The Monk Nikola Svyatosha (Svyatoslav), Prince of Chernigov, the Wonderworker of the Caves, in the Nearby Caves (+ 1143), was the great-grandson of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and the son of Prince David Svyatoslavich of Chernigov (+ 1123), in some sources the father of the monk is called the saint. The saint was a prince of Lutsk, had a wife and children (his daughter was later married to the Prince of Novgorod, St. Vsevolod-Gabriel (+ 1138). On February 17, 1106, the holy prince, leaving his family, took vows at the Kiev Caves Monastery. 
Here, Nikola Svyatosha served his obediences with great humility: for three years he worked in a cook's shop, chopping wood and carrying water, and for the next three years he served as a gatekeeper at a monastery. The saint built a garden near his cell. At his own expense, he built a church of the Holy Trinity in the monastery and a hospital church in the name of St. Nicholas, his heavenly patron saint.
Russian Monk Nikola was the first Russian prince to become a monk. He patiently endured the reproaches of his brothers for their determination to lead the life of an unrequited novice. The monk's physician, Peter, argued to the ascetic prince that the feat of such obedience would harm his health. But suddenly the doctor himself fell ill and was healed only through the prayers of St. Nicholas. Then Peter became a monk.
Having passed through various obediences, St. Nicholas imposed on himself a vow of silence. When the saint received money, he used it to decorate the temple, to buy books (for he loved book reading), or to give to the poor. Saint Nicholas was a diligent peacemaker. In 1142, he reconciled the Chernigov princes with Grand Duke Vsevolod.
Shortly after the saint's death, his brother Prince Izyaslav fell seriously ill. The abbot of the monastery sent the monk's hair shirt to the patient. Izyaslav put it on and was healed.