Athos. Now it is the season for olive picking, trees and roses are still blooming there, persimmons, oranges, tangerines ripen in the gardens of Xylourgou. They grow like our apples. We flew in from our latitudes, and immediately felt the difference in temperatures - it was plus 18. And it’s not difficult to move around, because we understood where we were going, why we were going, and since this is the lot of the Mother of God, she did not leave us with her grace , with your attention. And the truck appeared when it was necessary, and walked a little like. We had escorts, and we ourselves were sufficiently rehabilitated to move around. When the need arose, one of the pilgrims or the brethren helped either to approach the icon, or to walk through the temple, to venerate. In this regard, there were no problems at all. On November 13, we flew to Kyiv, and - nothing happens by accident - on this day the International Day of the Blind is celebrated. And on that day our trip ended. We arrived at the temple of Adrian and Natalia in Kyiv, served a thanksgiving service there, and went back to our homes.

November 12 is the day of memory of the Ozeryanskaya Icon of the Mother of God. How did you celebrate this holiday?

They remembered, prayed and turned to her. A copy of the prototype of the Ozeryansk Icon of the Mother of God was donated to the Xilurgu Skete, and on the very day - November 12 - we were in the Assumption Monastery on the Holy Mountain, and on that day we were presented with the icon of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon. This is very significant, because at one time in the Transfiguration Church of the Kuryazhsky Monastery, these two icons - Ozeryanskaya and Vmch. Panteleimon - stayed in the right and left limits of the temple of this ancient monastery. The Ozeryansk icon is especially revered by Vladimir Nikolaevich Tursky, and it was he who once brought it to Athos.

What were your goals, or was it just an ordinary trip?

Senior Lecturer of the Department of Journalism of V. N. Karaz Kharkiv National University spoke with Igor Shramkoina Alexandra Dracheva

________________________

Leonard Leopoldovich Girshman (1839 - 1921) an outstanding ophthalmologist, founder of the Kharkov University Eye Clinic, where he successfully treated complex eye diseases, often absolutely free of charge.

The Ozeryansk Icon of the Mother of God is the main shrine and patroness of the city of Kharkov and Slobozhanshchina. It was from this icon that the writer G. Kvitka Osnovyanenko (1778 - 1843) received healing from blindness in childhood. The icon in Braille format was presented to the Kharkiv Holy Intercession Monastery by the head of the All-Ukrainian Benevolent Organization for the Disabled and Pensioners “For Disguise to the Truth” V. N. Tursky.

On Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent, the Holy Church celebrates. Otherwise, this holiday is called the Saturday of the Akathist, composed in gratitude for the miraculous deliverance from troubles through the intercession of the Mother of God. About a small fraction of the modern miracles of the Mother of God - these stories.

In 2016, having retired from service, I took a ticket to a sanatorium in Sochi. Came out, I remember, on the coast. It was a clear sunny day. The sea is calm: not a single wave. Exactly at noon I saw a flock of dolphins swimming up to the shore, began to count: 12. I sat in a sun lounger and watched them. Suddenly I realized that they were pushing some object to the coastal edge of the water ... When the dolphins disappeared, a single wave suddenly rolled up, which I generally noticed that day, and threw this bundle onto the sand. I paid attention to him, but soon I was distracted by business and I left the beach for a while. I return, and this sea offering still lies in the same place ... I took out an e-book and tried to go into reading, and my inner voice kept repeating:

Open the bag. Open the bag.

I obeyed. Approached. The bag was covered in mud. Removed these algae. He began to untie the twine. The contents turned out to be tied around a man's sweater, fastened with clerical needles with plastic tips. I unfold the sweater, and there is an icon! Mother of God.

I called my mother, sent home a picture of the find via whatsapp.

Mom said:

Sent to you - take it.

Although immediately someone came up and offered to take the shrine to the temple. But I still listened to my mother. Later Schema-Archimandrite Eli (Nozdrin) confirmed this decision to me when I brought him an icon in Peredelkino. Archpriest Valerian Krechetov was still next to him then. I wanted to give the icon to them, but Father Eli said:

Let her stay with you.

This icon is miraculous. How many times has it happened that colleagues who had some serious problems in life came to my house, and I told them:

Believe, pray! Just ask the Mother of God in your own words!

And each time, in a completely miraculous way, everything in the lives of these people was resolved.

My own life has completely changed. Somehow, everything started to turn out right. On the Internet, someone wrote something about this case, but there are a lot of lies. For some reason, they wrote that I was there with my wife, and I just got married a year ago! I feel the help and patronage of the Most Holy Theotokos.

