Today we celebrate St Nicholas of Japan.

Today we celebrate St Nicholas of Japan.

When St Nicholas first arrived as a missionary in Japan he set about studying Japanese language and culture, refusing to evangelize for almost a decade until he could do so with full knowledge of Japan. He studied its religion, culture, and language, frequently visiting Buddhist temples and public storytelling events to get a sense of the people. Unlike some who attempt to be missionaries, Nicholas truly attempted to appreciate what Japanese culture had to offer and not to dismiss it as backwardness. On Buddhism he wrote, "The teaching of the loving Buddha, of his readiness to save a person at the first call, of the inadequacy of a person’s own powers to be saved involuntarily amazes one. When you hear such preaching in a temple you can forget where you are and think you are hearing a Christian sermon."

Despite his fondness for Japanese culture, the Japanese were quite xenophobic at that time and it was very difficult being a foreigner. At one point, while Nicholas was still studying, the samurai Sawabe Takuma came to Nicholas's home and pulled his sword, telling Nicholas he was going to kill him before he could start his preaching. St Nicholas responded to this threat of violence with peace. He asked the samurai why he was going to kill Nicholas before he knows what Nicholas will preach. Nicholas proposed that the two sit together so that he might explain his message to Sawabe. Then at the end, if Sawabe does not like it, he may kill Nicholas. The honorable samurai agreed. By the end of the conversation, Sawabe was convinced of the truth of Christianity and became the first convert, and eventually the first Japanese Orthodox priest.

When he at last began preaching, St Nicholas's ministry grew immensely. He translated the scriptures and the service books into Japanese. He also revived the order of the female diaconate, ordaining women.

The most difficult time for St Nicholas was during the Russo-Japanese war. Many encouraged Nicholas to return to Russia, but he refused, at great personal danger, remaining as the only Russian in Japan. The local Japanese who knew Nicholas protected him, seeing him as one of their own. In protest of the war, St Nicholas refused to participate in any services during the war. Nonetheless, he instructed his priests to continue services, and to continue praying for the Japanese military and the Japanese emperor, as the service books called for. For his part, Nicholas cared for prisoners of war, and did all he could to negotiate peace between the nations. Nicholas had a long tradition of negotiating for peace during his career. Long before the war, there was an assassination attempt on the future Tsar Nicholas II, during which Nicholas II was injured. St Nicholas intervened in this case, attempting to de-escalate conflict, winning the respect of the emperor. After the war was over, St Nicholas won awards from both the Tsar and the Emperor for his peace efforts during the war.

Holy Nicholas, pray we may emulate your example!