St. Nicholas, Bishop

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who died this day (6 December) in the year 343 A.D.

Almighty Father, lover of souls,
who didst choose thy servant Nicholas
to be a bishop in the Church,
that he might give freely out of the treasures of thy grace:
make us mindful of the needs of others
and, as we have received, so teach us also to give;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

St. Nicholas is said to have attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. This council produced the first draft of the Nicene Creed, which defined Jesus as being of the same substance (homoousios) with God the Father, as opposed to homoiousios, of a similar substance. 

In short, St. Nicholas defended the belief that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully human. This is what we celebrate at Christmas; thus it is most appropriate that we commemorate Nicholas at this time of year.

For more information on St. Nicholas, see his Wikipedia page.