Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra
Little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas. The earliest accounts of his life were written centuries after his death and probably contain legendary elaborations. He is said to have been born in the Anatolian seaport of
An early list makes him an attendee at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but he is never mentioned in any writings by people who were at the council. Late, unsubstantiated legends claim that he was temporarily defrocked and imprisoned during the council for slapping the heretic Arius. Another famous late legend tells how he resurrected three children, who had been murdered and pickled in brine by a butcher planning to sell them as pork during a famine.
Fewer than 200 years after Nicholas's death, the
Biographical sources
Very little at all is known about Saint Nicholas's historical life.[11][12] Any writings Nicholas himself may have produced have been lost and he is not mentioned by any contemporary chroniclers.[13] This is not surprising,[14] since Nicholas lived during a turbulent time in Roman history.[14] The earliest mentions of Saint Nicholas indicate that, by the sixth century, his following was already well-established.[15] Less than two hundred years after Saint Nicholas's probable death, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II (ruled 401–450) ordered the building of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Myra, which thereby preserves an early mention of his name.[16] The Byzantine historian Procopius also mentions that the Emperor Justinian I (ruled 527–565) renovated churches in Constantinople dedicated to Saint Nicholas and Saint Priscus,[17][16] which may have originally been built as early as c. 490.[17]
Nicholas's name also occurs as "Nicholas of Myra of Lycia" on the tenth line of a list of attendees at the Council of Nicaea included by Theodore Lector in the Historiae Ecclesiasticae Tripartitae Epitome, written sometime between 510 and 515.[16][15] A single, offhand mention of Nicholas of Myra also occurs in the biography of another saint, Saint Nicholas of Sion, who apparently took the name "Nicholas" to honor him.[12][18] The Life of Saint Nicholas of Sion, written around 250 years after Nicholas of Myra's death, briefly mentions Nicholas of Sion visiting Nicholas's tomb to pay homage to him.[12][18][15] According to Jeremy Seal, the fact that Nicholas had a tomb that could be visited serves as the almost solitary definitive proof that he was a real historical figure.[19][18]
In his treatise De statu animarum post mortem (written c. 583), the theologian
Despite its extremely late date, Michael the Archimandrite's Life of Saint Nicholas is believed to heavily rely on older written sources and oral traditions.[22][23] The identity and reliability of these sources, however, remains uncertain.[23] Catholic historian D. L. Cann and medievalist Charles W. Jones both consider Michael the Archimandrite's Life the only account of Saint Nicholas that is likely to contain any historical truth.[21] Jona Lendering, a Dutch historian of classical antiquity, notes that Michael the Archimandrite's Life does not contain a "conversion narrative", which was unusual for saints' lives of the period when it was written. He therefore argues that it is possible Michael the Archimandrite may have been relying on a source written before conversion narratives became popular, which would be a positive indication of that source's reliability.[23] He notes that many of the stories recounted by Michael the Archimandrite closely resemble stories told about the first-century AD Neopythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, an eight-volume biography of him written in the early third century by the Greek writer Philostratus. Christian storytellers were known to adapt older pagan legends and attribute them to Christian saints. As Apollonius's hometown of Tyana was not far from Myra, Lendering contends that many popular stories about Apollonius may have become attached to Saint Nicholas.[23]
Life and legends
Family and background
Accounts of Saint Nicholas's life agree on the essence of his story, but modern historians disagree regarding how much of this story is actually rooted in historical fact.
Generosity and travels
After his parents died from an epidemic, Nicholas is said to have distributed their wealth to the poor.
