Santa Nicholas, Oro Pro Nobis

This is a belated post for the feast of St. Nicholas, and there is not much of substance to it. I have written about this great saint before, and cannot think of anything particularly to add to it, so have settled instead for this little drawing:

I have greatly enjoyed experimenting with white-on-black art like this, as it creates a marvelously illuminated look, and it seemed a particularly good medium for creating a vaguely Christmasy image of good St. Nicholas.

I also came across this hymn, which I quite like-- being enamored of the otherworldly and.... dwarvish?..... quality of Byzantine chant. An Apolytikion is a dismissal hymn that summarises the lesson of the feast. Given the late posting, it seems quite fitting to sign of with an Apolytikion: