16 February is the Feast Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholai, Archbishop of Japan (1912).
"A certain Japanese nobleman, forced to flee to Russia during a time of civil unrest, took a Russian wife, and from their union, a son, Nicholai Do, was born," thus begins an endearing Japanese tale on the origins of Nicholai Archbishop (Kasatkin), the third of the Russian saints glorified as 'Equal-to-the-Apostles.'
"First, love those to whom you wish to speak about Christ; then make them love you, and only then speak to them about Christ," Saint Nicholai of Japan would say. He was the one chosen to reveal Japan to Russia, and to open Russia to Japan. People truly welcomed him, and they still hold him dear. Archpriest I. Vostorgov (later a martyr) visited him in the early twentieth century and wrote: "After the emperor, no one was better known throughout Japan than him. In the capital, one did not need to ask where the Russian Orthodox Mission was; it was enough to say the name 'Nicholai'. The Orthodox church was called 'Nicholai', the mission was known as 'Nicholai', even Orthodoxy itself sometimes went by that name. As we travelled through the country dressed as Russian priests, warm glances always met us. In the greetings and conversations, amid the incomprehensible words of an unfamiliar language, we heard one familiar and dear word: 'Nicholai'..."
The parents of the boy who would become a saint, Deacon Dmitry Ivanovich Kasatkin and his wife Ksenia, lived in the village of Bereza in the Smolensk region. From his earliest years, they passed on to their son the foundations of the Orthodox faith. When he lost his mother at a young age, he held onto an icon of the Smolensk Mother of God from his family home; it remained precious to him throughout his life. Supported by the state, he pursued theological education, first at the Belorussian Spiritual School, then at the Smolensk Spiritual Seminary. In 1857, as one of the top students, he gained admission to the Saint Petersburg Spiritual Academy, again with a full scholarship.
The birthplace of Saint Nicholai of Japan, the village of Bereza
In the nineteenth century, Japan — long closed to foreigners — began to move away from its seclusion. Under a treaty signed in 1855 between Japan and Russia, a Russian consulate was established in the Japanese port of Hakodate, and a church was built nearby. Consul I. A. Goshkevich requested the Synod to send a priest with higher theological education to Japan — to serve both as rector of the church and as a missionary. In 1860, Ivan Kasatkin, who had just finished at the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, paid little attention at first to the Synod’s notice inviting graduates to preach Orthodoxy in Japan. But during an All-Night Vigil, he felt God's call deep within; he realised it was the Lord's will for him to go to Japan, not as a married priest but as a monk.
His superiors looked kindly upon his decision, and on 24 June 1860, he was tonsured as a monk, taking the name Nicholai. The Church called him to the "embrace of the Father," and he joyfully accepted this call, dedicating his youth, talents, and entire life to Church’s service. He became a hierodeacon on 29 June, the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and a hieromonk the very next day, the Feast of the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles — the patronal feast of the academy church.
That summer, he set off. The way to Japan was long and tough. Nicholai effectively crossed the breadth of the country — the Urals, Siberia, the Far East. Sometimes he travelled by various means; at other times, he went on foot, covering vast distances. Only a year later, on 14 June 1861, did he reach the Japanese port of Hakodate aboard a naval ship.
The frigate "Diana" at anchor in Hakodate, Japan, old engraving
Later, Saint Nicholai reflected: "As my way here, I often dreamed of my Japan. I pictured her as a bride waiting for me with flowers in her hands. I imagined the news of Christ sweeping through the darkness, and everything being made new… At that time, I was young and by no means short of imagination. My mind conjured crowds coming from everywhere to listen, and afterwards to follow God’s word, once it rang out across Japan… How my heart trembled as I approached that land! What a thrill to be coming to Japan! So high-minded was my state (a chaste state is the only way I can describe it); I feared greatly to do anything that might displease the Japanese in any way…
Ah, youthful illusions, viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses! How disheartened I was when, upon arriving in Japan, I encountered a reality completely opposite to my dreams. I came, only to find my bride sleeping in the most mundane way, not even aware of me… The Japanese of that time regarded foreigners as beasts and Christianity as a villainous sect fit only for criminals and sorcerers.”
