Two sermons on St, Nicholas

shared by Ilarion Marr

On May 22 the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra to Bari, Italy is celebrated. A temple to honor St. Nicholas was built there. 

Two sermons on Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Saint Nicholas the Merciful. 

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Saint Philaret Metropolitan of New York

Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

People who are familiar with and know the order of our Orthodox divine services (Typikon) know that these services often utilize prokeimena. This Greek name denotes any text from the Holy Scripture that has a particularly close relationship to any given feast day. For example, when there is a feast in honor of St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, or St. John Chrysostom, these great theologians and teachers of the faith, then the prokeimenon corresponds to their great glory: "My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding." For their mouths, truly, pronounced to the world the words of divine wisdom.

Today we celebrate the feast of another great hierarch, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, but we hear another prokeimenon: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." This prokeimenon is proclaimed in honor of many great saints. But although St. Nicholas the Hierarch and Wonderworker instructed and taught his flock with inspired and grace-filled words, his principal glory does not lie therein. We know wherein lies his true glory. Holy ascetics and saints who were glorified for their works of charity and mercy are so named: "merciful." Very recently the Church glorified one such great merciful saint: Righteous Philaret the Merciful. And today She magnifies St. Nicholas, whom the Russian people likewise named in honor of his wondrous works of love and charity "Nicholas the Merciful." And Russian people, seeing someone in sorrow, in misery, in infirmities, will say to him: "Pray to Nicholas the Merciful, and he will tell the All-Merciful Savior of your need."

I would like to remind you of the special glory given to St. Nicholas, above that given to other holy God-pleasers. It is the fact that his name is honored among pagans who know not Christianity. And there is a reason for this. There was an incident well-known to the citizens of Harbin. In Harbin there was a so-called "New Cemetery." It was bordered on one side by a long, tall, steep cliff. One day, some Chinese children were playing there. They were playing under some overhangs of the cliff that could easily fall. And so, while the Chinese children were playing there, suddenly a radiant elder appeared to them, who sternly told them in Chinese that they were to immediately leave this place. The frightened children ran, and as soon as they had run away from that spot, a huge piece of the cliff collapsed. They would have been crushed under it, had it not been for the elder's warning. News of this spread swiftly among the Chinese, of course, and later among the Russians.

One Russian hunter, occupying himself with his favorite pastime, walked far off into the jungles of China. Weary, he entered a small Chinese village. The Chinese, a welcoming, genial people, offered him a place to rest. Entering into one of the huts, he saw nailed above the entryway an icon of St. Nicholas. He realized that, these being pagans, the icon must have somehow accidentally ended up with them, and he asked the master of the house to give him the icon. He grew upset with him and answered, "This old man is a very good man; we honor him much, because he helps us greatly."

In the station at kiot of St Nicholas
(Vladika Nestor)

I recall one more instance: at the train station in Harbin there was a large, ornate icon of St. Nicholas, which many considered to be wonderworking. All Russian Orthodox people (excepting, perhaps, the atheists), when they traveled by train and wound up in the Harbin train station, considered it their Christian duty to pray before that icon and put up a candle. There was one incident that took place in the spring. There was an ice floe on the large, wide Songhua River. Many people had gathered at the station, and trains were passing through frequently. Suddenly they see a Chinese man run into the building, soaking wet. He ran in, threw himself before the icon, falling to his knees, and began to cry aloud something in his own language. It turned out that he was thanking the holy Hierarch. What had happened? He was in a hurry and decided to risk it — he chose to cross the river by jumping across the drifting ice. The ice on the Songhua was fairly solid and thick. So there he was running, and suddenly he fell into the water and found himself under the ice, drowning… But, remembering the icon and how deeply the Russians venerated it, cried out in Chinese: "Old man from the station, help me!" And he appeared on the shore, wet, but on the shore… How? He couldn't understand… He then got up and ran the whole long way to the station, fell before the icon and offered his thanks.

