Everything Santa/St. Nicholas Blog

The following was written in the newspaper “∑ΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ” on 07/19/1998:

The Constable Polydoros Georgiadus is not a person that bends easily. He lives life with a cool and unique serenity. When he remembers, however, the 100 days of captivity, in the dungeons of Adana and Amasa in Turkey, it is impossible though, he tries to hide his tears, and even more tears run from his eyes when he recounts the appearance of St. Nicholas in his cell on September 5th. Let him tell us what he saw:

“While I slept at 10PM St Nicholas appeared, holding in one hand my wife, who wore the same clothes as on the last day that I saw her when I was captured, and in the other arm a baby. ‘Here is your wife and the male baby she gave birth to,’ he said. “Yes, but we dedicated him to the Apostle Andrew,’ I replied. ‘I know, but you should baptize him in my church,’ said St. Nicholas, and he disappeared. At the same time I saw the church of St. Nicholas in my village, in Nata of Paphos. A few days later the Red Cross came to the prison, and I wrote down what I saw on the night of September 5th when St. Nicholas appeared. My letter reached, through the Red Cross, the hands of my wife, who later told me she was moved and informed all my neighbors of the appearance of St. Nicholas. On October 28th, when released, I went straight to Nata. It was 1:30 in the morning and all my fellow villagers, who were informed, were on foot, while the bell of the Church of St. Nicholas rang joyfully.

 

Helen Ilia speaks of her father. Around 1920, when I was a little girl, we lived here in St. Nicholas (Cyprus). We had great poverty. My father was a shepherd and had his own herd. One day he said he was going to cut wood. Where he went he hit at a point in a tree and “lost his light (he was blinded).” People said he beat the “table outside that we saw (the devil).”

He visited several doctors and was not cured. He went to various churches. At the end, he decided to walk from St. Nicholas to St. Barbara in Zakaki. At night, in his sleep, a Saint said: “You went to all the churches and did not come near me.”

“Who are you?” asked my father. And he got the reply: “I am St. Nicholas. I want you to come like this…” and he raised his robes showing his feet were clean.

My father asked me to boil water and he bathed. We took him along the reverse path to walk him, with my brother Harry and myself. that night my father slept alone in the Chapel of St. Nicholas. The next morning we went to take him from there but we did not find him. He had become well. St. Nicholas healed his eyes and when he woke he saw as before. He had gone home to take the herd and drive it to the pasture.

We all praise God and St. Nicholas! The “old ones” had great faith you see.

The following was written by Sylvia Leonidou – Onesiphorou:

My mother Chrystalla Andrew died on 2/3/1992. Ahe was a very quiet and faithful wife and grew up there in the old homes of the church of St. Nicholas.

One summer afternoon in 1985 while sitting on the porch with my father Andreas Leonidou and my little sister Angela Leonidou and all spoke together, suddenly my mother got up from her chair, opened her arms and shouted: “Welcome, welcome! Pass through.” Her face glowed a little strange and seemed too happy. Others who saw and watched her movements and heard her words said they did not understand, but neither could explain why she did what she did.

After a few minutes she sat quietly in her chair. Concerned the others asked her what was wrong and what happened. Then my mother said naturally: “Didn’t you see the three bishops who came to our house? Here with us were St. Nicholas, the apostle Luke, and the third I did not understand who it was. All three were dressed in the garments of the hierarch. I told them to pass through, but St. Nicholas blessed our home and told me not to fear and that all will go well. All three smiled at me, they left from the yard and proceeded toward the Church of St. Nicholas. You did not see that they were here? Why are you asking me?”

My mother at this time was awake and had her senses. Also my mother was a very positive and honest woman, and said with confidence and enthusiasm that which occurred that simmer afternoon in 1985.

The following was written by Sylvia Leonidou – Onesiphorou:

My maternal grandfather was named John Kyrakides. He served in the small church of St. Nicholas as a sexton for more than thirty years. He was an honest, sincere, humble, and good man who loved the Church very much and had a great weakness for St. Nicholas. He always had him as a protector and helper.

The Holy Metropolis of Kition (Limassol belonged to the Metropolis of Kition) granted my grandfather one of the two houses that were near the church, where today is housed the Parish Center, and he lived with his wife Helen. In another house the priest lived with his family.

One night in winter, when rain came and went, there came a big storm. It was chaos. Thunder was heard from afar and lightning ripped the sky from east to west. Great desolation and deep darkness reigned everywhere. Nor were there lights, nor moon, nor stars, because the sky was covered with black clouds.