According to Michael the Archimandrite's account, after the second daughter was married, the father stayed awake for at least two "nights" and caught Saint Nicholas in the same act of charity toward the third daughter.[23][30][35] The father fell on his knees, thanking him, and Nicholas ordered him not to tell anyone about the gifts.[23][30][35] The scene of Nicholas's secret gift-giving is one of the most popular scenes in Christian devotional art, appearing in icons and frescoes from across Europe. Although depictions vary depending on time and place,[36] Nicholas is often shown wearing a cowl while the daughters are typically shown in bed, dressed in their nightclothes. Many renderings contain a cypress tree or a cross-shaped cupola.[36]
The historicity of this incident is disputed.[23] Adam C. English argues for a historical kernel to the legend, noting the story's early attestation as well as the fact that no similar stories were told about any other Christian saints.[37] Jona Lendering, who also argues for the story's authenticity, notes that a similar story is told in Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana, in which Apollonius gives money to an impoverished father but posits that Michael the Archimandrite's account is markedly different.[23] Philostratus does not mention the fate of the daughters and, in his story, Apollonius's generosity is purely motivated out of sympathy for the father; in Michael the Archimandrite's account, however, Saint Nicholas is instead expressly stated to be motivated by a desire to save the daughters from being sold into prostitution.[23] He argues that this desire to help women is most characteristic of fourth-century Christianity, due to the prominent role women played in the early Christian movement, rather than Greco-Roman paganism or the Christianity of Michael the Archimandrite's time in the ninth century, by which point the position of women had drastically declined.[23]
Nicholas is also said to have visited the Holy Land. The ship he was on was nearly destroyed by a terrible storm but he rebuked the waves, causing the storm to subside. Thus, Nicholas became venerated as the patron saint of sailors and travelers.[30]
While in Palestine, Nicholas is said to have lived in a crypt near Bethlehem, where the Nativity of Jesus is believed to have taken place. Over the crypt where Nicholas is believed to have lived now stands the "Church of Saint Nicholas" in Beit Jala, a Christian town of which Nicholas is the Patron saint.[38][39]
Bishop of Myra
After visiting the Holy Land, Nicholas returned to Myra. The bishop of Myra, who had succeeded Nicholas's uncle, had recently died
One of the earliest attested stories of Saint Nicholas is one in which he saves three innocent men from execution.[33][44] According to Michael the Archimandrite, three innocent men were condemned to death by the governor Eustathius. As they were about to be executed, Nicholas appeared, pushed the executioner's sword to the ground, released them from their chains, and angrily chastised a juror who had accepted a bribe.[44] According to Jona Lendering, this story directly parallels an earlier story in Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana, in which Apollonius prevents the execution of a man falsely condemned of banditry.[23] Michael the Archimandrite also tells another story in which the consul Ablabius accepted a bribe to put three famous generals to death, in spite of their actual innocence.[45] Saint Nicholas appeared to Constantine and Ablabius in dreams, informing Constantine of the truth and frightening Ablabius into releasing the generals, for fear of Hell.[45]
Later versions of the story are more elaborate, interweaving the two stories together. According to one version, Emperor Constantine sent three of his most trusted generals, named Ursos, Nepotianos, and Herpylion, to put down a rebellion in Phrygia. However, a storm forced them to take refuge in Myra.[33] Unbeknownst to the generals, who were in the harbor, their soldiers further inland were fighting with local merchants and engaging in looting and destruction. Nicholas confronted the generals for allowing their soldiers to misbehave and the generals brought an end to the looting.[46] Immediately after the soldiers had returned to their ships, Nicholas heard word of the three innocent men about to be executed and the three generals aided him in stopping the execution. Eustathius attempted to flee on his horse but Nicholas stopped his horse and chastised him for his corruption.[47] Eustathius, under the threat of being reported directly to the Emperor, repented of his corrupt ways.[48] Afterward, the generals succeeded in ending the rebellion and were promoted by Constantine to even higher status.[48] The generals' enemies, however, slandered them to the consul Ablabius, telling him that they had not really put down the revolt, but instead encouraged their own soldiers to join it. The generals' enemies also bribed Ablabius and he had the three generals imprisoned. Nicholas then made his dream appearances and the three generals were set free.[49]
Council of Nicaea
In 325, Nicholas is said to have attended the
