Church of St. Nicholas of Japan in Moscow
February 28, 2007. 8 hours 30 minutes. Lenten service began in the parish of the Moscow Saints, located in the north of the capital in the Bibirevo microdistrict. Watch. Fine. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. But why is the rector Hieromonk Sergius (Rybko) not in the church? With a cell phone in hand, a slightly agitated Father Sergiy is in the churchyard. Apparently, they are happily waiting for someone ... The carpet path leading to the basement church has already been paved. At 8:55 a.m., a car stops at the gate, from which guests get out - the primate of the Sendai Diocese of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church, Bishop Seraphim (Tsujie) and the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate in Tokyo, an Orthodox translator, Archpriest John Nagaya. Vladyka Seraphim and Father John made a special trip to Bibirevo to visit the only church in Moscow in honor of the patron saint of Japan. Orthodox Church- Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan.
Hieromonk Sergius (Rybko) greets distinguished guests and introduces them to the history of the parish. The wooden church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God in the village of Bibirevo has been known since the 16th century and was originally in the possession of the Kremlin's Ascension Monastery. In 1755 the church was rebuilt. In 1893-1894, a stone temple was erected next to the wooden one in gratitude to God for delivering the villagers from cholera through prayers. St. Sergius Radonezh. In 1937 the wooden church was demolished. Services in the stone church have been resumed since 1990. However, the temple accommodated only a small number of parishioners. At the same time, the population of this northern microdistrict is 200 thousand people, and there are only 15 churches here. Therefore, since the late 1990s, Hieromonk Sergiy (Rybko) has been appointed rector of the parish in Bibirevo, who was instructed to build a majestic Cathedral here - a new Orthodox missionary center in the north of the Russian capital. The construction of such large complex requires a lot of effort and time. However, by 2005, it became possible to hold services in the basement church of the Cathedral, consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas Equal-to-the-Apostles, Enlightener of Japan. The rector of the parish fell in love with the feat of life and the work of the missionary while still studying at the seminary and academy, and only a little later did hieromonk Sergius learn that Archbishop Nikolai (Kasatkin) was his countryman, a native of the modern Tver region. For the third year in a row, solemn services have been held in the church on the days of the memory of St. Nicholas.
Hieromonk Sergius is in charge of another parish - the Descent of the Holy Spirit at the former Lazarevsky cemetery. High altar The temple, built in 1758 and renovated in 1782-1786, was consecrated in honor of Lazar the Four Days. In 1903-1904, this ancient three-altar church in the style of early classicism was expanded so that more believers could participate in divine services. Closed in 1932, like many other parishes, the church became operational again in 1991. To raise funds for the construction of a temple in Bibirevo, the sisterhood, widely known at the beginning of the 20th century, was renewed in the parish of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. At that time, the sisters took care of the sick and elderly, supported the traditions of Russian church music, and often received Patriarch Tikhon. In April 1925, a date was fixed in the parish children's holiday and the sisters impatiently awaited His Holiness, not knowing that St. Tikhon had already departed to the Lord. Now the sisterhood is mainly engaged in publishing activities, releasing, among other things, the lives of the saints, akathists, books by writers of the 19th century, and the collected works of L.A. Charskaya. It is also planned to publish the life of St. Nicholas of Japan.
Bishop Seraphim of Sendai brought icons from Japan as a gift to the parish, and was very glad to hear words of greeting in Japanese from the clergy of the temple. Bishop Seraphim wished the speedy completion of the construction of the Cathedral of Moscow Saints - after all, in modern Russia just as in Japan, there are still many opportunities for missionary and educational activities, similar to the one to which Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan dedicated his life. Vladyka Seraphim hopes to come again to serve Divine Liturgy already in the main altar of the Cathedral, and the clergy of the temple promised to learn more about the Japanese Orthodox Church and learn some hymns in Japanese.
Japanese Orthodox Church and Russian Orthodox Church in Japan.
If you inquire about the Orthodox Church in Tokyo, the first thing they will tell you about is the Church of St. Nicholas (or Nikoray-do, as it is called). This temple of Russian-Byzantine architecture of the late 19th century is located on Surugadai Hill at Ochanomizu Station, and stands out sharply from the rest of the buildings, although it cannot be said that it contradicts the surrounding landscape, but one can even say that it harmoniously merges into it. It is impossible not to find it, the signs will lead you straight from the station. Officially called the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the temple is a cathedral in the Tokyo diocese, and its primate is the Archbishop of Tokyo, Metropolitan of All Japan Daniel (Ikuo Nushiro). Built at the end of the 19th century by Nicholas of Japan, the first Orthodox missionary in Japan, the temple was destroyed during the 1923 Kanto earthquake and restored, and now it can be called the main temple of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church. Total in Japan 70 Orthodox churches and about 36 thousand Orthodox believers. Services in the church of St. Nicholas are held strictly according to the schedule and in accordance with Orthodox customs. However, anyone can attend the liturgy, regardless of nationality and religion.
