Saint Nicholas the Enlightener of Japan

Orthodox icon of Saint Nicholas the Enlightener of Japan on thick plywood 20mm, which does not sting and keeps its shape over time. Preparation with acrylic stucco and have been used acrylic colors. It has been covered with varnish to keep the colors undiluted in time and humidity. Hanging clip included on the back of the icon. 

St. Nicholas was born in the village of Berezovsk, Russia in 1836. He completed the Belsk religious school, and afterwards the Smolensk Theological Seminary. In 1857 Ivan Kasatkin entered the Saint Peterburg Theological Academy. On June 24, 1860, in the academy temple of the Twelve Apostles, Bishop Nectarius tonsured him. On June 29 the monk Nicholas was ordained deacon and the next day he was ordained to the holy priesthood. Later, at his request, Father Nicholas was assigned to Japan as head of the consular church in the city of Hakodate. At first, the preaching of the Gospel in Japan seemed completely impossible. He spent eight years in studying the country, the language, manners and customs of the people among whom he would preach. In 1868, the flock of Father Nicholas numbered about twenty Japanese. In 1870 the Synod in Petersburg decided to form a special Russian Spiritual Mission for preaching the Word of God among the pagan Japanese. Father Nicholas was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed as head of this Mission. In 1871 there was a persecution of Christians in Hakodate and only in 1873 did the persecution abate somewhat, and the free preaching of Christianity became possible. In this year he began the construction of a stone building in Tokyo which housed a church, a school for fifty men, and later a religious school. Archimandrite Nicholas was consecrated bishop in 1880 in the Trinity Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. He completed construction on the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Tokyo, he translated the service books, and compiled a special Orthodox theological dictionary in the Japanese language. In 1912 he died peacefully.