Saint
Nicholas (Greek: Άγιος Νικόλαος [="victory of the
people"]) (270–6 December 346) is the canonical and most popular name for Nikolaos
of Myra, a saint
and Greek Bishop of Myra (Demre, in Lycia, part of
modern-day Turkey).
Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession,
he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker (Greek:
Νικόλαος ο Θαυματουργός). He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as
putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became
the model for Santa Claus, whose English name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas.
In 1087, his relics
were furtively translated to Bari, in southeastern
Italy; for this reason, he is also known as Nikolaos of Bari.
The
historical Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered among Orthodox
Christians. Saint Nicholas is the patron
saint of sailors,
merchants, archers,
children, and students in Greece, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Albania, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Translation
of his relics
On
26 August 1071 Romanus IV, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire (reigned 1068–1071),
faced Sultan Alp Arslan of the Seljuk
Turks (reigned 1059–1072) in the Battle of Manzikert. The battle ended in
humiliating defeat and capture for Romanus. As a result the Empire temporarily
lost control over most of Asia Minor to the invading Seljuk
Turks. The Byzantines would regain its control over Asia Minor
during the reign of Alexius I Comnenus (reigned 1081–1118). But
early in his reign Myra was overtaken by the Islamic invaders. Taking advantage
of the confusion, sailors from Bari in Apulia seized the remains of the saint over the objections of
the Orthodox monks. Returning to Bari, they brought the remains with
them and cared for them. The remains arrived on 9 May 1087.
Some
observers have reported seeing myrrh exude his relics, anointing
with which has been credited with numerous miracles. 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. Currently at Bari, there are two
churches at his shrine, one Roman Catholic and one Orthodox.
It
is said that in Myra
the relics of Saint Nicholas each year exuded a clear watery liquid which
smells like rose water, called manna (or myrrh), which is believed by the faithful to possess miraculous
powers. After the relics were brought to Bari, they continued to
do so, much to the joy of the new owners. 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 feast
day) by the clergy of the basilica. The myrrh is collected
from a sarcophagus which is located in the basilica vault and could obtained in
the shop nearby.
Proposed
return of his bones to Turkey
On
28 December 2009, the return of St Nikolaos's bones to Turkey from the Italian
government. Saint Nicolas himself wanted to be buried at his birthplace.
Legends
and folklore
Another
legend tells how a terrible famine struck the island and a malicious butcher
lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered
them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as
ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw
through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from
the barrel by his prayers. Another version of this story, possibly formed
around the eleventh century, claims that the butcher's victims were instead
three clerks who wished to stay the night. The man murdered them, and was
advised by his wife to dispose of them by turning them into meat pies. The
Saint saw through this and brought the men back to life.
However,
in his most famous exploit, a poor man had three daughters but could not afford
a proper dowry for
them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of
any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes.
Hearing of the poor man's plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too
modest to help the man in public (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting
charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses
(one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into
the man's house.
One
version has him throwing one purse for three consecutive nights. Another has
him throw the purses over a period of three years, each time the night before
one of the daughters comes "of age". Invariably, the third time the
father lies in wait, trying to discover the identity of their benefactor. In
one version the father confronts the saint, only to have Saint Nicholas say it
is not him he should thank, but God alone. In another version, Nicholas learns
of the poor man's plan and drops the third bag down the chimney instead; a
variant holds that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung
them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into the stocking.
The
miracle of wheat multiplication
During
a great famine that the Bishop of Myra experienced, a ship was is in the port
at anchor, which was loaded with wheat for the Emperor in Byzantium. He invited
the sailors to unload a part of the wheat to help in 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 take any damage for their consideration, the sailors agreed. When they
arrived later in the capital, they made a surprising find. The weight of the
load had not changed. The removed wheat in Myra was even enough for two full
years and could even be used for sowing.
The
face of the historical saint
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, St. Nicholas is unique in that most of his bones have been
preserved in one spot: his grave crypt in Bari. Even with the
still-continuing miracle of the manna,
the archdiocese of Bari has
allowed for one scientific survey of the bones. In the late 1950s, during a
restoration of the chapel, it allowed a team of hand-picked scientists to
photograph and measure the contents of the crypt grave.
Formal
veneration of the saint
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