Nineteenth Century Russian Icons of Saint Nicholas of Myra

WERE THIS NOT the Second Sunday in Advent, today we would celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas of Myra.

The following Russian icons of Saint Nicholas are on display at the Saint Louis University Art Museum, as a part of the exhibit Relics of a Glorious Past. Imperial Russian Artifacts from the Collection of Dr. James F. Cooper. The exhibition closes on December 20^th, 2009.













Saint Nicholas was Bishop of the Greek town of Myra, in Anatolia, Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey.  He was reputed to have great holiness, and his episcopal See was said to be the only diocese which was not tainted by the heresy of Arianism.

Nicholas inherited wealth from his family, and was known for his charity.  The most famous legend has the Saint saving three dowry-less girls from lives of prostitution by furtively throwing sacks of gold into their house.  One version of the story has Nicholas throwing a bag of gold down the chimney, where it fell into one of the girl's stockings, drying over the embers.  This is not only the origin of the Christmas custom, but these three bags of gold inspired the pawnbroker's symbol.

Nicholas was one of the earliest Saints who was not a martyr, and his veneration quickly spread to all parts of Christendom. Some claim that artistic depictions of this Saint are second only to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and that at least 2000 churches were built in his honor in Mediaeval France and Germany, and 400 more in England.

After the Seljuk invasion of Myra, Nicholas' relics were taken to Bari, Italy, where they remain. The Saint's crypt is in a basilica under the protection of the Dominican Order; and an Orthodox chapel is built on one side of the crypt.  The “Manna of Saint Nicholas” is a liquid that oozes from the relics; roughly 50 milliliters of this liquid is collected annually, where it is diluted and distributed worldwide, and used as an ointment and for the blessing of ships and the seas.

A View of Downtown

Downtown Saint Louis, taken from the roof of the City Museum.  This is looking towards the southeast.

In the center is the Anglican cathedral; the Civil Courts building is illuminated with red and green lights for the Christmas season.

Two Recent Churches in the Diocese of Belleville

HERE ARE PHOTOS of two newer churches in the Diocese of Belleville, both consecrated in 2007.



This is Holy Trinity Church, in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and was consecrated on the first Sunday of Advent, December 2^nd, 2007.  It is about 13 road miles east of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri.



This is a view into the church through a window. Like most new Catholic churches I've visited, this has fan-shaped seating around a sanctuary, and the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in a separate chapel directly aligned along the primary axis of the church, behind the altar but visible from the nave.



Fairview Heights is located on the great Illinois prairie, and farmland still exists nearby; however this area is rapidly becoming suburban.  According the parish website, Holy Trinity has 1100 families and is growing rapidly.  This parish dates from 2004, and merges the former Saint Albert the Great and Our Lady of the Assumption parishes.



Saint Clare of Assisi Church, in O'Fallon, Illinois, which is located about five miles to the southeast of Holy Trinity Church.  Click here for a photo of the old church, now used as the school chapel.  Click here for another exterior view of the new church.

O'Fallon was founded in 1854 as a railroad depot, and the first Holy Mass was offered here in 1858. This parish was founded in 1868, and its patroness is Saint Clare, friend of Saint Francis of Assisi, and co-foundress of the Poor Clare sisters.



I arrived here just as a wedding was starting.  The bride was beautiful, but I failed to take a picture of her and her entourage.



The cornerstone of the church.

These photos were taken on the eve of the first Sunday of Advent, 2009.

Photo of Saint Damian Church in Damiansville, Illinois

At Saint Damian Church, in Damiansville, Illinois. Saint Damian, along with his twin Saint Cosmas, was a physician and early martyr.

As I arrived too late for Mass, this is a view from across the street. Photo taken on the eve of the first Sunday in Advent.

Photos of Saint Mary's Church, in Trenton, Illinois

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Mary's Church, in Trenton, Illinois. Located in western Clinton County, the church is about 32 highway miles due east of downtown Saint Louis, and is a part of the Diocese of Belleville.



Founded in 1858 and originally known as the Parish of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this present parish church dates from 1953 and has an unusual transitional form between the traditional and modern styles.



The long, rectangular nave with flat roof is distinctive of ancient classical basilicas; the side-aisles and transept are distinctively Christian elements, symbolizing the Trinity and Cross.  This church is in the form of a Tau cross, with the sanctuary located largely within and not beyond the transept.



Above the altar is this triptych, showing Cleopos and the other disciple, who met Our Lord on the road to Emmaus on the day of His resurrection, although they did not know Him. Eventually, they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:13-35).



The tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved and venerated.  Above the tabernacle is a tent-like canopy: the Latin word tabernaculum means ‘little hut’ or ‘tent’. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle was the tent where the Israelites kept the Ark of the Covenant.

On the front of the altar is a depiction of a the symbols of a fountain with birds. A fountain is a symbol of the source of grace, while birds are symbols of our souls, who owe their sustenance on the living waters.

The tabernacle itself has the symbol of the loaves and fishes from Matthew 14:13-21, a prefigurement of the Blessed Sacrament.


11^th Station of the Cross: Consider Jesus, thrown down upon the cross, He stretched out His arms and offered to His eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. They nailed His hands and feet, and then, raising the cross, left Him to die in anguish.



Carved bas-relief icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.



Stained glass window shows a fleur-de-lis, symbol of Mary, the Trinity, the Kingdom of France, and others.



Ave Maria Regina Coelis.  Hail Mary Queen of Heaven.





Confessional is in the former baptistery. Gate depicts a shell with three streams of water flowing from it.



In the narthex is this large carved crucifixion scene, with the Virgin and Saint John flanking Christ Crucified.

These photos were taken on the eve of the First Sunday of Advent.



Above the door to the nave is this mosaic of Mary presenting Jesus at the Temple.





Click here for photos of other churches in Clinton County.

Address:
218 West Kentucky Street
Trenton, Illinois 62293