Saint Nikolaj Velimirović

1881–1956 · 20th c. · 8 works

Nikolaj Velimirović (1881–1956) was a Serbian Orthodox bishop, theologian, and preacher, one of the most influential figures of twentieth-century Serbian Christianity and often called the 'New Chrysostom' for his oratory.

Born at Lelić in western Serbia, he was educated at Belgrade, Bern (where he took a doctorate in 1908), Oxford, and Geneva, and was ordained in 1909. During the First World War he travelled in Britain and the United States, lecturing on behalf of Serbia and the Orthodox cause, and it is from these years that his early English-language books date. He was consecrated Bishop of Žiča in 1919 and translated to Ohrid in 1920, later returning to Žiča.

During the Second World War he was arrested by the occupying forces and ultimately interned at the Dachau concentration camp in 1944–1945. After the war he did not return to Communist Yugoslavia but emigrated to the United States, where he taught at Orthodox seminaries.

He reposed at Saint Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, in 1956, and his relics were later translated to his native Lelić. The Serbian Orthodox Church glorified him as a saint in 2003. His best-known works include the Prologue of Ohrid and Prayers by the Lake; the works gathered here are his pre-1930 English writings, composed for British and American audiences during and after the Great War.

Sources: Orthodox Church in America — Saint Nikolai (Velimirovich) of Zhicha · Serbian Orthodox Church — Saint Nikolai of Ohrid and Žiča