Nicholas the Wonderworker

Honor given to the beloved St. Nicholas is virtually unmatched in the history of Christendom. Only the Blessed Virgin has received more accolades. Nicholas was not only kind to children (the famous legend of his giving sacks of money to keep three young girls from suffering a life of harlotry attests), but also imprisoned for the faith, cast into a dungeon where he could continue to minister to his fellow Christians. When the empire was Christianized, he returned to his See in Myra, and contended for the faith so strenuously that he is said to have slapped the wicked heretic Arius at the famous Council of Nicaea in 325. So let us emulate Nicholas: in faithfulness, attention to duty regardless of the cost, and insistence upon true doctrine and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sermon for St. Nicholas Day.