Българска
Православна
Мисия
Свети
Свети Кирил и
Методи,
Равноапостоли
и Учители на
Славяните
SS. Cyril & Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox Mission
St.
Nicholas the Wonderworker,
Archbishop
of Myra in Lycia
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Our services are held
at:
St. Luke Orthodox Church
6801 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101
A parish of the
Orthodox Church in America
St Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archbishop of
Myra in Lycia
Saint Nicholas, the
Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia is famed as a great saint pleasing
unto God. He was born in the city of Patara in the region of Lycia (on the
south coast of the Asia Minor peninsula), and was the only son of pious parents
Theophanes and Nonna, who had vowed to dedicate him to God.
As the fruit of the 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 hours, without support
from anyone, thereby honoring the Most Holy Trinity. St Nicholas from his
infancy began a life of fasting, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he would not
accept milk from his mother until after his parents had finished their evening
prayers.
From 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, making himself a worthy dwelling place for the Holy
Spirit. Bishop Nicholas of Patara rejoiced at the spiritual success and deep
piety of his nephew. He ordained him a reader, and then elevated Nicholas to
the priesthood, making him his assistant and entrusting him to instruct 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,
who aroused the wonder and deep respect of believers. Constantly at work and
vivacious, in unceasing prayer, the priest Nicholas displayed great
kind-heartedness towards the flock, and towards the afflicted who came to him
for help, and he distributed all his inheritance to the poor.
There was a certain formerly rich
inhabitant of Patara, whom St Nicholas saved from great sin. The man had three
grown daughters, and in desparation he planned to sell their bodies so they would
have money for food. The saint, learning of the man's poverty and of his wicked
intention, secretly visited him one night and threw a sack of gold through the
window. With the money the man arranged an honorable marriage for his daughter.
St Nicholas also provided gold for the other daughters, thereby saving the
family from falling into spiritual destruction. In bestowing charity, St
Nicholas always strove to do this secretly and to conceal his good deeds.
The Bishop of Patara decided to go on
pilgrimage to the holy places at Jerusalem, and entrusted the guidance of his
flock to St Nicholas, who fulfilled this obedience carefully and with love.
When the bishop returned, Nicholas asked his blessing for a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land. Along the way the saint predicted a storm would arise and threaten
the ship. St Nicholas saw the devil get on the ship, intending to sink it and
kill all the passengers. At the entreaty of the despairing pilgrims, he calmed
the waves of the sea by his prayers. Through his prayer a certain sailor of the
ship, who had fallen from the mast and was mortally injured was also restored
to health.
When he reached the ancient city of
Jerusalem and came to Golgotha, St Nicholas gave thanks to the Savior. He went
to all the holy places, worshiping at each one. One night on Mount Sion, the
closed doors of the church opened by themselves for the great pilgrim. Going
round the holy places connected with the earthly service of the Son of God, St
Nicholas decided to withdraw into the desert, but he was stopped by a divine
voice urging him to return to his native country. He returned to Lycia, and
yearning for a life of quietude, the saint entered into the brotherhood of a
monastery named Holy Sion, which had been founded by his uncle. But the Lord
again indicated another path for him, "Nicholas, this is not the vineyard
where you shall bear fruit for Me. Return to the world, and glorify My Name
there." So he left Patara and went to Myra in Lycia.
Upon the death of Archbishop John,
Nicholas was chosen as Bishop of Myra after one of the bishops of the Council
said that a new archbishop should be revealed by God, not chosen by men. One of
the elder bishops had a vision of a radiant Man, Who told him that the one who
came to the church that night and was first to enter should be made archbishop.
He would be named Nicholas. The bishop went to the church at night to await
Nicholas. The saint, always the first to arrive at church, was stopped by the
bishop. "What is your name, child?" he asked. God's chosen one
replied, "My name is Nicholas, Master, and I am your servant."
After his consecration as archbishop, St
Nicholas remained a great ascetic, appearing to his flock as an image of
gentleness, kindness and love for people. This was particularly precious for
the Lycian Church during the persecution of Christians under the emperor
Diocletian (284-305). Bishop Nicholas, locked up in prison together with other
Christians for refusing to worship idols, sustained them and exhorted them to
endure the fetters, punishment and torture. The Lord preserved him unharmed.