How is the service in the Japanese Orthodox Church, and is it very different from the service in the Russian? Let's try to describe this using the example of the Church of St. Nicholas in Tokyo.
It should be noted that the difference is striking immediately upon entering the temple. And not only in the eyes. Interior decoration of a huge temple with white walls with a relatively small number of icons (which is already unusual) dazzles with the brilliance of gold frames, grandeur and splendor, chairs arranged in rows involuntarily remind of catholic church, candles do not seem quite the “correct” size and also smell somehow “wrong”. In a word, the atmosphere in the temple is different. If you can talk about the "Orthodox atmosphere", then it is quite Orthodox (except that half of the parishioners do not cover their heads, and some come in trousers), but it is different. This is the specific atmosphere of the Japanese Orthodox Church. The parishioners are mostly Japanese. Only one Russian face could be seen among the ministers. In addition to Japanese and Russian parishioners, believers from Africa and Arab countries also attend the service.
The numerous choir is composed of Japanese and stands, as expected, in the right front of the church, in front of a huge music stand and under the direction of a conductor. He sings harmoniously and harmoniously, which is further emphasized by the excellent acoustics of the temple. The singing of church ministers from the altar part sounds amazingly beautiful, as if in response to the choir.
The service is held according to the established order, with the reading of the Bible in Japanese (which, by the way, is distributed in Russian), with joint prayers and a sermon at the end. With the exception of small inserts, everything happens in Japanese, which was made possible thanks to Nicholas of Japan, who translated most of the texts into Japanese, which is as related to modern as modern Russian is related to Old Church Slavonic. Despite the fact that chairs are placed in the church, no one sits on them during the service. Before the start of the service, Archbishop Daniel is vested in the central part of the church to the singing of the choir.
The service leaves a bright and joyful feeling, as it should be, but does not leave a feeling of some alienation. Maybe because the service is in Japanese, maybe because of a slightly different environment. Be that as it may, you should not be upset, because in Tokyo there is also a Russian Orthodox Church, preserved without any changes. It is called the Compound of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Japan and is located in the northern part of central Tokyo in a quiet lane. The church does not have its own premises, and it huddles in a building provided by the Russian Embassy in Japan. 
In this church, you can meet mainly Russian parishioners, because it is a Russian Orthodox Church, only in Japan, and its rector is also Russian - Archpriest Nikolai Katsiuban, who maintains active cooperation with the Japanese Orthodox Church. The main activity of the Compound is aimed at our compatriots - Orthodox believers, temporarily or permanently residing in Japan. The church conducts educational activities only within its own borders, and as a representative office of the Russian Orthodox Church in Japan, the Compound carries out information mediation between the Russian Orthodox Church and other Churches, religious communities, public organizations of Japan, as well as organizing the pilgrimage of Japanese believers to Russia. The metochion originated from Japanese parishes run by the Moscow Patriarchate during the formation of the Orthodox Church in Japan.
At first glance, it is difficult to make out that this is a church: a small house, the most ordinary gate, there are no domes in sight. But then you notice that there is a cross above the entrance, that compatriots are crowding around, the female choir is quietly learning chants, and when you go inside, you immediately understand: here it is, that very atmosphere, and candles of the right size, and that smell, and the icons seem to be more familiar. The atmosphere in this small church can be said to be homely: the priest knows all the parishioners by name, and the parishioners know each other, actively participate in the life of the church and sing in a choir led by two Japanese women, who, however, speak and sing in Russian. The service is held in Russian with small Japanese inserts. The clergy are both Russian and Japanese, while the Japanese priest freely reads sermons in Russian. The courtyard collects money for the construction of the temple: after all, a church should be a church not only inside, but also outside, even if it is on foreign land.
So the Japanese Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church in Japan are two different institutions, which, however, cooperate and participate in joint activities. God willing, our church will soon build a worthy temple and unite even more Russian Orthodox believers who have been cut off from home.