My grandfather had lied down early. The midnight hour passed. My grandmother suddenly heard him get out of bed and hurriedly put on his poor jacket, ready to go out of the house. Immediately my grandmother began to yell: “John where are you going at this hour?” My grandfather replied with a calm and gentle voice: “Don’t be afraid Helen, St. Nicholas came and told me his silver icon dropped to the floor in the church and I’m going to pick it up.

Despite the exhortations of my grandmother for him not to go out on such a fearful and rainy night, my grandfather quickly went to the church without losing time.

After some time he returned soaking wet like a duck. But satisfied. He was in fact correct. The silver icon of St. Nicholas was on the floor of the church, just like the Saint notified. Grandfather picked up the icon with great respect and placed it back in its permanent position. After doing his cross three times he venerated St. Nicholas and locked the door to the church. He returned in the rain to his poor bed to continue his sleep, delighted and happy now that he had done his full duty

The village of Saint Nicholas in Solia (Solia is a mountainous area of ​​Cyprus in the Nicosia district at an altitude of 300-1300m and is located on the north side of the Troodos Mountains.) did not have its name from the beginning. But a miracle of St. Nicholas prompted the residents to rename their village.

One day a farmer, while tilling his field, came upon a difficulty. The ploughshare of the plow was caught under a large stone. With a spade, the farmer unearthed the stone and pulled it to the surface of the field. There he noticed the stone had a hole at one end equal to another at the other end. The farmer thought that such a stone was useful, and in the afternoon went home carrying it to his yard. Through the hole he passed the cord of his ox to tie him there. In the morning when he woke up, he found his ox dead. He called his neighbors to tell him how his ox died from the stone, since it may have carried demonic energy. His neighbor said his ox died from some grass, and not from the stone. The farmer insisted, however, to the point that one day an old man told him how the ox had died. He said it was a miracle of St. Nicholas, because he heard from his grandfather that in the area where the stone was found a church was destroyed by the Saracenes.

The farmer suspected the old man to be right. One Saturday night St. Nicholas appeared to him and told him that in the area the stone was found there existed his church which was buried deep. He was then ordered to uncover it.

That Sunday the farmer went to church, and after the Liturgy told the villagers of his vision, and begged them to go there with him to uncover the church. Before sunset they followed him, and the found the walls of the church. They dug around the church till the walls came up to their waists, and they were painted. On one wall was an icon of St. Nicholas full-bodied. The villagers then decided to build a church on that spot and named their village after St. Nicholas.

Another miraculous event occurred on a feast day of St. Nicholas during the abbacy of Fr. Symeon. This time the cellarer informed the Abbot that he would not be able to give any oil to the hermits. (At the time they were accustomed to give a certain amount of oil as a blessing to the poor ascetics who took part int the feast.)

“What is the difficulty?” asked the Abbot.

“We don’t have much oil. There is only half a jar left.”

“It doesn’t matter. Give them what is left.”

The cellarer obeyed. Portioning out the oil to the ascetics, he made them happy, but he himself did not feel any great joy. They had a little oil left; now it would be completely gone. These were the thoughts dictated by his logic, and – even more – by his lack of faith. That which followed, however, and which he was the first to ascertain, brought new life to his faith in the providence and power of God. Their kind and compassionate protector, St. Nicholas, again intervened. The level of the oil in the jar did not go down at all, not even by one centimeter. It remained where it was before.

Thus the hermits received their alms, the Monastery suffered no loss, and the monk who was lacking in faith received valuable lesson.

If someone had the patience to search throuh the various books and records of the Monastery, he would find countless miracles of St. Nicholas. many times he protected the Monastery from sure destruction by fire, and saved monks who had fallen down steep cliffs. many times also he saved boats and ships from certain shipwreck.

In the Katholicon (monastery church) if the Monastery, from the great ring above the chandelier, there hangs a silver model of a schooner that had come to pickup a load of lumber at the Monastery. The sea was so heavy that it was in danger of foundering. As soon as the sailors called on St. Nicholas, however, the tempest was stilled, and, beyond hope, they were saved from certain death.

Elder Athanasios gave the following advice to his successor Abbot: “The Abbot must be very charitable, as was St. Nicholas, and must assist all who come to the Monastery asking for help. God will never forsake anyone, but will provide so that nothing is lacking.

