When was st nicholas canonized
St nicholas of myra new orleans: Teach your kids about the life and legend of the real Saint Nicholas with some of these activities and printable worksheets. Feast Day: December 6. Saint Nicholas was the bishop of Myra (modern-day Turkey) in the fourth century.
His soul shone brighter with virtue every day. At that time his uncle, Bishop Nicholas, wished to visit Palestine and venerate the Holy Places there, and he entrusted the entire administration of the Church of Patara to his nephew. While Saint Nicholas was administering the diocese, his parents departed this fleeting existence for life eternal.
They left their possessions to their son, who distributed them among those who begged alms of him. Nicholas himself had no concern for transient wealth and gave no thought to its increase, having renounced all earthly desires in order to surrender himself wholly to God, to Whom he cried, Unto Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.
Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Like a mighty river from which flow many streams, his hand was always stretched out to give to those who asked. And now the time has come to tell of one of his numerous deeds of compassion, as a testimony to his generosity. There was a man living in Patara who was once wealthy and renowned, but his fortune waned.
He fell into poverty and was scorned by those who before had regarded him highly. This man had three beautiful daughters, and when the necessities of life began to fail him, he decided to make his house a brothel and sell their bodies. Oh, what wicked schemes are born of destitution! The man had already devised his unseemly plan and was making preparations to fulfill it when God, Who loves us and does not wish to see us perish, sent down grace into the heart of His favorite, the holy priest Nicholas, mystically inspiring him to assist the wretch and turn him away from sin.
However, the saint did not want to help the man openly, for two reasons. Firstly, obedient to the words of the Gospel, Take heed that you do not your alms before men, he sought to avoid the empty praise of men. Secondly, since the man was once rich and had only recently fallen on bad times, Nicholas did not wish to humiliate him. The next morning, when he rose, the man found the bag and untied it.
St. nicholas of myra biography
Seeing the gold, he became frightened, thinking it was an illusion, since he knew of no one likely to aid him so generously. Only when he touched it did he become convinced that what he saw was real and permit himself to weep with happiness. Although he wondered for a long time who might be his benefactor, he could think of no one.
Ascribing his good fortune to providence, he thanked God unceasingly, glorifying the Lord Who cares for all men. Without delay he married off his eldest daughter, using the gold to provide her dowry. Learning what the man had done, the wondrous Nicholas was very pleased and prepared to assist the second daughter. When the father rose the next morning and found the second bag, he was even more amazed than before, and falling to the floor, wept and cried, "O merciful God, Who didst purchase my salvation with Thy precious blood, Thou hast ransomed my home and children from the snares of the enemy!
I beseech Thee to reveal to me who it was that accomplished Thy will and served as minister of Thy kindness and love for man.
Show me the earthly angel that hath prevented us from perishing in sin, delivering us from destitution and my base plots. Behold, Lord, because Thy favourite hath assisted me so generously, I am now able to find a husband for my second daughter and escape the nets of the devil, who hoped to multiply mine evil deeds, which even before this merited eternal punishment.
He trusted that God would provide a lawful husband for his third child and again send him the money he needed. Because he wished to know who was bringing the gold, he did not sleep at night, but watched in the hope of catching sight of his secret patron. The father heard it striking the floor and ran as fast as he could in pursuit of the saint.
When he caught up with him, he recognized Nicholas, who was known to all because of his virtuous life and noble ancestry. But glory to God, you have saved us from a grievous fall! After speaking to the man at length about things profitable to the soul, the saint permitted him to return home. From this story it is evident what deep sympathy Saint Nicholas had for the poor.
It would be impossible to tell every example of his generosity to beggars or to enumerate the hungry people he fed, the naked he clothed, or the debtors he delivered from usurers. Some time later, our venerable father decided to visit Palestine and venerate the Holy Places in the land where our Lord and God Jesus Christ once walked.
While his ship was sailing off the coast of Egypt, Saint Nicholas foresaw that a violent tempest was about to arise although no one else suspected this. The godly one told the others what would occur, explaining that he had seen the devil himself enter the ship, intending to sink it and drown the passengers. At once black clouds appeared in the sky and a violent storm arose, churning up the sea.
All were seized with fear and entreated Nicholas to rescue them. In despair they cried, "Unless you pray God to save us, O favorite of the Lord, we shall certainly be swallowed by the deep! They thanked God and His favorite, our holy father Nicholas, marveling at how he had both foretold the storm and accomplished their deliverance.
But Saint Nicholas, ever ready to help even before called upon, restored the man to life as though he had merely been asleep. A fair wind filled the sails, and the boat quickly made for the port of Alexandria where it docked. Eventually he resumed his journey to Palestine. When he arrived in the holy city of Jerusalem, Saint Nicholas went to Golgotha, where Christ God stretched out His most pure hands upon the Cross to save the race of man.
Oh, what fervent prayers did he pour out there from a heart burning with love, sending up thanks to our Saviour! He then went to all the other Holy Places, worshipping unhurriedly at each of them. One night, when he wished to enter the church on Mount Zion to pray, its locked doors swung open to him for whom the gates of heaven were also open. Having remained for some time in Jerusalem, Nicholas was preparing to travel into the desert, but a voice from heaven commanded him to return to his homeland.
God, Who orders all things for our benefit, did not wish that the lamp He had prepared to illumine Lycia be hidden beneath a basket. The saint found a boat supposedly bound for his homeland and arranged with its crew for his passage. The sailors, however, had devised a wicked scheme and intended to sail not to Lycia but to another country.
Shortly after the boat cast off, Saint Nicholas realized that it was not headed in the right direction, and he fell at the feet of the sailors, beseeching them to change their course. Paying him no heed, they continued on, not understanding that God would never forsake His favorite. Suddenly a storm arose, driving the ship swiftly toward Lycia.
Thus borne across the sea by the might of God, Nicholas reached his destination. Since the saint was a stranger to malice, he did not seek revenge on the treacherous sailors, nor was he angry with them. He did not utter a single word of accusation; instead, after giving them his blessing, he let them depart.
Saint Nicholas found the monastery to be a haven of silence conducive to reflection on the Divinity, and hoped to remain there in seclusion for the rest of his life. But God was not pleased that the great treasure-chest of every excellence, which He intended to use to enrich the world, should remain hidden in a little cell in a monastery, buried, as it were, in the ground.
It was His will that it be revealed to all creation and employed to make spiritual purchases and gain numerous souls. Thus it was that one day while the saint was standing at prayer, he heard a voice say, "Nicholas, if you wish to receive a crown from Me, labor for the good of others. Return to the world and glorify My name there.
He was still uncertain, however, whether he ought to return to Patara or go elsewhere. After pondering the matter, the saint decided it best to go to a city where he was unknown, since he knew that in Patara he was held in esteem by everyone. Now in the land of Lycia there is a renowned city named Myra, the provincial capital, to which the Lord guided Saint Nicholas.
No one knew him there, so he made it his home and lived among the poor without a place to rest his head. His sole haven was the house of the Lord God. At this time John, the Archbishop of the city, died, and the bishops of the land assembled in Myra to elect a worthy successor. Several noble, respected men were nominated, but the bishops could not reach agreement on any of them.
And a while after, the said princes went unto the holy man, and fell down on their knees humbly at his feet, saying: Verily thou art the sergeant of God, and the very worshipper and lover of Jesu Christ. And when they had all told this said thing by order, he lift up his hands to heaven and gave thankings and praisings to God, and sent again the princes, well informed, into their countries.
And when it pleased our Lord to have him depart out this world, he prayed our Lord that he would send him his angels; and inclining his head he saw the angels come to him, whereby he knew well that he should depart, and began this holy psalm: In te domine speravi, unto, in manus tuas, and so saying: Lord, into thine hands I commend my spirit, he rendered up his soul and died, the year of our Lord three hundred and forty- three, with great melody sung of the celestial company.
And when he was buried in a tomb of marble, a fountain of oil sprang out from the head unto his feet; and unto this day holy oil issueth out of his body, which is much available to the health of sicknesses of many men. And after him in his see succeeded a man of good and holy life, which by envy was put out of his bishopric. And when he was out of his see the oil ceased to run, and when he was restored again thereto, the oil ran again.
Long after this the Turks destroyed the city of Mirea, and then came thither forty- seven knights of Bari, and four monks showed to them the sepulcher of S. And they opened it and found the bones swimming in the oil, and they bare them away honorably into the city of Bari, in the year of our Lord ten hundred and eighty-seven. There was a man that had borrowed of a Jew a sum of money, and swore upon the altar of S.
Nicholas that he would render and pay it again as soon as he might, and gave none other pledge. And this man held this money so long, that the Jew demanded and asked his money, and he said that he had paid him. Then the Jew made him to come to fore the law in judgment, and the oath was given to the debtor.
And he brought with him an hollow staff, in which he had put the money in gold, and he leant upon the staff. And when he should make his oath and swear, he delivered his staff to the Jew to keep and hold whilst he should swear, and then sware that he had delivered to him more than he ought to him. And when he had made the oath, he demanded his staff again of the Jew, and he nothing knowing of his malice delivered it to him.
Then this deceiver went his way, and anon after, him list sore to sleep, and laid him in the way, and a cart with four wheels came with great force and slew him, and brake the staff with gold that it spread abroad. And when the Jew heard this, he came thither sore moved, and saw the fraud, and many said to him that he should take to him the gold; and he refused it, saying, But if he that was dead were not raised again to life by the merits of S.
Nicholas, he would not receive it, and if he came again to life, he would receive baptism and become Christian. Then he that was dead arose, and the Jew was christened. Another Jew saw the virtuous miracles of S. Nicholas, and did do make an image of the saint, and set it in his house, and commanded him that he should keep well his house when he went out, and that he should keep well all his goods, saying to him: Nicholas, lo!
And on a time, when the Jew was out, thieves came and robbed all his goods, and left, unborn away, only the image. And when the Jew came home he found him robbed of all his goods. He reasoned the image saying these words: Sir Nicholas, I had set you in my house for to keep my goods from thieves, wherefore have ye not kept them?
Ye shall receive sorrow and torments, and shall have pain for the thieves. I shall avenge my loss, and refrain my woodness in beating thee. And then took the Jew the image, and beat it, and tormented it cruelly. Then happed a great marvel, for when the thieves departed the goods, the holy saint, like as he had been in his array, appeared to the thieves, and said to them: Wherefore have I been beaten so cruelly for you and have so many torments?
See how my body is hewed and broken; see how that the red blood runneth down by my body; go ye fast and restore it again, or else the ire of God Almighty shall make you as to be one out of his wit, and that all men shall know your felony, and that each of you shall be hanged. And they said: Who art thou that sayest to us such things?
And he said to them: I am Nicholas the servant of Jesu Christ, whom the Jew hath so cruelly beaten for his goods that ye bare away. Then they were afeard, and came to the Jew, and heard what he had done to the image, and they told him the miracle, and delivered to him again all his goods. And thus came the thieves to the way of truth, and the Jew to the way of Jesu Christ.
A man, for the love of his son, that went to school for to learn, hallowed, every year, the feast of S. Nicholas much solemnly. On a time it happed that the father had do make ready the dinner, and called many clerks to this dinner.
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And the devil came to the gate in the habit of a pilgrim for to demand alms: and the father anon commanded his son that he should give alms to the pilgrim. He followed him as he went for to give to him alms, and when he came to the quarfox the devil caught the child and strangled him. And when the father heard this he sorrowed much strongly and wept, and bare the body into his chamber, and began to cry for sorrow, and say: Bright sweet son, how is it with thee?
Nicholas, is this the guerdon that ye have done to me because I have so long served you? And as he said these words, and other semblable, the child opened his eyes, and awoke like as he had been asleep, and arose up tofore all, and was raised from death to life.
Another nobleman prayed to S. Nicholas that he would, by his merits, get of our Lord that he might have a son, and promised that he would bring his son to the church, and would offer up to him a cup of gold. Then the son was born and came to age, and the father commanded to make a cup, and the cup pleased him much, and he retained it for himself, and did do make another of the same value.
