St. Nicholas

In the Orthodox and Catholic/Anglican tradition the feast of St Nicholas is  6 December. ​

Although Nicholas is a very popular saint in the Greek and Latin churches (i.e., Orthodox and Western), there is little known about the historical Nicholas. We know he was Bishop of Myra (Lycia in modern Turkey) at  the beginning of the fourth century. Beyond that, our knowledge of Nicholas moves into legend.

For example...
It is said that he was imprisoned during the Diocletian  persecution of the church in AD 303-304.

He may have participated in the first Council of Nicaea in AD 325, one of the crucial Ecumenical Councils of the Church that  helped forge Christian orthodoxy (from which we have the Nicene Creed).

Nicholas is remembered for his generosity and goodwill. For this, he is considered a patron saint of sailors and children. 

• According to legend, Nicholas' prayers resulted in the calming of the seas during a perilous storm.
• He is said to have rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them to be married.
• He is credited with saving or restoring the lives of three boys that had drown.
  
• Similarly,  it is said that he obtained the release of three unjustly convicted sailors who had been inappropriately sentenced to death.
  

The truth of these legends is lost in the mists of time, so  how might they be important to us today? 

First is the priority of care for those who are denied justice. In Nicholas’ day, children had no legal or other form of status. That was a given in the Roman Empire. Unless affluent, they were profoundly vulnerable. That is still true across the globe today. This is totally contrary to the teachings of  Jesus, who points to the child as an exemplar of the Kingdom of God and  in special need of care and protection.​

In saving the unjustly convicted sailors Nicholas shows that due process is  integral to justice. In the days of Twitter storms and social media  condemnation we are losing the art of measured judgement and are  rushing to condemn. Nicholas warns us away from that nasty basic  impulse to point the finger. He does that surely in the spirit of Jesus’  hesitancy to judge, despite being the Judge of All. Secondly in Nicholas  we see someone who delights in the Gift of Life and wants to see life in  others. How we live our lives – from conception to a natural death – is  increasingly contested, even amongst Christians. Nicholas brought his  gifts by night so as not to be noticed. We don’t see, and barely  acknowledge, the Giver of our lives. In dark times when so many refugees  die and suffer, when we have homeless people living on the street, when  many have little food and poor shelter, part of the Christian task, in the  spirit of Nicholas, is quietly and patiently, yet insistently, to promote the  priority of life. 

St Nicholas was no ‘bah-humbug’ sort of person, and nor should we be, so  following his example, let us pray that we might be humble in generosity,  vibrant in our daily lives and always compassionate to the needs of the  vulnerable. Then we can truly say we honour this great and popular saint.