On February 16, 2007, on Friday of Cheese Week, when according to the charter it is not supposed to serve the liturgy, a solemn service will be held in the Moscow church in the name of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan in honor of the patronal feast - the day of the repose of the saint.“On February 3 (February 16, according to the new style) at 7 pm, and in St. Petersburg around 12 pm, His Eminence Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan, passed away ... He peacefully, without any near-death suffering, but after a long and serious illness, reposed in the Lord in the 76th year of his life, in the 52nd year of his service to the Church of God, in the 51st year from the time of his arrival in Japan . I wept bitterly, standing at the bedside of Vladyka, who had just left me alone… Alone… An orphan… The mystery of death… The mystery of the great will of God… But this did not make my heart feel better, and it cried…,” recalls the missionary’s successor, Bishop Sergius (Tikhomirov) of the mournful day of 1912.
It seemed that all of Japan wanted to say goodbye to the archpastor: Christians from many parishes in Japan hurried to the cathedral; the mission received telegrams of condolences from foreign representatives, from believers and non-believers of the Japanese.
Several Japanese Christians continuously read the Gospel at the body of Archbishop Nicholas, and panikhidas were served one after another in the cathedral. Only six days later, on February 9/22, the burial was performed. “At the beginning of the ringing, they carried the coffin around the cathedral, installed it on a chariot and, having built a procession ... went to the Yanaka cemetery ... The wind frantically tears our banners ... Pupils, pupils go ... Everyone is holding palm branches - “a symbol of faith in the victory of the lord’s cause in Japan” ... Numerous flowers ... Hundreds of wreaths ... orders of the lord ... And a ribbon, an endless ribbon of Christians! . “The highest honor that Japan paid to Vladyka Archbishop Nicholas was that he himself emperor Japan ... sent a magnificent and huge wreath of fresh flowers to the coffin of Vladyka. Myself emperor Japan crowned the head of the saint of God with victorious flowers! .. There are two hieroglyphs inside the wreath: The highest gift. And all the Japanese saw these two hieroglyphs, read them, and reverently bowed their heads before the wreath! throne”, Bishop Sergius (Tikhomirov) notes.Now in Japan, which has become the second homeland for Archbishop Nicholas, there are 69 Orthodox parishes. Temples were built in most of them, and in some, believers gather in house churches. At every liturgy in all parishes of the Japanese Orthodox Church, a troparion is sung to St. Nicholas, who was glorified as a saint in 1970. Several churches were consecrated in the name of the archpastor and founder of the Orthodox Church in Japan: a chapel on the territory of the Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo, transformed in 2005 into an Orthodox monastery, one of the chapels of the Tokyo Cathedral itself, the Church of St. Nicholas in Maebashi (Tokyo Metropolis).
Every temple in Japan has an icon or fresco of the patron saint of this Local Church. The honest remains of St. Nicholas Equal-to-the-Apostles now lie at Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo. But particles of the relics of the saint can still be found in some churches: in the Tokyo Cathedral there is a relic of St. Nicholas, an icon with particles of relics has recently appeared in Hakodate, where Hieromonk Nicholas had just begun his sermon almost 150 years ago. In 2003, Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo donated a piece of the missionary's relics to the parish in his homeland, in the village of Bereza.
The missionary is also honored in many other countries. In Korea, they remember the missionary help of St. Nicholas and Metropolitan Sergius (Tikhomirov) and the training of many Korean Orthodox pastors at the Tokyo Theological Seminary. Finland and Bulgaria have their own images of the saint.
In Johannesburg (South Africa) in 1987, a society named after St. Nicholas of Japan was established. Subsequently, it was transformed into a parish of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and now services are performed there in their own church, consecrated in the name of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas. The liturgy has been translated into Afrikaans, but both Slavic and Byzantine chants can be heard.
In America, St. Nicholas is revered by the parishioners of the American, Antioch, and Russian Orthodox Churches Abroad. In 2004, in Plymouth, California, a parish of the American Orthodox Church was formed in the name of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan.
The icons of the archpastor are in cathedral in Washington, in the monastery of St. John of Shanghai in California, in the Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, in the cathedral Holy Mother of God Russian Church Abroad in San Francisco.
The Monastery of St. John of Shanghai released the first historical collection in English, dedicated to the work of the missionary and the life of the Japanese Orthodox Church. At first it was a thematic issue of an Orthodox magazine, and then, in 2005, a separate book was published.
The convent in Jordanville has long welcomed Japanese students to its seminary. Here they studied English, Russian and ancient languages in order to read the works of the Holy Fathers and even translate them into Japanese.
