May: Day 9: Teaching 1: Translation of the Honorable Relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

 

May: Day 9: Teaching 1:
Translation of the Honorable Relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
 
(The Life of Saint Nicholas Is a Rule of Faith, an Image of Meekness and a Teacher of Temperance)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Nicholas of Myra, today celebrated in ecclesiastical hymns and readings, was born in the Lycian city of Patara, and in his youth was given over to the service of God under the guidance of his uncle Nicholas, the Bishop of Patara, who later elevated him to the rank of presbyter. During his uncle's journey to the Holy Land, Nicholas governed the Patara flock, and upon his return he himself went to Jerusalem and during the journey by his prayers twice calmed a storm. Returning from Jerusalem, he wanted to continue his service in his native city, but, by special inspiration of God, he moved to the city of Myra, where he was soon elected bishop and showed himself an example of "faith, meekness, and temperance." During the persecution of Christians by Diocletian, he, along with others, was subjected to imprisonment, in which he remained until the triumph of Christianity under Constantine the Great . At the First Ecumenical Synod, Saint Nicholas showed particular zeal in disgracing the heresy of Arius. Glorified by God with the gift of miracles, the great Saint died in old age, in 342, in the city of Myra, where his relics remained until their transfer to the Italian city of Bargrad (Bari) in 1087.

This is what the Church primarily praises Saint Nicholas for – for his high virtues: faith, meekness and temperance! "The truth of things has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of meekness, and a teacher of temperance."

II. a) He, in fact, teaches us an excellent rule of faith. The age in which he lived was full of heresies. But Saint Nicholas did not like to "philosophize beyond what is proper." Being the successor of the Apostles, by the calling of being a shepherd, he was also the successor of their simplicity in faith. He thought in accordance with the thoughts of the Fathers of the Church of the preceding centuries, and taught as they taught. He was not only simple, but also zealous. For the name of Christ he suffered much: he was deprived of property, imprisoned, threatened with death. But his bright and firm faith shone in the very prison where he strengthened the confessors of Christ; it was also at the Synod of Nicaea that he put to shame the false teacher Arius, who denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

And for us, brethren, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). All our perfections are vain and worthless before God if there is no faith in us. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,” says the Apostle (Eph. 3:17), and the believer can say: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). But such fruits ripen in a person when his faith is simple and zealous. Not for nothing do they say: “God rests in simple hearts.”

b) It is not in vain that the Church calls Saint Nicholas an image of meekness. His meekness, according to history, converted many sinners to the true path, tamed popular rebellions, and was manifested in his very person so that one glance at the Saint tamed passions in others, eased sorrows, and attracted even unbelievers to him.

What a wonderful society will result if Christian meekness settles among us, brethren! There can be no hostility, no oppression or violence in it, on the contrary, there will be peace and harmony. Meekness pleases everyone. A boss wants to see meekness in his subordinates, and subordinates want to have a meek boss. And our God especially loves the meek: "On such will I look upon,” He Himself says through the Prophet, “the meek and silent and one who trembles at My words” (Is. 66:2)?

c) It is not in vain, finally, that the Holy Church calls Saint Nicholas a teacher of temperance. He was the best teacher of temperance at all ages of life. He was a faster from infancy. He was a lover of chastity from his youth: “Not a bit of youthful morals could be seen in him, but the customs of an old man.” He was alien to sensual pleasures. His main enjoyment was philanthropy. He did not care about acquiring earthly goods. He gave all his property to the poor.

Temperance is so highly valued that without it, according to the Apostle Paul, even a Christian is not a Christian: "Those who are Christ's," he says, "have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts" (Gal. 5:24). Why did the Lord fast for forty days and nights? In order to teach us temperance, to make His followers temperate. But temperance, they say, deprives us of many pleasures? It deprives us of pleasures that take away our health and strength, that not only ruin us, but also corrupt us, humiliate us both before ourselves and before others. Nowadays, even worldly wisdom has understood the importance of temperance: many doctors, for example, recognize the harm from the constant use of meat, which produces various diseases and premature death. If we practiced the temperance that the Holy Church prescribes to us, we would not know many illnesses, ruin and poverty, we would not see young men growing old, men suffering from the infirmities of old age, but we would see everywhere health and long-term strength, wealth without luxury, we would see contentment and prosperity.

III. Our present celebration in honor of the Saint of God Nicholas is necessary not for him, glorified by God Himself, but for us, so that by glorifying him, commemorating him as a mentor, we would "imitate his faith” (Heb. 13:7) and his holy, God-pleasing life, which would be for us “a rule of faith, an image of meekness, a teacher of temperance.” 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.