In many
icons of Nicholas, the Saint is shown flanked by Jesus Christ and the Mother of
God either in medallions or, especially later, resting upon clouds. This is
recalling a miracle from St Nicholas’ life.
At the
First Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) the anti-Trinitarian heresy spouted by Arius
so angered Nicholas that he walked over to Arius in mid-speech and struck him
in the face. The scene is shown in all its glory in this fresco:
For his
transgression, Nicholas was evicted from the Council, stripped of his
bishorpic, and thrown in prison. Whilst there, Nicholas was visited one night
by Jesus Christ and the Mother of God: Jesus holding a Gospel book, Mary a
bishop’s stole. Christ handed the book to Nicholas, whilst the Theotokos
offered the omophorion, restoring Nicholas to the rank of bishop, as it were,
by Divine decree. The next morning the gaoler was astonished to find Nicholas
miraculously unchained and dressed as a bishop. The First Ecumenical Council
ultimately condemned Arius as a heretic, and St. Nicholas was indeed restored
to the episcopacy. And so in icons of the Saint, Christ and the Theotokos are shown
giving the Gospel book and omophorion to Nicholas.
Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/why-christ-and-the-theotokos-are-in-icons-of-st-nicholas/
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