Sainted Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, and Wonderworker
Commemorated on December 6
Sainted Nicholas,
Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, and Wonderworker is famed as a great saint
pleasing unto God. He was born in the city of Patara in the Lycian region (on
the south coast of the Asia Minor peninsula), and was the only son of pious
parents Theophanes and Nonna, who had given a vow to dedicate him to God. As the
fruition of longtime prayer of his childless parents, the infant Nicholas from
the very day of his birth revealed to people the light of his future glory as a
wonderworker. His mother, Nonna, after giving birth was immediately healed from
illness. The newborn infant while still in the baptismal font stood on his feet
three times, without support from anyone, indicating by this to honour the
Most Holy Trinity. Saint Nicholas from his infancy began a life of fasting, and
on Wednesdays and Fridays he accepted milk from his mother only but once, after
the evening prayers of his parents.
From the time of his
childhood Nicholas thrived on the study of Divine Scripture; by day he would
not leave church, and by night he prayed and read books – fashioning in himself
a worthy dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. His uncle, Bishop Nicholas of
Patara, rejoiced at the spiritual success and deep piety of his kinsman. He
ordained him a reader, and then elevated Nicholas to the dignity of presbyter,
making him his assistant and entrusting him to speak instructing the flock. In
serving the Lord the youth was fervent of spirit, and in his proficiency with
questions of faith he was like an elder / starets, which aroused the wonder and
deep respect of believers. Constantly at work and vivacious, being in unceasing
prayer, presbyter Nicholas displayed great kind-heartedness towards the flock,
and towards those afflicted coming to him for help, and he distributed all his
inheritance to the poor. Having learned about the bitter need and poverty of a
certain formerly rich inhabitant of his city, Saint Nicholas saved him from
great sin. Having three grown daughters, the despairing father considered to
give them over to profligacy so as to save them from hunger. The saint,
grieving lest the man perish a sinner, by night secretly brought him through
the window three sacks with gold and by this saved the family from falling into
spiritual destruction. In bestowing charity, Saint Nicholas always strove to do
this secretly and conceal his good deeds.
In setting off on
pilgrimage to the holy places at Jerusalem, the bishop of Patara entrusted the
guidance of the flock to Saint Nicholas, who fulfilled this obedience carefully
and with love. When the bishop returned, he in turn asked blessing for a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Along the way the saint predicted the onset of a
storm threatening the ship with inundation, since he saw the devil itself
having got on ship. At the entreaty of the despairing pilgrims, he calmed by
his prayers the waves of the sea. Through his prayer also was restored to
health a certain sailor of the ship, who had fallen from the mast and was
mortally injured.
Having reached the
ancient city of Jerusalem and having come to Golgotha, Saint Nicholas offered
up thanksgiving to the Saviour of the race of mankind and he made the rounds of
all the holy places, doing poklons and making prayers. By night on Mount Sion
the closed doors of the church opened by themselves in front of the arriving
great pilgrim. Going round the holy places connected with the earthly service
of the Son of God, Saint Nicholas decided to withdraw into the wilderness, but
he was stopped by a Divine voice, urging him to return to his native country.
Having returned to Lycia and yearning for a life of quietude, the saint entered
into the brotherhood of a monastery, named Holy Sion. But the Lord again
announced another pathway, awaiting him: "Nicholas, this is not the field,
on which thou ought to await Mine harvest, but rather turn round and go into the
world, and there My Name shalt be glorified in thee". In the vision the
Lord gave him a Gospel of exquisite workmanship, and the Most Holy Mother of God
– an omophor.
And actually, upon
the death of archbishop John, he was chosen bishop of Lycian Myra – after one
of the bishops of the Council gave a decisive reply on the question of choice
of a new archbishop – the choice of God as directed him in a vision – Saint
Nicholas. Summoned to the flock of the Church in the dignity of archbishop,
Sainted Nicholas remained a great ascetic, appearing to his flock as an image
of gentleness, kindness and love towards people. This was particularly precious
for the Lycian Church during the time of persecution of Christians under the
emperor Diocletian (284-305). Bishop Nicholas, locked up in prison together
with other Christians, sustained them and exhorted them to bravely endure the
fetters, punishment and torture. He himself the lord preserved unharmed. Upon
the accession to rule of the holy equal-to-the-apostles Constantine, Saint
Nicholas was restored to his flock, which joyfully received back their guide
and intercessor.
Despite his great
gentleness of spirit and purity of heart, Saint Nicholas was a zealous and
ardent warrior of the Church of Christ. Fighting evil spirits, the saint made
the rounds of the pagan temples and shrines in the city of Myra and its
surroundings, shattering the idols and turning the temples to dust.
In the year 325 Saint
Nicholas was a participant in the I OEcumenical Council (Sobor). This Council
proclaimed the Nicean Symbol of faith, and he stood up with the likes of saints
Sylvester the pope of Rome, Alexander of Alexandria, Spyridon of Trimiphuntum
and others of the 318 fathers of the Council against the heretic Arius.
Saint Nicholas, in
the heat of denunciation and fired up with zeal for the Lord, even gave the
false-teacher a good drubbing on the ears, for which he was deprived of his
bishop's omophor and put under guard. But several of the holy fathers shared a
vision revealing that the Lord Himself and the Mother of God had made the saint
to be bishop, bestowing upon him the Gospel and omophorion. The fathers of the
Council, having concurred, that the audacity of the saint was pleasing to god,
gave glory to the Lord and restored His holy saint to the dignity of bishop.
