Introduction
In 1081 AD, the Holy Body of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was taken from the Church of his See in Myra, to the city of Bari on the west coast of Italy. Some have looked at this event, and see it as a theft from, and a great loss for, the Greeks of Asia Minor, to the benefit of the Italians. Other see even in this event, God's love and providence. St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite takes the latter point of view, as he relates that the transfer of the Saint's relic was by the will of God: “on the one hand, that his relic not remain without honor and glory, and on the other, that the West might partake of his wonders, as [the Christians of Bari at that time] had not yet fallen into heresies and false beliefs, but was Orthodox, and united with the Church of the East.”
Likely because some mourn the loss of St. Nicholas' body to the East, the memory of the translation of his relic is generally not as widely celebrated in Orthodox Greece as it is in Russia and other countries. However, St. Nikodemos did feel strong enough that this event deserves memory that he composed a service for this feast, as he relates: “For this feast, my weakness has composed a Service for St. Nicholas, and whoever desires to celebrate the Saint, let him seek it, for it is found in the Cell of St. Nicholas, called Barberadon, near Karyes.”
