Greetings and salutations. This is Life and Books and Everything. I'm Kevin D. Young.

Today, I'm reading an article. I wrote this years ago, and I've posted it a number of times, but it's

evergreen, I think, and is appropriate, especially on December 6, which is a traditional day for

remembering and celebrating St. Nicholas, to ask the question, who was St. Nicholas? The unsatisfying answer to the title of this

article is that nobody knows for sure. To quote one Nicholas scholar, we can grant a bishop of that

name who had a great impact on his homeland. We can also accept December 6 as the day of his death and burial.

These are all the facts we can hold to.

Further, we cannot go, end quote.

According to the best estimates, Nicholas,

was born around AD 280 in Patera, in Asia Minor.

He later became Bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey.

Nicholas, it seems, died about 3.43 on or near December 6.

There's no record of his existence attested in any document until the 6th century.

By that time, Nicholas, whoever he had been, was already famous.

The Emperor Justinian dedicated a church to him in Constantinople.

Initially, Nicholas was most well known in the East, but by 900, a Greek wrote,

quote, the West as well as the East acclaims and glorifies him.

Wherever there are people, his name is revered, and churches are built in his honor.

All Christians reverence his memory and call upon his protection.

In 1087, Italian sailors stole his supposed relics and took them from Myra to Bari, Italy.

This move greatly increased his popularity in Europe and made Bari one of the most crowded pilgrimage sites.

It is said that Nicholas was represented by medieval artists more than any other saint except Mary.

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