Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, bishop of the city of Myra in Asia Minor during the 3rd/4th centuries, is one of the most venerated saints in both Eastern and Western Christianity. Despite the persecutions during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, Saint Nicholas did not shed blood. For this reason, his biography was not written, as such accounts were typically recorded for Christian martyrs. Perhaps this is why Saint Nicholas was sometimes identified with a 6th-century monk, Nicholas, the archimandrite of the Monastery of Saint Zion, who later became the bishop of the city of Pinara. However, the popularisation of the previously little-known name Nicholas in Asia Minor and the widespread development of his veneration in the 5th and 6th centuries serve as indirect but important evidence of the authenticity of Nicholas of Myra. Confirmation of his veneration can also be seen in the praise-filled orations in his honour and the churches dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Among the oldest and still preserved today is the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Myra, which is present-day Demre in Turkey. The remains of the saint rested there in a Roman marble sarcophagus until they were transferred to the Italian city of Bari in 1087. In icons, Saint Nicholas is depicted both in full figure and in bust form. 

Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967