St. Nicholas

Venerated in both Eastern and Western Christianity, Nicholas the Miracle Worker was an archbishop of Myra in Asia Minor. He lived in 3rd/4th century in the times Emperors Diocletian and Constantine the Great and became famous for many miracles. In Eastern Christianity, his cult was developing since 5th century and reached Ruthenia from Byzantium. The oldest images of the saint resulted from the cult, and over the centuries many variants of his images have developed. On most icons, St. Nicholas is accompanied by the figures of Christ and the Mother of God who appoint the saint for the bishop’s office and are giving him the signs, i.e. the Gospel and the omophorion, since 10th century. Starting from 14th century, the images of Christ and the Mother of God on the icons of St. Nicholas have been associated with a legend. Nicholas the Wonder Maker was said to have attended the first universal church council in Nicea in 325 where, according to the story, he was said to have slapped heretic Arius. For this offence, St. Nicholas was removed from his episcopal office. Christ and the Mother of God then appeared, restoring the position he had been deprived of as a punishment to the saint. This legendary theme co-existed with other stories of St. Nicholas’ miracles, where the saint was considered to be the first benefactor in every time of need, as evidenced by numerous paintings.

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