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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhen we\ncommemorate whole groups of Saints, we usually mention the great hierarchs\namong the first, and we have become used to the three great universal hierarchs\nand teachers \u2014 Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom \u2014\nalways being at the head of the hierarchical assembly. They belong there,\nbecause each of them contributed precious gifts [e.g. their writings] to the\nChurch\u2019s theological and moral treasury. So the Church honors them in\nparticular and has established a feast for the three of them together, in\naddition to the solemn services for their individual feast days. But the feast\nof the great hierarch whom we commemorate today, the hierarch and wonderworker\nNicholas, has a special place of its own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
He did not\nleave us as rich a spiritual heritage as these three great men, but we all know\nhow greatly the Church reveres him. The Feasts of Saint Nicholas are so\nsplendid that they even remind us of the 12 Great Feasts. Why is that so?\nBecause he lived a life of virtue incarnate: an accessible, comprehensible\nvirtue, close to every man and every heart, even the heart that rejects every\nother holy thing. That virtue is love; love and compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Russians\nlike to call Saint Nicholas \u201cNikola the Merciful\u201d because his miracles are as\nnumerous as the stars of heaven. I would like to remind you of one touching\nmiracle that shows his mercy. This did not happen once upon a time, long ago;\nit happened in our time, in the city of Harbin [China], where I lived for over\n40 years. At the train station in Harbin there was a large icon of Saint\nNicholas the Wonderworker, and it was especially venerated by all the\ntravelers. Hundreds of candles were always burning in front of it. People\ndeparting by train and the people who came to see them off would light candles,\nand prayers were constantly going up to the great hierarch for his protection\nduring trips. There was always a crowd in the station because the rail traffic\nwas very heavy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day the\npeople who happened to be there (they related this themselves, this is their\nown story; it was early spring, when the ice breaks up on the Sungari, on which\nHarbin is located) they saw a Chinese man rush in, soaked from head to toe. He\nran up to the icon, threw himself down in front of it, and stretched out his\narms to it, saying something in Chinese. The people who knew Chinese said he\nwas thanking the saint for saving him from death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what\nhappened: for some reason he was in a terrible hurry to cross the river. But\nthe river is wide, and the ice was flowing along it. He decided to take a\nchance. As he ran across the ice, jumping from one floe to another, he slipped,\nlost his balance, and fell under the ice. He was drowning, dying, when he\nremembered the wonderworking icon. His pagan countrymen revered it too, just as\nthe Russian Orthodox did. As he was drowning, he cried out in despair, \u201cOld man\nfrom the train station, help me!\u201d He lost consciousness and went under\ncompletely; and he was about to perish\u2026when all of a sudden he was on the\nriverbank, soaked but alive and unharmed! So he took off and ran \u2014 the train station\nwas far away \u2014 and he rushed in to the icon and thanked the great hierarch for\nthis evident and amazing miracle of his mercy and love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire\nFar East, the entire land of China, has a great veneration for Saint Nicholas,\nyou know. Once a Russian hunter had wandered far, far, into the taiga or\nsteppe, and there he came upon a Chinese farmstead where he asked shelter. The\nfriendly master and mistress of the house invited him in, and over their door\nhe saw an icon of Saint Nicholas. He thought to himself, \u201cWhat can these\nheathen be doing with it? What do they need it for?\u201d And he wanted to take it.\nHis host was offended and said, \u201cWhy do you want to take the Old Man away from\nus? He\u2019s so kind, he helps us so much. We won\u2019t give him up for anything!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So not only the Orthodox Church but practically the entire human race honors this great hierarch. Whenever anyone is in trouble or has some need, he turns to Saint Nicholas. This great hierarch hears and fulfills each of the hundreds of petitions that fly to him in Heaven, as long as we ask with firm, strong faith. That\u2019s why the Russian people love Saint Nicholas so much and constantly entreat him: \u201cO Father and Hierarch Nicholas pray to God for us!\u201d Amen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n