Archbishop Nicholas is remembered at the Narva Orthodox Gymnasium in Estonia. Her teacher Roman Tsurkan contributed to the publication in 2002 of part of the manuscript heritage - the letters of the saint - as a separate book, which has already become a bibliographic rarity due to the limited edition. This edition preceded the five-volume diaries of the saint and became a valuable material for researchers.
In the homeland of the Equal-to-the-Apostles missionary, they remember his service and honor him in the host of Russian saints: “Hearing the voice of the Gospel and inflamed with apostolic zeal, rush into the teaching of unfaithful languages, the Blessed Equal-to-the-Apostles Kuksha, Leonty, Stefan and Guriy, Herman of Alaska, and St. Father Nicholas of Japan, and the venerable Innocent, the great Siberian countries of the apostle and the enlightenment beyond the sea of existing new countries in the original America. The same with all the others who have labored in the gospel of Christ, you are more worthy to be pleased ”(stichera on “Praise”, Service to All the Saints, who shone in the lands of Russia).
In the Trinity Cathedral of the Moscow Danilov Monastery, in the aisle of the Ustyug miracle workers of the capital's Small Ascension Church, in the church near Moscow in Golitsyn and many other churches, you can see frescoes and icons depicting St. Nicholas of Japan.
Prayers to St. Nicholas of Japan are also offered up in Perm, in a church under construction dedicated to his colleague and second heavenly patron of the Japanese Orthodox Church, Hieromartyr Andronicus of Perm, the first Bishop of Kyoto.
The missionary is not forgotten in the Moscow Spaso-Andronicus Monastery, where another employee of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Japan served, Hieromonk Vladimir (Sokolovsky), who later became Archbishop of Yekaterinoslav. He was also the last rector of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery before its closure.
In Russia, until recently, there was only one church in the name of Archbishop Nikolai - this was the church restored in 2003 in the homeland of the missionary in the village of Bereza, Tver Region.
Since the Nativity of Christ in 2005, the troparion to the saint has been sung in another church dedicated to him, located in the basement of the church under construction in honor of the Cathedral of the Moscow Saints (Moscow, Bibirevo). The rector of the church under construction, Hieromonk Sergius (Rybko), says that from his youth he was very fond of reading the works of St. Nicholas and always admired his apostolic feat. The selfless half-century pastoral service of the missionary since 1861 contributed to the construction of almost 200 Orthodox churches in a non-Christian country, the opening of almost 300 parishes and the baptism of tens of thousands of people. Saint Nicholas, with the help of his colleague Pavel Nakai, translated Holy Bible and the main circle of worship into Japanese. And only a few years ago, Father Sergius found out that he was a fellow missionary: the village of Bereza is not far from his small homeland, also located in the Tver region.
A few months ago, during a trip to the churches and monasteries of Russia, the regent of the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in Nagoya (Western Japanese Diocese), mother Maria Matsushima, visited Bibirevo. “During the service, I looked at the large icon of St. Nicholas Equal to the Apostles, and at some point it seemed to me that I was in my homeland, in Nagoya, and not in Moscow,” she recalled.
“To the enlightener of Japan, Saint Nicholas, hierarch Equal to the Apostles, pray Life-Giving Trinity about all your flock and about the whole world,” they turn to the saint on each of the four largest islands of the Japanese archipelago, in a small parish in Bereza and in the capital’s church in Bibirevo, and pray for the formation of Orthodoxy both in Japan and in Russia and for the speedy completion of the construction of a church in honor of all Moscow saints – the future largest Orthodox parish and missionary center in the north of our capital.
Galina Bestremyannaya
15 / 02 / 2007
Church in the name of St. Nicholas Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan was built in the village. Mirny Oleninsky district, on the right bank of the river. Birches, in 1997-2003 and consecrated in 2003.
Museum of St. Nicholas
In the district center Olenino opened a museum of St. Nicholas of Japan, created on the basis of materials collected in the village. Mirny.
Historical reference
The temple is wooden, built at the expense of philanthropists and donations from parishioners. This is the first church in Russia dedicated to St. Nicholas of Japan Equal to the Apostles. Now there is another temple with such a dedication - in Moscow. The two-storey church has two chapels: the lower one is in honor of the blessed old woman Matrona of Moscow, the upper one is in honor of St. Nicholas of Japan. At the temple operates Sunday School, which teaches the history of the Church, the Law of God, choral singing, classes are held on English language, there is a sports section on ancient Russian martial arts "System".