How the Mother of God stood up when the doctors refused

, resident of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra:

I remember how in the 1970s the monks of the Lavra were prevented from holding separate unctions. Like, enough for believers and one common unction on Great Wednesday. And soon a very young girl living in the neighborhood of Lavra fell ill. She worked as an accountant in a children's dispensary. They built something in the yard of the institution, dug holes, and by negligence she fell and hurt herself. Some kind of hard lump had formed in her, she thought it would pass, but as it seemed to the doctors, they diagnosed cancer, and already with metastases ... She lay alone in the ward of the Botkin hospital, and burst into tears:

Why, Lord?

The Mother of God said: “Lydia, why are you murmuring? Nobody left you"

And I saw the Most Holy Theotokos right in the ward:

Lydia, why are you murmuring? Nobody left you.

Doctors refused her, sent her home as hopeless. Her mother was a believer, she immediately turned to the monks of the Lavra with a request to consecrate and take communion.

The girl was brought to the Lavra, and we closed ourselves in the Mikheev Church, without turning on the light, by candlelight we consecrated her. Then she took communion three times and returned to work healthy.

How did you get healed? her colleagues ask.

The Lord healed, Communion, she answered.

You just need to believe, pray, the Mother of God will hear, the Lord will not leave.

The Lord never leaves us, we ourselves move away from Him. An unspiritual person deprives himself of the right to help from above. Divine mercy can only be used by those who lead a spiritual life and thus draw closer to God. Such a person does not remain a loser either in this or in another life. Even if he dies suddenly, he is ready for eternity.

God's help cannot be hindered by either man or the devil. Nothing is difficult either for God or for the saints. Only our lack of faith can become an obstacle. Lack of faith in us prevents the great power of God from approaching us. Our earthly, human beginning does not allow us to know the Divine beginning, which is immeasurably greater than the human forces of the whole world, for the Divine power is infinite.

God gives his help where it is needed because nothing can be done by human forces. But He will not help our foolishness. If a person had a desire to do what was in his power, but something prevented him, then the Lord will not leave him. If he had the opportunity, but did not have the desire, God will not help him. We must do what is within our power and entrust to God what cannot be done by human power. And if you do a little more than you can, not out of self-love, but out of spiritual zeal, because you think that you have not put in enough effort yet, then the Lord will notice this too. Such zeal will please Him, and He will give you a helping hand. The Lord wants us to make an effort to earn His mercy. Therefore, we must do what is possible so that God can do the impossible.

There is no need to ask God for something that can be done by people. You need to humble yourself before others and turn to them for help. However, one can act humanly only up to a certain point, and then lay everything on God. We try to succeed in what cannot be done by our own strength, out of self-love. I often see that such unreasonable stubbornness is prompted by the devil in order to unsettle a person. I understand a little about up to what point you can make your own efforts, and when you need to put your trust in God, therefore, when I understand that human strength is not enough, I light a candle, raise my hands to heaven and grant all the graces of God. And the difficult matter is immediately arranged, because the Lord knows that I am shifting everything to Him, not because I myself am too lazy to help. So, when our help is needed, we must be prudent and act within our means. And where we are powerless, we will help, if only by prayer, or we will entrust everything to God, which is also a kind of mysterious prayer.

The Lord is mercy and love, and He takes care of all our needs.

If we ask for something in prayer, He gives it to us if it benefits us. God abundantly sends us everything we need for our physical existence and for the salvation of our soul. And if we do not receive what we ask, then this happens either for our test, or in order to protect us, therefore we should accept this without the slightest discontent. The Lord knows how and when to come to the aid of His creation, and He does it in the best way at the most suitable time for this. However, His faint-hearted children often lack patience, and they insistently want to get what they want right away, like a small child who begs a pie from his mother, although it is not yet ready, and does not want to wait a little while until it is baked. We must pray and endure, and our caring Mother, the Most Holy Theotokos, will give us what we ask for when the time comes.

— Geronda, why should we ask God for help if He knows what we need?

We have free will. And besides, we please the Lord when we sympathize with our neighbor and pray to help him, because then He acts without violating anyone's free will. God is always ready to help His children who are in trouble, but in order for Him to do this, someone must ask Him about it, otherwise Satan can claim his rights and say: “Helping him, You violate the freedom of human will. He is a sinner, therefore he belongs to me." You see how infinite is God's generosity, He even gives the devil the opportunity to express disagreement. Therefore, if we are waiting for Divine intervention, we should pray for it. And the Lord will already give everyone what he needs and will benefit.

“Ask and it will be given,” says the Gospel. If we do not pray to the Lord for help, we do not achieve success, but if we resort to His mercy, then Christ unites us with strong bonds with His grace and thus protects us from danger. The whirlwind swoops in from there, then from here, but we are not afraid of it. However, if a person does not realize who protects him, then he breaks these bonds and moves away from Christ. Then the storms of life fall on him from everywhere, and his life turns into torment.