The young missionary: first steps on Japanese soil
Instead of bouquets and crowds yearning for the light of Christ, Japan greeted Hieromonk Nicholai with coldness — even hostility. Half a century of relentless apostolic labours lay ahead. More than once during those years, his spirits would sink, and there were times when this ardent defender of God would fall into despair and despondency. His eager spirit, his sensitive soul, bruised by the obstacles to faith, felt the slow growth of Orthodoxy as a constant ache. He blamed himself, sometimes to the point of self-reproach.
"The church drives one to despair. [...] To give up on Japan myself is frightening; it is not the people I fear, although it would be shameful, unspeakably shameful to say in Russia: 'You hoped in vain for the Japanese Mission — nothing came of it, only money wasted.' But I fear God's judgement. Something compels me to stay, perhaps thirty years of habit, perhaps God’s will… [...] So, I must reconcile myself to living and working here. I will surrender to God's will. I will endure and stand firm at my appointed post! I will stand and labour with zeal. Stand and carry on with spirit, not paying attention to anything else — refusing to fall, refusing to give in to sorrow, refusing to waste away in idleness — and that will be submission to God's will. Then let it be as He wills! O Lord, grant me, and never take away from me, peace and vigour! Grant that I may be Your faithful servant! My soul longs for it, but it cannot manage without Your help!” 16 August 1889
(From the diary of Saint Nicholai (Kasatkin))
Several times a year, long bouts of melancholy would wash over him. On those days, Japan's enlightenment seemed utterly unattainable, and he felt he was wasting the kindness of his supporters and throwing his own life away. Yet, Saint Nicholai "sought not his own, but the things which are God's" and overcame his weakness by placing his hope in the Lord, growing in patience and humility. As the Japanese Church he founded grew larger, so did his spirit take wing, steeled with courage.
The seminary in Japan, Saint Nicholai (Kasatkin) in the centre
The Lord blessed his labours. By the early 20th century, the Japanese historian Nagasawa Mitsuo noted Saint Nicholai's accomplishments: "He left behind a cathedral, eight churches, 175 prayer houses, and 276 parishes; he raised one bishop, 34 priests, eight deacons, and 115 preachers. The total number of Orthodox believers reached 34,110, not counting the 8,170 who had departed earlier... And from his personal belongings, only a few pieces of worn clothing remained." At last, his youthful dream had come true.
Yet Father Nicholai's ministry began in the mundane. In Hakodate, where the Russian consulate was located, he found himself among a small circle of diplomats. Many among them were with little faith, infected as they were with the semi-godless freethinking then fashionable in Russian aristocratic and official circles.
God's ways often differ from human expectations, dreams and hopes. The first person Saint Nicholai led to the Christian faith was not one of those Japanese who politely listened out of curiosity.
Samurai Sawabe Takuma
While visiting the Russian Consul’s home, Hieromonk Nicholai often ran into a stern and haughty Japanese man in the corridors — a man who glared at him with such fierce hatred it seemed he wished to burn him away by sight alone. Father Nicholai only knew that he taught the consul’s son sword fighting. This was Takuma Sawabe – a flawless samurai, a renowned swordsman, and the high priest of Hakodate’s main Shinto shrine. Sawabe belonged to a secret group that saw every foreign influence as poison to their land and were ready to wipe out any outsiders who showed up in Japan. He was the image of the proud and passionate spirit of Japan. One night in 1865, sword in hand, Takuma Sawabe confronted Father Nicholai, aiming to kill him before he could begin his missionary work. The Russian monk asked the Samurai:
"Is it fair to judge, let alone condemn someone, without first hearing them out? Is it right to attack what you do not know? First, listen and learn, then judge. If my teaching is wrong, then drive me out from here. Then you will be just."
