NEWS RELEASE Saint’s Holy Relics Due to Arrive in Indianapolis

On Wednesday, September 25, relics from the holy body of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Died AD 343), will arrive at about 6:30 p.m. at the IndianapolisInternationalAirport.  Following the arrival there will be a special prayer service at the St. Nicholas Church, 7855 Marsh Road, in Indianapolis at about 7:00 p.m.

This very small portion of the relics of the holy body of St. Nicholas first arrived in the United States from Bari, Italy, and remained in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Now destined for the St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in northwest Indianapolis, this portion of the relics will remain at the church indefinitely.

Prayers to honor the saint and in thanksgiving of his holy relics will be offered at the Divine Liturgy served on Sunday, September 29, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the church.

Following is a writing on the life of St. Nicholas from The Prologue from Ohrid; Lives of Saints by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, Bishop of Zica, Serbia (1880-1956), copyright 1999, Serbian Orthodox Church, Western Diocese of America; also at http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/prologue-from-ohrid/, and on the Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation_of_the_Relics_of_Saint_Nicholas_from_Myra_to_Bari:

December 6/19

This glorious saint, celebrated even today throughout the entire world, was the only son of his eminent and wealthy parents, Theophanes and Nona, citizens of the city of Patara in Lycia. Since he was the only son bestowed on them by God, the parents returned the gift to God by dedicating their son to Him. St. Nicholas learned of the spiritual life from his uncle Nicholas, Bishop of Patara, and was tonsured a monk in the Monastery of New Zion, founded by his uncle.

Following the death of his parents, Nicholas distributed all his inherited goods to the poor, not keeping anything for himself. As a priest in Patara, he was known for his charity, even though he carefully concealed his charitable works, fulfilling the words of the Lord: Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth (Matthew 6:3).

When he gave himself over to solitude and silence, thinking to live that way until his death, a voice from on high came to him: "Nicholas, for your ascetic labor, work among the people, if thou desirest to be crowned by Me." Immediately after that, by God's wondrous providence, he was chosen archbishop of the city of Myra in Lycia. Merciful, wise and fearless, Nicholas was a true shepherd to his flock. During the persecution of Christians under Diocletian and Maximian, he was cast into prison, but even there he instructed the people in the Law of God.

He was present at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea [AD 325] and, out of great zeal for the truth, struck the heretic Arius with his hand. For this act he was removed from the Council and from his archiepiscopal duties, until the Lord Christ Himself and the Most-holy Theotokos appeared to several of the chief hierarchs and revealed their approval of Nicholas.

A defender of God's truth, this wonderful saint was ever bold as a defender of justice among the people. On two occasions, he saved three men from an undeserved sentence of death. Merciful, truthful, and a lover of justice, he walked among the people as an angel of God.

Even during his lifetime, the people considered him a saint and invoked his aid in difficulties and in distress. He appeared both in dreams and in person to those who called upon him, and he helped them easily and speedily, whether close at hand or far away. A light shone from his face as it did from the face of Moses, and he, by his presence alone, brought comfort, peace and good will among men. In old age he became ill for a short time and entered into the rest of the Lord, after a life full of labor and very fruitful toil, to rejoice eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven, continuing to help the faithful on earth by his miracles and to glorify his God. He entered into rest on December 6, AD 343.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari (Nicola spring) is an Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday, and to a lesser extent, the South Slavs, Romanians and Moldovans, celebrated on May 9 each year.^[1][2] It commemorates the translation of the relics in 1087 of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari, Italy to save them from the Turks^{[citation needed]} who were persecuting Christians and destroying churches and holy objects. To this day the relics remain at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas.