Saint Nicholas of Myra:

Feast day : 06 December 2020

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Greek Catholic Bishop who lived during the period 270-343. He was known for his extraordinary piety and generosity towards his people whom he served with great love. He is also known as the ‘wonderworker’ for the several miracles that came to be through his intercession both during his time on earth and even now after his death. The modern day tradition of Santa Claus, bringing gifts, has its origin in the tradition followed in parts of Europe where on the feast of ‘Sinterklaas’ or ‘Sint-Nicolaas', gifts are exchanged among loved ones. He is regarded as the patron saint of children, sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, prostitutes, brewers and students.

Early life:

Saint Nicholas was born in the year 270 in the city of Patara into a pious Christian family. His parents consecrated him to God in his infancy and he was known to be extraordinarily pious from his infancy. As he grew up, he was known for his love of the Scriptures and dedicated much of his time as a youth in learning the sacred texts. He was ordained a priest by his uncle who was the then Bishop of Patara.

Vocational life:

After his ordination, his first assignment was to assist his uncle, the Bishop. He was known to be diligent in all his duties and fervently served the Lord and His Church. After the death of his parents, he sold all his possessions and distributed his inheritance to the poor and needy. He was most loved among the people for his generosity and charity towards the needy. People sought his help in their needs and he was known to always help. According to legend, he saved three girls from resorting to prostitution in their poverty by secretly dropping three bags of gold coins into their house in the night. The father of the girls was once a wealthy businessman who had fallen into hard times. He did not have the money to pay for the dowry of his daughters. In his extreme poverty, he was faced with the option of sending his daughters into prostitution. On hearing of this, Saint Nicholas was greatly disturbed. That night, he passed by their home and secretly threw a bag of gold coins into their home through their window. The businessman woke up to his new fortune and used it to marry his eldest daughter. Again St. Nicholas visited their home secretly in the night and gave another bag of gold coins that was again used for the marriage of the second daughter. The businessman is believed to have prayed to God to reveal this secret angel who had answered his prayers. Accordingly, on his third visit, the businessman caught Saint Nicholas dropping another bag of gold coins for his third daughter. Saint Nicholas begged him to keep it secret as he wanted his acts of charity to remain secret.

Several miracles were attributed to his intercession during his lifetime. Once when he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, a great storm arose at sea. Saint Nicholas is believed to have seen this storm in a vision beforehand and had warned the crew members. As the storm raged, he silently sat and prayed for all the people on board and through his prayers the storm calmed and all the members onboard were brought safely to shore. During his pilgrimage in the Holy Land, he was greatly moved and desired to retire into the desert. But he was guided by a Divine voice to return back to his home. Once back, he joined the monastic community in Lycia but again the Divine voice urged him to go back and perform his duties among the people. It is believed that Our Lord told him, “ Nicholas, if you desire to be vouchsafed a crown from me, go and struggle for the good of the world. This monastery is not the vineyard in which you shall bring forth the fruit I expect you; but turn back, go into the world, and let my Name be glorified in you.” Accordingly he went back to Myra and was soon ordained the Archbishop of Myra.

During his period as the Bishop of Myra, the Church suffered heavily under the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. Saint Nicholas too was imprisoned with other Christians for refusing to bow down to idols. In his captivity he encouraged his flock to remain faithful and endure all the persecution bravely for the crown of eternal life. His captivity came to an end when Emperor Constantine succeeded the throne. He thereafter returned to Myra and resumed his work.

He is also called by the title wonderworker and several miracles came to be through his intercession. Among the popular legends of miracles, he is known to have saved Myra from famine and he saved three people who were unjustly condemned to death by appearing in a dream to Emperor Constantine and asking for reversing the execution order. Both during his life on earth and even now after his death, he remains to be a faithful intercessor for the poor, those unjustly condemned and travellers at sea.

Death & Sainthood:

He is believed to have died in the year 343 and his sacred remains were kept in the church built in his honor in Myra. In the year 1081, according to tradition, Saint Nicholas is believed to have appeared to a priest in the Italian city of Bari and asked for his relics to be moved from Myra. Accordingly, three ships were sent to retrieve his relics. On their arrival in the city in 1087, the travellers found the Church of St. Nicholas in Myra in a poor state. There were four monks who attended to the Church and they led them to the relics. On opening the coffin, the men found a fluid flowing from the relics. This was collected in vials and the relics were transported to Bari. The relics were received with great honor in Bari and a great celebration was held in the city to welcome the relics. The relics are enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari. Several miracles have been reported through the intercession of St. Nicholas since then and the Shrine is today a popular pilgrim site. The relics are known to exude a miraculous watery substance known as ‘manna’ or ‘myrrh’ on various occasions.