Archbishop Nikon (Rozhdenstvenskii) relates these stories. In 1918, during the Bolshevik revolution, all of Moscow was shocked by a sign which was given through the image of St Nicholas. One of his icons which hung on a wall in the Kremlin was covered with a red cloth. Before the eyes of a great multitude people on Red Square, this cloth which hid the face of St Nicholas ripped apart on its own. Pieces of the material fell onto the ground, and St Nicholas’ image was again seen by all. This was interpreted as the future deliverance from the “red cloak” which had descended upon the Kremlin and Holy Russia.
Besides this, many other signs were given through icons of St Nicholas throughout the years. Here we will mention just a few.
During WWII the government was evacuating the population from the front line in trucks. An old woman was holding a bundle in her hands.
The commissar asked: “What do you have there?”
“An icon of St Nicholas,” the woman replied.
“Drop it!” the commissar commanded.
“No, I will not,” protested the woman.
The commissar pulled out a revolver, pointed it at the old woman and demanded: “If you do not drop it immediately, I will shoot you!”
“Go ahead and shoot, I will not part with it. This icon has kept me safe throughout my life,” came the answer.
At that moment a German missile exploded over the head of the commissar, and he was blown to pieces. The old woman simply sat down from fear, and continued to hold the icon which was so dear to her.
Just before the war we saw a large icon of St Nicholas on one of the analogions at the women’s monastery dedicated to the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple in Belgrade. It had miraculously renewed itself. The formerly darkened image was sparkling with all its many colors, which had become fresh and luminous.
Along with all the martyrs who accepted death from the godless ones in the name of God’s truth, St Nicholas seems to speak to us through the words of Apostle Paul: Be followers of me, as I am a follower of Christ. (1 Cor. 4, 16)