It is no coincidence that St. Nicholas is venerated not only by the Orthodox Christian population, but by pagans, as well. It is done unto them according to their faith! And that is why the Russian person will always turn to St. Nicholas, regardless of what he may need, because he knows and believes that many voices call out to the holy Hierarch, there in the holy, Heavenly realm, but the holy Hierarch will always hear and come to the aid of the voice of faith, the voice of hope against hope. It is no coincidence, I repeat, that the Russian people call him Nicholas the Merciful.

Amen.

Saint Metropolitan Philaret given on December 18/5, 1970.

Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Not long ago, only a few days ago in fact, we commemorated the memory of one of the Lord's righteous ones, St. Philaret the Merciful (). Tomorrow we will again glorify another great servant of the Lord, St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia of Asia Minor. So impressed by his miracles and torrents of love was our nation, that we have called him "the Merciful Nicholas."

A veritable ocean of wonders streamed forth during and after the life of St. Nicholas.

No one, it seems to us, performed so many miracles except possibly the recently canonized St. John of Kronstadt, who also gushed forth a sea of miracles. Toward the end of his life St. John was so overcome by the grace of the Holy Spirit that one might say he performed miracles just as he walked along his way. A blind man comes with a request: "Father, pray for me!" After a short prayerful appeal to God, Father John touches his eyes with his sanctifying fingers and the former blind man walks away, his sight restored.

We know of many miracles performed by St. Nicholas, but I would like to tell you of which is little known.

At the end of the last century, when the Russian intelligentsia was taken by the idea of women's emancipation, a certain young girl was inflamed by the desire to go to the capital, there to study and help people.

Her mother, a God-fearing woman, pleaded tearfully against her going, because she foresaw no good was to come of it. But the girl was adamant. As she was leaving, her weeping mother blessed her with an icon of St. Nicholas; the girl accepted the icon and left. When she got to the city, however, one trouble followed the next. The little money she had taken with her did not last long. The landlady threatened to evict her. She couldn't go back - her young pride wouldn't permit it; besides, there wasn't enough money for the return trip.

She suffered hardship and hunger. The ad she had placed in the newspaper for a job teaching brought no response. In utter despair, she decided to commit suicide. Having prepared the poison, her tearful eyes caught sight of the icon of St. Nicholas hanging above her on the wall. She prayerfully turned to him and said: "St. Nicholas, forgive me the sinner; I see no way out." She lifted the glass of poison to her mouth…but suddenly something hit her hard on her head and hands. The glass of poison fell and broke. She turned and saw that the icon of St. Nicholas, without any reason at all, had fallen off the wall and right on her.

Shocked, she stood in tears as she heard the knock on the door. She opened the door and there stood a man, staring at the weeping girl who stood by the broken glass and spilled liquid. As it happened, he had come in answer to her ad and to offer her a very good job, which she accepted, thus ending her problems.

Thus did S. Nicholas save the girl, who was standing at the brink of destruction. We know that often he performs such acts of kindness even when we do not ask his assistance.

Though many prayerful appeals will be addressed to St. Nicholas on the day of his feast, have faith that he will hear your voice and will answer each call of your faith and prayer, now as in times gone by. We only need faithful prayer and hope, and his help will come speedily. Amen.

Troparion in the Fourth Tone

The truth of things revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, an icon of meekness and a teacher temperance; therefore thou hast achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty.  O Father and Hierarch Nicholas, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved. 

Kontakion in the Third Tone

In Myra, O Saint, thou didst prove to be a minister of things sacred; for having fulfilled the Gospel of Christ, O righteous one, thou didst lay down thy life for thy people, and didst save the innocent from death.  Wherefore, thou wast sanctified as a great initiate of the grace of God. 

And, Saint Philaret said this in 1985: 

"After my death our beloved Church abroad will break three ways .... first the Greeks will leave us as they were never a part of us ... then those who live for this world and it's glory will go to Moscow ... what will remain will be those souls faithful to Christ and His Church."