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A defender of children, of orphans, and of those suffering injustice, a model of godly living for all Christians

Saint Nicholas is without doubt one of the best-loved saints in the whole world. This is because so many people know that he set an example of kindness towards suffering people, and especially of love towards children.

He was born somewhere around the end of the third century at Patara in Lycia, a town in present-day Turkey. His childhood was not a happy one, as his parents died when he was young. This was why Saint Nicholas withdrew to a monastery near Myra in Lycia, a port town on the Mediterranean. Here he learned as much as he could about God and about God’s greatest commandment: love for Him and for one’s neighbour.

Because of his holiness and wisdom, Saint Nicholas was elected Bishop of Myra in Lycia, a position that gave him the opportunity to help even more people. It is said that there was a poor man of Myra who had three daughters who had all reached marriageable age. But at that time the bride’s dowry was extremely important in the arranging of marriages. The larger the dowry, the greater were the girl’s chances of getting married. And because the unfortunate man was not able to give his daughters substantial dowries, he thought he was going to have to sell them as slaves. But then Saint Nicholas secretly gave each of them a bag of gold coins, without their knowing who had given them this very valuable present, and so he saved the girls from a life of slavery.

Nicholas obeyed the Saviour’s words: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” by devoting his entire income to the relief of the poor, the sick and the suffering. He gave much financial support and made many secret donations without expecting anything in return. On many occasions he took up the defence of the innocent, even risking his life to do so. It was for this reason that Saint Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned during the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

At that time Christianity was a banned religion and Christians were punished in various ways and even put to death for the simple fact that they were Christians. But after Constantine became Roman Emperor, Christianity became officially tolerated all over the Empire. Saint Nicholas was freed from prison and he returned to his flock in Myra in Lycia, where he remained until the year 342 when he passed into eternity.

Even though so many centuries have gone by since the death of Saint Nicholas, he is still remembered by Christians everywhere as the friend of children, orphans and those suffering injustice. He is venerated by both Orthodox and Catholics and valued by Protestants, being celebrated on December 6^th, and continues to be a shining example of love to one’s neighbour and a model of holiness for the entire Christian world.

(Pr. Narcis Stupcanu)

This text is part of the St. Nicholas project, an ecumenical collection of short profiles of saints who did justice. You may fond HERE the texts that are part of the  Romanian version of this project.

 

 

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