Wednesday, December 07, 2016

The Feast of St Nicholas in Byzantine Italy

Fr Hunwicke posted an article yesterday in which, with his characteristically marvelous wit, he describes St Nicholas as “a saint with as large a portfolio of Patronages as a Renaissance cardinal.” This is particularly true among Byzantine Christians, who keep his feast with particular solemnity; he is honored as a Patron of both Greece and Russia, but also of Sicily and Puglia, regions of southern Italy in which, as we have noted before, there many communities of the Byzantine Rite. Here are some photos of the celebrations held in his honor this year among some of them in the area around Palermo, Sicily.

Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie - Palazzo Adriano
St Nicholas of the Greeks (“Martorana”) in Palermo
Vespers and Artoklasia - photos by Antonio Paratore
San Nicola Mezzojuso
Procession with a relic of St Nicholas - photos by Salvatore Bisulca
Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie - Palazzo Adriano
Divine Liturgy and Procession with the Icon and Relic of St Nicholas

More recent articles:

For more articles, see the NLM archives: