Church of Santa Claus in Jail

 Santa Claus is our American version of Saint Nicholas.  St. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra.  In 325 the Emperor called together a Council in Nicea, because some important questions were creating some pretty hot debates among the Bishops.  It was over the nature of God.  The main theological issues were about Jesus: was He more human than divine, or more divine than human, was He equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit?

A priest, Arius, claimed that Jesus was not eternal, He was created by the Father. This was a much debated issue.  So much so, that Nicholas had had enough.  He got up and crossed the room and punched Arius in the nose.  Yes, he assaulted him.  Yes, the Bishop Myra punched the Bishop of Alexendria in the face.  Yes, Nicholas punched Arius.  

Hence, Bishop Nicholas was put in jail for the rest of the Council.  For Nicholas, he had to pay a fine and was apologetic.  Embarrassed to say the least.  However, he had the satisfaction of knowing that the bishops agreed with him and condemned Arius' claims as heresy and incorporated the nonscriptural word homoousios (of one substance) in a creed to signify the absolute equality of the Son with the Father.  It is called the Nicene Creed.  

The Apostles Creed is said more often.  The Nicene Creed is prayed during Lent and Easter, probably because that's the time focused on Jesus' death and resurrection.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
 of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
 the Only Begotten Son of God,
 born of the Father before all ages.
 God from God, Light from Light,
 true God from true God,
 begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
 through him all things were made.
 For us men and for our salvation
 he came down from heaven,
 and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
 and became man.
 For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
 he suffered death and was buried,
 and rose again on the third day
 in accordance with the Scriptures.
 He ascended into heaven
 and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
 He will come again in glory
 to judge the living and the dead
 and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
 who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
 who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
 who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
 I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
 and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
 and the life of the world to come. Amen.

St. Nicholas Day

 To do good, and to distribute, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Hebrews 13.16

O you who love festivals,
Come gather and sing the praises of the fair beauty of bishops,
The glory of the fathers,
The fountain of wonders and great protector of the faithful.

Let us say: Rejoice, O guardian of the people of Myra,
Their head and honored counselor,
The pillar of the church which cannot be shaken.

Rejoice, O light full of brightness
That makes the ends of the world shine with wonders.

Rejoice, O divine delight of the afflicted,
The fervent advocate of those who suffer from injustice.

And now, O all-blessed Nicholas,
Never cease praying to Christ our God
For those who honor the festival of your memory
With faith and with love.
—0rthodox Liturgy

From the Winter Pascha by Thomas Hopko

The Pelvic Trinity

I'm still thinking, researching, and praying about and to, the Trinity. And this morning I've come across fellow blogger's Eric Sammons' site, The Divine Life. I'd like to give him a hat tip. His posting was my meditation this morning. Eric sets the scene by talking about my patron saint for this year, St. Nicholas. It's a cute story about jolly ole St. Nick punching Arius in the nose. :-0

This is how emotions flared over religion and politics. Well, you know, or can imagine. Eric segues into today's heresies, which he names as the Pelvic Trinity: abortion, contraception, and homosexuality. Eric says, "This unholy trinity of issues are of course interrelated and they all revolve around our “right” to engage in sexual activities with no consequences. But these issues go even deeper, as they touch whether we have the right to define morality as we see fit, or if there is One above us who makes those determinations. Ultimately, it comes down to the question of who is in charge: us or God."

The poster child of this line of thought is disgraced Catholic priest Fr. Alberto Cutié, who left the Catholic Church to become Episcopal after being caught with his mistress last year, has adapted his own views on sexuality to be more in line with his new ecclesial communion. He was recently ordained an Episcopal priest and now he is admitting that he had struggles with the Catholic Church’s position on the pelvic trinity."

I wish St. Nicholas were around now.

Saint Nicholas

I know why Saint Nicholas chose me. He is known to be wise (I need a wise patron, for sure.), and he performed good works in secret for the poor and oppressed (And I'm sure he wouldn't mind throwing in a few good works for the foolish and accident prone), and he is known as the Patron of Prisoners. There you go. I volunteer in a prison. I belong to a Lay Dominican Chapter inside a prison. Some of my dearest friends are cons and ex-cons. I love this guy!

There are many legends about his many deeds. He is the inspiration for our Santa Claus. Santa Claus is the Americanization of the Dutch for Saint Nicholas. His stories contribute to our stories of Father Christmas, St. Nick, and of course, Santa Claus.

Today I visited the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA. It is only a few years old. It was founded by Gordon Lankton in 2006, to house his personal collection of icons. I was blessed to meet him, personally, today. He had gathered them from his travels back and forth to Russia, since the 1980's. The Museum houses the largest collection of Russian icons, outside of Russia. What I saw, on this day, was a collection of icons spaning six centuries. Since today is Jan 6th, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the museum highlighted Saint Nicholas and the Russian Orthodox Christmas. And since Saint Nicholas is my patron saint this year, I felt very blessed to view these beautiful icons.

The icon that I've posted is displayed in the way that Russian Orthodox believers are accustomed to viewing icons--encased in an outer wooden frame or kiot, and covered with an ornately engraved screen or riza, revealing only the face and hands of the saint. This icon features an elaborate, gilded kiot with grape-leaf motif and silver riza. The box was made circa 1800, the body of Saint Nicholas circa 1750, and the doors, circa 1830.

Icons are art created for prayer. You stare at them, and see, and figure out their story. In this way, the icon speaks to you. It's contemplative.

Saint Nicholas of Myra

Finally! On Dec. 28th I told you about Matthew at Catholic Life picking patron saints for the year. Rather, the saint picks you. Well, I got picked by St. Nicholas of Myra.

I don't know why St. Nick chose me. I've read about his life and I don't see any reason that connects us. Just about everybody reveres him. He's the patron saint of Russia and Greece. There's many icons of him.

He is the patron saint of judges, murderers, pawnbrokers, thieves, merchants, paupers, scholars, sailors, bakers, travelers, maidens and poor children. He is also known as the friend and protector of all those in trouble. Oh-oh. I hope trouble isn't brewing for me this year. And he's the patron of murderers--look out everybody. Don't piss me off.

I like his life story. He doesn't die a horrible death like Peter Martyr. He doesn't live a terrible life like St. Margaret of Castello. He's an average guy who try to live right and do right. He loved to surprise people with little gifts. Who could not love this guy?

The most famous story about Nicholas tells of how he helped three unfortunate young sisters who all had suitors but had no dowries because their father, a poor nobleman, could not raise the money. Because of this, they could not marry.

So he secretly left a bag of gold so that the father would find it, three times. One story has him tossing the bag down the chimney into the fireplace. Another has St. Nick putting the bag of gold into one of the girl's stocking that was hanging to dry.

See how the legend grew into Santa Claus?

I don't know why St. Nicholas of Myra picked me, but I'm happy he did. I like him.