Nicholas of Japan
Saint Nicholas (Kasatkin) of Japan | |
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Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral | |
Feast | 3 February 16 February (old style) |
Nicholas (Kasatkin),
Early life
Nicholas was born in the
On 24 June 1860, he was tonsured with the name Nicholas by the academy rector, Bishop Nectarius Nadezhdin. Nicholas was ordained deacon on 29 July the same year; the following day, on the altar day of the academy church
Japan
On 2 July 1861, Nicholas landed at
While at the consulate chapel, he converted three Japanese, one of whom, a former samurai and Shinto priest named Sawabe Takuma, had originally come to his home to kill him. After conversion, Sawabe became one of the first Japanese Orthodox priests. In 1870, Nicholas was made an archimandrite and moved to Tokyo, and began an extensive missionary effort. He bought property on a height in Kanda Surugadai for his headquarters which later became the site of the see of the Orthodox Archbishop of Japan. Under his leadership, by 1870 the Orthodox community numbered more than 4,000 people, and by 1912 about 33,000 people and 266 Orthodox communities.
Nicholas was consecrated bishop on 30 March 1880, as Bishop of
Russo-Japanese War
During the Russo-Japanese War, Nicholas stayed in Japan. Those days were very difficult for him. His love for the land of his birth conflicted with his duty as the bishop of Japan to support his faithful and to pray for the Japanese emperor and the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. In the Orthodox liturgy at that time, priests had to explicitly pray not only benediction on the sovereign and his army but also for the defeat of his enemies in the intercession. Nicholas, therefore, did not participate in any public services during the war; instead, he encouraged his Japanese faithful both to pray for and to contribute to the Army and the Navy. Some encouraged him to go back to Russia, but he refused and worked eagerly for Japanese faithful and Russian prisoners of war. In a letter on the conditions of a camp in Hamadera, Osaka, Nicholas wrote of his astonishment at the Russians soldiers' illiteracy: nine of ten captives could not read.
Nicholas sent priests and teachers to camps to educate and care for the captives. His attitude and manners impressed not only the Orthodox faithful but also non-Christians.
Character
Even
Nicholas's study of Japanese was fruitful, allowing him to translate all liturgy books and many parts of the Bible including the whole of the New Testament and Psalms, most of the Book of Genesis and the Book of Isaiah with help from a Japanese Christian and scholar Nakai Tsugumaro who ran a kanbun private school Kaitokudo in Osaka.[7] His translations are still used in the liturgy of Japanese Orthodox Church. Being fond of church singing, Kasatkin made a significant contribution in introducing this art to the Japanese.[8] He also established a theological seminary, primary schools for boys and girls, a library, shelter and other agencies.
Nicholas wrote a diary in Russian for years, recording the pastoral life of early Orthodox Church of Japan as well as his thought and observation of
Nicholas offered an integral study of Buddhism in his work, "Japan from the point of view of Christian mission", published in 1869. This was the first description of Japanese Buddhism accessible to the Russian language reader.[5]
Veneration
Nicholas was the first saint of the
There is a church which commemorates him in
See also
References
- ^ "Равноапостольный Николай (Касаткин), архиепископ Японский". azbyka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ a b "Святый Николае, иерарше равноапостольне... молися о всем мире", Pravoslavie.RU, February 2007, in Russian
- ^ Храм Двенадцати апостолов в историческом здании Санкт-Петербургской духовной академии[permanent dead link]
- ^ St. Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan. OCA.
- ^ a b Maximov, Priest George (2020-02-15). "St. Nicholas of Japan on Buddhism". The Catalog of Good Deeds. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
- ^ 小野貞治「聖アンドロニク主教来日百周年」、『西日本正教』、2007年
- ^ Orthodox translation of Gospel into Japanese, Pravostok Orthodox Portal, October 2006
- ^ St. Nikolai of Japan and Japanese church singing, by Maria J. Matsushima, The Orthodox Church Singing in Japan web-site
- ^ 『宣教師ニコライの全日記』(教文館、全9巻)