The Samurai agreed to listen, though his heart was not in it. At first, he mocked Saint Nicholai's words, interrupting with scorn. But over time, his thoughts began to deepen. He asked for another meeting to continue their conversation. After several discussions, the truth of Holy Orthodoxy unfolded before the amazed Sawabe. Regarding this first disciple, Father Nicholai wrote to Metropolitan Isidore of St Petersburg: "A priest of an ancient religion comes to me to learn about our faith. If he does not cool off or perish (from the death penalty for accepting Christianity), he could achieve great things... He's educated, clever, eloquent, and fully devoted to Christianity. His sole aim is to serve his country by spreading Christianity, and I constantly have to dissuade him for fear he might lose his head before he can achieve anything."
Liturgical books translated into Japanese
Soon, Sawabe brought two of his closest friends, and they too embraced the truth of God. Soon, they began to preach the Orthodox faith to their countrymen. By 1868, twenty Japanese were ready to receive Holy Baptism. Many of these first Japanese Christians were samurai like Sawabe — patriots who had previously viewed anything foreign as harmful. Enlightened, they recognised in Orthodoxy the key to Japan's renewal.
Takume Sawabe, that “Japanese Saul” who had plotted to suppress the Faith of Christ, turned into Paul the herald (he took that name at Baptism in honour of the foremost Apostle). In his new calling, the Lord allowed him to face severe “fiery” trials that stripped away his former security. He suffered great grief: he lost his home, became a wanderer, and before long — because he proclaimed Christianity — was thrown into an underground prison. Still, he did not falter in his Orthodox zeal. Later, he became a well-known preacher and the very first Japanese to be ordained to holy orders.
Father Paul Sawabe
Following the advice of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk, Father Nicholai immersed himself in the Japanese language, customs, and culture of the land entrusted to him. He dedicated eight full years, working fourteen hours a day, to understanding the ground where he would plant the seeds of the Word of God. He went beyond textbooks. He explored Japanese poetry and history, attended Buddhist and Shinto gatherings, and joined a local circle of writers and thinkers. Over those years, the Russian priest grew into a Japanese scholar and an impressive speaker in that country.
D.M. Pozdneev, an orientalist who knew him personally, bears witness: "Through his constant reading of Japanese literature and regular interactions with Japanese people, Father Nicholai mastered spoken and written Japanese to an astonishing degree... His rich vocabulary and the ease with which he constructed sentences gave his speech a power that thrilled all the Japanese." Yet his scholarly and linguistic pursuits were not ends in themselves. During these same years, Saint Nicholai completed the first draft of his translation of the New Testament into Japanese.
Publications of the Russian Mission in Tokyo
Almost 30 years of apostolic service were needed for Saint Nicholai to arrive at the calm conviction: "My one purpose in life and my joy is the enlightenment of Japan through Orthodoxy, and I believe that this will happen; I believe as firmly as I believe in God. But is Japan ready to accept Orthodoxy now, or is it still destined to dwell in semi-darkness — only the Lord knows!"
Not long before his death, Saint Nicholai said to his long-awaited ally and successor, Bishop Sergius (Tikhomirov): "Our role is no greater than that of the plough... So see to it, plough away! Plough earnestly! Plough tirelessly! Let God’s work grow! It is a privilege that God has used you to plough. This means you have not rusted away. It means that in working the Lord's field, your soul has been partly cleansed, and for this we shall always give thanks to God."
Group photograph of the participants of the All-Japan Orthodox Council of 1882. In the centre is Saint Nicholai the Equal-to-the-Apostles of Japan
In Tokyo, alongside the Resurrection Cathedral, several churches held services in Japanese. The Mission included a theological seminary, officially recognised as an educational institution in Japan; a women's school; an orphanage; a publishing house; and a library. By God's grace, Saint Nicholai accomplished a rare and nearly impossible task for one person — he translated the Scriptures. In the last seventeen years of his life, through daily morning and evening sessions, he translated and revised all the books of the New Testament. He then translated the Lenten Triodion, the Festal Menaion, the Parimejnik, the Psalter, and the Irmologion.
