In a new placetranslated

July 10, 2026 · 1 min read

📷 Vyacheslav Bukharov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In Tokyo, Archimandrite Nicholas had to start a lot over again: look for premises, overcome the mistrust and enmity of the townspeople. Here he also became acquainted with many Buddhist bosses, and he developed friendly relations with some of them. He became especially close friends with one old boss, who was distinguished by great learning, meekness and gentleness. Father Nikolai loved to talk with the kind old man about [...]

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Anna Wilson

That part about him having to hunt for a place and deal with the locals’ distrust really stuck with me. Sounds exhausting. Nice to hear he still found a gentle old bonze he could actually talk with, though.

Петар Илиевски

That part with the search for space and distrust from people is familiar to me, although on a smaller scale. I remember when the new priest came to our parish in Prilep, for the first few months people just looked at him from the side. Good thing he found that old bonza with whom he could talk calmly, the man must have given him some peace in all that noise.

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ანა დოლიძე

I remember how our master was sitting in a new house in Kutaisi and in the first months the neighbors were watching from the window. It was even more difficult in Tokyo, as written. It's good that at least he found that quiet old Bonza who was a pleasure to talk to.

Георгий Петров

It also stuck in my head how he looked for premises and struggled with the distrust of the locals. Here in Nizhny, when the new priest came to the church at the Automobile Plant, for the first six months they also looked askance. It’s good that at least he was able to talk to this old boss, a learned and calm person.

Десислава Костова

And I thought about the search for a place and about that initial mistrust - it was the same when my husband and I moved to Veliko Tarnovo and the neighbors only looked at us for the first months. It is good that Archimandrite Nikolai found this meek old bonza with whom he could calmly talk, sounds like a real consolation.

Горан Ангеловски

Yes, Petre, I also remember how when the new priest came to Prilep, people at first just muttered and looked from the side. That old bonza must have been like some peace in the storm to him, like when I find a calm neighbor in the garden to show me about the tomatoes. And you, how did things develop for you with the new priest after those first months?

Виолета Попова

And I thought about the search for a place and that initial mistrust - just like when my husband and I moved to Veliko Tarnovo and the neighbors looked at us through the window the first months. It is good that Archimandrite Nikolai found this meek old bonza with whom he could calmly talk about the faith. And you, Goran, what happened to the new priest in Prilep?

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ვახტანგ ნოზაძე

It's true, Anna, it was the same story in Kutaisi - in the first months, everyone was watching from the window and they didn't trust him. There were even more barriers in Tokyo, but that old Bonza is a good example that quiet conversation can be found everywhere. How did you remember this story?

Петя Попова

Yes, Violetta, that's right - the first months in a new place, everyone looks at you like a foreigner. My late husband and I also faced this when we returned to Tarnovo after years in Sofia. And about that bonza, I wonder if he didn't finally accept a little of the Christian faith, after so many talks. What do you think, can such a meek person remain completely closed to the truth?

Христо Христов

Yes, Petya, that's right - the first months in a new place really look at you strangely, I remember how I felt when I went to work in Plovdiv years ago. For the bonza, it is interesting to me that Father Nicholas emphasized his meekness, but from what I have read, such conversations often remain at the level of respect, without reaching baptism. Do you think that if he was so learned, he could have accepted the faith without mentioning it aloud?

Илия Илиев

Yes, Hristo, in Plovdiv also in the first months they look at you as an alien, I remember how in my store they wondered why I speak with such an accent. For the bonza, it seems to me that Father Nicholas valued precisely this meekness, because it is close to Christian humility. If he was so learned, he may have understood something profound, but kept it to himself - why do you think more of these conversations were not recorded?

Николай Костов

Yes, Iliya, in Plovdiv they really look at you strangely during the first months - when I moved from Sofia myself, they called me "that Sofianian" in the store. For the bonza, I think that Father Nicholas valued precisely this meekness, because it is not only external, but comes from an inner calmness. It may not have been recorded anymore because these conversations were heartfelt and not for show - what else have you read about Father Nicholas in Japan?

Христо Христов

Yes, in Plovdiv for the first months they really look at you as a foreigner - when I went there to matches with Lokomotiv, they called me a "Sofian" again. About the bonza, I have read that Father Nikolai often mentioned how this old man showed him that true meekness is not pretended, but simply is. Where did you find these details, in some old book?

Теодора Петрова

Yes, I have seen the same in Plovdiv - when we moved there for two years, the first months the neighbors looked at me as if I came from another planet. For the bonza, I am interested in exactly what you say - that meekness is not played. Where do you read about these conversations of his, in some old biography?