By Fr. George Dorbarakis
The Hymnographer, Saint Theophanes, finding himself in weakness and perplexity as he attempts to praise so great a saint as Saint Nicholas — “With what crowns of praise shall we wreathe the Hierarch?… With what melodious songs shall we extol the Hierarch?” And again: “Nicholas, do not disdain my undertaking; for desiring and not boasting, thrice-blessed one, I have dared;” that is: Thrice-blessed Nicholas, do not reject my attempt to praise you. For I dared it out of longing, not out of pride — seeks to set him before us by using the place of his episcopate, Myra of Lycia; his very name, Nicholas; and his epithet, “the Wonderworker.”
The place of his episcopate, Myra, becomes first of all the occasion for the Hymnographer to reveal the Saint’s spiritual depth, namely that he himself became spiritual myrrh after having been anointed with the noetic myrrh, the Holy Spirit. Thus, being a myrrh-bearer of God’s grace, he offers this myrrh to the faithful who celebrate his all-venerable memory with faith and longing. “Having dwelt visibly among Myra, you were truly revealed as myrrh, anointed with noetic myrrh, O holy Nicholas, hierarch of Christ; and you ever perfume the faces of those who with faith and longing keep your all-famed memory.” This image of a Saint anointed by God who “fragrances” the faithful like springtime is among the Hymnographer’s favorites. Indeed, he returns to it repeatedly, aiming to remind us that Saint Nicholas was truly an imitator of the Holy Apostles, who were the first vessels of the Holy Spirit, and that like them he “traverses the whole world,” offering his help. “Father Nicholas, being a vessel of the All-Holy Spirit, you perfume like a joyful spring with the divine fragrances of Christ; for having become an imitator of the Apostles, you travel throughout the world by the tales of your wonders.”
Saint Theophanes does not omit, though in briefer terms, to emphasize how the Saint became a dwelling-place of God and thus a vessel of His Spirit. To show his spiritual discipline he even uses a marvelous image from the Old Testament: Saint Nicholas became a new Abraham, and was blessed by God as possessing the virtue of hospitality. What then did the Saint do in terms of spiritual asceticism? Just as Abraham offered his only-begotten son as a sacrifice to God, in like manner Nicholas offered his mind to God as though it were his only-begotten son. In other words, the Saint was graced by the Spirit of God because he loved God with all his heart, to the point that his mind was ceaselessly attached to Him. “You were shown to be a new Abraham, O Nicholas, for you brought your mind as an only-begotten son to your Master, offering bloodless sacrifices continually; and thus you were blessed as hospitable, Father, and became a divine and spotless dwelling-place of the Trinity.”
The Hymnographer also uses the very name Nicholas as an occasion for reflecting on his holiness. “Bearing victory in truth according to your name, you were revealed as victory for the faithful people in their trials, O holy Nicholas, true servant of Christ; for wherever you are called upon, you swiftly hasten to those who run with longing beneath your protection; for by night and by day you appear to the faithful and save them from temptations and hardships.” The Saint, abiding in the Spirit — especially after his repose — becomes the weapon of every believer. Anyone who calls upon him in faith, particularly when in danger, whether on land or at sea, will find him a willing helper. The Saint thus becomes the believer’s victory. “You are, O holy Nicholas, preacher of Christ, a great and fervent helper of those in dangers, whether on land or sailing the sea, whether far or near.” And indeed, the Saint became the victory of the people against the heresies of his time, especially against the heresiarch Arius. According to the Hymnographer he was even “the destroyer of Arius and his fervent adversary,” that is, the one who annihilated him — primarily through his sanctified life — and his zealous opposition. It is well known that, unable to bear Arius’ blasphemies against the Lord during the Synod, the Saint rose and struck the blasphemous mouth.
Finally, the Hymnographer insists greatly upon the Saint’s wonderworking gift. It is no accident that he bears the epithet “the Wonderworker.” His appearance, as the Synaxarion also recounts, to Emperor Constantine and to the prefect in their sleep in order to save the innocent men, is so well known that in the Exapostelarion of every Thursday — his weekly commemoration day, just as Tuesday is dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner — the miracle is mentioned. “Let us all praise Nicholas, the great shepherd and hierarch, the president of Myra; for he saved many men who were about to die unjustly; and he appeared to the emperor, as well as the prefect Ablabios, in a dream, annulling the unjust sentence.” Indeed, many pages would be needed even to mention briefly not the wonders Saint Nicholas has worked and still works, but only those recorded in his Service. They are like the rays of the sun, by which its brightness is revealed. As the Hymnographer says: “You flash upon the earth with the rays of your wonders, O wise Nicholas.” And: “All the world knows, thrice-blessed Nicholas, your wonders.”
Yet his miracles abound above all in the realm of seafarers. There is no man of the sea who has not some intervention of the Saint to recount, some miracle for his salvation. For this reason they all have in their rooms an icon of Saint Nicholas, their protector. And this is not accidental. The Synaxarion itself, aside from other cases, recounts the story of that devout man of Byzantium who exceedingly loved Saint Nicholas, and who had to depart by ship for business in another land. On the night of his departure the wind had grown strong, and the sailors, not noticing him, pushed him, and he fell into the raging waves. No one could save him, and they mourned him as already dead. But he, sinking into the depths, began to call upon his protector saint — and, O the wonder! — he found himself in his own house, dripping with seawater. This great miracle became known not only to his relatives and neighbors but to all Byzantium, so much so that he was summoned by the emperor and the bishops to recount it, ending with the glorification of God and their vigilant supplication in the church.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
