Nikolai Kutepov was born on October 4, 1924 in a peasant family on the Kutepov farm in the Tula region. He was a long-awaited son. His parents, Vasily Ilyich and Varvara Ivanovna, had a daughter, Nina, in 1913. Over the next 11 years, there were no more children in the family. During these years, the mother prayed to St. Nicholas for a son-heir. He was born only in 1924. They wanted to name the boy Dmitry, because he was born on a significant day — on October 4, the church celebrates the finding of the relics of St. Demetrius of Rostov. However, the local priest told his mother: "I prayed to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and name him after him." Five years later, another child was born in the family — Nikolai's sister Rimma.
The family belonged to the class of well-to-do peasants, and in 1930 they were dispossessed and exiled. The head of the family moved his wife and children to Tula, where his sister lived. Life was difficult: Vasily Ilyich had five children, elderly parents and two sisters of Varvara Ivanovna.
As a child, Nikolai Kutepov was an obedient, calm child. He listened attentively to the stories of the nun aunts about the lives of saints, loved to build churches out of sand, and read a lot. In 1942, he graduated from high school, after which he entered the Tula Machine Gun School and was sent to the front.
After three months of training at the machine gun school, Nikolai was sent to the front line as an anti-tank gunner. He fought under the command of Rokossovsky with the Italian army of the Wehrmacht. The fighting was severe: the situation was aggravated by 40-degree frosts, lack of fuel and hot food.
After one of the enemy artillery strikes, Nikolai was wounded. He was in a trench, and after being hit by the enemy, he ran, after which a shell hit the shelter. Kutepov was covered with snow and earth, he was alive, but shell-shocked, his toes were badly injured. Before the soldier was found, he lay in the snow for 5 hours. His toes turned black, and the paramedics decided not to save him. Doctors performed an operation to amputate the fingers on both feet. He was treated in a hospital in the city of Kirsanov. After the amputation, it was difficult for him to walk, but despite the pain, he stood in the church for many hours of worship.
For valor and bravery, Nikolai Vasilyevich Kutepov received the medal "For Military Merit" and the Order of the Patriotic War II degree.
After treatment, Kutepov entered the Tula Mechanical Institute in 1944, but was expelled in 1947, after which he began preparing for admission to the seminary.
After the war, Nicholas often went to church. In 1944, Archbishop Vitaly noticed him and offered him the position of subdeacon (church minister, assistant deacon). Soon, Father Anthony was sent from Orel to replace Vladyka Vitaly. Kutepov became his personal secretary.
In 1950, Nikolai Vasilyevich Kutepov entered the 3rd year of the Moscow Theological Seminary, graduated two years later and resigned at his own request from the post of secretary of the archbishop. After that, Nikolai studied for 4 years at the Theological Academy in Leningrad, was a candidate of theology, and since 1958 he has taught at the theological seminary. In November 1959, he was ordained to the priesthood, and in December of the same year he became a monk and became the last tonsured monk of the Kiev Caves Lavra. In 1970, Metropolitan Nikolai Kutepov was appointed Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal.
Kutepov's name is associated with the revival of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. Vladyka insisted on the transfer of the ruined complex of buildings of the Pechersk Ascension Monastery to the Church. As a result, he was transferred to the diocese's administration.
In 1977, there were just over 40 parishes in the diocese, and in 2001 there were already 376. During this time, 9 dilapidated monasteries were restored. Thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Nikolai Kutepov of Arzamas and Nizhny Novgorod, the Nizhny Novgorod Theological Seminary and the diocesan women's college, as well as more than a hundred Sunday schools, were opened. An Orthodox periodical appeared, as well as three radio and television programs for Orthodox believers.
During the administration of the diocese by Metropolitan Nikolai Kutepov, churches began to open en masse. And since the 1990s, cathedrals and their properties, which were destroyed and occupied by various organizations, have gradually been returned to the Churches. This work was important and difficult, and it required great dedication not only from the bishop, but also from the entire clergy.
Vladyka Nicholas devoted almost 40 years to the episcopal ministry, and for 20 years he was the head of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. He made a significant contribution to the spiritual enrichment and development of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the improvement and expansion of social programs. For the residents of Nizhny Novgorod, he was a spiritual pastor, a wise mentor who was always open and fair.
Until 2001, Metropolitan Nikolai Kutepov of Arzamas and Nizhny Novgorod served at the Voznesensky Pechora Monastery. On June 5, he arrived in Moscow to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the accession of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to the Patriarchal Throne. He suffered a myocardial infarction here. The diagnosis was made at the Kremlin Central Hospital. After treatment, the metropolitan began to feel better, and after being discharged on June 19, he arrived home. On June 20, Nikolai became ill again, and he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Despite the efforts of the doctors, on June 21, 2001, the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolitan's heart stopped.