On 16 February 1912, at 7 p.m. Tokyo time, His Eminence Nicholai, Archbishop of Japan, departed this life. By the next day, all of Japan had heard the news of his passing. "Christians from Tokyo flocked to the Mission; Christians from other confessions expressed their condolences... Some came with bows, others left calling cards, including those who had not yet embraced the teachings of Christ; and not only ordinary citizens, but also the nobility — lords, counts, viscounts, barons, ministers, and commoners," wrote Bishop Sergius.
"But the greatest honour Japan bestowed upon Archbishop Nicholai was that the Emperor himself sent a magnificent and enormous wreath of fresh flowers to the bishop's coffin. And not discreetly, either! The Emperor of Japan himself crowned the holy bishop’s head with triumphant flowers! Inside the wreath were two characters: “On-Shi,” meaning the highest gift. Having begun his work amidst mortal dangers, Archbishop Nicholai concluded it with approval from the highest throne."
Emperor Meiji (1852 – 1912)
On 10 April 1970, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop Nicholai (Kasatkin) was glorified as a saint. Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod composed the service for the Equal-to-the-Apostles saint, and it was published in 1978.
The grave of Saint Nicholai (Kasatkin) at Yanaka Cemetery
That same year, a chapel dedicated to the enlightener of Japan was erected on the southern side of Tokyo Cathedral. The primate of the Japanese Church submitted a petition to transfer the saint's relics to the Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral. This was quite uncommon in Japan. The petition made its way through various levels, eventually reaching the Emperor. His response? "Moving the saint's body to the church isn't possible. Saint Nicholai belongs to all of Japan. Every Japanese citizen has the right to come to him with a plea whenever they wish."
Yet fragments of the saint's relics are present in several churches across Japan — in the cities of Sendai, Hakodate, Osaka, and Toyohashi. In Archbishop Nicholai's homeland, the village of Bereza, on 1 August 1998, a five-metre cross with inscriptions in Russian and Japanese was erected on the site of the former church, destroyed to its foundations by Hitler's artillery. On 16 February 2000, the feast day of Saint Nicholai Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop Victor of Tver and Kashin solemnly laid the foundation stone of a church in the nearby settlement of Mirny. Three years later, the first liturgy was held in the newly built two-tiered church. Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo presented the revived parish of Bereza with an icon of their extraordinary compatriot, containing a fragment of the saint's relics.
The Church of Saint Nicholai (of Japan) in his homeland in the Tver Region, settlement of Mirny
“Like the Apostles, you share their way of life and stand with them at the throne; you are a faithful and wise servant of Christ, chosen instrument of the Divine Spirit, overflowing with the love of Christ. Enlightener of the Japanese land, Saint Nicholai, Equal-to-the-Apostles hierarch, pray to the Life-giving Trinity for all your flock and for the whole world.”
Troparion to Saint Nikolai of Japan, Tone 4
Material prepared by the team of obitel-minsk.ru
Photographs from the internet
Sources used:
1. Diaries of Saint Nicholai of Japan: in 5 volumes, compiled by K. Nakamura. Vol.1. — St Petersburg: Hyperion, 2004. — pp. 296–301.
2. Bishop Sergei (Tikhomirov). In Memory of the Most Reverend Nicholai, Archbishop of Japan: On the Anniversary of His Passing, 3 February 1912 // Christian Reading, 1913, p. 9.
3. Nicholai-Do. Saint Nicholai of Japan. A Brief Biography. Excerpts from Diaries [compiled by Alexander Chekh], 2001.
4. Saint Nicholai of Japan. It is God's Will to Enlighten Japan: A Collection of Letters. Moscow: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2009.