The memory of our reverend father Nikita Stolpnik, the miracle worker of Pereyaslav

This reverend father of ours was born and raised in the city of Pereyaslavl Zalessky [Preyaslavl Zalessky, now a county town of Vladimir province, was first on the Kleschino lake, near the upper reaches of the Klyzma Perm river, and then about 1152 the Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky was moved to a new place, 5 furlongs south of Named Zalessky, because it was in the sleepy forests that separated it from other cities.] .

He was a violent and abusive man from his youth; he caused trouble and caused many evils to men, bringing them to trial and robbing them. He had friends like himself. One day, after finishing his classes, he came to the church during the evening service and heard the following words of the prophet Isaiah read there: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the badness of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil".

And he went to his friends, and said to them, Let us eat, and let us eat; and he brought her to his house, and said to his wife, Make me something to eat.

And when she washed the meat, she saw that it was bleeding, and when she put it in the pot and boiled it, she saw that the pot was foaming with blood, and a man's head, and a man's hand, and a man's foot, and she was terrified, and she told her husband.

And when he came in and saw what his wife had told him, he was afraid for a long time, but then he came to himself and said, "Woe to me!

And when he had said these things, and prayed, and wept, he went out of the house, and went out into a field out of the city, and came to the monastery of the great martyr Nikita, and fell down at the feet of the abbot of that monastery, and said, Save the perishing soul.

And the abbot said unto him, Test thyself, and abide three days at the gate of the monastery, and weep, and confess thine sins before all that come in and out of the monastery. And he did so. And he wept and prayed three days, and confessed his sins before all.

And when he came to the place, he put off his clothes, and went naked into the mire, and sat on a reed, and prayed. And it came to pass after three days, that the abbot sent a monk to see what Nikita was doing; and the monk came, and found him not at the gate of the monastery, and after a short search found him lying in the reed, and a great cloud of flies and mosquitoes circling over him.

Then the abbot and his brother came to Nicatus, and when they saw that he was in such a state that his body could not be recognized, he said to him, "Son, what are you doing to yourself?" Nicatus answered nothing but said to the abbot, "Father, save my soul from this perishing thing".

Then the abbot brought him into the monastery, cut off his hair, and put him in a narrow cell, where he spent his days and nights in constant prayer and fasting.

Soon Nikita built himself a pillar near the church, and dug a narrow path under the church wall, which he used to come to the church to pray.

For such feats he received from God the gift of miracles, for many who were possessed by various ailments, came to him and were healed by him. At this time the good-hearted prince Michael of Chernihiv became ill with a malady of relaxation.

When he was on his way, he met the demon in the form of a monk and said that he was from the same monastery where St. Nikita had ascended. The prince asked him about the monk and the demon said that he was a liar. This greatly saddened the prince.

When the prince came to the monastery, he ordered to set up a tent to rest from the journey, and sent one of his boyars to the monastery to inform the monk of his arrival.

When the boyar saw that he had been deceived, he dismissed the demon with the prayer of the saint, and the demon remained completely motionless in the place where he stood.

The pious prince Michael took the staff in his hand and stood on his feet in perfect health, so he walked to the pillar of the saint, received his blessing and told him all about the demonic temptation that had happened to him during the journey.

Then the monk rebuked the demon in the name of God and ordered him to stand still for three hours before everyone, after which the demon took an oath to never do harm to people again and immediately disappeared.

So our holy father Nicitus, staying in his column and constantly praying to God, gave healing to all who came to him for healing from diseases.

One night some of his relatives came to pray for him, and seeing the heavy chains on his body, which had been cleaned and shone after a long struggle, they thought they were silver.

And when the morning service was over, the para-ecclesiastic came to the pillar of the sanctuary to receive his blessing, and when he saw that the roof of the pillar was torn down, he went to the abbot and told him about it.

After taking him from the pillar, with reverence and singing of psalms, they solemnly buried him at the church of the holy martyr Nikita on the right side near the altar. At the same time, all the sick people who happened at that time were cured.

There they unfolded the canvas and, seeing that the three honest crosses and heavy chains - iron, that from the long friction they were cleaned and from that they shone, threw them into the river near the city of Yaroslavl near the monastery of St. Peter.

And when he saw the three pillars rising from the earth, he told the archimandrite of his monastery, and the archimandrite told the ruler of the city, and they went with a multitude of people, and they found the chains of the monk, which floated like a dry tree.

And when they had sung the psalms, they brought him into the city, and found a cripple lying on the ground, and bound him with chains; and he stood up, and healed many that were sick with various diseases.

Let this honourable sign of my feats be soon carried from here and laid upon my grave. After this the chain of the saint was carried with honour from the city of Yaroslavl to the city of Pereyaslavl and laid upon his honourable grave. To all who come with faith, they give many cures to the glory of Christ God.

In the Orthodox sense, the youthful desires hated, and the valiant morals perceived, the enemy defeated you, and in prudence God pleased you: and from above receive from Him the gift of miracles, cast out demons, heal diseases, Nicotus glorious, pray Christ God to save our souls.

For Christ's sake, I suffered death for your servants and received from him the crown that will never fade. To those who come with faith, from your honorable tomb, you have offered the offerings, O monk Nicitus, pray for our souls.