December 6
Nicholas of Myra
Bishop, 342
art by Rev. Kirsten Kohr of Uhrichsville, OhioGrant, Almighty God, that your church may be so inspired by the example of your servant Nicholas of Myra, that it may never cease to work for the welfare of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Very little is known about the life of Nicholas, except that he suffered torture and imprisonment during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. It is probable that he was one of the bishops attending the Council of Nicaea in 325. According to popular tradition, he famously lost his temper at the council and punched the heretic Arius, but this story dates to more than 1,000 years after his death and is almost certainly apocryphal.
He was honored as a saint in Constantinople in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian. His veneration also became immensely popular in the West after the supposed removal of his body to Bari, Italy, in the late eleventh century. In England, almost 400 churches were dedicated to him.
Nicholas is famed as the traditional patron of seafarers and sailors, and, more especially, of children. Many of the accounts of Nicholas’ life recount his habit of secret gift-giving to those in need, a tradition that many Christians have felt inspired to continue in his honor.
As a bearer of gifts to children, his name was brought to America by the Dutch colonists in New York, from whom he is popularly known as Santa Claus.
Excerpted directly from “Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022,” p. 550-551.
Lessons and Psalm1 John 4:7-14
Psalm 145:8-13
Mark 10:13-16
Preface of a Saint (1)
