02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor

SAINTS IN THE MODERN ERA
St Nicholas
Perhaps no single saint has undergone a greater change in
identity in the modern world than St Nicholas.This important
Christian figure, who is particularly venerated in the Eastern
Church, has been radically transformed in theWestern world
into the ubiquitous yet slightly bizarre character of Santa
Claus.Very little is known about the life of St Nicholas other
than that he lived during the fourth century AD and was
Bishop of Myra. His bishopric was located in what is now
modern dayTurkey in the province of Antalya. During his lifetime
the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire ruled the region.
His cult is an ancient one with evidence of his
veneration dating from the sixth century AD. His name in
Greek means ‘victory of the people’. In 1087, his relics were
removed fromAnatolia because of Muslim invasions and taken
to southern Italy where a new shrine was built for them at
Bari. Pope Urban II oversaw the official ceremony of the inauguration
of the relics of St Nicholas at the new church.The
translation of the saint’s relics to Bari greatly boosted his popularity
in Western Europe where he became widely known
and revered.
The miracles attributed to the saint in later stories of his
life led to him becoming a patron saint of children, sailors,
pawnbrokers, merchants and many other occupations. St
Nicholas is said to have been born into a wealthy family and to
have demonstrated an early interest in religion as a child. In
religious art, St Nicholas is sometimes shown as an infant refusing
to drink milk from his mother’s breasts onWednesdays
and Fridays as an act of fledgling piety because these were days
of canonical fasting.
According to legend, St Nicholas saved three girls from
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