Nikolai (Mogilevsky)

In the world, Feodosiy Nikiforovich Mogilevsky was born on April 9, 1877, on the bright feast of Pascha, in the humble family of the psalmist Nikifor and his wife Maria. He was named Feodosiy in honor of the holy martyr Feodosiy.

"Our father was strict," recalled the Bishop, "he was very demanding about order and the execution of the tasks assigned to us." He was a great connoisseur of church singing. He particularly cared for congregational singing and instilled this love in his children. About his mother, Bishop Nikolai recalled: "Our mother was pure love. She never yelled at us, but if we misbehaved, which of course happened, she would look at us so plaintively that we would feel terribly ashamed." His grandmother Pelagia played a significant role in Feodosiy's upbringing. "On long winter evenings," the Bishop recalled, "our grandmother would take us to the stove and start endless stories about the holy God-pleasers." The Bishop also often remembered his grandfather, who was also a priest.

On May 27, 1905, on the feast day of St. Nilus of Stolobny, the patron saint of the Nilova Desert, monk Nikolai was ordained a hierodeacon, and on October 9 of the same year, he was consecrated as a hieromonk.

In 1911, Father Nikolai successfully graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy.

From 1911 to 1912, he served as the assistant inspector of the Moscow Theological Academy.

From 1912 to 1913, he was the inspector of the Poltava Theological Seminary.

From 1913 to 1916, he served as the inspector of the Chernigov Theological Seminary.

In 1915, he was elevated to the rank of hegumen.

From October 10, 1916, to June 12, 1917, he was the archimandrite and abbot of the Prince-Vladimir Monastery in Irkutsk and the head of the Irkutsk Missionary Teachers' School.

On June 12, 1917, he became the first elected rector of the Chernigov Theological Seminary.

On November 15, 1919, he was consecrated as Bishop of Starodub, vicar of the Chernigov Diocese. The consecration in Chernigov was performed by Archbishop Pakhomy of Chernigov and Bishop John of Novgorod-Seversky.

From 1920, he served as Bishop of Sosnitsky, vicar of the same diocese.

Since the end of 1922, for several months, he was associated with the Renovationists. However, upon realizing the falsehood of their actions, he distanced himself from them and secretly hid in a monastery on the island "God's Work," affiliated with Nilova Pustyn.

On August 6, 1923, Bishop Nikolai was appointed Bishop of Kashira, vicar of the Tula diocese.
 

From October 19, 1923, he managed the Tula and Odoev dioceses. The situation in the diocese at that time was very difficult. The Renovationists had seized the vast majority of parishes. However, with his small flock, Bishop Nikolai persistently fought against the enemies of Orthodoxy. When the Renovationists began preparing for the 1925 council, Bishop Nikolai shared the general opinion of almost all Orthodox bishops that this council, at which the Renovationists had preemptively secured all advantages for themselves, could only harm Orthodoxy. Therefore, he instructed the abbots and church councils not to negotiate with the Renovationists. The Tula Diocesan Administration took all measures to attract Orthodox participation in the congress and council, but Bishop Nikolai and his flock firmly adhered to the planned tactics.

He was arrested on May 8, 1925.

After spending over two years in detention and upon his release, Bishop Nikolai was appointed to the Oryol see on September 16, 1927. In Oryol, he served until his next arrest. Here is what Bishop Nikolai himself recounted about that time: "On July 27, 1932, I was arrested and sent to Voronezh, where the investigation was conducted. It is pointless to speak of the living conditions because, in those years, our entire country was experiencing hardship."

"When the investigation came to an end, the investigator and I parted with some regret. He confided in me: 'I am glad that I was able to bring you some benefit with my investigation. I managed to prove the correctness of your testimony, which means a lot to you — now your charge will be reclassified, and you will be given no more than five years instead of the expected ten.' 'Why should I get five years?' I involuntarily exclaimed. 'Because of your popularity. People like you need to be isolated for a while so that people forget about your existence. You have too much authority among the people, and your preaching is of great importance to them. They follow you!' It was unexpected for me to hear such an assessment of my ministry from a representative of this institution, but it was true. 'Lord! Glory to You! Glory to You, Lord! I, a sinner, have served You as best I could!' was all I could say out of the joy that filled my heart. Now no term would frighten me."

Recalling his wanderings through the camps, the Bishop often spoke of Sarov, where he stayed for a long time: "After the monastery was closed and ravaged, a labor camp was established in its buildings, where I ended up. When I crossed the threshold of this holy abode, my heart was filled with such inexpressible joy that it was difficult to contain. So the Lord has brought me to the Sarov Desert — I thought — to St. Seraphim, to whom I had repeatedly turned with fervent prayer throughout my life."