Church in honor of St. Nicholas of Japan in the village. Mirny is located 2 km from the former Birch churchyard - the birthplace of the saint. On the site of his house in 1998 was erected worship cross and a commemorative plaque with text in two languages was installed. The event was attended by a representative of the Japanese Embassy in Russia. Not far from this place was a stone church of the Ascension of the Lord (1748) with side chapels in the name of the Monk Theodosius of Totemsky and Great Martyr George the Victorious (1812). The father of St. Nicholas served in this church. survived even the second world war, the temple was dismantled in peacetime into bricks by order of the godless authorities.
Archbishop Nicholas of Japan (in the world - Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin) was born on August 13, 1836 in the Berezovsky churchyard of the then Belsky district of the Smolensk province, now the village of Bereza, Oleninsky district, Tver region, in the family of a deacon. Bishop of the Russian Church, missionary, founder of the Orthodox Church in Japan, honorary member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society. Glorified among the saints as equal to the apostles; commemoration - 16 February. He graduated from the Belsk Theological School and the Smolensk Theological Seminary. Among the best students in 1857, he was recommended and entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, where in 1860, having learned that there was a vacancy for the position of rector of the church at the recently opened Russian consulate in the city of Hakodate (Japan), he applied and was elected for this ministry. Then he took the tonsure, and on July 2, 1861, he arrived in Hakodate.
In the first years of his stay in Japan, Fr. Nikolai independently studied the Japanese language, culture and life of the Japanese and dealt with organizational issues for the opening of the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church. The first Japanese to convert to Christianity, Fr. Nicholas in 1868, was the Shinto priest Takuma Sawabe, a former samurai who came to Fr. Nicholas to kill him, as he believed that Christianity was a means used by other states to capture Japan. But the saint stopped him, saying that one cannot judge any subject without knowing it. This statement intrigued the shintoist. Subsequently, he often spoke with Fr. Nikolay, with curiosity absorbed the teaching unknown to himself, and then accepted Orthodoxy and eventually became a priest.
By 1870, the Orthodox community numbered over 4,000 people, and by 1912 - about 33,000 people and 266 Orthodox communities. During half a century of service in Japan, Fr. Nicholas left her only twice: in 1870 and in 1880. In 1870, at the request of Fr. Nicholas, elevated to the rank of archimandrite, a Russian spiritual mission was opened with a center in Tokyo under the jurisdiction of the Kamchatka diocese. In 1880, Fr. Nikolai was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Reval, Vicar of the Diocese of Riga. In the process of missionary activity, Fr. Nicholas translated the Holy Scriptures and other liturgical books into Japanese, created a theological seminary, elementary schools for girls and boys, a library, an orphanage and other institutions. He published the Orthodox magazine "Church Bulletin" in Japanese.
On March 8, 1891, the Cathedral of the Resurrection Cathedral (called Nikolay-do by the Japanese) was consecrated. During the Russo-Japanese War, St. Nicholas remained with his flock in Japan, but did not take part in public services, because according to the order of services (and the blessing of St. Nicholas of Japan himself), Japanese Christians prayed for their country’s victory over Russia: oh empire. Now, since war has been declared between Japan and my homeland, I, as a Russian subject, cannot pray for Japan's victory over my own homeland. I also have obligations to my homeland and that is why I will be happy to see that you are fulfilling your duty in relation to your country. When Russian prisoners of war began to arrive in Japan (their total number reached 73,000), Bishop Nicholas, with the consent of the Japanese government, formed the Society for the Spiritual Consolation of Prisoners of War. To feed the prisoners, he selected 5 priests who spoke Russian. The prisoners were supplied with icons and books. Vladyka himself repeatedly addressed them in writing (Nikolai himself was not allowed to see the prisoners). On March 24, 1906, the Holy Synod elevated him to the rank of Archbishop of Japan. In the same year, the Kyoto Vicariate was founded.
After the death of Archbishop Nicholas on February 16, 1912, the Japanese Emperor Meiji personally gave permission for the burial of his remains within the city of Tokyo. Awards: Order of St. Vladimir I degree, Order of St. Alexander Nevsky with diamonds, Order of St. Anna I degree. On April 10, 1970, Nikolai, Archbishop of Japan, was canonized as a saint with the rank of Equal-to-the-Apostles.
How to get there
From the village Olenino 31 km on an asphalt road (including 22 km on the Moscow-Riga highway). 2 km southwest of the temple, on the opposite, left bank of the Bereza, is the former churchyard of Bereza, where St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan, was born.
