Мощи Николая Чудотворца Relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker

Rating 9110

In the Temple, where the relics of one of the most revered saints in Russia, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, are buried, not far from the Adriatic coast, there was almost no public, it was a bit dark - I didn’t even bother to take out my modest camera, they couldn’t take a decent picture. And the atmosphere is more than modest. The phenomenon of myrrh-streaming is noted here, bottles of myrrh are sold in the church shop. The temple was built in 1087-1089 on the basis of a vision when the saint announced his will to rest in Bari. At the beginning of the last century, they decided to build an Orthodox Church. Donations for new construction in Bari were collected throughout Russia a century ago. Significant funds were contributed by the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. 1.2 hectares of land were purchased for the farmstead. The project was developed by the famous architect Shchusev in 2012.
The consecration of the new Orthodox church was prevented by the outbreak of the First World War - a refugee reception center was created here. After the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, Russian influence weakened in favor of the Greek Orthodox diaspora. Before the war, the temple and the courtyard were sold without legal grounds to the city of Bari in order to avoid being transferred into the ownership of the USSR in pursuance of a court decision. During the years of squabbles, much of the decoration was lost. On March 14.2007, negotiations were completed on the return of the temple and the courtyard of the Russian Orthodox Church, and on March 1.2009, such a transfer took place.