Today is the Feast Day of St Nicholas. I wrote last year about his links with Santa Claus. This year a few words about him as Patron of Seafarers written in a seafarers town.
There are countless stories of St. Nicholas intervening to help sailors in times of distress. The most famous is told of a time when Nicholas went across the sea on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. A frightful storm came up, and the sailors feared they all were about to die. They came to the holy bishop and pleaded for his help. Nicholas prayed fervently, and the seas became miraculously calm. The sailors were amazed and gave praise to God.
It is said that on the return voyage a sailor fell to his death from a high mast. Nicholas prayed over the man and he came back to life. Nicholas never took credit for any of his deeds. He always instructed the people to turn their hearts to God and repent from sin.
Greeks are especially devoted to Nicholas because he is the patron of seafarers, and Greece is a seafaring country. Every boat in Greece has an icon of Nicholas. In fact, there are more churches named after St. Nicholas than any other saint, according to some sources, with the possible exception of the Blessed Mother.
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