St. Nicholas is one of the most widely venerated saints in all Christiandom. The honour extended to him includes not only the Orthodox and Roman Catholics, but Protestant denominations as well. In the weekly liturgical cycle of the Orthodox Church, in which each day of the week is dedicated to the Saviour and the different orders of heavenly and earthly sanctity, only three persons are singled out by name: the Mother of God, John the Forerunner and St. Nicholas. This latter is quite extraordinary given that he left neither theological works nor other writings. Rather, the Church sees in him the personification of the shepherd, the one who par excellenceis both defender and intercessor.
He was born of eminent and wealthy parents, and instructed in thhe spiritual life by his uncle Nicholas, bishop of Patara. He later became a monk at New Sion Monastery. On the death of his parents, he distributed all the property he inherited to the poor, keeping nothing back for himself. As a priest of Patara, he was known for his charitable works, fulfilling the Lord's words: "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." (St. Matthew 6:3). Though it was his wish to lead the life of a solitary in silence, he was made the Bishop of Myra in the province of Lykia. Continuing his charitable works, he also endured persecution being imprisoned during the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian. He was presnet at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325.
He became known as a champion of justice after having twice saved men from undeserved sentences of death, and after having delivered people from slavery by providing the necessary payments for their deliverance.
He entered into rest on December 6, 343 and is commemorated in the Church on that day.
Later in western European and American folk tradition he was transformed into a mythological person who gives gifts during the Nativity season.
The ikon shown here is on the east wall of the north transept of SS Peter & Paul Church, Meriden, CT. It was painted in 1961 by Ivan Diky.