Having returned to
his own diocese, the saint brought it peace and blessings, sowing the word of
Truth, nipping in the bud defective and spurious claims of wisdom, uprooting
heresy and healing the fallen and those led astray through ignorance. He was
indeed a light in the world and the salt of the earth, wherein his life did
shine and his word was mixed with the salt of wisdom.
Even during his life
the saint worked many miracles. Of them the one accorded the greatest fame was
the deliverance from death by the saint of three men, unjustly condemned by a
greedy city-commander. The saint boldly went up to the executioner and took
hold of his sword, already suspended over the heads of the condemned. The
city-commander, denounced by Saint Nicholas in wrong-doing, repented himself
and begged for forgiveness. During this time there were present three military
officers, dispatched by the emperor Constantine to Phrygia. They did not
suspect that they soon likewise would be compelled to seek the intercession of
Saint Nicholas: it so happened that they had been vilely slandered before the
emperor and were come under a sentence of death. Appearing in sleep to the holy
equal-to-the-apostles Constantine, Saint Nicholas called on him to dismiss the
wrongful death-sentence of the military officers who, now in prison,
prayerfully called out for help to the saint. He worked many other miracles,
and asceticised many long years at his labour. Through the prayers of the
saint, the city of Myra was rescued from a terrible famine. Having appeared in
sleep to a certain Italian merchant and having left him as a pledge of payment
three gold money-pieces, which the merchant found in his hand upon wakening in
the morning, he requested him to sail to Myra and furnish grain there. More
than once did the saint save those drowning in the sea, and provide release
from captivity and imprisonment.
Having reached old
age, Saint Nicholas expired peacefully to the Lord (+ 345-351). His venerable
relics were preserved undecayed in the local cathedral church and flowed with
curative myrh, from which many received healing. In the year 1087 his relics
were transferred to the Italian city of Bari, where they rest even now (about
the Transfer of Relics see under 9 May).
The name of the great
saint of God, the hierarch and wonderworker Nicholas, a speedy helper and
suppliant for all hastening to him, is famed in all the ends of the earth, in
many lands and among many peoples. In Russia there are a multitude of cathedrals,
monasteries and churches consecrated in his name. There is not, probably, a
single city without a Nikol'sk temple.
In the name of
Sainted Nicholas the Wonderworker – the first Russian Christian prince Askol'd
(+ 882) was baptised in 866 by Patriarch Photios. Over the grave of Askol'd,
the holy equal-to-the-apostles Ol'ga (Comm. 11 July) erected the first temple
of Sainted Nicholas in the Russian Church at Kiev. Primary cathedrals were
dedicated to Saint Nicholas at Izborsk, Ostrov, Mozhaisk, and Zaraisk. At
Novgorod the Great one of the main churches of the city – the
Nikolo-Dvorischensk church, later became a cathedral. Famed and venerable
Nikol'sk churches and monasteries are at Kiev, Smolensk, Pskov, Toropetsa,
Galich, Archangelsk, Great Ustiug, Tobol'sk. Moscow was famed by several tens
of churches consecrated to the saint, and three Nikol'sk monasteries were
situated in the Moscow diocese: the Nikolo-Greek (Staryi) – in the
Chinese-quarter, the Nikolo-Perervinsk and the Nikolo-Ugreshsk. One of the
chief towers of the Kremlin was named the Nikol'sk. Part of all the churches
devoted to the saint were those established at market-squares by Russian
merchants, sea-farers and land-goers, venerating the wonderworker Nicholas as a
protector of all those journeying on dry land and sea. They sometimes received
the name among the people of "Nicholas soaked". Many village churches
in Russia were dedicated to the wonderworker Nicholas, reverently venerated by
peasants as a merciful intercessor before the Lord for all the people in their
work. And in the Russian land Saint Nicholas did not leave off with his
intercession. Ancient Kiev preserves the memory about the miraculous rescue of
a drowning infant by the saint. The great wonderworker, hearing the grief-filled
prayers of the parents in the loss of their only child, by night snatched up
the infant from the waters, revived him and placed him in the choir-loft of
Saint Sophia church in front of his wonderworking image. And here in the
morning the infant was found safe by his thrilled parents, praising with a
multitude of the people Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Many wonderworking
icons of Saint Nicholas appeared in Russia and came also from other lands.
There is the ancient byzantine embordered image of the saint (XII), brought to
Moscow from Novgorod, and the large icon written in the XIII Century by a
Novgorod master. Two depictions of the wonderworker are especially distributed
in the Russian Church: Sainted Nicholas of Zaraisk – in full-length, with
blessing right hand and with Gospel (this image was brought to Ryazan in 1225
by the byzantine princess Eupraxia, future spouse of Ryazan prince Theodore,
and perishing in 1237 with her husband and infant-son during the incursion of
Batu); and Sainted Nicholas of Mozhaisk – also in full stature, with a sword
in his right hand and a city in his left – in memory of the miraculous rescue,
through the prayers of the saint, of the city of Mozhaisk from an invasion of
enemies. It is impossible to list all the graced icons of Saint Nicholas. Every
Russian city and every church was blessed by suchlike icons through the prayers
of the saint.
© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.