And they went sailing in a ship toward the church of S. Nicholas, and when the child would have filled the cup, he fell into the water with the cup, and anon was lost, and came no more up. Yet nevertheless the father performed his avow, in weeping much tenderly for his son; and when he came to the altar of S. 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 years after Nicholas's death, the St. Nicholas Church was built in Myra under the orders of Theodosius II over the site of the church where he had served as bishop, and his remains were moved to a sarcophagus in that church. In , while the Greek Christian inhabitants of the region were subjugated by the newly arrived Muslim Seljuk Turks , and soon after the beginning of the East—West schism , a group of merchants from the Italian city of Bari removed the major bones of Nicholas's skeleton from his sarcophagus in the church without authorization and brought them to their hometown, where they are now enshrined in the Basilica di San Nicola.
The remaining bone fragments from the sarcophagus were later removed by Venetian sailors and taken to Venice during the First Crusade. Very little is known about Saint Nicholas's historical life. 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 and In his treatise De statu animarum post mortem written c.
Nearly all the sources Eustratius references date from the late fourth century to early fifth century, indicating the Life of Saint Nicholas to which he refers was probably written during this time period, shortly after Nicholas's death. 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.
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. 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.
It was not unusual for Christian saints to adapt older stories of pagan cults. 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. 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.
Recognizing his nephew's calling, Nicholas's uncle ordained him as a priest. 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.
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. The historicity of this incident is disputed. 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.
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. 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. After visiting the Holy Land, Nicholas returned to Myra. The bishop of Myra, who had succeeded Nicholas's uncle, had recently died [ 30 ] and the priests in the city had decided that the first priest to enter the church that morning would be made bishop.
Nicholas went to the church to pray [ 30 ] and was therefore proclaimed the new bishop. One of the earliest attested stories of Saint Nicholas is one in which he saves three innocent men from execution. 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.
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. Nicholas confronted the generals for allowing their soldiers to misbehave and the generals brought an end to the looting.
Eustathius attempted to flee on his horse but Nicholas stopped his horse and chastised him for his corruption. 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. In , Nicholas is said to have attended the First Council of Nicaea , [ 15 ] [ 23 ] [ 50 ] where he is said to have been a staunch opponent of Arianism and a devoted supporter of Trinitarianism , [ 51 ] and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed.
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English notes that lists of the attendees at Nicaea vary considerably, with shorter lists only including roughly names, but longer lists including around Saint Nicholas's name only appears on the longer lists, not the shorter ones. According to Jona Lendering, there are two main possibilities:. A later legend, first attested in the fourteenth century, over 1, 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. Greydanus concludes that, because of the story's late attestation, it "has no historical value. In these versions of the story, Nicholas is also imprisoned, [ 55 ] [ 56 ] but Christ and the Virgin Mary appear to him in his cell. 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.
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. 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.
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.
According to another story, during a great famine that Myra experienced in —, 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.
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. 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. 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.
St nicholas of myra biography template
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. A solemn bronze statue of the saint by Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky was donated by the Russian government in , and was given a prominent place in the square fronting the medieval Church of St Nicholas.
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. On 28 December , the Turkish government announced that it would be formally requesting the return of Saint Nicholas's skeletal remains to Turkey from the Italian government.
In , 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. Because of the many wars in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult.
Taking advantage of the confusion and the loss by the Greek Christian community of Myra of its Byzantine imperial protection, in the spring of , 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. 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. The remains arrived on 9 May The Pope himself personally placed Nicholas's relics into the tomb beneath the altar of the new church.
When famine struck Myra in and , Nicholas prayed to God for help. Soon he learned of several ships that had landed nearby, laden with grain destined for Egypt. He rushed to the port and begged the captain to sell some of the grain, promising the man that he would not get in trouble for the missing amount. Very reluctantly, the captain sold some of the grain to the people of Myra.
Back in Myra, the grain was enough to feed people for two years, with enough left over for planting. It was a miracle of sharing—the sort of miracle that is especially appropriate during Advent! Many more legends from the life of St.