During the abbacy of Elder Symeon, spiritual father of his successor Elder Athanasios, St. Nicholas looked after the needs of Grigoriou Monastery with a great miracle.

Once, as the 6th of December was approaching, all the fathers were gathered in a meeting. With the help of God, all the preparation for the feast were going well. Only the cooks were worried because they did not have enough fish to feed all the monks. On the day before the feast, in the afternoon, they went to the Abbot.

“Elder,” they said, “don’t you think we ought to plan for salt cod? If so, we will put it in water to soak.”

“No, No! Don’t think of that. We’ll have fresh fish. St. Nicholas will take care of it.”

Meanwhile, the all-night vigil began – Compline, Great Vespers, Litany, then Martins with the Six Psalms, the Kathismata, and so on, one thing after the other. Again the anxious cooks went to the Abbot.

“Elder, now it’s even to0 later to cook salt cod. Should we start cooking some beans?”

“No, no! The fish will come.”

This was something the cooks could not understand. How were the fish going to come? And when? Matins was half over! What made the Abbot so sure?

The choir began singing the lauds, and the cooks were getting even more upset. Then suddenly joyful noises were heard from the courtyard. The dock master, gasping and excited, was shouting: “Fathers, come down to the here! Get baskets and come down! The Saint has made a great miracle!”

What has happened? A large wave had come and strewn the beach with large and succulent bass. It was a gift from God, an obvious miracle of the Saint. Everyone was amazed – especially the cooks.They didn’t know what to marvel at first – the miracle of the Saint, or the unshakable faith of the Abbot. At no other fest had the ever had such fresh and tasty fish. The Saint had given them a bountiful feast – both spiritual and material.

In Beroia of Macedonia there is a Metochion (an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition) of the Monastery. One or two times a year, always in the summer, we communicated by sea with a small boat from the Monastery. One time I was traveling with two brothers to the Metochion. But between Cassandra and Pelion, there was an unusual calm even though we rowed regularly. The annoying lull got me thinking of an inevitable great evil. My concern was lively, without reason. It was something like a premonition. And while the brothers begged me for all of us to take a break from paddling to rest, I urged them to accelerate, as if something was leading me away from imminent danger. We had to reach , as soon as possible, the coast between Pelion and Olympus. A slight breeze helped us considerably. We reached the shore, we disembarked, and we pulled in the boat.

Meanwhile a cloud appeared above Pelion, which grew increasingly dark. It was a harbinger of terrible evil. What a terrible outburst followed! A rare windy storm, a stove pipe as they say. As we arrived all the residents gathered, and they were amazed and perplexed, looking at us while doing their cross. They confessed that Saint Nicholas rescued us. We stayed a few days, equipped ourselves, got food, and departed. What a spectacle we saw when when we returned! Wherever we passed, shipwrecks. All the ships anchored in the ports of Livas and Garbi were stranded or submerged. The entire southwest side of Cassandra, Sithonia, and Athos were affected by the storm. As we reached the Monastery we saw a shocking sight: the Lithochorino ship full of timber was submerged.

Avoiding any comments, I can only emphasize the vague anxiety I felt as we went. Was it not a profound and vivid intervention of the Saint?

In the city of Kuibyshev there lived a family: a pious mother and her daughter Zoë. On the evening of New Year’s Eve (December 31 of 1956), Zoë invited seven of her girlfriends – and just as many young men – over for dinner and dancing. At that time it was fast for Christmas (In Russia, the feasts follow the Old Calendar. The Christmas fast lasts from November 28 through January 6 of the following year) and Zoë’s mother begged her not to plan a dinner, but the daughter insisted on having things her way. That same evening, her mother went to church to pray.

All those invited came over, except for Zoë fiancé who hadn’t arrived yet. His name was Nicholas. The young ladies and the boys got in pairs and Zoë was left alone. Not knowing what to do and without really thinking, she took down the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from the wall and said, “I’ll take this Nicholas and I’ll go dance with them,” not paying any attention to her friends, who advised her not to commit such a blasphemous act. “If God exists, let him punish me,” she said. And so she started to dance, did two or three swirls, when all of a sudden there was a fearful noise in the room,  whirlwind, and a blinding light flashed like lightening.

