The Blessings of Nicholas Mogilevsky
Passengers sharing Bishop Nicholas’s Moscow-bound flight found his blessings faintly silly — but that was when the engines were still running.
1947
King George VI 1936-1952
Passengers sharing Bishop Nicholas’s Moscow-bound flight found his blessings faintly silly — but that was when the engines were still running.
1947
King George VI 1936-1952
St Nicholas Mogilevsky (1877-1955) was Bishop of Alma-Ata (Almaty) in Kazakhstan during the Soviet era. He endured repeated imprisonment and ill-use at the hands of the Nazis, the Communists and state-sponsored Church ‘modernisers’ with remarkable forbearance. This is just one of several tales from his own lifetime.
NICHOLAS Mogilevsky liked to pronounce blessings. He blessed every member of his congregation after holy communion, over a thousand of them. He blessed every passenger who stepped onto his train. And he blessed every passenger sharing his plane to Moscow in 1947, bound for a church synod.
‘No need to be afraid’ someone sniggered, ‘there’s a saint on board!’ For which everyone received a blessing.
Some miles had passed, when one of the engines sputtered and fell silent. Panic set in as the plane banked alarmingly. ‘Pray!’ urged Nicholas. ‘Not a soul will perish!’ Then as an afterthought, ‘Only we’ll get a bit muddy’.
Steeper dived the plane; yet the babel within subsided. Soon Nicholas’s soft voice could be heard in prayer. Then, as if resting on a cushion, the aircraft levelled out, glided serenely onto a shallow lake, skipped, and stopped.
The passengers, shaken, tumbled out to safety. Not a soul had perished!
But they did get a bit muddy.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
What habit did the Bishop have when travelling by public transport?
He would bless his fellow-passengers one by one.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Bishop Nicholas travelled on public transport. He gave a blessing to every passenger. Some passengers were rude to him.