Many ancient Russian cities have their own patron saint, whose name is associated with miraculous healings and protection of the city from enemies. The patron saint of the city of Borovichi in the Novgorod region is St. Pravda. James, Borovichi Wonderworker.
St. James is a pan–Orthodox saint, November 5, on the feast of St. St. James, Orthodox Christians all over the world, offering prayers to this saint, spiritually unite with the believers of Borovichi.
St. Nicholas is especially patronized. Iakov Borovichi region and Iversky Valdai monastery.
In the manuscript of the XVI century, kept in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the legends about this saint are set out.
In 1452, on April 11*, on Easter Tuesday, a great event took place near the Holy Spirit Monastery. The spring flood; the swift-flowing river Msta rolled its waves through the rapids in a noisy stream; the life-giving warmth of the spring sun destroyed all the river ice. Suddenly a large ice floe appeared, moving against the swift current of the river; thick steam, like smoke from a flame, rose from it. She landed on the right bank, a hundred fathoms above the monastery. Witnesses of this phenomenon saw on the ice floe a rather darkened and as if scorched by fire pine deck, which represented the lower part of the coffin without a lid, and in it the little-covered body of a certain boy. Horrified, unenlightened and cowardly Borovians mistook the floating body for an ordinary corpse of a drowned man. In order to avoid trouble, they strenuously tried to push the ice floe with its strange bearing away from the shore with a special kind of long poles. However, the ice floe did not obey and returned to its former place again. Then, having wrapped the deck with ropes, they dragged it along with the ice floe along the Msta River and thus took it two versts away from the monastery. At dawn the next day, the ice floe returned with its burden. This was repeated a third time.
Finally, the Lord has brought the foolish to reason. A certain boy appeared in a dream to several more well-meaning Borovichi elders and told them: "Why are you Orthodox Christians mercilessly driving away a Christian like you? Why are you resisting the Lord, who has sent my body to you? Is it because of ignorance of my name? So know that I am called James; the co-namesake of St. To Jacob, the brother of the Lord according to the flesh." The simple-minded and God-fearing elders woke up from their sleep, told each other about the wonderful dream and were touched in their hearts. Word of this spread quickly. And then the residents of Borovichi realized the unreasonable attitude towards the relics of the boy of God revealed through the arrival. Many bitter tears were shed at the same time; the drekole, which repelled the relics, was burned. The elders, accompanied by the crowd, hurried to the bank of the Msta River with the firm intention of immediately removing the honest relics from the ice floe for their repose here on the shore. A wooden log house was built, which looked like a small chapel on top of the ground. During the 93 years after the arrival and subsequent burial, the incorruptible remains of St. James, who had fallen asleep under a bushel, relentlessly poured out gracious healings for all who flowed to him with faith.
After many signs and wonders performed at the tomb of James the Righteous, the inhabitants of our region in 1544, with a special petition from the clergy and laity, brought this to the attention of Archbishop Theodosius of Novgorod, expressing a sincere desire and fervent request that the honest relics of this new wonderworker, as a precious and God-given treasure, be opened. This great celebration took place in 1545 on October 23, the feast day of the Apostle James, the brother of the Lord. At the very place of burial of the relics of St. Jacob soon after discovered a healing spring. And the pious inhabitants of the surrounding area, jealous of the glory of the name of the Lord, wonderful in his saints, built here a small wooden church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness".
In the days of his most pious sovereign, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, His Holiness Nikon, the great Patriarch of all Russia, knowing about the miracles performed at the relics of St. James the Righteous, and at the same time receiving information that the holy relics were in great neglect due to the scarcity of Holy Spirituality, had the intention to transfer the holy relics to the then created on one of the islands of Lake Valdai monastery of Iverskaya. This transfer took place in 1654 on February 23.
Who exactly was the boy who pleased the Lord, St. James the Righteous, called the Borovichi Wonderworker, in his short life on earth, who were his parents and from where did his incorruptible relics sail to the Borovichi shore? There are no reliable legends about this, neither written nor oral.
The miracles of St. James are described in the book "The Legend of St. James the Righteous, the Borovichi Wonderworker", published in 1901 in St. Petersburg. The memories of Borovichans have been preserved that at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, St. Nicholas appeared to a deeply believing elder in a dream. And Jacob said: "Let the believers with my image go around the city three times, and I will save my city."
Indeed, a group of believers walked around our city for three nights with a cross, singing prayers, and an icon of St. Nicholas. James and a piece of his relics. This procession was performed secretly, at night, because believers feared persecution from the godless authorities. Soon the front approached Borovichi and was only 70 km away, but the city was not affected.
There are many legends about the miracles of St. James. Believers dedicate poems to him.

* The exact date of the event is unknown. The sources give different dates: Tuesday of Holy Week 1452, which fell that year on April 11, October 23, 1542, or October 23, 1544. The repose of Blessed James is associated with 1452 or 1540. The long tradition of transmitting the legend of St. James by old-timers-"memorials", which existed by the middle of the XVI century. in Borovichi, allows us to attribute the phenomenon of the relics of the saint to the XV century.