"I kissed all the little grates and windows in the monastery. In those times, the cell of St. Seraphim was still intact. During my stay in Sarov, I considered myself to be under the obedience of St. Seraphim, through whose prayers the Lord sent us such consolation that we could serve the Liturgy in imprisonment and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ."

In 1941, Bishop Nikolai was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

The news of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War reached the Bishop on the eve of him celebrating the Divine Liturgy.

 "I was serving the proskomedia," recalled the Bishop, "when one of my friends quietly informed me of this terrible news in the silence of the altar. What could I say to the weeping congregation awaiting not my consolation, but Christ's? I simply repeated what St. Alexander Nevsky once said: 'God is not in strength, but in truth!'"

Following this news, Archbishop Nikolai faced a new trial — on June 27, 1941, he was arrested and imprisoned in the city of Saratov.

After spending six months in Saratov, Bishop Nikolai was sent to Kazakhstan, to the city of Aktobe, and three months later to the city of Chelkar in the Aktobe region.

Many years later, when Bishop Nikolai was asked:

 "How did he react to this relocation? Was there any resentment or grievance in his heart?" — he responded, "Everything is according to God's will. It was necessary for me to endure this severe trial, which ended in great spiritual joy."

"And think about what happens if a person spends their entire life in luxury and comfort, surrounded by loved ones. A life filled with earthly blessings leads to a hardened heart, a cooling of love for God and for one's neighbor. Excesses make a person cruel and incapable of understanding others' grief and misfortune."

The Bishop traveled to his enforced exile, but in a prisoner's car. The train arrived at Chelkar station at night. The guards pushed the Bishop onto the platform in his underwear and a torn quilted jacket. He had only a certificate with him, which required him to report to the local NKVD office twice a month.

The Bishop spent the rest of the night at the station. Morning came, and he had to go somewhere. But how could he walk in winter in such a state? And there was nowhere to go. The Bishop had to ask for help from elderly women, and their kind hearts responded to his plea. Some gave him a padded jacket, some a hat, and others patched felt boots. One elderly woman took him in, offering shelter in her shed where she kept a cow and a pig. The Bishop was already in his 65th year. His hair was white, and his appearance inevitably evoked compassion. He tried to find work, but no one would hire him because he looked older than his years. He was forced to beg to avoid starving to death.

Later, when his spiritual children asked the Bishop:

 "Why didn't you tell the elderly women who gave you clothes that you were a bishop?" — the Bishop replied, "If the Lord sends a cross, He also gives the strength to bear it and lightens its burden. In such cases, one's own will should not be asserted; one must fully surrender to God's will. Going against God's will is unworthy of a Christian, and after a person patiently endures the trials sent to them, the Lord sends spiritual joy." — Thus, the Bishop concluded his explanation.

Until late autumn of 1942, the Bishop continued to lead his impoverished existence. His physical strength was at its limit. From malnutrition and cold, he developed emaciation, his body was covered with sores, and lice infested him from the dirt. His strength waned not by the day, but by the hour…

Then came the moment when his last strength gave out, and the Bishop lost consciousness.

He regained consciousness in a hospital, in a clean room, in a clean bed. It was bright and warm, and people were bending over him. He closed his eyes, thinking it was a dream. One of those bending over him checked his pulse and said, "Well, almost normal! Our old man has come to." The Bishop recovered slowly. When he got out of bed, he immediately tried to be of help to those around him. He would fetch water for someone, bring a bedpan, adjust someone's bed, or say a kind word. The hospital staff grew fond of this kind old man. Everyone started calling him affectionately, "Grandpa." But only one young doctor knew the tragedy of this "grandpa," knowing that if he were discharged from the hospital, he would again have to beg and live next to the cow and pig.

The day came when the doctor was asked to discharge the "grandpa" from the hospital. Bishop Nikolai prayed to the Lord, once again surrendering himself to His will: "Wherever You send me, Lord, there I will go!" When everyone gathered to say goodbye to the kind "grandpa," a nurse came in and said, "Grandpa, someone has come for you!" "Who has come?" everyone asked at once. "The same Tatar who sometimes brought you food, don't you remember?"

