The future Saint Nicholas saw this world of God at dawn on December 23 (old style), 1880, on the eve of Christmas Eve, on the memorial day of St. Naum of Ohrid. He was born in the small, but, as he called it, "God's village of Lelich", not far from the town of Valevo, on the slope of Mount Povlen. His parents, simple farmers, Dragomir and Ekaterina, were kind, pious people and devout Christians, especially his mother. Their firstborn soon after birth was enlightened by Holy Baptism and named Nicholas…

The greatest Serb of the twentieth century, St. Nicholas of Serbia (Velimirovich, 1880-1956) is certainly the brightest and most ambitious personality in the recent history of the Balkans. Long before his official canonization (May 2008), prayerfully revered throughout the Orthodox world, he was granted the most precious gifts of the Holy Spirit from the Lord during his earthly life.