He was one of the Seven Deacons chosen by the Twelve Apostles, as we are told in Chapter 6 of the Acts of the Apostles. One of these deacons was Saint Stephen, the protomartyr of the Church, whose feast day is December 26, the day after Christmas. Six of these Seven Deacons are saints. They are: Saint Nicanor (January 10), Saint Parmenas (January 23), Saint Prochorus (April 9), Saint Timon (April 19), Saint Philip (June 6), and Saint Stephen (December 26). One of the Seven Deacons is not listed among the saints. His name was Nicholas. One of the Twelve Apostles was a traitor. His name was Judas. A vocation and sanctity are not one and the same thing. A vocation is a call to sanctity to which one must fully respond in order to be a saint.
Saint Nicanor
