With his good deeds and example, St. Nicholas turned the unenlightened to God and strengthened Christians in their faith. He secretly helped and performed many miracles. He was the embodiment of Christ's command: "But when you do good, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your giving may be in secret" (Matthew 6:3-4). ‎

According to Father Vasily Saryan, head of the Sofia-based church "Holy Transfiguration of the Lord", charity has always been a primordial essence that the Lord expects from us. "Even in the distant past before Christ, it was a certain part of people's lives," Father Vasily points out in an interview with Radio Bulgaria.

"Of course, the times were very cruel, very critical and disastrous for humanity, but certainly for us as God's creation it is embedded in our nature and soul to be merciful. It is no coincidence that the Lord says, be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful. We are God's creation, that is, since God is love and we are love. Since God is merciful and we carry mercy within ourselves. But unfortunately, due to the circumstances of life, this mercy is not manifested in human relationships, because mercy requires incredible virtues - it requires faith, love, dedication. It requires that you prefer the other person to yourself. These are many, many virtues, which, unfortunately, can hardly be collected in one person in the modern world."

When the mind is riveted to everyday life, absorbed in the hustle and bustle of everyday hustle and bustle, it is difficult for a person to tear himself away from his own worries. That is why it often happens that charity is manifested during campaigns around major Christian holidays. In these cases, it seems to be dictated by the need to cleanse our conscience. Then the unreserved and devoted feeling of mercy that is required of us Christians is missing, Father Vasily notes and adds that mercy is not within the power of one person only:

"A person may be merciful to a close relative, acquaintance, neighbor, friend, but these are small human relationships. This occurs much more frequently than global mercy, which would be at the human level, at the level of nations. We see that even if it exists, it is still either campaign-based, or has some selfish purpose, or has some other interests. At first glance, we see that what is being done is very gracious and good, but at a later stage it is revealed that it was not selfless. And this is the case throughout the world, because people in the world cannot suffer, for some there is, and for others there is not – either there is for everyone, or there is not for anyone. That's why charity is a very difficult issue, especially in the modern world, although it should be even easier. In the modern world, everyone can show their charity and help people even from the remotest corner of the globe. With just one click of the mouse, you can donate funds, provide support or anything to people who don't even know you. But we see that this is very rare and requires a lot of effort." 

According to Father Vasily, mercy can be educated through the example that parents set for their child. "Upbringing is extremely important in order to build virtues in a person, and this begins from the very first day in the family, it starts with love, family understanding," the priest emphasizes: 

"Parents and loved ones - they themselves, having these virtues such as love, mercy, responsiveness, humanity, cannot help but pass it on to their children so that they also acquire them. No matter how difficult it is, of course, because the moment these children go out into the street, they will see exactly the opposite, they will see aggression, malice, theft. They will see the inhuman behavior of other people. If parents, relatives, the family, which is the most important thing, have managed to lay strong roots of these virtues, they will help this child to withstand everything." 

And if in the past parents also relied on school to supplement parental upbringing, in today's world the education system seems to only provides knowledge. Children are not taught the ethics of human relationships, "they do not know what understanding, virtuousness are," Father Vasily also notes. And, "when we place all our trust in God, the impossible becomes possible. That is why prayer is very important for Christians, in order to change our human nature for the better," Father Vasily recalls and adds: "Times are coming when we will have to rely more and more on God's mercy. We will have to trust in the Lord more and more. "As we see how the world abdicates from values, there is nothing left but to ask God to enlighten us."