The former joy turned to fright. Everyone fled from the room scared. Only Zoë stood there motionless, with the icon of St. Nicholas stuck to her chest, petrified and frozen like marble. The doctors, who arrived quickly, were not able to bring her to her senses in spite of their attempts. The injection needles, which they tried to stick in her, bent and broke as they hit here marbleized body! The wanted to take her to the hospital, but were unable to move here from her spot. It was as if her feet were nailed to the floor. But her heart was beating! Zoë was alive. However, she was no longer able to eat or drink.

When her mother came back and saw what happened, she fell unconscious and they took her to the hospital, which didn’t leave from for a few days. her faith in the compassion of God and her warm motherly prayers for the forgiveness of her unfortunate daughter, by the Grace of God, restored her vitality.

Zoë came to consciousness and with tears sought forgiveness and help.

Zoë’s house was surrounded by a crowd of people for the first few days, faithful came or, even walked from afar: the curious, doctors, and spiritual personalities. But according to an order of the authorities, the house was quickly closed to visitors. There were always two policemen guarding the house, in alternating eight-hour shifts. Some of the guards hair turned white, even though they were still young (28-30), from the fright of hearing the terrifying cries that Zoë made every night.

Night after night her mother was next to her praying.

“Mama, pray! Pray, because I’m lost on account of my sins! Pray!” Zoë would cry out.

Because of all the things that were happening, they even informed the Patriarch and asked him to pray for Zoë’s recovery. The patriarch replied, “The one who is punishing her will also have mercy on her!”

From then on, among those who were allowed to visit Zoë were:

1. A. professor of medicine of high prestige who came from Moscow. He had confirmed that her heart did not stop beating.
2. Priests, who the mother had invited in order to take St. Nicholas out of Zoë’s hands. But neither were able to pull the icon away from Zoë’s petrified hands.
3. The Hieromonk Seraphim from the Glinsk desert, who had come to Kuibyshev for the feat of the Nativity, performed the Holy Water service and had blessed the icon. Afterwards he said, “Now we must wait for some sign at Pascha (Easter, Christ’s Passover of death)! If nothing happens, it means that the end of the world is drawing near!” showing by these words his deep faith in miracles.
4. The Metropolitan Nicholas, who also read the Paraklesis and said, “We must wait till Pascha for a new miracle,” repeating the saying of the pious monk.

On the eve of the feast of the Annunciation (which that year fell on the Saturday of the third week of Lent) some genial elder approached the guards and asked them to allow him to see Zoë. But the guards refused to allow it. The elder came again the following day, but neither did those guards allow him. The third time, on the day of the Annunciation, the guards allowed him in. They heard with how much compassion he spoke to Zoë as he entered, “Now then, did you get tired from standing?”

A little time passed and when the guards wanted to kick the elder out, he wasn’t to be found in the room.

Everyone was sure that it was St. Nicholas himself. Thus Zoë had stayed there standing for nearly 4 months (128 days) until Pascha, which that year had fallen on April 23 (May 6 on the new calendar).

On the night of the GloriousResurrection of Christ Zoë started to cry out especially loud: “Pray!”

The nightshift guards started to tremble and asked, “Why are you crying out so frightfully?” Pay attention to her answer. “How dreadful, the earth id burning! Pray! The whole world is lost because of its sins, pray!” From that moment Zoë was revived, her muscles started to become soft; she came back to life. They eventually put her on a mattress but she continued to cry out and call all to pray for the world which is lost because of its sins, for the earth which is burning because of its lawlessness.

“How did you stay living up till now? Who fed you?” they asked her. “Doves, doves fed me” was her answer. From this it was apparent that she had received mercy and forgiveness from the Right hand of the Lord Almighty. The Lord forgave Zoë’s sins, by the attendance of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and because of her great tribulations and her standing for the duration of 128 days.

All of these events shocked the inhabitants of Kuibyshev and the surrounding areas. Many people again found their faith in God, having seen the miracles, hearing her screams and her entreaties for us to pray for the people who are lost on account of their sins. They returned to the Church with repentance. The return was so en masse that the churches didn’t have enough little crosses for everyone who sought one.

With fear and tears the people sought forgiveness for their sins, repeating Zoë’s words, “how dreadful, the earth is burning, we are lost because of our sins! Pray! The people are lost because of their lawlessness!”

On the third day of Pascha, Zoë left for the Lord, since she had traveled the difficult road of standing for 128 days before the face of the Lord for the forgiveness of all of her sins. The Holy Spirit had preserved her life all of these days for the resurrection of here soul from the death of sin, just as in that eternal day to come it will resurrect her bodily for life everlasting; for that matter, just as her name itself means; Zoë.