St. Nicholas (Velimirovich)

May 2026 marks 35 years since the historic transfer of the honest remains of St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) from the United States to Serbia. Since 1991, the shrine rests in the monastery church of the village of Lelich, next to the relics of St. Justin (Popovich).

The solemn meeting at the Belgrade airport was held with a huge confluence of people. The ark with the remains of the bishop was met by Patriarch Paul of Serbia in the service of numerous clergy and bishops. The ceremony was continued in the church of St. Sava on Vracar, after which the relics were delivered to the ancient Zhich monastery, and then to Lelich, where they placed St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the church.

The future bishop of Ohrid and Zhich was born on December 23, 1880 in a peasant family, where nine children were brought up. Parents laid the foundations of strict piety in it, stopping any business for the sake of conciliar prayer and strictly observing the church calendar. Taking tonsure in 1909 and becoming a priest, at the age of 39 he was elevated to the episcopal dignity.

During the Second World War, Vladyka survived imprisonment in the Dachau concentration camp. Having been released, he made every effort to save Serbian monasteries, which were rapidly empty due to the deaths and arrests of inhabitants. To revive parish life, nuns were sent there en masse. The final stage of the earthly service of the hierarch took place in America, where he spiritually nourished the Orthodox diaspora. The bishop died on March 18, 1956 in the walls of St. Tikhon Monastery in South Canan (Pennsylvania).

The official glorification of the ascetic took place only years after the discovery of his remains. The Holy Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church canonized Bishop Nicholas in 2003. Since the transfer of the relics to a small homeland, Lelich acquired the status of a center of pan-Orthodox pilgrimage.