Part of the relics of St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) was donated to the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan

December 6, 2023. Alma-Ata. In the spiritual, cultural and administrative center of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District named after Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), a meeting was held between Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan with the hierarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church - Bishop Hesychius of Valevka.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Porfiry of Serbia, a great shrine was donated to the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan from the Serbian Orthodox Church - part of the relics of one of the most famous and revered Serbian saints of God throughout the world - St. Nicholas (Velimirović), Bishop of Ohrid and Žić. Along with a particle of the holy relics, an icon of the saint, painted by master isographers of the Valevka diocese, was presented.

The Metropolitan accepted the shrine with gratitude, noting that St. Nicholas of Serbia is deeply revered by Orthodox Kazakhstanis and his spiritual teachings are well known to believers and resonate in the hearts of many people, both churchgoers and those seeking their path to God.

The head of the Metropolitan District expressed words of heartfelt gratitude to the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the sacred gift to Kazakhstan.

Saint Nicholas (Velimirović) was born on the feast day of Saint Naum of Ohrid in 1880. His parents, peasant farmers, always stopped work for daily prayer and observed the church guard and liturgical ritual. Raised from infancy in love for God and the Church, Saint Nicholas later became the “new Chrysostom,” known and loved throughout the Orthodox world for his sermons, instructions and teachings. He became a monk, then a priest and was subsequently ordained Bishop of Žić at the age of 39. During World War II he suffered in the Dachau concentration camp. After the war, he saved many abandoned Serbian monasteries from destruction, sending nuns there instead of monks who were tortured, imprisoned or called up for military service. He labored as an archpastor and spiritual mentor in America and died at St. Tikhon's Monastery in South Kanan, Pennsylvania. His relics were transferred in 1991 to his home village of Lelic. His disciple, the Monk Justin of Cheli (Popovich) said: “Vladyka Nicholas is the greatest son of the Serbian people after Saint Sava of Serbia!” He is the author of fifteen volumes of works beloved in the Orthodox world. Reading them strengthens faith, fatherly instructing modern man on the path of Truth.

Memorial days of St. Nicholas of Serbia: March 5/March 18, April 20/May 3, August 30/September 12.