Feast Day: July 14th
The Life of Saint Nikodemos: he knew the Holy Scriptures by heart, remembering even the chapter, verse and page, and he could even recite long passages from the writings of the Holy Fathers from memory…
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Prayers
Apolytikion: Thou hast been shown to be a Godly clarion of holy oracles, teaching us righteousness. Thou wast adorned with wisdom’s grace, O Father, Saint Nicodemus For thou didst present to all thy pure life as a paradigm, pouring forth enlightenment by the wealth of thy Godly words. Thy teachings of Salvation illumined as light the whole world, O Righteous Father.
Kontakion: As a perfect mystic of the virtuous life, and God-bearing teacher of piety, the Orthodox Church praises you. For having received Heavenly Grace, you shine with your writings upon those who cry to you: Hail O Father Nikodemos.
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“I beg of you, may Jesus be the sweet meditation of your heart.”
“Luxury of clothing is the cause of many evils.”
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Icon of Saint Nikodemos holding an Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Quick to Hear (Gorgoepikoos) from the Monastery of Docheiariou, which he composed the Supplicatory Service to.
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Below is a photo of the Cell of Saint Nikodemos in Kapsala Mount Athos, and also his inkpot.
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“The Grace of the Holy Spirit which is given Mystically to every Christian when he is Baptized acts and is manifested in proportion to our obedience to the Commandments of the Lord. That is, if a Christian obeys the Commandments of the Lord more, Grace acts with him more, while if he obeys them less, Grace acts within him less. Just as a spark, when covered in the ashes of fire becomes increasingly manifest as one removes the ashes, and the more fire wood you put the more the fire burns, so the Grace that has been given to every Christian through Holy Baptism is hidden in the heart and covered up by the passions and sins, and the more a man acts in accordance with the Commandments of Christ, the more he is cleansed of the passions and the more the fire of Divine Grace lights in his heart, illumines and deifies him.”
“Those, on the other hand, who dwell in the wilderness and lead the quiet life, despise all the pleasures which others long for, as harmful to the Soul and separating it from God. They withdraw their mind from every distraction and contemplation of the world, and gather it into their heart; and there they Pray unceasingly, meditating on the dearest and sweetest name of Jesus, saying lovingly: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me.” Through this unceasing Prayer and frequent meditation on the name of Jesus they kindle in their heart the aspiration and eros for God, and turn their mind to the contemplation of the Divine beauty. Being thus enraptured by that surpassing beauty, and becoming ecstatic, they forget food, drink, and clothes.”
“There is no other virtue that is either higher or more necessary than sacred Prayer, because all the other virtues – I mean fasting, vigils, sleeping on the ground, ascesis, chastity, almsgiving, and all the rest – even though they are ways of imitating God, even though they cannot be taken away from us and constitute the immortal ornaments of the Soul – do not unite man with God, but only render man fit to be united. Sacred Prayer, and it alone, unites. It alone joins man with God and God with man, and makes the two one spirit.”
“My brother sinner, this is the preparation you must undergo before you repent and go to Confession. Know firstly that repentance, according to Saint John of Damaskos, is a returning from the devil to God, which comes about through pain and ascesis. So you also, my beloved, if you wish to repent properly, must depart from the devil and from diabolical works and return to God and to the life proper to God. You must forsake sin, which is against nature, and return to virtue, which is according to nature. You must hate wickedness so much, that you say along with David: “Unrighteousness have I hated and abhorred” (Ps. 118:163), and instead, you must love the good and the Commandments of the Lord so much, that you also say along with David: “But Thy law have I loved” (ibid.), and again: “Therefore have I loved Thy Commandments more than gold and topaz” (Ps. 118:127). In brief, the Holy Spirit informs you through the wise Sirach what in fact true repentance is, saying: “Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins… Return to the Most High, and turn away from iniquity, and hate abominations intensely” (Sir. 17:25-26)… And just as hunters are not satisfied with merely finding a beast in the forest, but attempt through every means to also kill it, likewise, my brother sinner, you should also not be satisfied with merely examining your conscience and with finding your sins, for this profits you little, but struggle by every means to kill your sins through the grief in your heart, namely, through contrition and affliction. And in order to acquire contrition, consider how much you have wronged God through your sins. In order to also acquire affliction, consider how much you have wronged yourself through your sins.”
“Many obtain a variety of virtues on their own, thinking that they can be saved by these without frequent Communion, which is, however, fundamentally impossible.”
“Job’s imitator, divine Chrysostom, always used to say this memorable quote, on every occasion: “Glory be to God for all things. I will not stop repeating it always, for everything that happens to me.” The great Gregory Palamas of Thessaloniki used to say the same in every matter, imitating the Divine Chrysostom, who added with his eloquent tongue: “So let us give thanks for everything, for whatever happens, this is thanksgiving. For to do this when all is going well is no great thing, because the very nature of things prompts it. But if we give thanks while we are in the depths of misfortune, this is admirable. Indeed, when we give thanks for those things which others blaspheme and are discouraged by, see how much philosophy there is! First, you make God glad. Second, you have shamed the devil. Third, you have proven that what happened was nothing. That is, at the same time that you give thanks, God removes the sorrow and the devil retreats.”
“If Moses was excluded from the Promised Land over a single word, how much more will our big, sharp tongue deprive us of the Kingdom of Heaven, since the Lord says we’ll have to account for every empty word we utter?”
“To have an accusing conscience is indeed the pain of pains and the sorrow of sorrows. To have an unaccusing conscience is truly the pleasure of pleasures and the joy of joys. When you disobey the Commandments of Christ you are at once deprived of that peace, rest and joy which you had in your conscience before disobeying them. And what do you acquire? A perpetual agitation, an unceasing censure of conscience, an inconsolable sorrow, and fear and dread in you whole heart and Soul. Just as he who keeps the Commandments of Christ, even before he receives the Kingdom of Heaven rejoices in his conscience for the good hopes he has, so, on the contrary, the transgressor of the Divine Commandments experiences hell prior to hell according to Chrysostom.”