Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh advises not commercialize St. Nicholas Day

“In the modern consumer’s conscious St. Nicholas has been transformed into Santa Claus, who leads most people not to church but to the supermarket to shop,” Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, head of Patriarchal Administration, Secretary of Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in an interview to Day newspaper. According to Bishop Bohdan, the problem is not in the popularity of St. Nicholas but in his commercialization. "The same applies to the holiday of Christmas, especially, in the Western world where preparation for the Christmas leads to wild searches for gifts. People forget the greatest gift the world receives – the Savior of the world," said the hierarch. The bishop, however, believes the distorted perception of the saint does not deprecate the saint’s popularity: "Most of us remember that even the communists in the Soviet Union who fought religion introduced Father Frost, which was just a crude imitation of the Christian St. Nicholas. And instead of an accompanying angel, Father Frost was accompanied by a granddaughter called Snegurochka (Snow Maiden).” “I am very impressed by our nation’s love and respect for this saint,” the bishop underlined. “Every day we Christians celebrate the memory of a saint or even several saints, but Nicholas holds a special place among them because he affects, perhaps, touches the most inner strings of the human soul, and in us awakens the best, the noblest, and that which likens us to God – selflessness and sincere kindness,” stated Bishop Bohdan. As the Bishop noted, respect to St. Nicholas appears on different levels: at church at liturgy every Thursday, in our homes and families where we find an icon to this saint, when we name our children after him, in society when we celebrate his feast day, when we help not only children but all who are in need. The popularity of the saint, according to the bishop, shows the traits of the Ukraine nation: kindness, hospitality, sensitivity to the needs of another person. "I read that in Kyivan Rus’ there was the following custom: every house had a window on which someone in need could knock and masters were obliged to give him alms. “Some who analyze our customs, our national character, which was generated on the basis of Christian values and the teachings of the Gospel, make an even wider conclusion: like the Greeks who in ancient times praised wisdom and, having become Christians, worshiped the holy wisdom of God, Saint Sofia, who was symbolized in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople, the Ukrainian nation praises – due to its natural inclinations and national character – God's goodness in St. Ahafia.” According to the bishop, with time people start to realize the profound meaning of this holiday, which brings great wisdom: "Children form an image of God, who is good, makes pleasant surprises, and thus they behave very discreetly, quietly. At the same time, the feast of St. Nicholas shows that God, so to speak, believes in people, sees the smallest ounce of good in their hearts, and assesses and rewards it, despite weaknesses, evasions, or guilt, which, unfortunately, is found in so many children and adults.” “St. Nicholas has always been for me a saint of God's goodness. And even when it is apparent that human hands fulfill God's kindness, behind these ‘human hands’ is always God’s loving heart," said the Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of UGCC Bohdan Dziurakh.

Information Department of the UGCC