SOME SAINTS DAYS IN DECEMBER
4 December John of Damascus (died 749)
A polymath whose field of interest included theology, philosophy and music,
he is said to have served as chief administrator to the Muslim Caliph before
his ordination. He wrote expounding the Christian faith & composed hymns,
he is considered the “last of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church”
and is best known for his str ong defence of icons. The RC Church regards
him as the ‘Doctor of Assumption’ due to his writings on the Assumption of
Mary. John’s life is known from Arabic texts of the early 9 th & 10 th century.
He was born into a prominent family known as Mansour, named for his
grandfather who was responsible for taxes of the Region under the Emperor
Heraclius and who surrendered the City to the Muslims. Both grandfather
and father served the Caliph, as did John. After ordination in 735 he became
a monk at Mar Saba near Jerusalem. He was bilingual in Arabic and Greek
and had received his Christian education from St Cosmas of Maiuma, whom
the Arabs had brought from Sicily as a slave and sold to his father. John
died at Mar Saba in about 749. He was officially called ‘Doctor of the Faith’
in 1883.
6 December St Nicolas (Fourth century)
There is a lot more tradition than history attached to the original Father
Christmas. What is certain is that he was Bishop of Myra, now in Turkey. He
also was imprisoned in the persecutions under Diocletian (around 303) and
was present at the Council of Nicaea
in 325, where he argued strongly
against Arius and his heresy. He was
a great champion for justice and
intervened even with Constantine for
prisoners who had been unjustly
condemned. He died in Myra and
was buried there. When the Saracens
conquered Myra, his relics were taken
to Venice and then Bari in Apulia,
only in recent years claimed back by
Myra . Among the legends attached
to him was the one of his throwing
through a window bags of gold for
three daughters of a widow for their
dowry, these became the origin of the
pawnbroker’s three golden balls and
made him patron saint of brides. There was also the unpleasant story of the
boys killed by an innkeeper, which Nicolas restored back to life. These
stories made him the patron of children and associated with the giving of
presents at Christmas.
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