- Nicholas did not attend the Council of Nicaea, but someone at an early date was baffled that his name was not listed and so added him to the list.[23] Many scholars tend to favor this explanation.[54][55]
- Nicholas did attend the Council of Nicaea, but, at an early date, someone decided to remove his name from the list, apparently deciding that it was better if no one remembered he had been there.[23]
A later legend, first attested in the fourteenth century, over 1,000 years after Nicholas's death, holds that, during the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas lost his temper and slapped "a certain Arian" across the face. On account of this, Constantine revoked Nicholas's miter and pallium.[55] Steven D. Greydanus concludes that, because of the story's late attestation, it "has no historical value."[55] Jona Lendering, however, defends the veracity and historicity of the incident, arguing that, as it was embarrassing and reflects poorly on Nicholas's reputation, it is inexplicable why later hagiographers would have invented it.[23] Later versions of the legend embellish it, making the heretic Arius himself[55][56] and having Nicholas punch him rather than merely slapping him with his open hand. In these versions of the story, Nicholas is also imprisoned,[55][56] but Christ and the Virgin Mary appear to him in his cell.[55][56] He tells them he is imprisoned "for loving you" and they free him from his chains and restore his vestments.[55][56] The scene of Nicholas slapping Arius is celebrated in Eastern Orthodox icons[55] and episodes of Saint Nicholas at Nicaea are shown in a series of paintings from the 1660s in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari.[54]
Other reputed miracles
One story tells how during a terrible famine, a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he killed them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham.[30][57] Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, saw through the butcher's lies and resurrected the pickled children by making the sign of the cross.[30][58] Jona Lendering opines that the story is "without any historical value".[43] Adam C. English notes that the story of the resurrection of the pickled children is a late medieval addition to the legendary biography of Saint Nicholas and that it is not found in any of his earliest Lives.[37] Although this story seems bizarre and horrifying to modern audiences, it was tremendously popular throughout the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, and widely beloved by ordinary folk.[58][30][43] It is depicted in stained glass windows, wood panel paintings, tapestries, and frescoes. Eventually, the scene became so widely reproduced that, rather than showing the whole scene, artists began to merely depict Saint Nicholas with three naked children and a wooden barrel at his feet.[58]
According to English, eventually, people who had forgotten or never learned the story began misinterpreting representations of it. That Saint Nicholas was shown with children led people to conclude he was the patron saint of children; meanwhile, the fact that he was shown with a barrel led people to conclude that he was the patron saint of brewers.[59]
According to another story, during a great famine that Myra experienced in 311–312, a ship was in the port at anchor, loaded with wheat for the emperor in Constantinople. Nicholas invited the sailors to unload a part of the wheat to help in the time of need. The sailors at first disliked the request, because the wheat had to be weighed accurately and delivered to the emperor. Only when Nicholas promised them that they would not suffer any loss for their consideration did the sailors agree. When they arrived later in the capital, they made a surprising find: the weight of the load had not changed, although the wheat removed in Myra was enough for two full years and could even be used for sowing.[60]
Relics
Gemile
It has long been traditionally assumed that Saint Nicholas was originally buried in his home town of Myra, where his relics are later known to have been kept,[43][61] but some recent archaeological evidence indicates that Saint Nicholas may have originally been entombed in a rock-cut church located at the highest point on the small Turkish island of Gemile, only twenty miles away from his birthplace of Patara. Nicholas's name is painted on part of the ruined building. In antiquity, the island was known as "Saint Nicholas Island"[61] and today it is known in Turkish as Gemiler Adasi, meaning "Island of Boats", in reference to Saint Nicholas's traditional role as the patron saint of seafarers.[61]
The church was built in the fourth century, around the time of Nicholas's death,[61] and is typical of saints' shrines from that time period. Nicholas was the only major saint associated with that part of Turkey. The church where historians believe he was originally entombed is at the western end of the great processional way.[61]
Myra
In the mid-7th century, Gemile was vulnerable to attack by Arab fleets, so Nicholas's remains appear to have been moved from the island to the city of Myra, where Nicholas had served as bishop for most of his life. Myra is located roughly 40 km (25 mi) east of Gemile and its location further inland made it safer from seafaring Arab forces.[61]
It is said that, in Myra, the relics of Saint Nicholas each year exuded a clear watery liquid which smelled like rose water, called manna, or myrrh, which was believed by the faithful to possess miraculous powers.[63] As it was widely known that all Nicholas's relics were at Myra in their sealed sarcophagus, it was rare during this period for forgers of relics to claim to possess those belonging to Saint Nicholas.[64]
A solemn bronze statue of the saint by Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky was donated by the Russian government in 2000, and was given a prominent place in the square fronting the medieval Church of St Nicholas. In 2005, mayor Süleyman Topçu had the statue replaced by a red-suited plastic Santa Claus statue, because he wanted an image more recognisable to foreign visitors. Protests from the Russian government against this were successful, and the bronze statue was returned (albeit without its original high pedestal) to a corner nearer the church.[65]
On 28 December 2009, the Turkish government announced that it would be formally requesting the return of Saint Nicholas's skeletal remains to Turkey from the Italian government.[66][67]
Turkish authorities asserted that Nicholas himself desired to be buried at his episcopal town, and that his remains were illegally removed from his homeland. In 2017, an archaeological survey at St. Nicholas Church, Demre was reported to have found a temple below the modern church, with excavation work to be done that will allow researchers to determine whether it still holds Nicholas's body.[68]
Bari
After the
Taking advantage of the confusion and the loss by the Greek Christian community of Myra of its Byzantine imperial protection, in the spring of 1087, Italian sailors from Bari in Apulia seized part of the remains of the saint from his burial church in Myra, over the objections of the Greek Orthodox monks in the church.[62][71][72][73]
Adam C. English describes the removal of the relics from Myra as "essentially a holy robbery" and notes the thieves were not only afraid of being caught or chased after by the locals, but also the power of Saint Nicholas himself.[74] Returning to Bari, they brought the remains with them and cared for them. The remains arrived on 9 May 1087.[62][43] Two years later, Pope Urban II inaugurated a new church, the Basilica di San Nicola, to Saint Nicholas in Bari. The Pope himself personally placed Nicholas's relics into the tomb beneath the altar of the new church.[43] The removal of Saint Nicholas's relics from Myra and their arrival in Bari is reliably recorded by multiple chroniclers, including Orderic Vitalis[75][43] and 9 May continued to be celebrated every year by western Christians as the day of Nicholas's "translation".[43] Eastern Orthodox Christians and the Turks have both long regarded the unauthorized removal of the relics from Myra as a blatant theft,[62][76] but the people of Bari have instead maintained that it was a rescue mission to save the bones from the Turkish invaders.[62][77] A legend, shown on the ceiling of the Basilica di San Nicola, holds that Nicholas once visited Bari and predicted that his bones would one day rest there.[76]
Prior to the translation of Nicholas's relics to Bari, his following had been known in western Europe, but it had not been extremely popular.[43] In autumn of 1096, Norman and Frankish soldiers mustered in Bari in preparation for the First Crusade. Although the Crusaders generally favored warrior saints, which Saint Nicholas was not, the presence of his relics in Bari made him materially accessible.[78] Nicholas's associations with aiding travelers and seafarers also made him a popular choice for veneration. Nicholas's veneration by Crusaders helped promote his following throughout western Europe.[79]
After the relics were brought to Bari, they continued to produce "myrrh", much to the joy of their new owners. Vials of myrrh from his relics have been taken all over the world for centuries, and can still be obtained from his church in Bari. Even up to the present day, a flask of manna is extracted from the tomb of Saint Nicholas every year on 6 December (the Saint's
In 1966, a vault in the crypt underneath the Basilica di San Nicola was dedicated as an Orthodox chapel with an iconostasis in commemoration of the recent lifting of the anathemas the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches had issued against each other during the Great Schism in 1054.[80]
In May 2017, following talks between Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a portion of the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari were sent on loan to Moscow. The relic was on display for veneration at Christ the Savior Cathedral before being taken to Saint Petersburg in mid-June prior to returning to Bari.[81] More than a million people lined up in Moscow for a momentary glimpse of the gilded ark holding one of the saint's ribs.[82]
Venice
The sailors from Bari took only the main bones of Nicholas's skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the grave.
Other locations
Because of Nicholas's skeleton's long confinement in Myra, after it was brought to Bari, the demand for pieces of it rose. Small bones quickly began to disperse across western Europe.
The clergy at Bari strategically gave away samples of Nicholas's bones to promote the following and enhance its prestige. Many of these bones were initially kept in Constantinople,
An Irish tradition states that the relics of Saint Nicholas are also reputed to have been stolen from Myra by local Norman crusading knights in the twelfth century and buried near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, where a stone slab marks the site locally believed to be his grave.[94] According to the Irish antiquarian John Hunt, the tomb probably actually belongs to a local priest from Jerpoint Abbey.[95]
Scientific analysis
Whereas the devotional importance of relics and the economics associated with pilgrimages caused the remains of most saints to be divided up and spread over numerous churches in several countries, Saint Nicholas is unusual in that most of his bones have been preserved in one spot: his grave crypt in Bari. Even with the allegedly continuing miracle of the manna, the archdiocese of Bari has allowed for one scientific survey of the bones.[96] In the late 1950s, while the crypt was undergoing much-needed restoration, the bones were removed from it for the first time since their interment in 1089. A special Pontiffical Commission permitted Luigi Martino, a professor of human anatomy at the University of Bari, to examine the bones under the commission's supervision.[42] Martino took thousands of measurements, detailed scientific drawings, photographs, and x-rays.[42] These examinations revealed the saint to have died at over seventy years of age and to have been of average height and slender-to-average build. He also suffered from severe chronic arthritis in his spine and pelvis.[42]
In 2004, at the University of Manchester, researchers Caroline Wilkinson and Fraco Introna reconstructed the saint's face based on Martino's examination.[42] The review of the data revealed that the historical Saint Nicholas was 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) in height and had a broken nose, which had partially healed, revealing that the injury had been suffered ante mortem.[97][98] The broken nose appeared to conform with hagiographical reports that Saint Nicholas had been beaten and tortured during the Diocletianic Persecution.[42] The facial reconstruction was produced by Caroline Wilkinson at the University of Manchester and was shown on a BBC2 TV program The Real Face of Santa.[97][98] In 2014, the Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University produced an updated reconstruction of Saint Nicholas's face.[42]
In 2017, two researchers from
According to Professor Higham, most of the relics the team has examined turn out to be too recent to have actually belonged to the saint to whom they are attributed, but he states, "This bone fragment, in contrast, suggests that we could possibly be looking at remains from St Nicholas himself."[83] Kazan believes the pelvis fragment may come from the same individual as the skeleton divided between the churches in Bari and Venice,[83][99][69] since the bone they tested comes from the left pubis, and the only pelvis bone in the collection at Bari is the left ilium.[83] In the absence of DNA testing, however, it is not yet possible to know for certain whether the pelvis is from the same man.[99][69]
Veneration and celebrations
Among Greeks and Italians he is a favorite of sailors,
In the
Devotional
Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day, 6 December. For those who still observe the Julian calendar the celebration currently takes place thirteen days later than it happens in the Gregorian calendar and Revised Julian calendar.[104]
In Serbia, the most common Slava (annual ceremony and veneration of family's patron saint) is Saint Nicholas' day celebrated on 19 December.
In Monaco, the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate was built from 1874 on the site of St Nicholas's church, founded in 1252. A children's Mass is still held on 6 December in the cathedral.
In late
Santa Claus evolved from Dutch traditions regarding Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas). When the Dutch established the colony of New Amsterdam, they brought the legend and traditions of Sinterklaas with them.[108] Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York existed in the early settlements of the Hudson Valley, although by the early nineteenth century had fallen by the way.[109] St. Nicholas Park, located at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and 127th Street, in an area originally settled by Dutch farmers, is named for St. Nicholas of Myra.[110]
Nicholas is honored in the
Eastern Orthodox Feast Days for Saint Nicholas of Myra in Lycia
- 9 May – Translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari, in 1087.[114]
- 10 May – Passage of the relics (sojourn) in 1087 of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker through the island of Zakynthos, while on their way to Bari.[115]
- 20 May – Arrival of the relics in Bari.[116][117]
- 29 July – Nativity of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.[118]
- Movable holiday on the Sunday between 16 and 22 August – Synaxis of All Saints of Lefkados.[119]
- 22 September – Synaxis of All Saints of Tula (commemoration of the protection of Tula from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray in 1552).[120]
- 6 December – Commemoration of his death.[121]
Iconography
Saint Nicholas is a popular subject portrayed on Eastern Orthodox
In depictions of Saint Nicholas from Bari, he is usually shown as
In a strange twist, the three gold balls referring to the dowry affair are sometimes metaphorically interpreted as being oranges or other fruits. As in the Low Countries in medieval times oranges most frequently came from Spain, this led to the belief that the Saint lives in Spain and comes to visit every winter bringing them oranges, other 'wintry' fruits and tales of magical creatures.[124]
Music
In 1948, Benjamin Britten completed a cantata, Saint Nicolas on a text by Eric Crozier which covers the saint's legendary life in a dramatic sequence of events. A tenor soloist appears as Saint Nicolas, with a mixed choir, boys singers, strings, piano duet, organ and percussion.[125]
See also
- Saint Nicholas (European folklore)
- Companions of Saint Nicholas
- A Visit from St. Nicholas, 1823 poem
- Saint Nicholas, patron saint archive
- Belznickel
- St. Nicholas Church (disambiguation) List of churches named after the saint.
Notes
- Latin: Sanctus Nicolaus
- ^ The date of his birth and the year of his death are disputed,[5] but 6 December has long been established as the traditional date of his death.[5] Jeremy Seal remarks, "As vampires shun daylight, so saints are distinguished from ordinary mortals by the anniversaries they keep. The date of their death rather than their birth is commemorated."[6]
- ^ Νικόλαος ὁ Θαυματουργός, Nikólaos ho Thaumaturgós
References
- ^ Book of Martyrs. Catholic Book Publishing. 1948.
- ^ "Serbia". Saint Nicholas Center. Archived from the original on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "Who is St. Nicholas?". St. Nicholas Center. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ "St. Nicholas". Orthodox America. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ a b Seal 2005, p. 2.
- ^ Seal 2005, pp. 2–3.
- ISBN 978-0-571-24692-2.
- Greek OrthodoxBishop into that Christmas icon, Santa Claus.
- ^ ISBN 9780310564560. Archivedfrom the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
Nicholas was born in the Greek city of Patara around 270 AD. The son of a businessman named Theophanes and his wife, Nonna, the child's earliest years were spent in Myra… As a port on the Mediterranean Sea, in the middle of the sea lanes that linked Egypt, Greece and Rome, Myra was a destination for traders, fishermen, and merchant sailors. Spawned by the spirit of both the city's Greek heritage and the ruling Roman government, cultural endeavours such as art, drama, and music were mainstays of everyday life.
- ISBN 978-1-60258-636-9.
- ^ Wheeler 2010, pp. vii–x.
- ^ a b c Seal 2005, pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b Seal 2005, p. 14.
- ^ a b Wheeler 2010, pp. vii–viii.
- ^ a b c d e f Blacker, Burgess & Ogden 2013, p. 250.
- ^ a b c d Wheeler 2010, p. ix.
- ^ a b c d Blacker, Burgess & Ogden 2013, p. 251.
- ^ a b c Wheeler 2010, p. x.
- ^ Seal 2005, p. 15.
- ^ Cioffari, Gerardo (1987). "San Nicola nelle fonti letterarie dal V all'VIII secolo". San Nicola: Splendori d'arte d'Oriente e d'Occidente S. Nicola nella critica storia: 44–45.
- ^ a b Wheeler 2010, p. xi.
- ^ Introduction to Michael the Archimandrite's Life of Saint Nicholas Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Lendering 2006, p. Nicholas of Myra.
- ^ a b c Blacker, Burgess & Ogden 2013, p. 249.
- ISBN 0-313-30733-4.
Saint Nicholas (Bishop of Myra) replaced Sabino as the patron saint of the city… A Greek from what is now Turkey, he lived in the early fourth century.
- ISBN 0-09-469490-7.
For although he is the patron saint of Russia, and the model for a northern invention such as Santa Claus, Nicholas of Myra was a Greek.
- ISBN 9780816056897.)
The original Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, was a Greek born in Asia Minor (now modern Turkey) in the fourth century. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life to Christianity.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 0-8146-2970-9.
Nicholas was born around 270 AD in Patara on the coast of what is now western Turkey.
- ISBN 0-8146-2970-9.
Nicholas was born around 270 AD in Patara on the coast of what is now western Turkey; his parents were Epiphanius and Joanna.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Ferguson 1976, p. 136.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-6746-2.
- ^ a b c Michael the Archimandrite, Life of Saint Nicholas Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine Chapters 10–11
- ^ a b c Wheeler 2010, p. 38.
- ^ Michael the Archimandrite, Life of Saint Nicholas Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine (Chapters 12–18)
- ^ a b Michael the Archimandrite, Life of Saint Nicholas Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine (Chapters 16–18)
- ^ a b Seal 2005, p. 1.
- ^ a b c English & Crumm 2012.
- ^ "Stories from Beit Jala". St. Nicholas Center. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "Church of Saint Nicholas – Beit Jala".
- ISBN 9789068324372.
The historical figure that served as model for the Dutch Sinterklaas was born around 270 AD in the port of Patara in the Greek province of Lycia in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). His Greek name Nikolaos means something along the lines of "victor of the people".
- ^ Blacker, Burgess & Ogden 2013, pp. 249–250.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wilkinson 2018, p. 163.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lendering 2006, p. Medieval Saint.
- ^ a b Michael the Archimandrite, Life of Saint Nicholas Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine (Chapter 31)
- ^ a b Michael the Archimandrite, Life of Saint Nicholas Archived 3 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine (Chapter 33)
- ^ Wheeler 2010, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Wheeler 2010, pp. 39–40.
- ^ a b Wheeler 2010, p. 40.
- ^ Wheeler 2010, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Wheeler & Rosenthal, "St Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas", (Chapter 1), Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2005
- ISBN 978-0965355742.
- ISBN 0-8146-5616-1.
- ^ Wheeler 2010, p. xii.
- ^ a b Seal 2005, p. 93.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Greydanus 2016.
- ^ a b c d Wheeler 2010, p. 35.
- ^ "St. Nicholas Center: Saint Nicolas". stnicholascenter.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ a b c English 2016, p. 132.
- ^ English 2016, pp. 132–133.
- ISBN 978-1-84384-043-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g Keys 1993.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jones 1978, pp. 176–193.
- ^ De Ceglia, Francesco Paolo: "The science of Santa Claus : discussions on the Manna of Nicholas of Myra in the modern age". In Nuncius – 27 (2012) 2, pp. 241–269.
- ^ Seal 2005, pp. 135–136.
- ^ "Saint Nicholas". St. John Cantius Parish. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ "Turks want Santa's bones returned". BBC News. 28 December 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ "Santa Claus's bones must be brought back to Turkey from Italy". Todayszaman.com. 28 December 2009. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- ^ "Tomb of St Nicholas may have been discovered in Turkey". ir.ishtimes.com. 4 October 2017. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cullen 2017.
- ^ Seal 2005, p. 101.
- The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Butler, Albin (1860). Lives of the Saints. Vol. 2.
- ISBN 9781418504076.
- ^ Medrano 2017.
- ^ a b Seal 2005, p. 131.
- ^ a b Seal 2005, pp. 93–94.
- ^ Seal 2005, pp. 100–102.
- ^ Seal 2005, pp. 114–115.
- ^ Seal 2005, pp. 114–116.
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In Myra, the traditional St. Nicholas Feast Day is still celebrated on 6 December which many believe to be the anniversary of St Nicholas's death. This day is honored throughout Western Christendom, in lands comprising both Catholic and Protestant communities (in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Saint's feast date is 19 December). On 5 December, the eve of St Nicholas Day, some American boys and girls put their shoes outside their bedroom door and leave a small gift in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon will be there.
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Sources
- Blacker, Jean; Burgess, Glyn S.; Ogden, Amy V. (2013), "The Life of St Nicholas: Introduction", Wace: The Hagiographical Works: The Conception Nostre Dame and the Lives of St Margaret and St Nicholas, Leiden, The Netherlands and Boston, Massachusetts: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-24768-0
- Coughlan, Sean (6 December 2017), "'Santa's bone' proved to be correct age", BBC News: Family & Education, retrieved 7 December 2017
- Cullen, Ellie (6 December 2017), "Bone fragment thought to belong to saint who inspired Father Christmas discovered in Italy: Academics have tested findings and say they belong to correct epoch", The Atlantic
- English, Adam C.; Crumm, David (2 December 2012), "Adam English digging back into the real St. Nicholas", ReadTheSpirit online magazine
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Further reading
- Asano, Kazoo, ed. (2010). The Island of St. Nicholas. Excavation and Research of Gemiler Island Area, Lycia, Turkey. Osaka: Osaka University Press.
- Wheeler, Joe L. & Rosenthal, Jim (2006). St. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas. Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic. ISBN 9781418504076.