Orthodox Parables and Stories: A Story of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Mother Christophora told the story by the late Mother Abbess Benedicta, from Romania, of the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City, PA . This story of St. Nicholas was told to her as a child:

There was once a young couple who were so poor they had to sell their household goods in order to survive. Finally, they had to sell their icons. One special icon was of St. Nicholas. The one who bought it was a big Turk, whom they told the icon only needed candles and oil to be satisfied. The big Turk thought it would be good to have an icon to protect his house, while he went out to get drunk (he liked to drink).
So he bought it and went to the bar at night and told his friends his house was being watched by an icon and that he didn't have to lock his doors any more. His friends smiled at each other, decided to teach him that icons have no power and while he was drinking, they went to his house and stole some valuable things out of it. Returning that night to his house, the man saw that he had been robbed. He went over to the icon and said: "St. Nicholas, I payed good money for you and you did not protect my house. Didn't I give you enough oil in your lamp? I'll give you another candle." So he lit another candle and poured more oil.
The next night he went out to drink again (he liked being drunk). The friends saw him and asked how St. Nicholas had protected his house. He answered that he hadn't given the icon enough candles and oil at first and now that he had, all would be "ok". So the friends, while the Turk was drinking slipped out and robbed his house again. The Turk came home and again accused the saint of not doing his duty and set out more candles. The next night, while drinking with his friends, some of them decided to penetrate his house and steal the icon itself. They penetrated his house. The first one reached out to take the icon of St. Nicholas from the wall but his hands stuck to it and he couldn't move. The second tried to pull him away but he couldn't move also once he touched his friend. There were four friends and they were all stuck to the icon. When the Turk came home he found his friends in the act of stealing. They were afraid and they told the Turk they would give back what they had stolen and more. But he beat them for a whole day. And he finally got tired and said: "St. Nicholas, I am tired of beating my friends. Let them go. They promised to give back what they took and more." So the icon let them go and they fell on the floor and they brought back what they had stolen and more. And the Turk became a Christian.