Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk

Mikola Mozhaiski is a variation of the name for Saint Nikolai of Mozhaisk, which, in turn, is a variation on the main Saint Nikolaus traditions^[1].

According to folklore researcher, Hele Bome^[2], Saint Nikolai of Mozhaisk is remembered in an icon sculpted in high-relief. This icon became most popular as a protective image, especially favored by Setu peoples, who sometimes venerate the icon with loaves of bread or cream, and who often seek blessings on their agriculture and cattle-raising. However the main role attributed to this figure is as a protector of the crops from the cold.

Some texts specifically describe the saint as a warrior-hero (e.g., a white-bearded man who stands on top of the monastery wall and can't be touched by enemy fire). The icon stands with a sword raised, which figures in the initial legends as Nikolai appeared to during a war time, but which is explained in other stories as the Saint threatening to strike an old woman who did not believe in him.

These legends may include events actually experienced in the life of the missionary Abbot Cornelius of Petseri (near the Estonia-Russia border).

In popular culture

Mikola Mozhaiski is also a figure in the novel, Enchantment, by Orson Scott Card.

References

1. ^ Dixon-Kennedy, Mike. Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1998.
2. ^ http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol34/bome.pdf