In order to receive help from God, we must contribute to this with our humility of mind. If we say: “Lord, I am a good-for-nothing person, I pray You, have mercy on me and help me,” then God fulfills our petition, because the one who, with complete trust, humbly surrenders himself into His hands, receives the right to His help.

Most of today's people are in a terrible state and do whatever they please. Some use drugs, others live on drugs; periodically, a few deluded madmen create a new sect; someone, tired of the meaninglessness of his existence, tries either to commit suicide, or to do more outrages, to turn everything around upside down. And although we have reached such a terrible state through our own fault, the Lord does not turn away from us, on the contrary, He tirelessly protects the modern world. Mankind lives now, as if on a powder keg, and God in every possible way protects it from evil, like a mother of her baby. But we do not understand that in our era the Lord, His Most Pure Mother and saints come to the aid of people much more often than in the old days. What would happen to us now without help from above - it's scary to think, because people are in a state of semi-madness. Someone is drunk, someone is burdened by his life, one is exhausted by insomnia, the other is brainwashed. And at the same time, they all get behind the wheel of a car, ride motorcycles, work on machine tools, etc. Is it possible to do all this in such a state? How many people could have already been injured or killed! How the Lord protects us, but we do not even understand it.

Too many people now do not understand how many dangers God delivers us from, do not even think about it, and do not praise Him. Therefore, let us pray that the help of Christ, the Most Pure Theotokos and the saints would be tangible, so that the understanding of this would benefit people. Many get rid of imminent death, but far from all understand this and correct their lives.

Christ from heaven sees the actions of each of the people and knows when and how He will intervene in our destiny for our good. He alone knows where and how to direct us, we only need to ask Him for help, trust Him with our aspirations and allow Him to arrange everything according to His will.

If our prayer for the needs of the world with pain and compassion erupts from the depths of the heart, then those who at this time ask for God's help immediately receive it.

The Blessed Virgin Mary helps not only semi-legendary people from ancient legends, but also you and me - you just need to ask. The stories of the help of the Mother of God in different life situations are shared by the priests of our diocese.

Temperance in Prayer

Archpriest Leonid Dotsenko, Dean of the Dobropilsky District:

The Mother of God helps, but sometimes it turns out that we are not ready to accept Her help. We ask: “Mother of God, give me that, another, third, tenth!” She gives, and when we receive, we understand that we don’t need it at all.

I will tell you about a lesson I recently received from the Most Holy Theotokos. We with the priests of our deanery asked about one important thing. The Mother of God heard us, we received help, but continued to ask for more: the more good, the better. As a result, they gave us more, but it became clear: it would be better if we stopped in time.

We must ask that it be not the way we want, but the way the Lord and the Mother of God want. They know better than to help us. It's also important not to overdo it. You see that it has come true - that's it, you have to stop, otherwise it will be too much. Remember the cartoon "Golden Antelope"? The magic antelope asked the king: “Are you sure that you need a lot of gold and you will never say “enough”?” You need to be able to tell yourself “enough” at the right time. Asked a little - stop. Failed - please wait. Sometimes it turns out that we do not need what we beg for. The desired may be fulfilled in such a way that a person will not be happy.

Cover during the war

Archpriest Nikolai Markovsky, rector of the Church of the Intercession of the village. Zaitsevo:

For us, the inhabitants of the village of Zaitsevo, the parishioners of the Church of the Intercession, the most important miracle is that today our church stands whole and unharmed. Regular services are held in it, there is a Sunday school, the parish lives a full-fledged Christian life. Seeing literally a few meters from our church houses that burned down from shells, I understand that this is a real miracle and a sign of the patronage of the Mother of God.

Mariyka, who could not be born

Archpriest Anatoly Kostenko, rector of the Dormition Church in the village. Svyatogorovka:

People from Kurakhovo recently came to us. A woman comes up to me and asks: “Father, do you remember us?” - “Well, someone, but I remember you!” - I answer. Six years ago, this woman came to our temple - she came with her husband to the springs. The fact is that in our village there are two sources: one is consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring", the second - the healer Panteleimon. These people did not have children because the wife had a cyst. I said: “Pray to the Mother of God, the healer Panteleimon, Nikolai Ugodnik, take communion, gather together. You have to work hard, not just ask.”

Time passes, they were not seen for a long time. Somehow during the service I see: she comes in and holds a child in her arms held high - she shows me. The service is going on, and she says: “Father, here is your Mariyka!” Then the choir will burst out! .. I laughed, I said: “The whole temple was praying for you, so don’t turn on me!”

