“The extraordinary thing about the image of Saint Nicholas in the Church is that he is not known for anything extraordinary. He was not a theologian and never wrote a word, yet he is famous in the memory of believers as a zealot for orthodoxy, allegedly accosting the heretic Arius at the first ecumenical council in Nicaea for denying the divinity of God’s Son. He was not an ascetic and did no outstanding feats of fasting and vigils, yet he is praised for his possession of the ‘fruit of the Holy Spirit … love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5.22-23). He was not a mystic in our present meaning of the term but he lived daily with the Lord and was godly in all of his words and deeds. He was not a prophet in the technical sense, yet he proclaimed the Word of God, exposed the sins of the wicked, defended the rights of the oppressed and afflicted, and battled against every form of injustice with supernatural compassion and mercy. In a word, he was a good pastor, father, and bishop to his flock, known especially for his love and care for the poor. Most simply put, he was a divinely good person.”
–Thomas Hopko, The Winter Pascha (St Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1984) p. 39
Message from Saint Nicholas, whose day is today: a book will make a great holiday gift this December!Here depicted in an icon from Crete, c 1400. pic.twitter.com/YVjnP0IJky
— Dr. Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) December 6, 2023