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Wonder Woman wrote:
Yes, there really is a Santa Claus! Really!
St. Nicholas of Myra
(
Also called NICHOLAS OF BARI).
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Bishop of
Myra in Lycia; died 6 December, 345 or 352. Though he is one of the most popular
saints in the
Greek as well as the
Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was
Bishop of
Myra in the fourth century.
Some of the main points in his legend are as follows: He was born at Parara, a city of Lycia in
Asia Minor; in his youth he made a pilgrimage to
Egypt and Palestine; shortly after his return he became
Bishop of
Myra; cast into
prison during the
persecution of
Diocletian, he was released after the accession of
Constantine, and was present at the
Council of Nicaea. In 1087
Italian merchants stole his body at
Myra, bringing it to
Bari in
Italy.
The numerous
miracles St. Nicholas is said to have wrought, both before and after his death, are outgrowths of a long tradition. There is reason to doubt his presence at
Nicaea, since his name is not mentioned in any of the old lists of
bishops that attended this
council. His cult in the
Greek Church is old and especially popular in
Russia. As early as the sixth century
Emperor Justinian I built a church in his honour at
Constantinople, and his name occurs in the
liturgy ascribed to
St. Chrysostom. In
Italy his cult seems to have begun with the translation of his
relics to
Bari, but in
Germany it began already under
Otto II, probably because his wife Theophano was a
Grecian. Bishop Reginald of Eichstaedt (d. 991) is known to have written a metric, "Vita S. Nicholai." The course of centuries has not lessened his popularity. The following places honour him as
patron:
Greece,
Russia, the
Kingdom of Naples,
Sicily,
Lorraine, the
Diocese of Liège; many cities in
Italy,
Germany,
Austria, and
Belgium; Campen in the
Netherlands;
Corfu in
Greece;
Freiburg in
Switzerland; and
Moscow in
Russia. He is
patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, children, etc. His representations in
art are as various as his alleged
miracles. In
Germany,
Switzerland, and the
Netherlands, they have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to children on 6 December, the day on which the
Church celebrates his
feast; in the
United States and some other countries St. Nicholas has become identified with Santa Claus who distributes gifts to children on
Christmas eve. His
relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in
Bari; up to the present day an
oily substance, known as
Manna di S. Nicola, which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.
[size=-2]The traditional legends of St. Nicholas were first collected and written in Greek by Metaphrastes in the tenth century. They are printed in P.G. 116 sq.[/size]
MICHAEL OTT
Transcribed by Fr. Rick Losch
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The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XI
Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight
Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New [/size][/align]
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Merry Christmas![/align]