Upon the accession of St Constantine (May 21) as emperor, St Nicholas was
restored to his flock, which joyfully received their guide and intercessor.
Despite his great gentleness of spirit and
purity of heart, St 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 St Nicholas was a
participant in the First Ecumenical Council. This Council proclaimed the Nicean
Symbol of Faith, and he stood up against the heretic Arius with the likes of
Sts Sylvester the Bishop of Rome (January 2), Alexander of Alexandria (May 29),
Spyridon of Trimythontos (December 12) and other Fathers of the Council.
St Nicholas, fired with zeal for the
Lord, assailed the heretic Arius with his words, and also struck him upon the
face. For this reason, he was deprived of the emblems of his episcopal rank and
placed under guard. But several of the holy Fathers had the same vision, seeing
the Lord Himself and the Mother of God returning to him the Gospel and
omophorion. The Fathers of the Council agreed that the audacity of the saint
was pleasing to God, and restored the saint to the office of bishop.
Having returned to his own diocese, the
saint brought it peace and blessings, sowing the word of Truth, uprooting
heresy, nourishing his flock with sound doctrine, and also providing food for
their bodies.
Even during his life the saint worked
many miracles. One of the greatest was the deliverance from death of three men
unjustly condemned by the Governor, who had been bribed. The saint boldly went
up to the executioner and took his sword, already suspended over the heads of
the condemned. The Governor, denounced by St Nicholas for his wrong doing,
repented and begged for forgiveness.
Witnessing this remarkable event were
three military officers, who were sent to Phrygia by the emperor Constantine to
put down a rebellion. They did not suspect that soon they would also be
compelled to seek the intercession of St Nicholas. Evil men slandered them
before the emperor, and the officers were sentenced to death. Appearing to St
Constantine in a dream, St Nicholas called on him to overturn the unjust
sentence of the military officers.
He worked many other miracles, and
struggled many long years at his labor. Through the prayers of the saint, the
city of Myra was rescued from a terrible famine. He appeared to a certain
Italian merchant and left him three gold pieces as a pledge of payment. He
requested him to sail to Myra and deliver grain there. More than once, the
saint saved those drowning in the sea, and provided release from captivity and
imprisonment.
Having reached old age, St Nicholas
peacefully fell asleep in the Lord. His venerable relics were preserved
incorrupt in the local cathedral church and flowed with curative myrrh, from
which many received healing. In the year 1087, his relics were transferred to
the Italian city of Bari, where they rest even now (See May 9).
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 every corner 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, perhaps, not
a single city without a church dedicated to him.
The first Russian Christian prince Askold
(+ 882) was baptized in 866 by Patriarch Photius (February 6) with the name
Nicholas. Over the grave of Askold, St Olga (July 11) built the first temple of
St Nicholas in the Russian Church at Kiev. Primary cathedrals were dedicated to
St 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 churches and
monasteries dedicated to St Nicholas are found at Kiev, Smolensk, Pskov,
Toropetsa, Galich, Archangelsk, Great Ustiug, Tobolsk. Moscow had dozens of
churches named for the saint, and also three monasteries 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 Nikolsk.
Many of the churches devoted to the saint
were those established at market squares by Russian merchants, sea-farers and
those who traveled by land, 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, venerated by peasants as a merciful
intercessor before the Lord for all the people in their work. And in the
Russian land St Nicholas did not cease 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 for the
loss of their only child, took the infant from the waters, revived him and
placed him in the choir-loft of the church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) before
his wonderworking icon. In the morning the infant was found safe by his
thrilled parents, praising St Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Many wonderworking icons of St Nicholas
appeared in Russia and came also from other lands. There is the ancient
Byzantine embordered image of the saint, brought to Moscow from Novgorod, and
the large icon painted in the thirteenth century by a Novgorod master.
Two depictions of the wonderworker are
especially numerous in the Russian Church: St Nicholas of Zaraisk, portrayed in
full-length, with his right hand raised in blessing and with a Gospel (this
image was brought to Ryazan in 1225 by the Byzantine Princess Eupraxia, the
future wife of Prince Theodore. She perished in 1237 with her husband and
infant son during the incursion of Batu); and St Nicholas of Mozhaisk, also in
full stature, with a sword in his right hand and a city in his left. This
recalls the miraculous rescue of the city of Mozhaisk from an invasion of
enemies, through the prayers of the saint. It is impossible to list all the
grace-filled icons of St Nicholas, or to enumerate all his miracles.