Then this woman told how it all happened. They did everything as required. After a while, she came to the doctor, and he said: “There are no cysts, you don’t need anything, no operations. How were you treated? She replies: "I was swimming." The doctor says: “We all swim! Come on, be more specific!” “I bathed in the spring,” he says. Her cyst passed, she gave birth without any operations whatsoever. This is a great blessing of the Mother of God. Recently, this woman came to us, she says that her daughter is already going to school this year.

The second miracle is connected with the construction of the temple. We started building a church in honor of the Three-Handed Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Verovka, five kilometers from our village. Found ten people who will move other people. Of course, they began to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos. As a result, in a month and a half we have done so much that it is hard to believe. It can only be called a miracle. There was no money at all. We laid the foundation for three subbotniks ourselves, it was cheap. The forest was promised - 30 cubic meters. Thought it would be a long wait. They call: we will bring it in a week, wait. Let me run around looking for money. There were people, there was money. Two people arrived from Transcarpathia. We unloaded the timber on August 13, and we put them on the return train on the 25th. During this time they built the walls, the altar and covered the roof. In fact, a log temple grew in ten days. I asked: “Boys, do you need help?” - "The Mother of God will help!" - answered. From morning to evening they worked, and the temple rose. Of course, we still need to make a dome, there is a lot of work, but the help of the Mother of God is simply the greatest. It is simply impossible to do so much from scratch in a month and a half.

The third story is about our parishioner. We have a pensioner. Once he came, donated five thousand hryvnias for the temple, then the same amount again. For the average person, this is a big amount. After a while, he comes up to me and says: “Father, they will probably kick me out of work!” They began to change personnel there, he is a pensioner, it turned out that he would be fired. I say: “Here is the Mother of God, here is Nikolai the Pleasant. Go and pray!" He prayed. Time passes, and what happened? He was not fired, but transferred to another position: he became deputy director, he works, and it has also become more convenient to get to. After that, he bought a large candlestick and brought it to the temple, as a gift to the Mother of God and Nikolai Ugodnik.

We have a lot of such cases, we don't even write them down. Those who do not have children, whose children stutter, come to our springs. There have been many healings. The Mother of God takes pity on us, sinners and unsettled ones. She cries and asks for us before the Lord. Let us pray to Her and thank her for her help!

The story of the temple and two icons

An old building handed over to the community

Archpriest Georgy Klapchuk, Rector of the Makarievsky Church in Toretsk:

My priestly service is closely connected with the Mother of God, because the first church in which I served was consecrated in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. It is located in the village of Druzhba, not far from Toretsk. The temple is atypical - an adapted building of the former canteen of the state farm. What is surprising is that it was built in a cruciform shape, moreover: when the building was adapted for the temple, the altar was in the right place, on the east side. We could not find any information about why this happened. I believe that this is the providence of the Mother of God.

There was nothing in this building, it was dilapidated, part of the roof was leaking. We blocked it with slate, equipped it. For many years I had a dream: to have a dome in the temple that takes a person’s gaze upwards, to have windows in it - I saw one in the St. Nicholas Church of the Svyatogorsk Lavra. I dreamed of dreaming, but I understood that in reality this is impossible: the village is quite small, there are few people, there are no patrons.

Ten years passed, and finally a man appeared who agreed to help us restore the temple. It was Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov, who at one time was the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and at that time - the chairman of the Federation Council. He was a native of the village, we turned to him for help, and he did not refuse.

As a result, we drilled a good well, a spring appeared on the territory of the temple, consecrated in honor of the Mother of God, wonderful bells were purchased, a wooden bell tower was built, which Nikolai Ivanovich himself designed. And the temple is crowned with a dome - the one I dreamed of. I believe that it was the Mother of God who showed Her mercy and performed such a miracle: a beautiful church now stands in the village.

The amazing help of the Mother of God to our church did not end there. One parishioner's son worked in the Mother of God-Rozhdestvensky stauropegial convent in Moscow. He asked Abbess Victorina (Perminova) to paint the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God for our church, and she gave her blessing for that. The icon appeared even before the reconstruction of the temple - large and very beautiful. I still have a certificate stating that the monastery donates this icon to our church.

I can't help but recall another curious incident. My wife's father was also a priest. He gave her an old image of the Mother of God. It depicts the appearance of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas to George Ponomar.

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Conversational" got its name because it depicts the Most Pure Mother and St. Nicholas of Myra, who are talking with sexton George. This event took place shortly after the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God - in 1383, when the Most Holy Theotokos ordered sexton George to say that not an iron, but a wooden cross was placed over the temple in her honor, consecrated in Tikhvin. - Approx. ed.

This icon is kept in our family until now. Father Valery gave it to my wife even before we met her. It is providential that I am George, and they ordained me to the church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. This is a miracle for our family.