Velimirovic Agios Nikolaos

Saint Nikolaos Velimirovic (23/12/1880-5/31956) was born in the small village of Lelic in western Serbia in 1880. He attended the Orthodox Seminary of Saint Sava in Belgrade from where he graduated in 1905. He was awarded a Doctor of Theology at the Univ. of Bern and Philosophy of the University of Geneva. In 1909 he was ordained a monk and in 1919 he was elected Bishop of Zitsa and later transferred to the diocese of Ahrid. During the German occupation he suffered hardships and torture culminating in his incarceration in the Dachau concentration camp. After the war he left communist Yugoslavia and fled to the USA, where he taught at various Orthodox Christian Universities and Seminaries. He fell asleep in March 1956. On May 19, 2003, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church proclaimed him a Saint and included him in its canon. His memory is commemorated on March 5/18.