St. Nicholas was immensely popular.
Peasants said that when God grew too old and died, Nicholas
would take over. When the Tartars attacked Mozhaisk, he appeared
in the air above the attackers,
sword in hand, and saved the city. He healed the blind, saved
the drowned, and exorcised Demons.
He is the patron saint of Russia, sailors, merchants, prisoners,
archers, children, students, travelers and
seafarers. For his help to the poor, Nicholas is the patron saint
of pawnbrokers; the three gold balls
traditionally hung outside a pawnshop symbolize the three sacks
of gold. People then began to suspect
that he was behind a large number of other anonymous gifts to
the poor, using the inheritance from his
wealthy parents. After he died, people in the region continued
to give to the poor anonymously, and
such gifts were still often attributed to St. Nicholas.
He is usually depicted holding the Gospels, flanked on one side
by the Mother of God in a
small circle on one side, holding the bishop's stole which she
is said to have given him when he was
imprisoned. Christ, on the other side, holds the Gospels, which
he gave to St. Nicholas. He is depicted
as an Orthodox bishop, wearing the omophorion, the distinguishing
vestment of a bishop and the
symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority.
A nobleman fallen on hard times had no dowry for his 3 daughters.
Hearing of their despair,
Nicholas dropped a bag of coins in one of the girl’s windows
at night. The next night he repeated
the act in the other girl’s window. The third night he found
all the windows locked so he threw the
money down the chimney, where it fell into the girls’ stockings
drying there. He is beloved by children
and known as Nicholas the Wonderworker.
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. In 1087 the Saint's
relics were taken from Myra in Lycia
(on the southern coast of present-day Turkey) to the town of Bari
in Italy. Each year the casket
containing the relics is opened by a Roman Catholic and Orthodox
bishop together, and quantities of
fragrant myrrh are removed, for the healing and encouragement
of the faithful. Contemporary icons
of Nicholas, painted all over the world, and even paper reproductions,
also produce myrrh. Some of
this myrrh is said to have cured cancer, alchoholism and other
ills.
His feast day is December 6.
