Patrick Comerford
Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra (6 December 2023). He is, of course, the real Santa Claus, and he is so popular in Greece that almost every town and city in Greece has a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
Saint Nicholas is also the patron of sailors, and in the mediaeval period, almost every coastal town and city in both England and Ireland also had a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
The celebration of Saint Nicholas today is a joyful, child-friendly interruption in the Advent preparations as we wait for Christmas and anticipate all its joys.
I have not been to Crete for over two years now – Covid, a stroke, and retirement last year put an end to many of those imagined plans.
So, I thought this evening, on Saint Nicholas Day, I should look back on one my favourite churches in Rethymnon dedicated to the saint who brings joy to every child at this time of the year.
The Church of Saint Nicholas, close to the bus station in Rethymnon, is in a small square formed at the corner of Priskosoridi street and Emmanouil Kefalogianni avenue. The street runs around the shore of the rocky bay beneath the western slopes of the Venetian Fortezza.
This small chapel or church is surrounded by good fish restaurants and tavernas. This is now a suburban part of western Rethymnon, and is slowly becoming a part of the tourist area. But, only a few decades ago and within living memory, this was an area closely associated with fishers and their fishing boats.
Saint Nicholas, as well as being the patron saint of children and the inspiration for Santa Claus, is also the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, ships and sailing, which explains the presence of this modern church dedicated to his name in this part of Rethymnon.
Saint Nicholas, whose name means ‘Victory of the People,’ was born in Myra in Lycia, now known as Demre, near Antalya on the south coast of present-day Turkey.
He had a reputation as a secret giver of gifts and the protector of children, so you can see why he has links with our Santa Claus today.
There are stories too of Saint Nicholas and the defence of true doctrine. In the year 325, the Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea, attended by more than 300 bishops, to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity.
It was one of the most intense theological debates in the early Church. Arius from Alexandria was teaching that Christ was the Son of God but was not equal to God the Father, not God incarnate. As Arius argued at length, Nicholas became agitated, crossed the room, and slapped Arius across the face.
The shocked bishops stripped Nicholas of his episcopal robes, chained him and jailed him. In the morning, the bishops found his chains on the floor and Nicholas dressed in his episcopal robes, quietly reading his Bible. Constantine ordered his release, and Nicholas was reinstated as the Bishop of Myra.
As the debate went on, the Council of Nicaea agreed with his views, deciding against Arius and agreeing on the Nicene Creed, which remains the symbol of our faith. Which probably also makes it appropriate that this church is close to the Church of Saint Constantine and Saint Helen.
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