Of course, the Bishop could not forget how regularly, every ten days, he was brought a few Tatar flatbreads, some eggs, and a few pieces of sugar by an unknown Tatar. He also knew that it was this very Tatar who had found him, half-dead and unconscious, lying on the road, and took him to the hospital. Stunned, the Bishop went to the exit. Indeed, at the hospital doors stood the Tatar with a whip in his hand.
“Well, greetings, father!” he said to the Bishop with a kind smile. The Bishop greeted him as well. They went outside, the Tatar put the Bishop in a sleigh, sat down himself, and they set off. It was the end of winter in 1943.
“Why did you decide to take part in my life and treat me so kindly? You don't even know me,” the Bishop asked. “We must help each other,” the Tatar replied. “God said that I should help you, that I should save your life.” “How did God tell you?” asked the Bishop in amazement. “I don't know how,” the Tatar answered. “When I was traveling on my business, God told me, ‘Take this old man; he needs to be saved.’”

For the Bishop, a calm life began. The Tatar had connections and managed to arrange for Vera Afanasyevna Fomushkina, his spiritual daughter who had also been exiled but to a different location, to come to Chelkar. Vera Afanasyevna did not hide from those around her who the "grandpa" that the people of Chelkar had so carefully nursed back to health was.

On October 10, 1944, the Bishop himself sent an "earnest request" to the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, asking to remove his status as a "free exile," to allow him to go to Russia "and there take up a bishop's see as assigned by the Patriarchal Synod."

By a resolution of the Special Council of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR on May 19, 1945, Bishop Nikolai was released early.

On July 5, 1945, by a resolution of the Holy Synod, the Almaty Diocese was established, with Archbishop Nikolai (Mogilevsky) appointed as its ruling bishop.

The Bishop arrived in Almaty on October 26, 1945, the feast day of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

Upon arriving in Almaty, Archbishop Nikolai began his ministry in the small, remote Kazan Church, which had been opened just a few months before his arrival.

The Bishop had an extraordinary zeal for the services, which he performed with the utmost adherence to the monastic rule, as much as possible for a parish church. He always served reverently and never hurried. If the choir happened to rush the service, the Bishop would immediately look out from the altar and ask, “Who here is in a hurry to catch a train?” This would make everyone feel ashamed, and the choir would immediately slow down. Once, the Bishop arrived at the cathedral at half-past six in the evening, and the Vespers, which had begun at six o'clock, was almost over. The Bishop said, “Let's start again; we cannot be so negligent towards the divine service.” And the Vespers started again. The Bishop stood at the kliros and sang.

Thus began the archpastoral ministry of Bishop Nikolai in the far-off land of Kazakhstan, away from his dearly loved Russia.

At that time, the Bishop was approaching his 70th year. He not only demanded strict adherence to the liturgical rules but also always explained the meaning of the services, why it was necessary to sing or read certain parts and not others.

From 1951, he also managed the Semipalatinsk Diocese.

In February 1955, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of his episcopal ministry.

On Monday, October 24, the day before his death, the Bishop still spoke a little. He said something particularly kind to each person, as if bidding farewell. Around 5 p.m., he had a heart attack with acute pain, after which he no longer spoke and lay with his eyes closed.

On Tuesday morning, he found the strength to make the sign of the cross several times during the reading of the Akathist to the Holy Great Martyr Barbara at his bedside.

By 5 p.m. on October 25, 1955, those around him noticed the approaching end. They began reading the prayers for the departure of the soul and placed a lit candle in his hand. With the last words of the canon for the departure of the soul, the saintly Bishop quietly and peacefully breathed his last. This was at 4:45 p.m.

On October 28, 1955, Bishop Hermogen (Golubev) of Tashkent and Central Asia, with a multitude of clergy, conducted the funeral service for Bishop Nikolai at the Cathedral of Almaty. The coffin with the precious remains was carried by hand the entire way from the church to the cemetery, a distance of about 7 kilometers. According to police estimates, up to 40,000 people followed the coffin. The cemetery was so crowded with people that the clergy following the coffin had difficulty reaching the grave. At the grave, a litany was served, and Bishop Hermogen committed the body of the reposed Saint to the earth.

Metropolitan Nikolai (Mogilevsky) was glorified among the new martyrs and confessors of the Orthodox faith at the Bishops' Council of 2000.

On September 8, 2000, with the blessing of Archbishop Alexy (Kutepov) of Astana and Almaty, the venerable relics of the confessor Saint Nikolai were found at the city cemetery and transferred to the Nikolsky Cathedral in Almaty. The commemoration of the finding of the relics was included in the church calendar with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill on April 24, 2012.

Service to our holy father Nikolai, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan, confessor

Akathist to our holy father Nikolai, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan, confessor

Relics of the holy confessor Nikolai, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan

Sermons and teachings of the holy confessor Nikolai, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan

Diaries of the holy confessor Nikolai, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan