SKU: 80794249772

St. Nicholas Velimirovic icon

Sale price$30.60 Regular price$34.00
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 13 - Jul 18

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

St. Nicholas Velimirovic iconOrthodox icon of Saint Nicholas, Nikolai Velimirovic, Bishop of Zhicha, Serbia Commemorated March 18th. Saint Nikolai of Zhicha, the Serbian Chrysostom, was born in Lelich in western Serbia on January 4, 1881 (December 23, 1880 O. S.). His parents were Dragomir and Katherine Velimirovich, who lived on a farm where they raised a large family. His pious mother was a major influence on his spiritual development, teaching him by word and especially by

Orthodox icon of Saint Nicholas, Nikolai Velimirovic, Bishop of Zhicha, Serbia

Commemorated March 18th.

Saint Nikolai of Zhicha, “the Serbian Chrysostom,” was born in Lelich in western Serbia on January 4, 1881 (December 23, 1880 O.S.). His parents were Dragomir and Katherine Velimirovich, who lived on a farm where they raised a large family. His pious mother was a major influence on his spiritual development, teaching him by word and especially by example. As a small child, Nikolai often walked three miles to the Chelije Monastery with his mother to attend services there.

Sickly as a child, Nikolai was not physically strong as an adult. He failed his physical requirements when he applied to the military academy, but his excellent academic qualifications allowed him to enter the Saint Sava Seminary in Belgrade, even before he finished preparatory school.

After graduating from the seminary in 1905, he earned doctoral degrees from the University of Berne in 1908, and from King’s College, Oxford in 1909. When he returned home, he fell ill with dysentery. Vowing to serve God for the rest of his life if he recovered, he was tonsured at the Rakovica Monastery on December 20, 1909 and was also ordained to the holy priesthood.

In 1910 he went to study in Russia to prepare himself for a teaching position at the seminary in Belgrade. At the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg, the Provost asked him why he had come. He replied, “I wanted to be a shepherd. As a child, I tended my father’s sheep. Now that I am a man, I wish to tend the rational flock of my heavenly Father. I believe that is the way that has been shown to me.” The Provost smiled, pleased by this response, then showed the young man to his quarters.

After completing his studies, he returned to Belgrade and taught philosophy, logic, history, and foreign languages at the seminary. He spoke seven languages, and this ability proved very useful to him throughout his life.

Saint Nikolai was renowned for his sermons, which never lasted more than twenty minutes, and focused on just three main points. He taught people the theology of the Church in a language they could understand, and inspired them to repentance.

At the start of World War I, Archimandrite Nikolai was sent to England on a diplomatic mission to seek help in the struggle of the Serbs against Austria. His doctorate from Oxford gained him an invitation to speak at Westminster Abbey. He remained in England for three short months, but Saint Nikolai left a lasting impression on those who heard him. His writings “The Lord’s Commandments,” and “Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer” impressed many in the Church of England.

Archimandrite Nikolai left England and went to America, where he proved to be a good ambassador for his nation and his Church.

The future saint returned to Serbia in 1919, where he was consecrated as Bishop of Zhicha, and was later transferred to Ochrid. The new hierarch assisted those who were suffering from the ravages of war by establishing orphanages and helping the poor.

Bishop Nikolai took over as leader of Bogomljcki Pokret, a popular movement for spiritual revival which encouraged people to pray and read the Bible. Under the bishop’s direction, it also contributed to a renewal of monasticism. Monasteries were restored and reopened, and this in turn revitalized the spiritual life of the Serbian people.

In 1921, Bishop Nikolai was invited to visit America again and spent two years as a missionary bishop. He gave more than a hundred talks in less than six months, raising funds for his orphanages. Over the next twenty years, he lectured in various churches and universities.

When Germany invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941, Bishop Nikolai, a fearless critic of the Nazis, was arrested and confined in Ljubostir Vojlovici Monastery. In 1944, he and Patriarch Gavrilo were sent to the death camp at Dachau. There he witnessed many atrocities and was tortured himself. When American troops liberated the prisoners in May 1945, the patriarch returned to Yugoslavia, but Bishop Nikolai went to England.

The Communist leader Tito was just coming to power in Yugoslavia, where he persecuted the Church and crushed those who opposed him. Therefore, Bishop Nikolai believed he could serve the Serbian people more effectively by remaining abroad. He went to America in 1946, following a hectic schedule in spite of his health problems which were exacerbated by his time in Dachau. He taught for three years at Saint Sava’s Seminary in Libertyville, IL before he settled at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, PA in 1951.

He taught at Saint Tikhon’s and also served as the seminary’s Dean and Rector. He was also a guest lecturer at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary in NY, and at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.

On Saturday March 17, 1956 Bishop Nikolai served his last Liturgy. After the service he went to the trapeza and gave a short talk. As he was leaving, he bowed low and said, “Forgive me, brothers.” This was something unusual which he had not done before.

On March 18, 1956 Saint Nikolai fell asleep in the Lord Whom he had served throughout his life. He was found in his room kneeling in an attitude of prayer. Though he was buried at Saint Sava’s Monastery in Libertyville, IL, he had always expressed a desire to be buried in his homeland. In April of 1991 his relics were transferred to the Chetinje Monastery in Lelich. There he was buried next to his friend and disciple Father Justin Popovich (+ 1979).

English readers are familiar with Saint Nikolai’s PROLOGUE FROM OCHRID, THE LIFE OF ST SAVA, A TREASURY OF SERBIAN SPIRITUALITY, and other writings which are of great benefit for the whole Church. He thought of his writings as silent sermons addressed to people who would never hear him preach. In his life and writings, the grace of the Holy Spirit shone forth for all to see, but in his humility he considered himself the least of men.

Though he was a native of Serbia, Saint Nikolai has a universal significance for Orthodox Christians in all countries. He was like a candle set upon a candlestick giving light to all (MT 5:15). A spiritual guide and teacher with a magnetic personality, he attracted many people to himself. He also loved them, seeing the image of God in each person he met. He had a special love for children, who hastened to receive his blessing whenever they saw him in the street.

He was a man of compunctionate prayer, and possessesed the gift of tears which purify the soul (Saint John Climacus, LADDER, Step 7). He was a true pastor to his flock protecting them from spiritual wolves, and guiding them on the path to salvation. He has left behind many soul-profiting writings which proclaim the truth of Christ to modern man. In them he exhorts people to love God, and to live a life of virtue and holiness. May we also be found worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven through the prayers of Saint Nikolai, and by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory forever. Amen.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 80794249772

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 338 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
O
Verified Purchase
Oilyraincloud
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 5
Great introduction to Godot 4
Format: Kindle
I've been writing various types of software for 10 years and was interested in learning Godot for 2D games. This book turned out to be informative and easy to follow and gave me the knowledge I was seeking. I learn best by example, and this project focused book was excellent in that regard. If you have zero programming experience, I would recommend learning something like Python before diving into this book. The book teaches with GDScript, which is Godot's Python-like programming language. There are some minor mistakes in the book, but an errata is currently being kept up-to-date on the github repository for the book. I opened a few issues for things I discovered, and the author added those things to the errata. Keep this in mind if you end up getting stuck on something and are 100% sure you followed the directions in the book. I use Unreal for 3D games, so I have not yet gone through the chapters of this book for 3D games. I wouldn't expect a drastic drop in quality, but for the purposes of this review I can't give any insight on the 3D chapters.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2023
R
Verified Purchase
rockspawner
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
Use boxes
Format: Paperback
Love the start of this too but will not tell you how to import projects use boxes on the side of your pc
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2025
A
Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
Great!
Format: Paperback
Enjoying it a lot so far.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2025
R
Verified Purchase
Roger Andersen
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Learning Godot
Format: Paperback
simple and easy introduction to godot and gdscript.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2024
J
Verified Purchase
Jennie M. Scaturro
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 2
A very frustrating experience
Format: Paperback
I very rarely write reviews for things, but I felt compelled to do so for this book based on my experience. I had an amazing experience with this book for the first 3 chapters. There were some errors and things just plain missing in those chapters, but I was able to debug and provide solutions for those things. For example, some lines of code were omitted and score keeping was completely left out from Chapter 3. I have since found that errata is helpfully published on the GitHub repository. Overall I had a lot of fun working through the first 3 chapters. Chapter 4 is where I decided to give up and move on to other resources. I found the lack of guidance on level design and truly understanding and using tile maps and tile sets downright frustrating. Perhaps this chapter would be more approachable if I had prior game development experience. The author very much glosses over level design and it went from a poor explanation of the concept to just "now design your level". Referencing the finished project from the GitHub repository did not provide much assistance either. If you are new to game development, I think the first 3 chapters are a helpful introduction and they have definitely furthered my interest in both Godot and game development. However, I had to bail after Chapter 4 in search of better material. Perhaps I will return to the book after learning more from other resources.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2024

recommand products