Sermons & Homilies
Some time ago I remember overhearing a child ask her mother: ‘Mummy, why does Father Christmas have a beard? And why does he wear such funny clothes?’ Her mother could give no adequate answer, quite simply because she was not an Orthodox Christian. All Orthodox should know the answer to the child’s questions. Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, has a beard and wears such unusual clothes because he is the folklore version of an Orthodox bishop – St Nicholas. Who was St Nicholas?
Recently, we celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas. This is not the “Saint Nick” or “Santa Claus” who is so beloved, as well as so mocked and lampooned in our secular culture. This is the 4th century bishop who “dedicated his life to his people and saved the innocent from death.” Our Orthodox faith, so radical and counter-cultural when compared to most aspects of our dying secular culture, is just as radical when facing the reality of the life of St. Nicholas.