On the 2nd of March, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates the feast-day of Saint NICHOLAS PLANAS.

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

On the 2nd of March, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the feast-day of Saint NICHOLAS PLANAS.

Saint Nicholas Planas was a humble parish priest outside of Athens, Greece. He lived just this past century. What is most notable about Papa-Nicholas as the faithful called him are the things which were lacking in his life. He was not a theologian, and in fact had very few words to say at all – even to his closest followers. His life has no astounding feats of asceticism; he was a parish priest on the outskirts of a great city. He did not die for the Faith or preach to the multitudes. He built no monasteries, no philanthropic institutions, nor even a single church.

Yet each year on March 2nd the Orthodox Church universally recognized Papa-Nicholas as a Saint worthy of veneration and emulation. This is because he did the most important thing that nay Christian can do, a simple task that he unwaveringly followed to his salvation and glorification: he listened to and conducted God’s will to the fullest degree possible within his circumstances. For this reason the Holy Church joyously proclaims in a hymn to Saint Nicholas:

As a simple shepherd of Christ and
lambs, you did tend your flock well
on the pasture of piety, nourishing
their spirits with ceaseless supplica-
tions and leading them to Christ;
O wise Father Nicholas.
[Megalynarion for Saint Nicholas Planas]

Simplicity is the theme of Papa-Nicholas’ life. He was a simple parish priest, who modestly performed the Mysteria (Sacraments) and divine services of our Holy Orthodox Church, who cared for his flock with meekness, and who treated all with love and in innocence. It is this very simplicity which serves as an example for all of us.

Saint Nicholas was born in 1851 on the Island of Naxos. His parents were devout and pious. His father captain John and his mother Augustina were quite well off but were also good Christians. They had their own estate with a little chapel in the middle of it bearing the name of Saint Nicholas. Very frequently little Nicholas Planaas would hide in the chapel wearing a bed sheet, and he would chant whatever he knew, as he was still a small child. At other times he would gather his friends, and they would "celebrate the Divine Liturgy." He learned his first letters from his grandfather, Father George Melissourgos, Near him, Nicholas learned to read the Psalter. He observed his grandfather’s every movement in the Holy Altar and followed him in all the liturgies he did in the innumerable country chapels. One winter night – as Papa-Nicholas himself related about his childhood life — they were sitting near the fireplace and he told his father, "Father, at this moment our boat, the Evangelistria, is sinking outside Constantinople. He was only seven years old at the time.

He lived there until he was 14 years old, when his family moved to Athens. He was married at 17 and had a son; his wife Eleni died a few years later, leaving him a widower. He was ordained to the Diaconate on July 28, 1879 at the church of the Holy Transfiguration in Plaka, Greece and on March 2, 1884, at the church of the Holy Prophet Elisha, to the Priesthood. [At his first parish the famous Alexandros Papadiamantis was the chanter.] Papa-Nicholas was uneducated but was a humble and holy man. Through his divine example we learn that the holy Office of the Priesthood is not about University degrees and academic excellence but living a life of holiness and humility, kindness, compassion, love, service to others, and simplicity such as the Saint’s. Papa-Nicholas touched numerous lives by his unconditional love for all people, rich and poor, sinners and infirm. He was always ready to serve those in need at any time of the day, night or day. His commitment was not a part-time commitment on Sundays but a continuous one.

Papa-Nicholas was a rare spectacle, even in the rustic agrarian villages that surrounded Athens in the early 20th century. He was quite short, even for Greek standards; people would often kiss him on the head like a little child. He was hunched over and always looking disheveled, He wore the most tattered raso, even though in later life his church wardens (like parish council members) would insist upon buying him new clothes. He would simply give them away. He had a slow gait and used a cane for much of his later years.

Papa-Nicholas was known for traveling with a handkerchief full of paper scraps – names of those whom he remembered in prayer. He also carried a little box around his neck with the holy relics of Saints. He called the handkerchief and his box, "My invoices and my contracts." Papa-Nicholas was visited by Saint may times in his life. He would hold long vigils with Saint John the Baptist, served liturgy with Saint Phocas the Bishop, received mystical medicine from Saint Panteleimon who also appeared to him in person, and walked in rainstorms late at night by the light of an Angel without feeling a drop.

Externally he became the priest at the Church of Saint John the Hunter, which had only eight families. His annual salary was a piece of the Christmas lamb. For 50 years served Divine Liturgy EVERY DAY. There are numerous stories told of his being lifted in prayer and of the acolytes seeing him raised off the ground in front of the holy Altar during the Divine Liturgy. While he would begin the Liturgy at eight in the morning, he typically would not finish until two or three in the afternoon. When he was not able to serve at the church of Saint John, he would always serve elsewhere. Through revolutions, snowstorms, and even the invasion of the English and French in 1917 he never ceased to serve the Liturgy daily.

Papa-Nicholas would refuse to distinguish between people, regardless of stature, wealth, health, or any other difference. He gave communion to lepers. He walked many miles to visit the wealthy and the poor in times of need. Rather than correcting people verbally, he would pray intensely for them such that Saints would appear in their dreams to correct them. He lived a life of patience and compassion toward his fellow humans and obedience toward God.

Papa-Nicholas departed this world in 1932. The Saint’s funeral was conducted by the Archbishop of Athens and was attended by countless Orthodox Christians who had the blessing to kiss his holy hand with reverence and tears. Yet his simplicity and his boundless love for humanity lives on in the story of his life. May this be an example for all of us. Amen.

__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George