The Story Of St. Nicholas

1. THE STORY OF ST. NICHOLAS

2. He was born in Patara
in Asia Minor, in the
third century. His
parents named him
after his uncle, bishop
Nicholas.
Unfortunately, St.
Nicholas’s parents
died when he was still
very young.

3. Young Nicholas became a
priest who wanted to
spread love and kindness.
Soon his uncle, the bishop
of Mira, died and everyone
thought that Nicholas should
succeed him.
However, humble and
fearful of honour which
expected him, he retreated
to Palestine where he lead a
solitary life. But after a
couple of years he returned
to Myra , and he accepted
the call to become a bishop.
Since then he spent the
nights praying, and days
helping the needy and
spreading the faith.

4. There are several stories which tell of
Nicholas’s kindness and generosity. They
are special because they all have roots in
his real life. One of them is a story about
three maidens. It tells of a poor man with
three daughters. In those days a young
woman's father had to offer a dowry- a
maiden’s present for her future husband.
The larger the dowry, the better the
chance that a young woman would find a
good husband. Without a dowry, a woman
was unlikely to marry. This poor man's
daughters, without dowries, were
therefore destined to be sold into slavery.
Mysteriously, on three different
occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their
home-providing the needed dowries. The
bags of gold, tossed through an open
window, are said to have landed in
stockings or shoes left before the fire to
dry. Bishop Nicholas saved the three
lives- and three gold coins became the
symbols of his helpfulness and
generosity.

5. Once three generals were unjustly accused and the emperor Constantine
ordered their death. In their agony, they remembered Bishop Nicholas,
and prayed for his intervention. That night Nicholas appeared to
Constantine in a dream, ordering him to release the three innocent
officers. The prefect had the same dream, and in the morning the two
men compared their dreams, then questioned the accused officers. On
learning that they had prayed for the intervention of Nicholas,
Constantine freed them and sent them to the bishop with a letter asking
him to pray for the peace of the world. In the West the story took on
more and more fantastic forms; in one version the three officers
eventually became three boys murdered by an innkeeper and put into a
brine tub from which Nicholas rescued them and restored them to life.
This story has a lot of different versions, and they all show another
remarkable St. Nicholas’s feature- he always helps a child in need.

6. St. Nicholas- protector of
travellers
During the time when Nicholas was a bishop, a ship
was caught by a storm. The sailors called on
Nicholas for help, even though he wasn’t on the
ship. So strong was the faith in the Bishop’s power
of intervention.
Nicholas actually appeared on the ship and as soon
as the boat was freed and able to sail again, the
image of St. Nicholas vanished.
When the sailors came into a harbour, they looked
for a church to thank God for their rescue. They
were startled to see Bishop Nicholas
himself, looking the same as the image which
appeared on the boat. They asked Nicholas how he
had heard them and been able to come to their
rescue. Nicholas replied that a life devoted to God
allows a person to be so clear-sighted as to be able
to actually see others in danger and hear their calls
for help. The bishop urged the sailors to devote
their lives to God and, thereby, to help people in
need.

7. Nicholas died and was buried in Myra.
There was a church built over his
tomb, but later it was ruined. When
Moslems took over Myra, people from
Bari carried St.Nicholas’s remains from
Myra to Bari, where a new church was
built. It’s interesting that in both places
where the saint’s bones were buried, a
sweet smelling liquid appeared. It is
called holy mirth.
The tremendous popularity of the saint
is indicated by an anonymous writer of
the tenth century who declares: "The
West as well as the East acclaims and
glorifies him. Wherever there are
people, in the country and the town, in
the villages, in the isles, in the farthest
parts of the earth, his name is revered
and churches are erected in his honour."