St Nicholas is the patron of travelers,
and we pray to him for deliverance from floods, poverty, or any misfortunes. He
has promised to help those who remember his parents, Theophanes and Nonna.
St Nicholas is also commemorated on May 9
(The transfer of his relics) and on July 29 (his nativity).
(Courtesy
of OCA.org)
Saints
Commemorated Today
25th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (11th of Luke)
— Tone 8. St. Ambrose, Bishop
of Milan (397). Ven. Anthony, Abbot of Siya (Novgorod—1558). Ven. Nilus
of Stolobˇnsk (1554). Ven. John the Faster, of the Kiev Caves (Near
Caves—12th c.). Martyr Athenodorus of Mesopotamia (ca. 304).
Ven. Paul the Obedient. St. Philoftheia of Thrace, Protectress of Romania (12th
c.). Ven. Gregory, Founder of Grigoriou Monastery (Mt. Athos—14th
c.).
May Their Memory Be Eternal
The
Archbishop GREGORY;
the
Archimandrite Innocent;
the
Priests Peter, Homer, Ishmael, Elary, and Leo;
the
Presbyteras Mary, Elizabeth, Sophronia, Barbara, and Platonida;
the
Reader Robert Michael;
the
servants of God, George, Anna, Elena, Olivera, Helen, Christo, Radka, Dale, Philemon,
Carmel, Thomas, Thomas & Marion, Andrew & Irene, Stamatia & Peter,
Panigyoti & Marianthi, Ginka, Elvetizio & Eva, Vasili, Mary Ellen,
George, Christophor, Rada, Julia, and Mary;
(If you wish to add a name to
this list, please contact Fr. Timothy)
Those Who Are In Need of Prayer
Priests
Photius, Joseph, Anthony, Mileta, Milorad, and Joseph;
Presbyteras
Artemis, Marie, Miriam, & Alexandra;
The
servants of God, Jose, Kasia, Catherine, Mathew, Elisabeth, Stella, Helen, Venko,
Tanya, Petya, Charlie, Vera, Magdalena, Bojanka, Albana, Yekaterina, Sasha,
John, Carmeta, Charlie, and Patricia.
(If you wish to add a name to
this list, please contact Fr. Timothy)
Schedule of Services
(All
Services begin at 2:00)
Sunday, December 21 Forefeast of the
Nativity of Christ
Sunday, January 4 Forefeast
of Theophany (Baptism of Christ)
Sunday, January 18 Ven. Prochorus,
Vranski desert in Bulgaria
Sunday, February 1 Sunday of
Zacchaeus (preparation for Great Lent)
Sunday, February 15 Sunday of the Prodigal
Son (prep. for Great Lent)
Sunday, March 1 Forgiveness
Sunday (Begin Great Lent)
Sunday, March 15 St.
Gregory Palamas (Second Sunday of Lent)
Sunday, March 29 St.
John Climacus (Fourth Sunday of Lent)
Sunday, April 12 Palm
Sunday
Sunday, April 19 PASCHA
January Parish Council Meeting
The next Monthly Parish Council
Meeting will be held Thursday evening, January 8 at St. Luke Orthodox Church in
MacLean, VA. The meeting will
begin at 7:00 PM and will end promptly at 9:00 PM. Parishioners are welcome and encouraged to attend the
meeting but are respectfully reminded that only Parish Council members may
vote.
2009 Annual Parish Meeting
The Annual Parish Meeting will take place after the Divine
Liturgy on Sunday, January 18, 2009.
The Annual Parish Meeting agenda will include, 1/ TreasurerÕs Financial
Report on 2008, 2/ PriestÕs Report on 2008 and Outlook for 2009, 3/ Adoption of
2008 Annual Parish Meeting Minutes, 4/ Budget for 2009, 5/ Election of 2009
Parish Council members, and 6/ New Business (items proposed and accepted by the
Parish Council by January 4). Only
members of good standing may either stand for nomination to the Parish Council
and vote.
SS Cyril &
Methodius Bulgarian Orthodox Mission
Bulletin, November 23,
2008
OCA, Diocese of
Washington and New York